Maison Mona di Orio
Maison Mona di Orio
135 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Clementine and petitgrain burst with an almost peppery vivacity, their volatility tempering immediately into the green-herbal whisper of litsea cubeba and bergamot. The effect is simultaneously bright and contained, like sunlight filtered through frosted glass.
As the top notes retreat, the vetiver base emerges with unexpected grace—not earthy or medicinal, but green and slightly astringent, a foundation upon which bay leaf and geranium can perform their intricate dance. Pink pepper adds subtle warmth without sacrificing the composition's cool intelligibility.
Labdanum softens the vetiver's edges into something almost suede-like, whilst musk and Virginia cedar create a dry, woody halo that persists as a faint second skin. The fragrance becomes increasingly abstract here, a woody-spicy memory rather than an active presence.
Les Nombres d'Or arrives as a study in restraint—a fragrance that whispers rather than shouts, built on the premise that citrus and wood can coexist without artifice. The opening assault of clementine and petitgrain is brisk and almost mentholic, tempered immediately by litsea cubeba's herbal-green undertone, preventing this from becoming another bright citrus confection. What distinguishes this composition is its refusal to be merely fresh; instead, Mona di Orio constructs a framework where the citruses serve as punctuation marks within a fundamentally woody sentence.
The heart reveals the true intention. Java and Haitian vetiver emerge not as the typical earthy-bitter vetiver solos favoured in contemporary perfumery, but rather as a green, slightly astringent spine that allows Egyptian geranium—rosy, peppery, slightly herbaceous—to unfold without dominance. Bay leaf adds an almost savoury dimension, a whisper of culinary spice that grounds the composition in something tangible, something lived-in. The Peruvian pink pepper isn't there for heat; it's there for nuance, adding a subtle bite that keeps the geranium from becoming floral.
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3.6/5 (116)