Tonnato Viburnum (2016), Soglie (2013) and The Path (2015) +The 3 Tonatto Profumi Fragrances You Should be Wearing Draw

Iron Butterflies fashion editorial, photo Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia, June 2004

At Tranoi last year, Tonatto Profumi impressed me with its beautifully constructed fragrances (Ápeiron, the house’s most recent fragrance, was one of our top new perfumes at Tranoi). Each has its own distinctive voice yet is harmonious with its sisters, marked by a shared gracefulness and thoughtful composition. With their crystalline elegance and large proportion of natural essences, not one smells of artifice. Tonatto’s particular blend of ebullience and restraint gives their brand of classical Italian perfumery a modern panache.

The Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio, 1601, National Gallery, London

Begun in 2000, the brand has always focused on craftsmanship and the intersection of perfume and art. A fascinating side note is that the company has galleries in Rome and Turin housing special olfactory installations that instill scent into paintings, sculptures and even moving images (this year, Tonatto created “an olfactory portrait” for Caravaggio's The Supper at Emmaus).

Creative Director Diletta Tonatto

Today, Tonatto is led by Creative Director Diletta Tonatto. Under Dilleta's leadership, Tonatto continues to turn out polished yet accessible fragrances of consistently high quality. Here are three that sparkle on even the steamiest of days.

Viburnum (2016, Creative Director Diletta Tonatto)

Viburnum, illustration from collection of Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris

Viburnum, whose puffy white flowers hang like snowfall, takes its inspiration from Giovanni Pascoli’s poem Night Blooming JasmineThe perfume centers on the creamy sweetness of night blooming jasmine.  It opens on a cloud of radiant jasmine, lactonic and dreamy, cushioned with a touch of dusty violet and metallic iris. A sly, juicy strawberry peeks in as Viburnum warms on the skin, adding a lighthearted aspect. Then, Viburnum takes a sexy turn, as carnation comes forward, adding a hint of clove spice, rounded out with the fleshy aroma of tuberose.  

Essence of Flowers, photo by Ale Megale for Wow Berlin, Spring- Summer 2013 ©

As with so many other Tonatto perfumes, the supporting notes are seamless, and are used to add dimension and substance rather than to eclipse the star. Viburnum is very much jasmine-centric, yet its composition is so well-balanced by other flowers that it smells less like jasmine and more like a summer bouquet on a warm night. Wear this when you want to feel downright pretty.  Notes: Night blooming jasmine, violet, iris and lily, strawberry, carnation, tuberose, vanilla and white musk.

Photo from Alannah Hill Garden of Roses autumn/winter 2010 collection ©

Soglie (Laura Tonatto, 2013): You’re in a dense thicket of purple-red roses, crushed woodland violet underfoot, jasmine petals scattering in the air every time the breeze blows. Suddenly, a sharp tang of bitter orange catches you off guard, like a glint of sunlight in your eyes. This is Soglie.

Oscar Wilde in Flamboyant Costume, portrait by Napoleon, 1882©

With its ping pong of saturated flowers against that zingy petitgrain, Soglie is perhaps the most off-beat in the Tonatto collection, and one of my favorites.  It has a posh eccentricity I think would have appealed to Oscar Wilde. I’d put this on when you aim to raise a well-bred eyebrow or two. Notes: Petit grain, orange blossom, taif rose, jasmine, tuberose, lily of the valley, violet, gardenia, amber

The Path ( Creative Director Diletta Tonnato 2015)

The hard path, wood stairs through the forest in Taichung, Taiwan, photo found on Pinterest via Google search

The Path is designed as an intimate, almost spiritual scent, taking a concept of walking and being grounded and translating it into fragrance. With its sole listed ingredient of oud, it takes a quite different route from the bevy of floral beauties, sparkly citrus and classy fougères that abound in the Tonatto line.  However, this oud is multidimensional; dry not bitter, the opening bringing aromas of old leather, creamy sandalwood, spice and pipe smoke.  

A horseman, Andalucía, Spain, photo found on Pinterest via Google search

Path is an apt name – its development is like tracing a rider through a woodland trail on an arid day; the warm smells of worn saddle leather, tobacco in pouch, the slight peppery-cumin smell of human sweat. In the middle stages, a deliciously skanky note slithers in, bringing a sexy touch of animal.  Though listed as a masculine scent, I find it genderless. If you like your ouds straight up but with a twist, The Path is right up your alley.

