Bell'Antonio (2008)
by Hilde Soliani Profumi

I guess I'll have to support the minority opinion that Bell'Antonio is not just for the fellas. I find it to be a beautiful unisex scent with outstanding longevity and a gorgeous drydown. At its heart, Bell'Antonio is a tobacco fragrance, but it avoids the rich, sweet route taken by Tobacco Vanille and Tabac Aurea (both of which I love).

What I find fascinating about Bell'Antonio is its ability to simultaneously capture the light natural sweetness of the tobacco leaf (think good quality pipe tobacco, not a Marlboro Red), and - in the opening minutes - the faint but surprising aroma of a burning, handrolled cigarette. Upon closer inspection, I find that the latter is actually an effect of the slightly bitter ground coffee note. The overall impression is far from dirty ashtray, but rather a dry, austere tobacco. It reminds me a good deal of Borneo 1834, slightly more roasted, and without the camphor note. In the later drydown, the coffee/burnt note recedes substantially on me, and the tobacco sweetens just slightly, as if touched by the faintest whispers of a skin-like musk.

I find this scent warm, enveloping, and comforting. While it's not heavy tobacco scent, it's one I definitely prefer it in the cooler months. If you're wary of trying this for fear of smelling like a dive bar ashtray, I'll add that I've been given compliments on this scent by several friends who are vehement non-smokers. It evokes happy memories of my dad, a pipe smoker for many years, whose hands always smelled faintly of his sweet, custom blend from his favorite tobacconist. I'll also mention that it layers nicely with Un Bois Vanille and Organza Indecence for those days when when you want more sweetness and oomph, but most of the time, I love and wear it just as it is.

12nd October, 2011.

Interesting. BELL'ANTONIO seems obviously masculine to me and offers a scent not unlike that which I imagine would be produced by a bit of pipe tobacco mingling with lint in the pocket of an old abandoned cardigan sweater. Like I said: interesting.

I would not want to wear this composition myself, but it might have real appeal for the guys out there who love a wide range of tobacco fragrances. This one is slightly dirty in a dusty (linty!) way.

25th September, 2011.

A charming pipe tobacco and coffee fragrance this is not really for the ladies. It is Bell Antonio not Bella Antonia. A slightly strange but warm and charming fragrance of somewhat limited utility and oddball appeal. Nice fragrance but pricey, might work for a book signing or maybe a day at the museum.

16th October, 2010.

Bell'Antonio is a very mild whiff of grass, unlit cigarettes, and coffee. Kind of pleasant and easy-going, but not as unusual or mind-blowing as I'd expect for the price tag, and definitely not suitable for me. Very subtle and masculine. If this fragrance had a face, it would be handsome, but in a plain way that takes a while to notice. This is a fragrance for the kind of man who exudes peaceful authority without ever raising his voice. It's the Kevin Costner of niche fragrance.

12nd March, 2010.

Hilde Soliani Bell'Antonio

Back in the 70's when I would go out dancing the clubs would close at 4AM in S. Florida. Of course we wouldn't be ready to go home and there was an all-night diner named Lester's not too far from the clubs in Ft. Lauderdale. We would come strolling in and I would always love the smell of Lester's at that time of the morning. I would walk in and smell the multitude of coffee pots on their hot plates and, in those days before non-smoking sections existed, the smell of cigarettes being lit. This was what pre-dawn smelled like in the 70's. In 2008 the artisan perfumer Hilde Solianai created Bell'Antonio for her "Teatro Olfattivo di Parma" line. Bell'Antonio was meant to evoke the smell of her father Antonio and his mix of coffee and cigarettes. One of the great things about the plethora of artisanal perfumers out there like Sig.ra. Soliani is that she can make simple scents focusing on a couple of notes like coffee and cigarettes and do it magnificently because her only focus group is her own nose. The top of Bell'Antonio is the promised tobacco but it is the unsmoked tobacco. The leafy slightly sweet version of tobacco, then the tobacco turns into the smell of a cigarette after being lit as there is a smoke accord that carries into the base of brewed coffee. The coffee accord in the base is that of a pot that has been left on the hot plate just a little too long as it smells a tiny bit charred but still rich. The coffee accord also carries a little more acidity to it than other richer ones in scents like A*Men Pure Coffee or Jo Malone Black Vetyver Cafe. This coffee accord is the smell of a cup of coffee at 4:30 in the morning. Sig.ra. Soliani has created a close wearing realistic piece of perfumery which can transport one to an Italian Coffee Shop or as it does in my mind to 4:30 AM at Lester's somewhere in the 70's.

22nd August, 2009.

A very simple scent, though its simplicity is its strength rather than a weakness. No fruits or florals or powders, just tobacco smoke and a dark roasted, almost charred, coffee note.

I'm not sure why it's classified as a feminine fragrance here on Base Notes -- it's unisex at best, and would likely be considered too-masculine by a lot of women. I've heard people describe it as smelling like their grandfathers, and I have to admit that it does remind me quite a bit of how my own grandfather smelled -- smoke, ash and burnt coffee.

Despite trending somewhat dark, it's not heavy and/or overdone, and won't overpower a room when you walk in.

8th March, 2009.