Marescialla, which translates as ‘wife of a Field Marshall’ was first produced in 1828 by Italian fragrance house Santa Maria Novella and remains one of the most popular fragrances in their catalogue, which is remarkable because it isn’t a romantic scent or a classic scent but a unique, evocative and enticing fragrance.

It opens, with a burst of citrus: nose-tingling bergamot and waxy lemon backed with a blast of earthy, spicy mace. It’s a pungent wake-up call. The citruses and mace soon settle on a note of cedarwood that’s piney, woody and austere. There’s a moment after the mace recedes, where I smell lemon-polished wood – not fresh wood, but antique wood. It puts me in mind of the polished pews in an old Gothic church, and it makes me smile to myself every time I experience it. There’s a note of Rosa centifolia, that floral, rosy and honey-faceted rose from Grasse. It mellows out next to the cedarwood creating a lovely floral, slightly sweet camphorous accord. The woodiness is extended to the base with rich, creamy sandalwood, bitter, inky oakmoss and earthy woody patchouli. The woods are softened and warmed by musk.

I think there must be some magic in Marescialla, as it transforms from a dark spicy start into a smooth, sexy, earthy drydown that casts its spell for hours and hours.

Notes: citrus, mace, cedar wood, Rosa centifolia, patchouli, oak moss, sandalwood and musk.