Nasomatto and the Black Afgan

Joen Weidemann, Creative Director | 20 January 2010 | Beauty

Having created scents for Valentino, Versace and Helmut Lang perfumier Alessandro Gualtieri has launched his own perfume project; Nasomatto. The description of the Black Afgan scent "The fragrance aims to evoke the best quality of Hashish." can hardly be blamed for being commercial.

Read the Nasomatto manifesto and you are left in no doubt that you are in for a unique unconventional experience created by someone with a very personal take on scents.

I take advantage of what you always said about me
I take advantage of your sexual essence
I take advantage of drugs and food
I take advantage of my olfactive memory and trips
I take advantage of mistakes
I take advantage from the Z1
I take advantage of the best raw materials
I give advantage to people longing to distinguish themselves

About the process of creating a scent Alessandro says "I begin to make something but at a certain point, it starts making choices by itself. It is the process that interests and guides me. I like the feeling of loosing control and I’m not the one making the choices. My involvement is to create something that is alive and will be able to say new things. I want my perfumes to have an intelligence of their own, not just be slaves to my meaning."

The olfactory system that we use to sense and decode smells affects the brain differently than our other senses. The sensory input receives far less pre-processing by the brain and stimulates far more directly than any of our other senses. This direct coupling between our sense of smell and our emotions is key in the power of scents.

Alessandro takes this power to manipulate our emotions and uses it to his advantage tapping into the outer fringes of human emotions. Not content with scents that are merely pleasant as most perfumes in the market Alessandro deliberately aims for mental states like hysteria, irresponsibility and fragility. The product descriptions are a testament to this:

DURO aims to enhance all the manifestations of male strength.

NARCOTIC VENUS is the result of a quest for the overwhelming addictive intensity of female sexual power.

ABSINTH aims to evoke degrees of hysteria. It is the result of a quest to stimulate irresponsible behaviour.

SILVER MUSK aims to evoke superhero magnetism. It is the result of a quest for mercurian liquid love sensation.

HINDU GRASS aims to breathe the belief in universal peace and love. It is the result of a quest for the warm affection of humanity.

CHINA WHITE aims to reveal the treasure of a sentimental journey. It is the result of a quest to reveal the strength of fragility.

BLACK AFGANO The fragrance aims to evoke the best quality of Hashish. It is the result of a quest to arouse the effects of temporary bliss.