Fresia

Fresia from Santa Maria Novella is a floral through and through: everyone who describes it says floral, and only a minority add musky. It is a feminine scent built around a single flower and its close companions.

Freesia itself sits at the centre, a bright, slightly peppery, lightly sweet bloom that smells fresh-cut rather than heavy. Rose and rose de Mai add a softer, more rounded petal sweetness alongside it, and violet and iris bring a cool, powdery, faintly earthy quality that gives the scent an old-fashioned, cosmetic softness. Skunk cabbage is an unusual inclusion, lending a green, marshy, slightly strange vegetal note that keeps the bouquet from being too pretty. Musk underneath holds it all close to the skin.

The result is a classic, soapy-clean floral with a powdery finish and a quiet green twist, suited to those who like traditional single-flower scents and to anyone who finds modern fruity florals too sweet.

Fresia — for women fragrance by Santa Maria Novella. Notes: Freesia, Iris, Musk, Rose, Rose de Mai, Skunk Cabbage, Violet, Western Skunk Cabbage. — Parfica open fragrance database