Hay
by Santa Maria Novella

The Demeter version of hay made me sick to my stomach – this one is so much better. But I do have a difficult time calling this Santa Maria Novella version “hay.” It doesn’t really smell like the hay that I’m familiar with. If I use the Italian “Fieno,” I can ease my conscience in respect to truth in labeling. The beautiful, rustic opening is quite catching – it is very rose dominated to my nose. The accord is rose and fieno …something dryly vegetal, neutral, and unaffected. For three or four minutes I could believe that that background note is hay, if I force my imagination. It’s actually a beautiful background note but it doesn’t stay long because the accord quickly develops a full floral background – rose and myrtle, says the pyramid, I say rose. I love it. I love its simple and rustic rose note, and I can easily see myself wearing it. The drydown is soft – a bit herbal, sweet, and powdery: too powdery for my tastes, but in a pastoral fragrance like this, it is forgivable. I appreciate Fieno because of its charm and simplicity. There’s that rural pleasantness about it. That note that is supposed to be hay is very nice. The fragrance seems to have an acceptable longevity. This one is a definite purchase.

Hay wasn’t quite was I was expecting. I was expecting a dry and hot fragrance like golden hay in summer, but instead, this was green, a little harsh, and very powdery. Not my cup of tea at all.

A surprise that caught me unaware. I'd invisioned a deplorable stink, a wet steaming barnyard to be precise, oh boy. Quite the contrary, SMN does it again with ingenuity and skill. Hay (aka Fieno), to me, is honeylike with mild spices, very nice.