Mendittorosa: exclusive Italian niche perfumes

A force to reckon with in the niche perfume world, Mendittorosa is a luxury fragrance house of global proportions. But the company itself remains steadfastly independent and free-spirited in its approach to perfumery. Untethered to international conglomerates with their eyes set on market shares and profits, Mendittorosa belongs only to itself. Without distributors or agents, the Naples based house instead makes sure that customers deal only with trusted independent retailers who represent the values of their small-batch, high-quality artistic creations. In this atmosphere of collaboration and absolute creative freedom, Mendittorosa offers exclusive, limited quantities to discerning scent lovers in select boutiques, ensuring the highest quality in each step of the process. A side effect of the dedication to small scale production is the waiting lists which sometimes occur, as devotees patiently stand by, sometimes for months, before they receive their fragrance.

Mendittorosa niche perfume- an avant-garde collaboration of the world’s best perfumers

Under creative director Stefania Squeglia’s visionary guidance, Mendittorosa has become an eclectic haven for perfumers to explore the boundaries of scent, thanks to an environment which encourages direct dialogue and sharing. Free to explore their craft, the noses at Mendittorosa can expand the olfactive horizons. Here it’s the depth, texture and sheer beauty of the scent, not merely what the latest trend is, which determines what goes inside their perfumes. In some ways, it is the creations themselves that dictate the direction which is to be pursued by the olfactory artists. A talented perfumer to the intrinsic personality of their scents – the perfumes speak and we must listen. Stefania Squeglia does not choose renowned parfumers merely because of reputation or celebrity, but because they are the best in their field at translating their vision into fragrance.

Mendittorosa’s beautiful and mysterious niche perfume lines

Mendittorosa is split into two high quality fragrance lines: the ‘Odori d’Anima’ line features high quality Eaux de Parfum while the ‘Talismans’ line comprises extremely luxurious and valuable Extraits de Parfum – the highest form of perfume on the market. Stefania has developed the ‘Odori d’Anima’ fragrances as poetic explorations of the inner self – perfumed mirrors of the soul through which wounds heal and beginning meets the end on our journey to resurrection. Her ‘Talismans’ Extraits de Parfum on the other hand ‘protect us and grant us power; they are private prayers we hold close and whisper to in the dark. We wash them in tears. In times of shadow and ash they remind us we are safe and loved, guided and sacred’.

No matter what the Mendittorosa scent, each new creation involves new research of formulae and style. A new vision. Mendittorosa does not repeat elements, either in olfaction or in design. There is always a new path. Stefania aims to reach the hearts of those loyal perfume lovers who appreciate extraordinary art rather than mass production and rapid consumption. Each individual bottle is specially designed and filled with perfume as a poem is carefully structured by the poet and filled with words. Juice, cap, label, decoration, packaging – all is unique.

Mendittorosa – artistic process in niche perfumes

Mendittorosa creates avant-garde niche perfumes which stand out not just because of their eccentricity, but because their beauty and sophistication are unrivalled. The process of creating these olfactive wonders is intimate and detailed, with many scents finding inspiration from a wide range of cultural fields throughout the world of poetry, visual arts, history and mythology. The philosophy at Mendittorosa is developing and augmenting the multisensory experience of fragrance, as we draw upon our knowledge of cultural phenomena – and the surrounding world – when we engage in scent interpretation. The incense used in celebrating a Neaplitan saint, the precious spiced cargo of an ancient Phoenician trading port, an active volcano off the coast of Sicily, the mysteries of tarotology and even the the planet Neptune act as inspiration for some of Mendittorosa’s culturally diverse meditations on how we, as solitary smellers, interact with the sensorily stimulating universe around us.

Handcrafted perfumes in natural, artisan made packaging

Mendittorosa’s niche perfumes are complete artistic packages which are the result of interdisciplinary collaboration. The approach is almost like a powerful Medieval guild, a creative focal point uniting skilled artisans from throughout the art, craft and design world.

By working with a group of dedicated artists and artisans in their workshops and ateliers, Mendittorosa shapes not only the perfumes themselves, but how we visually perceive the final artistic work. Mendittorosa’s packaging features no cellophane or plastic, but instead stone, metal, wood, rope, ceramic and silk – all chosen after careful and evolving research. Instead of money-saving ploys and product uniformity, Mendittorosa approaches each fragrance in terms of its own identity, building around its own unique attributes, details and decorations in perfect union with the symbolism and the meaning of the perfume itself.

Old school-Luxury for environmentally friendly perfumes

With a uniqueness and care unrivalled in the fragrance industry, perfume lovers have fallen in love with the carefully wrought adornments, packaging and subtle details. These often have layers of meaning that only increase the beauty and wonder of the ‘Odori D’Anima’ and ‘Talismans’ collections. A key message to take away from the artisanal processes of Mendittorosa is sustainability, an ethos so many of us are considering now as we move through our daily lives. The Mendittorosa packaging is not designed to be disposable or dismissed as secondary. Bottles, lids, boxes, adornments, poems, artwork and of course the juice itself; these things are unique, hand-crafted by artisans, to be treasured, collected and valued. Perhaps reused in a different way. Instead of making natural or organic claims, Mendittorosa wants to make something so special, it is impossible to throw away.

Niche perfume as multimedia artistic expression

Niche freaks cannot fail to recognize the wooden boxes that house Mendittorosa bottles. They are made of pure birch wood and are licensed replicas of the crates used by Tuscan sculptor/artist Alessandro Reggioli to transport his art around the world. The bespoke, unique and elaborately knotted wire tops created by Italian artist Mauro Carrazza fabulously represent the knots and roots, loops and overlaps of the ‘Time Without Time’ collection within the ‘Odori d’Anima’ line. The heavy, heart-shaped metal caps from the ‘Trilogy’ series are solidly comforting. The gorgeous, golden ecclesiastical cap and handmade tassel for Osang Extrait de Parfum, Stefania’s savagely beautiful hymn to her hometown of Naples, has an almost divine aura.

Nature friendly perfume

Mendittorosa perfumes are free of all colour additives or chemical preservatives and are certified 100% cruelty free (one of the first luxury niche houses to be awarded so). Transparent, heavy, cut glass bottles from France highlight the fragrances’ natural depth of colour. Any variations in colour or tone are not imperfections, but rather the natural, high quality raw materials used in the formulation. The house has a zero tolerance policy towards BHT, PVA and PVC.

Rich in stories, full of life, redolent in mystery. Mendittorosa represents the pinnacle of what the niche world has to offer. Perhaps Stefania describes it best what she writes that her fantastic fragrances are ‘about perfumed extracts worn as fetish and armour. Imbued with spirit, dark love, deep love, halo and perfumed divinity. Worn on skin, close and intimate, they ward off affliction, mischief and harm’.