Nasomatto
Nasomatto was established in Amsterdam in 2008 by expert Italian perfumer, Alessandro Gualtieri. Meaning ‘crazy nose’ in Italian, Nasomatto is an experimental olfactory platform which carries 12 bold and complex fragrances, each an artistic personal expression of its creator.
Gualtieri was educated in the art of perfumery in Germany and built a successful career working with artists, niche brands and major designers, including Fendi, Versace, and Valentino. An avid traveller, Gualtieri favoured a composition style markedly different from the ways of the western world. While traveling to Oman, India, and Saudi Arabia, he observed a very different approach to fragrance making, learning and absorbing as much as possible about the countries’ ancient perfume-making techniques.
“I start making something, but at a certain point it starts making choices by itself. It is the process itself that interests and guides me. I like the feeling that I’m losing control and I’m not the only one making the choice.”
— Alessandro Gaultieri, founder and perfumer
Gualtieri’s anarchic creative process may have alienated him from more traditional brands, but it made Nasomatto a cult favourite. Nasomatto maintains a sense of mystery. Ingredients lists and compositions are kept secret. Instead, inspirations and ambiguous but evocative descriptions have become the trademark of the brand. The creative essence of each scent is communicated, whilst the actual notes are kept for the wearer to contemplate and get to know over time.
For example, Absinth’s ‘aim to evoke degrees of hysteria’ and ‘stimulate irresponsible behaviour’, Narcotic V’s representation of ‘the overwhelming addictive intensity of female sexual power”’. Black Afgano, ‘the result of a quest to arouse the effects of temporary bliss,’ is perhaps their most universally celebrated concoction—the first perfume to use hashish as a lead ingredient, it’s smoky and black with an almost leathery, resinous wear.
Undoubtedly a visionary in the field of art, Gualtieri avoids media attention and quietly designs scents so loud they create a powerful force field around their wearer and cannot go unnoticed. Nasomatto fragrances are produced by hand in small batches at the laboratory in Amsterdam, aiming to evoke the most profound feelings and desires with each new creation, idea, and visual representation.