Mendittorosa Athanor Extrait de Parfum is a luxury niche perfume of mystique, magic and meaningful change inspired by the ancient practice of alchemy. As alchemists sought to turn base metals into precious gold, or attempted to discover the elixir of immortality, or a potion to cure all ailments, Athanor is a perfumed devotion to man\u2019s eternal quest for beauty. With 35% perfume concentration, this Extrait de Parfum is a dense liquid elixir of sublime beauty which almost alchemically distills into perfumed vapors. The olfactive tincture which emerges is a magical perfume of sweet florals, incense, precious woods and resins.<\/p>\n
The opening is redolent of the precious metallic sparkle of sulphur, evoking the glimmers of hope in the hearts of men as they forge forth in search of alchemy\u2019s prized goal. Sulphur\u2019s momentary, nose-tingling twang quickly transmutes into the rich, ruby depth of cassis, which is at once fruity, woody and sweet. Cypriol with its shape-shifting fragrance is itself a kind of olfactive alchemy; its mercurial facets in a constant state of change between green, earthy and golden sweet, like a mythological resin-rich grass. Athanor\u2019s elusive scent is hard to capture, always receding just beyond our ability to exhaustively describe it. The scent\u2019s delicate body of iris-centred florals and saffron mysteriously coalesces with the ephemeral headiness of fumencens. These fleeting incense notes meld with precious woods in the base and transform into something more substantive – thanks to the rich and aromatic resins which hum and glow in their sumptuous, condensed thickness. Mendittorosa\u2019s Athanor Extrait de Parfum is an interpretation of the alchemistic arts through the nose. The scent has a warm, diffused resonance which unfolds gracefully. It is a philtre of magic and possibility where human baseness begins to dissolve and transform into the divine glow of the gods.<\/p>\n
Mendittorosa Athanor Extrait de Parfum is the third and newest member of the house\u2019s most prestigious \u2018Extreme Talismans\u2019 series within the \u2018Talismans\u2019 collection, featuring perfumes of unrivalled depth and concentration. Besides metals and potions, the alchemists of yore attempted to purify, mature, and perfect matter around them in what they called their \u2018magnum opus\u2019 or the \u2018Great Work\u2019 – a way to perfect the body and soul. Perhaps with Athanor Extrait de Parfum, Mendittorosa has found its alchemical magnum opus. The name Athanor itself refers to the furnace used in alchemy to provide low and constant heat for alchemical digestion. Athanor is a magic crucible, a flame fuelled melting pot where metals meet and change. A perfect metaphor for the scent which starts translucent silver, cold but alive, and through chrysopoeian purification, and the warmth of human skin, turns a vibrant, resiny gold. A transformative, spiritual love that unites and ignites. Incendium Amoris – The Fire of Love that can drive man mad in the quest for gilded pleasure. Athanor is an alloy of science and desire to tame natural elements into a bronze green tincture of beauty.<\/p>\n
Mendittorosa Athanor Extrait de Parfum is an ambitious collaborative project between Mendittorosa creative director Stefania Squeglia and renowned nose Luca Maffei. Together with a team of talented artists and dedicated craftspeople, they took over two years to arrive at their desired olfactory formulation. Athanor\u2019s cap features a bronze sculpture individually handmade by Carmine Borreli (known as Nibo), a goldsmith and sculptor in his atelier in Salerno, southeast of Naples. His meticulous and scientific execution of two human figures concentrated on their work at the crucible of the Athanor symbolizes the context of celebration and ritual connected to this archaic form of work. Nibo has recreated the specific conditions that make bronze change colour in order to illustrate the beauty of transformation and evolution. A raw golden nugget appears on the bottom of the thick, French made bottle. A fragment of light and beauty. This fragment signifies the whole from which we came. And the whole we should once again achieve to be.<\/p>\n
Olfactive vision: Stefania Squeglia
\nPerfumer: Luca Maffei<\/p>\n
Head notes: sulphur, cassis and saffron
\nHeart notes: iris, cypriol and fumencens
\nBase notes: cashmeran, guaiac wood, vetiver java and black amber<\/p>\n