Astrophil&Stella

Astrophil&Stella is an Italian niche project inspired by the sonnet cycle of Sir Philip Sidney, the Elizabethan poet and politician. In Sir Philip's poems, the hero speaks of his love vividly, with passion, jealousy, and subtle irony, but in the end, he receives not his beloved, but disappointment and experience.

So what do we get?

I unexpectedly fell in love with the slightly old-fashioned floral Mellow Yellow.

"The dawn brought me radiance and warmth—

So tender that into the bright and lofty vault

I gaze long—not fearful, not cruel

The rays, but, fearing them, the cold and gloom depart."

The honeyed, spicy, and sultry scent of night-blown white flowers, fading in the morning mist with the first drops of dew. Jasmine with its edible, dense scent of ripe banana, yellow iris redolent of lemon cheesecake, and narcissus, a grandmother's dusty carnation and cool moisture. Mellow Yellow at one point echoes Guerlain's Coque d'Or, but I'm sure the coincidence is pure chance. Just a July garden at dawn, just a sultry haze of pollen and flowers, just dew.

A Night at the Opera.

"I'm on horseback, Eros is riding me—

We prance to our heart's content; I serve, in countless labors,

As a rider to the horse, as a horse to Eros;

I, poor beast, am familiar with all manner of evil."

Opera? Seriously? I'm no connoisseur, but I've never felt so smoky at an opera. Blue smoke billowing from the ceiling, the strong scent of lemon wormwood, wheel grease and leather, and a sourish glass at the end. This is definitely not a temple of art, but more like a cowboy saloon or a tractor-trailer cabin.

Amberlievable

"When Nature created the eyes

of beautiful Stella in the radiance of inspiration,

Why did she give them black?

Perhaps to emphasize the light with shadow?"

The aroma seemed vaguely familiar. I looked it up—Luca Maffei had made something similar for Laboratorio Olfattivo and a couple of other brands. It features fragrant gingerbread soaked in amaretto, balsamic, rich vanilla, and charred wood. At the center of the story is hot labdanum, with its amber tones and the poisonous scent of cherry pits.

The Iris Way

"Oh, Stella! My life, my light and my fire,

The only sun in the sky,

An unquenchable ray, an unquenchable ardor,

The sweet nectar of speech and glances!"

Yellow iris again, with its creamy and lemony aroma. Not a flower, but an airy cheese soufflé on thin shortcrust pastry, promising a thousand calories in a single bite.

8 days a week

"Amidst mysteries and amidst heights,

Prince Reason, only you

Have comprehended the charm of notes,

And the song of beauty.

Command them to silence

And crown them with glory!"

A typical scent for heartbreakers – colorful, bustling, and foppish. Juicy fresh greenery, apple cider, melons, and wood. A complete gentleman's set, plus a touch of office humor.

Paris Cheri

"Oh, sweet kiss, you are pure sweetness,

You sweeten more than sweets can sweeten.

You are a choir in which feelings sing in harmony,

Harnessing doves to the carriage of Venus."

A French patisserie near the Saint-Paul metro station, where a coffee machine hums, frothing milk, tiny éclairs glitter with colored glaze on the counter, and the smells of sweet syrups mingle with the noise of Rivoli, the smoke of IQOS, and La Vie es Belle, which is still omnipresent there. If not him, then his heirs and brothers.

Love is Lost

"Here I see many beautiful ladies, Weaving the lace of tender conversation,

But I won't let them see into their hearts,

Their consolation is the inevitable aftertaste of a healing lie, which always

Brings joy where there is misery."

Sifting through Astrophil & Stella samples, I kept waiting for when, oh when, would I stumble upon Evernil? No Italian brand can do without it these days. Although everything here is rich and orientally "rich" even without it. Rich black vanilla, rich black rose, rich black paste of spices and amber. Not perfume, but some kind of bakhoor. It should be incense, not sprayed.

Nabati

"Phoebus judged Cupid, Zeus, and Mars—

Who bears the most beautiful coat of arms?

The eagle on Zeus's golden shield—

He grasped Ganymede tenaciously."

Nsbati is reminiscent of a loose and characterless version of Bois Imperial Essential Parfums. Same patchouli, same tin, same wood, and watery greenery. Plus a sliver of dull fougère. Boring, but surely sells well.

Moonage Daydream

"One Muse is enough for me,

All feelings and words live within me,

Not a hoard of other people's treasures,

Having met Stella, I comprehended beauty, I copy, like a humble student,

What Nature herself created."

Dusty concrete, silky waist-high grass, spikelets and bindweed.

A modest glass with an internal light. Pleasant, yet quiet.

Into the Oud

"No, Stella's heart is a fortress of solid masonry,

There the mind has built moats and towers;

There is neither the means nor the strength to break her."

Strong, daring, and drunk, Into the Oud only looks toward the oud from a whole barrel of Evernil. Rum, chocolate, raisins, and creamy toffees, a garland of tropical flowers around the neck, the musty smoke of Iqos drifting away into the blackness of the southern night. It resembles many things, but I can't remember what exactly.

Madame M

"She heard my prayers more than once

And even sang them—so skillfully

That she brightened the darkness of sorrow in my heart."

Madame M is an airy lemon cake with candied fruit, zest, and vanilla. In other words, it's a panettone. Compared to Panettone Milano Fragranze or Bake Akro, Madame M has less lemon and spice, more vanilla, a sweet, airy pastry with condensed milk, and something that turns the dessert into perfume.