The path to releasing your own perfume brand is a long one, if you’re going to do it correctly. When I attended Pitti Fragranze in September of 2014 I met Luca Calvani and Olivia Mariotti. They were at a stand with their fledgling brand Inspiritu which at that time was a collection of candles. They were developing a line of perfumes to go along with the candles but they weren’t ready to release them, yet. A year later when I go to Pitti they were ready for prime time with a collection of five fragrances.
The inspiration behind the entire brand, both candles and fragrance, is to take one inside themselves into a meditative place. They believe the fragrances will allow a person to find their inner creativity. When you spend time with Sig.ra Mariotti and Sig. Calvani you realize they are passionate about their perfumes being able to do this. That personal connection made me more receptive to their perspective than if I had received the same words on a press release.
Olivia Mariotti and Luca Calvani
The five releases are made up of the four cardinal virtues, Temperantia, Iustitia, Prudentia, and Temperantia. They are joined by Lux the light which binds them all. Temperantia is a fairly typical white flower Floriental. Iustitia is a more interesting take on an Oriental with the herbal orange top accord being the best part of its development. Prudentia is a bitingly green floral with a galbanum and moss base accord adding the snap. Lux definitely carries the meditative feel the brand is trying for with a clean cedar and sandalwood focal point. Fortitudo is the one I liked best because it was the most kinetic of the collection. I felt like it took me to wide open spaces in the countryside.
Fortitudo opens on a duet of acacia and violet. The soft floralcy of the acacia contrasts the stronger presence of the violet. This reminded me of hillsides covered in purple flowers at the height of summer. I felt like I was in a meadow. That feeling is only intensified with a strong presence of hay. Hay this strong might conjure up the barnyard to some. For me it carried me to the smell of the dried brown grass of late summer. It forms a foundation for the acacia and violet to rest upon. The base is the creamy woods of sandalwood and cedar.
Fortitudo has 10-12 hour longevity and moderate sillage.
I found it interesting that a perfume brand built on inner meditation instead took me outside for my favorite. Then I realized a meadow covered in flowers in midsummer is a great place to be transported to as a meditative locus.
Disclosure: This review was based on samples provided by Inspiritu.
–Mark Behnke
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