Vittorio Gassman  War and Peace  (1956) 

“It is easier to be a hero than a gentleman, you can be a hero from time to time but a gentleman always” Luigi Pirandello

Jean-Louis Tritignant, Vittorio Gassman in Il Sorpasso

The quote from Italian dramatist, novelist, and Nobel Prize winner in Literature embodies the entire heart and soul of Bottega Profumiera’s Galuntuomo. An Eau de Parfum for men, this is scent of a gentleman, (which seems to be more and more of a dying breed these days). Maurizio Lembo is the nose and creator of the line and when he designed Galantuomo he dedicated the fragrance to his father and grandfather who he highly admired.

The fragrance begins with a fresh kiss of tangerine and anise, the two notes compliment each other incredibly as the anise cuts back the sharpness of the tangerine and gives it more body while the tangerine sweetens the licorice note making it less medicinal. As the fragrance lifts off the skin notes of spice begin to take place while the beautiful floral aroma of salvia plays gently in the background. Once the fragrance begins to settle, you’re greeted by classic woods and comforting oak moss with just a slight touch of vanilla  that adds moisture so the woodiness isn’t too sharp. This is definitely a gentleman’s fragrance with excellent longevity and a soft, subtle sillage.

Actor Vittorio Gassman  Profumo Di Donna (Scent of a Woman) 1974

When I wear this fragrance and close my eyes I imagine a classic gentleman strolling along the streets of Como, Italy on a bright summer day wearing a linen suit, loafers, a peaceful smile on his face and nothing on his mind with no where to go. Notes: tangerine, anise, nutmeg, ginger, frankincense, liquorice, cloves, cinnamon, salvia sclarea, vetiver, vanilla, oakmoss.

Italian Actress Agostina Belli

Quite A Gentleman by The Nosey Artist

It had been a long time since I contemplated the idea of courtship, but there was something about the woman sitting across the café that greatly intrigued me. She was sitting in her little corner closed off from the word, eyes fixated on her laptop as she continued to type. My heart kept telling me to let it go and get out of there, but I knew it was still mending from the loss of the only woman that ever made me feel alive- that was over ten years ago and since then I haven’t ever really been the same.  But the aura of the woman sitting across the café kept drawing me in, god she was beautiful! I tried to be inconspicuous as I observed her long thick dark brown hair, her tall slender body, and those cute little freckles that decorated her high cheek bones- and then she looked up at me. The minute we locked eyes it was as if time had frozen for a second and memories of two eternal lovers both crossed our mind, then as quickly as the moment came it left and she gave a smile of acknowledgment and fixated her eyes back to what ever she was doing on her laptop.

 

Agostina Belli and Vittorio Gassman Profumo Di Donna 1974

Those eyes…those emerald green eyes, I had never seen such beautiful almond shaped eyes with such an intense shade of green since the last time I looked my long lost love in the face.  Now I had to get up and say something to her, the moment was getting too intense for me, I could feel my heart beating hard through my crisp white oxford shirt and my senses going into such a high over drive that I could smell remnants of the fragrance I sprayed on before I left the villa. I put my coffee down on the table, stood up to smooth the wrinkles out of my linen jacket, and started to make my way towards her. As I got within hearing distance of her I abruptly stopped in my tracks and turned around sharply as her phone rang and she dove into a conversation.  I tried to pretend I was observing the beautiful Lake Como scenery in front of us, as I waited patiently for her to get off the phone so I could make my way towards her again. As I stood there watching the billionaire yachts float by my heart begin to race again as I picked up on her voice as she was talking. I knew that voice and the language she was speaking, it registered in my brain as clear as the first time I ever drove a car! Once again my heart was telling me to run away while I could, and as bad as I wanted to my feet stayed glued to the floor as beads of sweat begin to trickle down my face.  As she finished her conversation and got back to her work I grabbed my handkerchief to wipe off the sweat and loosened my collar a bit so I could breathe better. Once I got my self together I began to turn around and make my way back towards her and as soon as I did we locked eyes again, this time the moment was longer as both realized what was about to happen.

 There we were in complete awe of the moment neither one of us thinking this would happen, neither one of us wanting to admit that it was. The last time I saw her I was going through a process of refinement trying to mature from the insecurities that caused our rift and she was young and under tons of stress trying to finish her studies so she could graduate and get the hell out of her home country as fast as she could. We were star-crossed lovers and in my heart I always knew there was a miracle chance we would meet again. A smile came to our faces and before I could say the first word she beat me to it, “I never responded to you when you wrote me nor informed you that it was over because you hurt me really bad…but also, it was so hard to let you go. But I knew in my heart you were my soul mate and that one-day we’d meet again…” She trailed off for a moment as she looked me up and down observing my attire, “My, you’ve really become quite the gentleman!” And suddenly my heart was at ease, no longer afraid, no longer filled with anxiety, because hearing her give that compliment made all the time apart from her worth it.

Disclosure: I received my sample of Galantuomo from Twisted Lily Boutique and Apothecary, opinions my own.

–The Nosey Artist, Contributor

Art Direction: Michelyn Camen Actor Vittorio Gassman is the quintessential Italian Gentleman

Thanks to Twisted Lily we have three  samples of  Galantuomo  for three USA registered readers.To be eligible, please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about The Nosey Artist’s prose and what intrigues you about the fragrance. Draw closes 1/28/2016

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