Via Verri

Via Verri, from the Italian house Etro, dates from 2010 and is aimed at women. Spice and flowers share top billing, with soft musk, warm amber and a little citrus completing the picture.

Bergamot gives a brief citrus brightness at the start, but the spices quickly take over: pepper and white pepper bring a dry, prickly warmth, and cardamom adds a cool, aromatic, slightly lemony spice. The floral heart combines rose and jasmine, a classic pairing of velvety petals and rich, sensual white flower. Iris introduces a powdery, refined texture. In the base, cypriol oil, also known as nagarmotha, lends a smoky, earthy, slightly leathery woodiness, while musk and amber soften everything into a warm, close finish.

It reads as elegant and slightly unconventional, a spiced rose with a dry, sophisticated air. It would suit the office, cultural outings and cooler days, and appeals to those who prefer their florals peppered rather than sweet.

Via Verri — for women fragrance by Etro (released 2010). Notes: Amber, Bergamot, Cardamom, Cypriol Oil or Nagarmotha, Iris, Jasmine, Musk, Pepper, Rose, White Pepper. — Parfica open fragrance database