Santa Maria Novella Has Unveiled New Botanical Eau de Parfums That Come In Dreamy Vintage "Books"

When it comes to perfecting a craft with time, Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella knows best. The beloved Florence-based perfume house has its roots all the way back in 1221. Imagine eight hundred years of heritage, research and tradition in a bottle - it's precisely what you'll find with their new "I Giardini Medicei" Eau de Parfums.

This exquisite collection has four botanical fragrances: L'Iris, Bizzarria, Gelsomino and Magnolia. Each of them was crafted to capture the essence of a specific flower or plant variety from Medicean history.

These divine scents are housed in beautiful glass bottles crowned with intricate gold-tone caps. And adding to the reverie is the box packaging which are designed to resemble vintage books.

Photo from Santa Maria Novella

L'Iris, the Officina's very first Eau de Parfum, is a delicate yet vibrant fragrance that's soothing, invigorating and uplifting all at once.

With top notes of galbanum, timur pepper, and neroli, it evolves into a heart of geranium, magnolia champaca and sambac jasmine, and then is grounded by musk, ambergris and iris fiorentina concrete.

Photo from Santa Maria Novella

Softly intoxicating, the Magnolia Eau de Parfum is as timeless as the evergreen Magnolia Grandiflora it was was inspired by.

It opens with white rose and geranium, develops into magnolia grandiflora, magnolia champaca and sambac jasmine absolutes, and finishes with amber and musk.

Photo from Santa Maria Novella

Few would have heard of the Bizzarria, as it's a rare fusion of bitter orange, etrog and lemon. The Bizzarria Eau De Parfum captures all the whimsy of this peculiar fruit! It’s an acquired taste, but once acquired, is endlessly addictive.

An initial burst of sweetness from neroli is balanced with timur pepper, before heart notes of orange blossom absolute, davana and ginger merge. At the base are warm and comforting notes of cedar wood and musk.

Photo from Santa Maria Novella

Lastly, the Gelsomino Eau De Parfum was inspired by the jasmine that the Grand Duke of Tuscany was enamoured with in the 17th century.

The captivating fragrance has bergamot, tangerine and pink pepper as the top notes. At the heart are sambac jasmine absolute, geranium and ylang ylang. Finally, the greenhouse-like scent reveals itself entirely with cedar wood and musk.

All four fragrances shine on their own but also layer beautifully with each other and other fragrances.

Santa Maria Novella's Eau de Parfum collection retails for $420 (100ml) and $282 (50ml) and is available at Isetan Scotts Level 1, Takashimaya Department Store Level 1, Takashimaya.com and escentials.com.

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