Photo via Tonnato Profumi

With their emphasis on top-quality ingredients and timeless sophistication, Tonatto fragrances are a lovely representation of modern Italian perfumery: beautifully made, artistic in conception and eminently wearable. They deserve a wide audience.

Disclaimer: Samples provided by Tonatto Profumi – many thanks. My opinions are my own.

Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

Thanks to the generosity of Diletta Tonatto and Tonatto Profumi, we have a 30ml vaporisateur vintage to give to one registered reader in the US, Canada or Europe. Please be sure to register or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please tell us what appeals to you about Soglie, The Path  and/or Viburnum based on Lauryn’s review, where you live and which you would choose to win. Draw ends 7/29/17.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so like Cafleurebon on Facebook and Instagram and use our RSS Feed… or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

 

 

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36 comments

  • ElenaChiss says:

    I like very much how The Path sounds. I do not have so much experience with oud and this fragrance looks like a fragrance that can very well tell me more of what this ingrident is all about. The two images that are displayed in the article to describe The Path are spot on after I read the description. The first one for the spiritual journey and the second one for the hardship that one encounters when following a road that was never easy to follow.

    Thanks for the draw! I live in EU.

  • fazalcheema says:

    The Path intrigues me the most because it is focused on oud and has sandalwood, too. It is different from other Tonatto offerings. My choice is The Path. I am in the US.

  • Roger Engelhardt says:

    Well! The Path had just hit all my buttons! Oud, tobacco, leather, cumin and that animal note sound absolutely divine!! Woodland trail on an arid day is where I would like to be.
    A few years back I owned a perfume from Laura Tonatto called Re and it was powerful, it made Mazzilari’s Lui seem tame! Haven’t seen it in years now, and I am sad, Re was, and still is, a love, the one that got away.
    I am in the USA.

  • Sounds like we all love The Path! First of all, I love the name. I find paths intriguing and impossible not to follow. The photo is also pleasing to me. Last, the description of tobacco, oud, leather and skank are right up my alley. I live in the US.

  • GrandmaGaga says:

    I can’t remember a recent giveaway/review article in which there were several choices offered and I had such a difficult time choosing because all of them seemed equally as appealing to me. I think the first, Viburnum sounds the most feminine so I would prefer to win that one but they all sound marvelous. Thank you for the chance! I am in the US.

  • Elizabeth T. says:

    I took some time to peruse the Tonatto website. They have so many lovely-sounding offerings! Beyond the beauties described here, Apeiron, Albi, Dama Magnifico, and Sandalo per Teti are going on my try list. A beautifully curated collection.

    I love that Viburnum smells “more like a summer bouquet on a warm night,” though I do love jasmine by itself too. I think I would choose, Soglie, however… when I translate it into English I get Thresholds, but I’d love to know from a native speaker exactly what it means… translators just don’t do perfume translations justice!

    Thank you for this lovely draw! I’m in the USA.

  • Beata Dufresne says:

    I always owned and adored Tonatto fragrances. They are such high quality and with great longevity, scents. I loved the way Lauryn describe each of the fragrances as they surprise her, have a twist. The review of The Path made me want to smell this perfume right away! Lauryn described it so beautifully and I felt like I was in that picture, walking up the wooden stairs in Taiwan smelling of The Path.
    My choice would be The Path, and I’m located in the USA.
    Thank you for this drawing! 🙂

  • NiceVULady says:

    I love the smell of Viburnam, so I’m happy to learn that there is something out there which is like it . Loved the art work and the review was most informative. If I should win, I’d love the Viburnam. Thanks for the draw. i live in the USA

  • I liked the description of Viburnum the most. It has some of my favorite notes like iris, violet, jasmine, tuberose and clove. To me that sounds really, really sensual.

    I am from Europe. Thank you for this chance!

  • aurora_ru says:

    The Path sounds the most appealing to me! I imagine wearing this on my lonely spiritual journee towards the Truth. Besides I have a special attraction towards the animalic features of cumin. I live in Europe, thank you!!

  • From the description, I like all three scents: Viburnum for being centered on white flowers and some powder, Soglie for having some kind of oddity, and Path for not being very easy to wear.
    I am choosing the Path.
    I live in E.U.
    Thank you.

  • Sogile sounds best to me. I love the phrase “posh eccentricity”. This really sells it for me. I was born to be a posh eccentric, I could at least smell like one!

    I am in the USA

  • I’m drawn to Path because I’m not much for florals without smelling them first. Would like to experience the skank note and winding road this fragrance seems to promise. US

  • I like the way the perfume is described “Viburnum is very much jasmine-centric, yet its composition is so well-balanced by other flowers that it smells less like jasmine and more like a summer bouquet on a warm night.”

