Tarantella is the debut fragrance from indie Australian niche line Tommi Sooni. The chypre-style fragrance is geared towards women 25+.
Our aim: to create an Australian prestige perfume of exceptional beauty, a modern classic. In the city of light this dream was born. Paris was the inspiration but a fragrant walled garden in Avignon was the revelation. Encircled by a ring of bay laurel trees, and brimming with exotic flowers and flora native to the Island of Sicily, this beautiful garden held the key to what would become Tarantella eau de parfum.
The fragrance notes include neroli, galbanum, mandarin, muguet, orris, Anatolian rose, frangipani, Egyptian jasmine, clove, laurel, honey, leather, amber, oak moss and sandalwood.
Tommi Sooni Tarantella is available in 50 ml Eau de Parfum (AUS$165), and will be sold in numbered batches of 500 bottles. It can be purchased through peonymelbourne.com.au; samples are also available. (via tommisooni)
It always bothers me when the first part of the description is “slotting” the price, “to create an Australian prestige perfume.” I'd prefer if they paid a bit more attention to the scent first, the price next. And who's writing the ad copy–Yoda? “In the City of Light this perfume was born.”
And Yoda was missing his GPS, because somehow, the walled garden in Avignon, where “the revelation” happened (huh?) was brimming with native plants of Sicily, which makes me want to run to Greece, except this stuff with leather, jasmine, honey, rose and frangipani will be waiting on the beach to place a lei around my neck with true Egyptian flowers. I dunno, think I'll pass.
Lol, it definitely was yoda. The name is evocative, but you're right the ad and the notes are all over the map and not what I think of when I think of the ritual of the Tarantella. It sounds a little tame. I had the pleasure of seeing a performance of Tarantella recently and if I were to create the perfume to evoke that experience I would add notes of rose, incense, bow rosin, the smell of moist cotton, clean sweat, dust, and maybe a “tambourine accord” with leather, wood and a tinge of metal. And how many Italian Gypsys live in Australia anyway?
I'd rather buy something called “Waltzing Matilda,” with notes inspired by a revelation that happened in a Sydney garden, which contained exotic drought resistant Australian plants and dry wood and sandy notes.
I would have wanted to try this if both the inspiration and the “ingredients” came from Australia.
Australia must have plenty of scents that are worth to feel inspired by and to use.
The name comes too close to tarantula.
As creative director of Tommi Sooni I'd like to reply to the above comments: The fragrance was always our paramount concern. It's development took 18 months of work. The juice is considerably more expensive to produce than most perfumes on the market and the elaborate embossed packaging is hand made incorporating hand blocked papers from Japan. Considerable labour is involved in each presentation.
On one of my visits to Paris (the city of light) I was struck by how well the French consistently create beautiful perfumes and thought well why can't an Australian also create a beautiful, complex perfume in the classic French tradition. So the seed for Tarantella was in fact sown in Paris.
The walled garden in Avignon does exist. It is just behind the papel palace and contains many Mediterranean plants also found in Sicily.
In the 1990's I studied horticulture at college so identifying plants is part of my training. My (southern Italian) partner and I were lunching in the restaurant overlooking the garden mentioned when the subject of perfume creation came up and he suggested the name tarantella.
Rose and leather are key ingredients in this perfume. It is not a “clean scent”. Amber, smoke, Sicilian mandarin and Sandal wood from Western Australia are in this perfume. Samples are available for those who would like to try tarantella.
In my research I found no references to gypsies associated with the dance of the tarantella, but Italian immigrants have made significant contributions to Australian culture.
Perfume creators commonly find inspiration from cultures beyond their borders. Tarantella is no exception to this.
Waltzing Matilda is associated with sheep in Australia. It is a song about a sheep thief. As Australia is a key market for tarantella association with sheep is best avoided.
I admit I am intrigued. First off, well done for aiming this at a slightly older age group than most new releases these days and a chypre to boot! If I can get hold of a sample I'd love to try it. Avignon might well be my favourite city in France with its mediterranean climate, great food and wine and its fascinating history. Its chic too without being pretentious – IMHO! However, being an arachnaphobe I will try my best not to let the name put me off lol.
After reading the second page of description on your website the scent sounds intriguing. The bottle is also very beautiful.
Thank you for giving us this extra and very important information about Tarantella.
