Fragrance News: Pro Fumum, A New Line of Italian Perfumes at Luckyscent
The niche perfumery Luckyscent is now exclusively carrying the Italian Pro Fumum line of fragrances in the US. It includes eight unisex perfumes. According to Luckyscent, "These scents are exquisitely crafted to evoke emotions, memories and a sense of their (the owners) beloved Italy. These rich and layered fragrances are designed to work equally well on men and women, and, amazingly, they really do."...
"Profumum was started 1996 by the grandchildren of Celestino Durante, a knife cutter, whose family’s rich history begins in the tiny Italian town of Sant Elena Sannita, where a bronze statue of a knife cutter is erected. After surviving World War II, Celestino and his wife Luisa left their tiny village and took their family and others to Rome. Today, Celestino’s grandchildren, Giuseppe, Luciano, Maria, and Felice oversee all aspects of Profumum and pay homage to their roots by placing a bronze statue of a knife cutter in their boutiques throughout Rome."
I love the packaging - very classic and modern at the same time - and the scents sound like must-tries. I think I want to find at least one that I love...such is the suggestive power of packaging on me.
A 100 ml flacon retails for $180 except for Fiore d'Ambra which retails for $195.
You can discover the line here. Luckyscent offers a sample program. Here is a link to the perfume house itself, Pro Fumum Durante Roma.
Source: Luckyscent
The descriptions of these are fascinating, but alas !
IF there are as good as they sound, one develops a rather nasty, costly vice...
If I found one or two of them to be really outstanding then I would not mind buying fewer perfumes and sticking with the truly satisfying ones.
Ah, Helene-
Touche !
Would that it were so...
What happens is that if I find a perfume is of fine quality it becomes difficult for me to wear the one belonging to the same category of perfumes but whose aroma is coarser.
I understand completely...
If the newer acquisition is of finer quality, more masterful blending, more evolved,it becomes a gold standard.
It's as if you grow up on Kraft Mac'n'Cheese in a box [with Velveeta !], and someone makes you an oniony sauce soubise, with fresh scallion, Dijon mustard,and you have fresh pasta tossed in it, with four beautifully, exquisitely blended aged cheeses, and it's baked to perfection [sometimes I add caramelized onion, and a little roasted garlic, too]...
How can you go back to the box?
At least, that's what happened to me with the classic chypre family after I encountered Soir de Lune. However, I believe some people are so attached to a certain flavor that they might still prefer their childhood staple food to a fancier kind of dish.
Doe anyone know who the noses behind these scents are? I'm just somewhat wary of new fragrances houses pricing at that point (right up there with Malle's) without first having some idea of their provenance - history of the house or cv of the nose behind the scent.
Hi Lisa,
I think it's also to do with the quality of the ingredients chosen, the scale of production, and the packaging of course.Even if the history of the house is less prestigious than for other houses or the nose is a young one or a relative unknown it does not mean the scents cannot be great. I'm thinking of Aurélien Guichard who created Chinatown which was his second scent I think. Kurkdjian is also notoriously known as a precocious nose.
But I agree that there are some problems of quality with certain niche houses. It would be interesting to see if a higher priced scent from a niche house smells similar in quality to a luxury house perfume of excellent but not exceptional quality.
I am expecting something a little exceptional. The price should definitely be reflected in the contents unless you think the price should go to supporting a niche house.
It would be interesting to know how much they cost in Italy as mark-ups can be pretty steep due to the import procedure.
Fairly and well said, Helene-
In the interests of tact, I noticed recently , that I ordered samples from a very gifted person who had marvellous taste in marketing and design, and very good references...
In spite of the hoopla, the scents left me stone-cold !
Yet, the efforts of another, with no apprenticeship whatsoever, have left me breathless with delight at their mastery !
Go figure...
If it's great, it's great.
Good morning Chaya,
Well, that's François Coty all over again for you:) I must add though that Coty also had great taste (this would make a non-perfumer artist scream) and marketing skills.