Hotel Le Sirenuse in Positano photo courtesy of the brand for this review of Eau d’Italie Jasmine Leather
Carved into a magnificently craggy hillside hugging the Amalfi Coast, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea – sits Marina Sersale’s renowned family Hotel Le Sirenuse in Positano. There it is has stood since 1951, when four siblings decided to transform their summer home into an albergo; it continues to flourish among Italy’s ultra-luxe seaside hotels.
Marina Sersale and Sebastian Alverez Murena (photo Eau d’Italie)
Nearly 20 years ago, Marina Sersale and her husband Sebastiàn Alvarez Murena embarked upon a line of products created to celebrate Le Sirenuse’s 50th anniversary: the original Eau D’Italie eau de toilette and bath products composed for them in 2004 by Bertrand Duchaufour. Since then, there have been 16 fragrances to date – the most recent of which is Eau D’Italie Jasmine Leather, with its nod to the Italian Renaissance and Catherine de Medici, who brought the gustatory and olfactory talents of her native Florence to France through her marriage to Henri the Second.
Rene Le Florentin and Catherine de’Medici via stocktastic
When Catherine wed Henri her entourage followed her, including personal perfumer Rene de Florentin (Renato Bianco). – who was installed in his own laboratory complete with a secret passage. Catherine was extremely fond of scented gloves, particularly the opera length ones she wore to protect her extraordinarily beautiful hands. Rene perfumed them (as was the custom) to disguise the tanning process which utilized vats of urine and dung (for removal of hair from the hides) whose stench clung tenaciously to the leather. It is also rumored that the perfumes masked the foul odor of the poison-filled rings which Catherine designed and was said to have distributed among her enemies – along with poisoned gloves.
A pair of embroidered leather gloves from c.1615. (Photo: Valerie McGlinchey/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 2.0 UK)
Many believed that Catherine de’ Medici murdered the mother to the heir of the kingdom of Navarre, Jeanne d’Albret, by poisoning a pair of gloves which she sent her as a gift. During this era it was a common practice for glove makers (gantiers) to immerse leather in a fresh jasmine infusion for 8 days and then ‘fix’ the scent with musk and civet. Herein lies the link to our latest Eau D’Italie perfume…Jasmine Leather.
Eau D’Italie Jasmine Leather apped by Michelyn and Nicoleta
Let us be clear: there is no poison in Jasmine Leather, not a single drop. One’s initial encounter glows gelsomino-radiant as the midday Italian sun, beneficently floral and burnished with saffron. Leather and jasmine abound in a joyful rich elixir which darkens over time. Saffron, with its bright, slightly medicinal astringency – is often employed in the evocation of leather. Elemi’s lemony-balsamic, peppery resinous tones add piquancy and have fixative qualities as well. Jasmine reigns as regent; her sweetness suffuses the fragrance with an unjaded eye and is a welcome inclusion which prevents what might otherwise prove to be a weighty composition. Because the leather note feels slightly rough – more like saddle/tack than glovelike – the companionship of patchouli and cedar add increasing depth. Patchouli’s complex profile includes earthy, musky, sticky-sweet/herbaceous aspects, a moist loamy soil. Cedar exhibits drily dusty/woody, coniferous, balsamic and even leathery aspects. An hour or so into its development Jasmine Leather seems to smoothen somewhat and becomes silkier, more supple. It smells melodious and well-proportioned. I would characterize Eau D’Italie Jasmine Leather as relatively easy to wear, especially for perfumisti who eschew a more beastly leather fragrance. It has excellent tenacity and softens in the drydown, lying closer to the flesh than in its introductory impact.
Notes: elemi, saffron, jasmine, leather, patchouli, cedarwood
Bottle kindly provided by Beauty Frontier the US distributor – many thanks! My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Senior and Natural Perfumery Editor
photo Eau D’Italie
Jasmine Leather and most of Eau d’Italie fragrances have a new bottle design. Also please join Sniffapalooza for a virtual master class on the brand November 12, at 7 PM EST. You can register here -Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief
photo Eau D’Italie
Thanks to the generosity of Beauty Frontier (U.S. distributor for Eau D’Italie), we have a 100 ml bottle of Eau D’Italie Jasmine Leather for one registered reader (you must register) in the U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about Ida’s review and where you live. Do you have a favorite Eau D’Italie fragrance? Draw closes 11/5/2020
Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebon @idameister @eauditalie_official @eauditalie @beauty_frontier @amandine.clerc.marie
This is our Privacy and Draw Rules Policy
We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like Çafleurebon and use our blog feed… or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.