Città di Kyoto was released by Santa Maria Novella last year to mark the 40th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Florence and Kyoto.
The fragrance features iris for Florence and lotus for Kyoto…
Santa Maria Novella Crema Per Le Mani
With winter in full swing, I've been delving into my collection of hand creams more and more often to help my hands survive the constant assault of the cold, dry, windy weather. An almost daily staple this season has been Santa Maria Novella's Crema Per Le Mani, an amazing hand cream that protects my hands practically all day and manages to smell delicious while doing so…
Orange blossom fragrances: a few Italians
After trying Santa Maria Novella Acqua di Colonia yesterday, I thought I would start today by spraying on as many orange blossom perfumes as I could dig out of my jumble of samples & bottles. There were more than I thought, so I am limiting myself to the Italians. I can’t wait for summer — it is so much easier to try a whole mess of fragrances at once when you can go sleeveless and apply right up the arms to the shoulder. Paper test strips just aren’t as much fun.
One of my favorite Italian orange blossom scents is i Profumi di Firenze Zagara. It starts rather sharp and very heavy on the bergamot, but calms to a lovely orange blossom with citrus notes and just the right amount of sweetness. It is very sparkling, cheerful and summery, and has good lasting power…
Fragrance review: Santa Maria Novella Acqua di Colonia
Santa Maria Novella’s Acqua di Colonia is also known as “The Queen’s Cologne”, and was reputedly created for Catherine de Medici. Some sites list it simply as “Santa Maria Novella”. The (vague) notes are: bergamot, citrus, white flowers and spices.
The top notes are very sharp, and heavy on the bergamot. It settles into a nice citrus-floral with lots of orange blossom. It is not at all sweet, but it is less bitter (and less herbal) than Acqua di Parma Colonia. It is a bright scent, and has a sparkling quality, with just a tiny spicy kick…