Marescialla (1828)
by Santa Maria Novella

I am updating my review. This is because even though I found the scent beautiful from the get go, I think my former review should have given more credit.

This is a beautiful scent but it is much more than that. It is a complex scent possessing zest, sweetness, spiciness and earthiness all in one. It is a lovely light scent of nutmeg on a rich bed of zingy citrus infused crystal roses with winds of soft leather breezing past its magical fields. It is lovely! It is mysterious and otherworldly. Is it unisex? Yes. Marescialla is yin yang in a bottle. Definitely worth a try!

17th April, 2011. (Last Edited: 25th May, 2011.)

This is by far the most suitable perfume for me. Not sweet, but strong herbal notes that blend smoothly with the skin. The best comes when it mixes with one's body odor -- it shows its soft warmth and interestingly, becomes a bit sweeter.

I'll stock up on this.

8th February, 2011.

Marescialla is a fascinating blast of perfume history. Spicy and warm it truly lives on the body in the way some of the older perfumes do-- sometimes blending with our human odors, sometimes masking them, or running parallel to them.

Wearing Marescialla makes me think of the ancient ways we humans used to perfume ourselves: wearing coronets of herbs, keeping spices in personal pomanders, having sprigs of green pinned to our clothes or braided in our pockets.

The shot from the bottle is strong and medicinal-- making the link between Farmacie and Parfumarie perfectly clear. You may wonder if you've made a terrible mistake, but be brave and patient, after about half an hour the herbs and spices balance out and I'm rewarded with at least eight hours of gorgeous herbage.

There are no floral notes. There are no "Sugar" notes. There is no vanila. There is no modern smoothness to the composition. What you get is a thrilling whiff of olfactory history-- as exciting and romantic to some as it is off putting to others.

7th May, 2010.

The trick to this one is to let the thyme and herbs "to do thier job" in the opening.Yes, it's an abrasive "blitzkrieg" of thyme that makes it so masculine and probably unbearable to most noses-but that's the opening.And after 10 min or so the patchouly-horizon is in sight.Now,sometimes it is hard to bring two odour extremities in to one perfectly constructed "singularity" but here it's quite a friendly partnership between them two. It's like green on dark purple.And i get no sign of any artificial musk base or fixative-so the overall quality is pretty decent.

28th January, 2010.

One of my co-worker wears Marescialla (Italian for "Marshal's wife" or "female Police Officer") and I love it. Of course, some might consider it a little too strong for casual daily use but it is warm, sensuous and original nonetheless. It also has an unbeliavable staying power. Is it outdated? Probably so. Marescialla may be an acquired taste but it does make a statement.

22nd April, 2008.

Dear god. I can't believe this was intended as a women's scent, as Basenote's lists it. The SMN website for the NY distributor (Lafco) says this is unisex. It smells masculine to me. Good lord. Masculine in a bad, bad way. Apparently, Marescialla means Mace, as in the stuff that is inside the shell of nutmeg...and is used as a weapon. This is not far off. It is literally unbearable for about 30 minutes. It gets into your sinuses like wasabi, which makes sense considering what it is. It mellows out - a little - but not enough to warrant wearing. It's bitter, herbal, pungent, dry, as well as greasy - smells like something I've used in the garage, I just can't put my finger on what. Maybe GoJo, that greasy hand cleanser with the chemical smell. This smells like a chemical weapon. If a mob is after you, apply liberally; otherwise, avoid contact with skin.

16th September, 2006.