    I would choose viburmun and I’m in Canada.

    Thanks for the chance.

  • Oooh, I love the poetic description of Viburnum! Thank you for the review and draw! I live in the US.

  • Soglie sounds so delightful, orange blossom is a favourite note along with the other floral notes of rose, violet, jasmine and tuberose. I’m in Canada, and thank you for this draw!

  • What appeals to me the most about the review is the description of Soglie. Roses accompanied by violet and jasmine with citrus accents sounds very intriguing. Soglie is definitely my choice if I win please. I’m in the US. Thank you so much.

  • Very nice review. Soglie sounds wonderful to me base of the review, and I very like the notes. If I would be the winner I would chose Soglie. Thank you for the chance. I live in Europe.

  • Never heard of this house before, but the description of these 3 fragrances do wake interest, especially The Path and Viburnum. But the oud, leather, animalics and pipe smoke in The Path sound very appealing and that’s the one I’ll probably like the best. Thanks for the draw, I live in Europe.

  • Iuno Feronia says:

    I have never heard about this perfume house but all the described perfumes sound very interesting. Viburnum sounds very interesting. Thanks for the draw, I live in the EU.

  • I have been intrigued by their scents for quite some time; thank you for this in depth review! It’s fantastic to see how scent is used in art installations ans slowly being recognised as an art form. Viburnum is the most appealing of all 3 as the “puffy white flowers that hang like snowfall” intrigue me the most! Thank you for the draw, I’m in the UK

  • Tom Schroeder says:

    Ahhh, the oud, and the scents of leather, tobacco, animalistic sweat in a dry place with scents of creamy sandalwood and spice. That description totally hooked me right away, so Path would be my choice. San Jose, CA, USA.

  • I’ve loved Tonatto ever since I smelled Plaisir, and I’m glad to see new additions to the line. It’s tough to choose a favorite, but Viburnum sounds particularly appealing because of the jasmine. I’m in the US. Thanks for the drawing!

  • Soglie interests me most, as I love the interplay between rose and orange. I look forward to a fragrance that catches me off guard–in a good way. I would choose Soglie! I live in the US

  • roxhas1cat says:

    They all sound amazing. I would choose Viburnum with the dreamy jasmine and the sly strawberry. I am not familiar with this line. The art work in this article is beautiful as always. Thanks for the chance.

  • Hikmat Sher Afridi says:

    Thanks for the review! What found interesting is that Tonatto Profumi, a Niche fragrance house has perfumes which are accessible, normal price range and of consistently high quality ingredients. All the three sounds great but “THE PATH” having one note to sense the intensity and mistery of Oud. As I love Oud, so my choice is “THE PATH”.
    Thanks to the generosity of Diletta Tonatto & Tonatto Profumi, and CafleureBon by letting my relative address in US.

  • minorlionz says:

    Lauryn’s description of The Path as a spiritual experience in a fragrance got me to think about the way we integrate senses into our daily life. I live in Montreal, Canada, and would choose Soglie if I won the contest.

  • That descriptiones totally hooked me right away!!! I liked mostly this combinations of notes “.the opening bringing aromas of old leather, creamy sandalwood, spice and pipe smoke.”.
    USA, DE

  • The one that I can wear seems to be Soglie.

    I wont lie, PATH sounds very intreseting too.

    In USA.

  • doveskylark says:

    The Path sounds amazing, especially the cumin smell of sweat. I gravitate towards scents like that, even though I am trying to wear more floral fragrances. Viburnium sounds like what I am trying to wear. But I know deep down inside I will always be about leather, oud, and sweat. I’d choose The Path.
    I live in the USA.

  • I didn’t know anything about this house, but now I am intrigued! I would choose Soglie, because I love roses, and jasmine, and petit grain and orange blossom, not to mention “posh eccentricity.” I’m in the US.

  • Viburnum sounds lovely to me. I never met a white flower I didn’t like and this description….”a summer bouquet on a warm night.” has me swooning. They all sound interesting but I know without a doubt I’d like Viburnum. Thanks for a lovely review as always, Lauryn. USA

  • I love the notes of Viburnum. Extremely feminine with notes of white flowers that I absolutely love.

    I live in the US

  • The Path definitely peaks my interest. Love the notes and the feeling it gives me when I read it. Great article! I’m in Canada and thanks for the draw!