Sigilli - Claudiae

Claudiae is probably my favorite among the Sigilli fragrances. Sigilli´s fragrances are interesting and even thrilling to test, but some of them have been a little hard to relate to for me, mostly because the unfamiliar combination of notes. This makes Sigilli fragrances unlike anything else I´ve tried, which is of course, both good and bad. I´ve also noticed I like several of them better and better when I have got a little time to adjust to them. Sigilli´s perfumes are truly niche when it´s at it´s best, ground breaking, unique, but maybe not fitting everybodys taste.


Such a fragrance is Claudiae. Claudiae is an odd, but also comfy creation. The opening is filled with green, aromatic tomato leafs that soon gets company by a nutty, grainy and very aromtic note of poppy. the opening feels like a very beneficial , but also strange kind of herbal tea or herbal remedy of some kind. I´m usually quite found of medical elements in fragrances, so to me this makes Claudiae interesting and personal.


After about half an hour, Claudiae is chagning a little, rose makes it softer and sweeter, but at the same time a note of fennel shows up, with it´s herbal anise like scents, but also something that underscores the nuttyness from the poppy. This is a really well made and creative fragrance. It feels like a clebration for an ancient fertility or harvest goddess. Despite it´s "antique" character, I´m sure Claudiae would suit perfume lovers in any age looking for something truly unique.


The base is warm, creamy and dense. And with elements of patchouli and musk it gets deeper, darker and more sensual with time. The base feels, in different from the rest of the fragrances, quite modern and very easy to like and wear. During this phase Claudiae is more of a comfort scent and I can´t stop sniffing my wrist.


longvity is good and sillage is also good, even though i only have a little dab on sample. Claudiae has so much of personality and charm that I´m sure I´ll need more of it when my small sample is finnished.


As mentioned, Sigilli has more fragrances to offer, and besides the two I have wrote about here I feel I have to mention both Asprosa and Athunis. They are pretty much each others opposite, but I like them both. Asprosa is a wonderful soft and feminine floral with notes of citrus, rose and orange blossom. If you like L'Artisan´s La Chasse Aux Papillon, you probably love this one too, it´s that kind of creamy citrus floral and with good lasting power too. Athunis on the other hand is all about warm wood and strong smoke, with notes of cedar and vetiver it is a masculin fragrances, but also suitable for women liking really smoky scents, cause it might be the smokiest vetiver I ever smelled. An aboslute MUST try for all vetiver lovers!


for now, Sigilli is available at Aus Liebe Zum Duft, but Enrico Buccella is planning for a webpage soon.


Pic: poppies

Sigilli - Ferfaen

While mainstream perfume brands seem to be inspired only by youth, beauty, and nowadays fame also, some niche-and indie perfume brands seem to find inspiration in past times, with Hollywood glamour, smiling pin-up girls and the happy days of the 20'ies.


Still, it´s not that common to find fragrances inspired by an era more than 50 or even 100 years ago. But, Italian perfumer, Enrico Buccella have found inspiration from the etruscan culture. The etruscan people lived in what is known as Italy in our time, their culture and society flourished around 500 BC. A lot of information about the etruscna people has been lost, but it´s recognised that they where skilled artisans. Eventually the etruscan power diminished and they become assimilated in the Roman empire.


It´s an interesting challenge to test the different fragrances, Asprosa, Claudiae, Tyrsenoi, Ferfaen, Ea, Athunis, Pyrgos, Thu, Hesperia, Volumnia and Tuscia, but with that many new fragrances to evaluate it can be a little hard to overlock them all. They all have one thing in common, they manage to create a feeling of an long time gone culture in avery genuin and trustworthy way. i don´t like all of the fragrances in the line as much, some of them are even a little hard to pull off, but still they convince at least me, that this is how people some 3000 years ago liked to smell...


One of my favorites is Ferfaen, which means verbena in celtic, and yes, this is a scent with fresh verben in the middle, but also underscored by dark and aromatic notes of tobacco and musk. Ferfaen is complex and changes a lot on my skin, the opening is like a mix between herbal and aromatic citruses and some fresh mint. after about 20 minutes - half an hour the scent darkens, tobacco gives a deepth to Ferfaen, while verbena and mint is still noticable. Something in the meeting of verbena and tobacco gives a dry almost papery feeling, but at the same time something that also smells like rugged leather. I´ve never encountered anything like this in a fragrance.
It´s strange and different, yet Ferfaen is one of the most easier to wear among the Sigilli fragrances.


The base is warm, aromatic, sligthly sweet and with some animalic musk. It´s senual and even a little erotic, so I can see why verbena was used as an aphrodisia.


While testing Sigilli, I was reading a book about Pompeiji and the fragrances brought
another dimension to my reading experience.


Ferfaen has good lasting power (about 6 hours), and not that huge sillage, but I´ve tested it with a dab on sample though. To me, I can see Ferfaen being used by both men and women. And I do recommend you to put on any of the Sigilli scents if you´re about to watch any costume movie taking place under the Anticque era. Or of course if you read a book about that time. Sigilli will bring a little extra something to that experience...