I purchased Viburnum by Tonatto Profumi blindly for a few reasons. I could not resist the delightful bottle with the classy vintage-style pump and brass label. I was also pleased to discover that this old-style flacon comes in the 30 ml version (my favorite fragrance bottle size). Finally, after reading that the fragrance was inspired by one of my favorite poems, I just had to have it.
In Giovanni I Pascoli’s Il Gelsomino Notturno (“Night Blooming Jasmine”), nature’s mysterious beauty is celebrated at nightfall through images and symbols that allude to eroticism and new life.
Poem (Italian, original)
E s’aprono i fiori notturni,
nell’ora che penso ai miei cari.
Sono apparse in mezzo ai viburni
le farfalle crepuscolari.
Da un pezzo si tacquero i gridi:
là sola una casa bisbiglia.
Sotto l’ali dormono i nidi,
come gli occhi sotto le ciglia.
Dai calici aperti si esala
l’odore di fragole rosse.
Splende un lume là nella sala.
Nasce l’erba sopra le fosse.
Un’ape tardiva sussurra
trovando già prese le celle.
La Chioccetta per l’aia azzurra
va col suo pigolio di stelle.
Per tutta la notte s’esala
l’odore che passa col vento.
Passa il lume su per la scala;
brilla al primo piano: s’è spento…
È l’alba: si chiudono i petali
un poco gualciti; si cova,
dentro l’urna molle e segreta,
non so che felicità nuova.
Poem (English translation)
And the night-blooming flowers open,
open in the same hour I remember those I love.
In the middle of the viburnums
the twilight butterflies have appeared.
After a while all noise will quiet.
There, only a house is whispering.
Nests sleep under wings,
like eyes under eyelashes.
Open goblets exhale
the perfume of strawberries.
A light shines there in the room,
grass sprouts over the graves.
A late bee buzzes at the hive
finding all the cells taken.
The Hen runs through the sky’s blue
yard to the chirping of stars.
The whole night exhales
a scent that disappears in the wind.
A light ascends the stairs;
it shines on the second floor: goes out.
And then dawn: the petals close
a little crumpled.
Something soft and secret is brooding in an urn,
some new happiness I can’t understand yet.
The jasmine flower that opens its petals at night represents life in the womb. Its scent is reminiscent of ripe red strawberries’ aroma, while a bee buzzes around her hive and butterflies flutter around blooms of viburnum, another fragrant flower mentioned in the poem.
At dawn, when the jasmine’s petals close, a little crumpled (a subtle hint to creased sheets after lovemaking), their inebriating scent fades and a “new happiness”, is found (new happiness refers to new life here).
The notes and accords of Viburnum pay homage to Pascoli’s suggestive and synesthetic poem and work together to create a sweet and seductive floral composition in which jasmine stars.
In Viburnum, the heady jasmine is creamy and sensual, yet delicate and suave. Its strawberry-dappled petals gracefully intertwine with a dainty bouquet of violets, irises, and lilies of the valley. The strawberry note is pleasantly honeyed and confers a flirtatious charm that enlightens a carnal elixir of tuberoses, carnations, vanilla, and musk.
This is a dreamy and exotic creation with a bold personality. Its fluffy and addictive aroma along with the crimson-tinted liquid embody its gentility and voluptuousness in equal parts.
Based in Turin, Italy, Tonatto Profumi was founded in 2000 by Diletta Tonatto, creative director and perfumer who designs fragrances that combine old-style tradition with innovation.
The line’s Olfactory Galleries in Rome and Turin host special installations that allow visitors to encounter fragrances and scents in relation to art, literature, and cinema. The brand also regularly collaborates with museums and galleries to explore the olfactory experience in famous paintings, sculptures, and other media.
Tonatto Profumi Viburnum’s notes are listed as they appear on the line’s website:
Jasmine, violet, iris, lily of the valley, juicy strawberry, carnation, tuberose, vanilla, white musk.
I reviewed the fragrance from my personally purchased 30 ml bottle.
Viburnum is also available in 100 ml and 15 ml formats as Eau de Parfum, and also as body milk and body oil.
Photos are my own.
