THE ESSENCE OF A WOMAN: THREE STORIES ABOUT PERFUME TO CELEBRATE THE 8TH OF MARCH.
There is a strong connection binding women to perfume, strong as the tides of the sea and similarly capable of evoking the very essence of somebody’s personality. To celebrate this truly special connection Acqua dell’Elba asked the fans of its fragrances to take pictures of themselves with its products (speaking of which, did you do it yet? You can send your snaps on the Facebook group of our Community, or on Instagram with the hashtag #8marzodamare), in order to create an album which will be published on the official page on the 8thof March. In addition, on our spotify channel you will find a special, all-female playlist featuring unforgettable female musical personalities, from Janis Joplin and Nina Simone to Paloma Faith and Emma Stone. To be enjoyed whilst you read the three stories about women and perfume which we have selected for your reading pleasure.
THE ESSENCE OF A WOMAN: MARIA MADDALENA, THE SCENT OF AUDACITY.
The first female personality we’d like to speak about was the subject of one of the greatest literary and cinematic successes of the third millennium: the “Da Vinci Code”. Mary Magdalen, identified by the novel (and the many legends it drew inspiration from) as the woman anointing Jesus’ head with a precious oil scented of spikenard essence, a gesture which already at the time of the Song of Solomon signified that love has no price. An audacious gesture, which earned the woman her peers’ disapproval, though at the same time committing her to history. As well as art, where Mary Magdalen is always shown carrying an elegant and precious flask of perfume. Precious as Smeraldo (Emerald), the fragrance of ours which probably combines best with a woman, uniting graze and refinedness in her every gesture.
THE ESSENCE OF A WOMAN: CATERINE DE’ MEDICI, THE SCENT OF TUSCANY.
Acqua dell’Elba’s work draws inspiration from the artisanal tradition of the Tuscan perfumery industry, which exported its prestige to France already at the time of Caterina De’ Medici. When only fourteen years old, she was promised in matrimony to the Duke of Orleans and decided to take to her new court the perfumer Renato Bianco, the master of the essences operating from his workshop in Florence. She did so by tying some gold and silver spheres to her neck containing precious scented essences, which immediately captured her French subjects’ curiosity: the demand for refined perfumes such as those produced in Tuscany then encouraged the birth of the perfumery industry also in France. Who knows, maybe today Caterina De’ Medici would have brought some of her Tuscany to France with her by bringing along the spicy fragrances of our Isola di Montecristo home fragrance diffuser?
THE ESSENCE OF A WOMAN: ELEONORA DUSE, THE SCENT OF A DIVA.
Strong, determined, innovative…the figure of Eleonora Duse played a central role in the world of culture and entertainment in Italy, Europe and the whole world. The tormented story of her passion and betrayal with Gabriele D’Annunzio, her love story with Arrigo Boito, the respect afforded to her by Charlie Chaplin and the admiration bestowed upon her by Lee Strasberg, who founded his actors’ studio also partly thinking about her, contributed to build a reputation of a femme fatale around her undeniable talent as an actress. An aura which she cultivated by always being enveloped in her trademark violet fragrance, which gave a strong floral note to the intense and vibrant bouquet of her personality. For a bold woman like Eleonora Duse, so transgressive as to star in the male role of Hamlet, today we would probably recommend the male fragrance Altrove.