Launched in 2008 by Eau D`Italie, the Italian indie perfume line that explores the landscapes and history of Italian regions and cities and Baume du Doge is the olfactory expression of Venice’s powerful maritime past, when merchants brought spices, silks and incense from the far east to the hustling port to trade.

Baume du Doge opens with a sweet, luscious orange note warmed by spicy cinnamon and woody, camphouous cardamom. Wild fennel is softly spicy and links to the cinnamon and cardamom, bringing an herbal anisic freshness to the top notes. The notes mingle and blend and smell like an herbal tea – light and comforting. As it blooms, a rich, resinous, smoky note of frankincense comes up through the top notes, warmed by peppery saffron and checked by bitter myrrh. Spicy, peppery clove mirrors the frankincense with its smokiness. At the base, woody, earthy, balsamic vetiver root comes into play along with sweet, warm benzoin and the combination is perfectly proportioned. Vanilla is rich, creamy and caramel-like. It softens the spices and mellows out any sharpness so that Baume du Doge smells dry, woody and camphourous – to my nose, it smells like the wooden boxes they used for shipping spices and herbs from the far East, and I am taken aback by its beauty every time I get a whiff of it.

Despite all the heavy hitters in the list of notes for Baume du Doge, the drydown is opulent, rich and surprisingly light.  

Spices, resins, roots, and herbs from the Middle East, so foreign, so exotic, so fragrant, filled the air in medieval Venice. This is what Baume du Doge smells like.

Notes: Orange, cinnamon, cardamom, wild fennel, frankincense, saffron, myrrh, clove, vetiver, benzoin vanilla.