Perris Monte Carlo
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The citron strikes immediately, all pith and essential oil, backed by lime's sharper rasp and lemon's cleaner brightness. The vervain CO2 adds an almost grassy, chlorophyll-like intensity that borders on bitter. It's bracingly cold, like pressing your thumb into citrus rind until the oils spray.
The peppers emerge as the citrus recedes slightly, creating an unusual warmth-within-coolness—the Sichuan pepper's peculiar tingle meets ginger's fibrous heat whilst cardamom weaves aromatic tendrils through the remains of the citrus. The pink pepper CO2 adds a creamy, almost resinous quality that softens the composition's harder edges without domesticating it entirely.
A ghostly impression of citrus hovers above a base that's unexpectedly refined: iris lends its cool, slightly carrot-like earthiness whilst the oakmoss provides a subtle greenness rather than true chypre darkness. The musk is clean and transparent, allowing the fragrance to fade gracefully into skin rather than clinging desperately.
Cedro di Diamante is citrus perfumery stripped of all sentimentality—no beach holidays, no Mediterranean fantasies, just the austere brilliance of citron rendered with surgical precision. Luca Maffei has orchestrated something genuinely rare here: a citrus composition that doesn't simply evaporate into pleasant nothingness. The Italian citron, that gnarled, thick-skinned ancestor of modern lemons, dominates with its intensely aromatic, slightly resinous character, amplified by the CO2 extraction of vervain that brings an almost metallic green sharpness. This isn't the sweet, approachable citrus of colognes; it's sharper, more architectural.
What transforms this from mere citrus exercise into something compelling is the interplay between the peppery heart and the unexpectedly sophisticated base. Sichuan pepper creates a numbing, almost electric tingle against the warmer cardamom and pink pepper, whilst ginger adds a fibrous, slightly earthy quality that prevents the spice accord from becoming too ornamental. The oakmoss in the base—likely a modern derivative rather than traditional oakmoss absolute—provides just enough shadowy depth to anchor the brightness without weighing it down. The iris floats beneath, lending a subtle powdered-root coolness that melds surprisingly well with the citrus.
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3.6/5 (432)