It’s kind of an odd one, the first perfume from the design house of Marni. Odd in that it was launched for spring and yet if you read the notes ad copy and description, you’d think it was a perfume designed for cool weather and sweaters. It’s chock full of spices and woodsy notes with a soupçon of rose – and that is it for the floral notes. What’s magical about it though, is how soft and gentle the spices are, while still managing to be somewhat rich and definitely interesting. Check out Geekigirl’s I Want I I Got – she took some cool photos of the perfume counter display, which I forgot to do. Marni has small glass domes/bells placed over pieces of felt scented with the “spicy” “woodsy” and the third was eithr “floral” or “incense”. The fourth is “the fragrance” & you are encouraged to lift the dome and gently sniff it to understand the breakdown of the perfume. It’s a neat idea, and an effective way to understand the perfume before spraying test strips. You can know immediately if you are even interested, and then you can try a test strip or even your skin. It’s kitschy and sort of plays into the BS about “notes” in perfume these days, but I like that they made the effort. This would be tiresome and frankly ridiculous for a line like say, Jo Malone or Creed, as there isn’t enough counter space in the world for the glass domes you’d need to break down those perfumes. But, for one interesting perfume, it’s neat.

Marni’s designer, Consuelo Castiglioni. likes masculine scents and doesn’t like flowers in her perfume. So Marni is not a girly floral at all. It has some fruity aspects but is mostly woods, spice and incense on a clean musk base. Patchouli plays prominently – but it’s delicate, and reminiscent of the patchouli (with incense) notes in Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely, Stella McCartney Stella, and all the Narciso Rodriguez scents. If those appeal to you at all, get on down to your perfume counter and try Marni – I bet you will love it. It is a wispy gauzy scent and plays very discreetly on the skin. I read an interview with Ms Castiglioni where she says because she doesn’t like “flowers” they chose a “black rose – which is a flower, but not to girly or sweet”. Ok. I will give her the benefit of the doubt and call this “ad copy” but I will say this is a perfect example of what is wrong with modern perfumery. Because black roses don’t exist and if they do, it’s just a dyed rose, which likely smells like a rose. And yet, she is saying it in interviews like it’s real. I call BS. ANYWAYS. Not to detract from the scent itself, which is lovely. It wears like a delicate skin scent, but has chops and a lovely progression on the skin. It’s one of those that makes you want to keep sniffing your wrist, and I can see this one lingering beautifully in scarves, which I love.

I was chatting with the lovely Deyline at the perfume counter at Saks in Boca Raton, and there is nothing nicer than meeting someone who is happy to tell you all about their wonderful new products and share their product knowledge. No sales push, just a fellow beauty lover dishing and sharing. Marni’s marketing is very clever, as the display gives the SA the opportunity to spend some time explaining the perfume beyond spritzing a card and telling you “the notes”.  I have a feeling my rose/patchouli loving daughter Emilie will love this, and thanks to Deyline I have a lovely sample to give Em to try.

Marni eau de parfum is available at select department stores at starts at around $75 for a 30ml bottle. This is fairly concentrated scent, so I’d say *a little goes a long way. 

*Please consider the rest of the world when you spray your perfume. Keep it in your own personal space.