Rose – leather, not clean, that sounds worth a try! 😉
Please contact me through the tommisooni website with your address and I will be happy to arrange for a sample to be sent to you
I'm confused, but it's early for me. How does it start in Avignon and then jump to Sicily? Okay … I reread it twice and now I get it. The Avignon garden is stocked with plants from Sicily. Interesting concept. Will it come to the US? The notes sound intriguing – love a good chypre.
I read through the website… gorgeous dress!
Tarantella was launched only 2 days ago and is exclusive to Peony Melbourne at present but it will be going to the USA and Europe later in the year. We are happy to send purchases overseas though. Just contact us through our website. I can also arrange for a sample to be sent to you. Yes, the dress is to die for.
Quinncreative — Yoda! Good one. And I know what you mean about slotting the price — but a chypre w/ oakmoss for post-teen women is ok with me.
Eshellmoyer, I've never seen the tarantella, will have to look around on YouTube & see what I can find. Your tarantella scent sounds interesting so long as the moist cotton isn't that clean cottony musk that I hate 🙂
I'm reminded of the scuff over Australian wines–those rule breakers down under dared to blend different grapes (!), which sent French undies into uncharted abundles. Then the Australians began to win awards. I'm delighted to see the 25+ age group designation (doesn't anyone else want my boomer dollars?). But the Yoda observation–priceless! Almost made the ad copy look like an escapee from Le Prix Eau Faux.
All ad copy looks like Le Prix Eau Faux to me now 😉
It's a chypre, it's from a country thats's 'new' to pefume production, and it's named after a dance and one of my favourite poems (“Do you remember an inn, Miranda? Do you remember an inn? And the tedding and the spreading of the straw for the bedding, And the fleas that tease in the high Pyrenees, And the wine that tasted of the tar”…'Tarantella', Hillaire Belloc). What's not to look forward to?
Apart from the price. £80/$155 for 50ml? It'd better be good.
You might have a market in the U.S. You could call it a sheep-re.
Thanks for your explanation, kangaroo. But here's what I've learned from years of marketing my own work: if the audience doesn't agree with your emotion, insisting and explanation won't work. Your audience will be gone.
When it comes to perfume, I want words that make the scent shimmer in front of me, delight me and make me want to inhale it in full. And the ad copy didn't do that. You can be truthful and factual, but it is a shared emotion that will make people follow you.
Historic accuracy won't make people love facts. An emotional link will. Falling in love is an art, especially in perfume. Writing about perfume is also an art, and in my opinion, this was not a transparent watercolor, this was a Powerpoint.
Hey, looks like you HAVE to buy it. Let me know what you think 🙂
Well, despite the pseud's corner purple prose 😉 I still think I'm intrigued enough to have to treat myself to a sample. So, how much to ship to England then?
I must confess I 'm not much of a 'blogger', but I am quite passionate about fragrance and was lucky enough to be at the cocktail party to celebrate 'Tarantella's' release in Australia. I applaude Tommi Sooni for being brave enough to release not only a 'Chypre' fragrance but our first prestige perfume. You have to experience the fragrance first hand, it is not just visually beautiful but the fragrance reminds me of the perfumes of yesteryear, something truly eternal. Congratulations!
If you would like to contact me via our website I will arrange for a sample to be sent to you gratis.
Wicked! 😀 Am off there now…
I have smelled tarantella and it is just beautiful. It takes you back to the era when perfumes used to be work of art. Blend of mandarin, muguet, Anatolian rose, frangipani with oak moss and sandlewood is just devine. Tarantella will leave its mark in niche perfume market and this will be the start of new era in australian perfumes. Worth every single dollar. Good Job Tommi Sooni.
Hi ! I am late to this post!
I went to a dinner party on Saturday night. Just beforehand I was at a friend's house, she let me spray on some Tarantella “you must only use a little!!” she said… “otherwise it is too strong”, throughout the night I had 2 separate people ask me in wonder what my perfume was and exclaim how beautiful it is.
This has NEVER happened to me before…Iam a Michael Kors EDP devotee and have always received mixed comments about that, good and bad and very bad, my Saturday night foray into Tarantella was all I needed to convince me of its beauty!!
Received my sample yesterday and this is a great fragrance, not sweet or overly feminine. I love those bayleaves.
This a true one of a kind niche perfume. I really love it!
If someone had told me that this is a Hermes niche scent, I would have believed it.
Great fragrance Tommi Sooni, super!