Ah, tuberose! One either loves or hates the scent of those white flowers. They don’t look half as flashy as they smell. And they definitely do not have the colour of their scent, which is a bright pink, as in the picture. There are no tuberoses in the picture, but there are pink helichrysum – they look like tuberose smells. I trust it becomes already clear through that complicated into, that the scent of tuberose is not an easy one to fathom.
Tuberose got a certain name in the 1980s, when heavy perfumes ruled. Dior’s original “Poison” and “Pure Poison” come from that era, as does “Giorgio” by Giorgio Beverly Hills. Yves St. Laurent’s “Opium” is even a few years older, yet in the 1970s tuberose was not en vogue, this scent is oud- and spice-heavy.
“Poison” and “Giorgio” however do contain an undisclosed amount of tuberose – enough to make some people cringe. It’s easy to overdose on tuberose. But on the other hand, the scent contains summer. Sunshine. Warmth. Power. Can you have enough of it?
After the 1980s, it seems tuberose was less sought after and only now, during the last few years, more and more tuberose scents come on the radar again. The perfume universe exploded in the years between, the variety of available perfumes became huge. The ascent of the internet and online shops made everything everywhere available. Are you one of those readers who does remember the time when you could not buy an American book in Europe? Not to mention a perfume? Today you can get any brand delivered anywhere (at least at a cost). Very few are still difficult to get. We became lazy hunters.
But back to the tuberose. Most of the newer scents tend to be softer. They are carefully blended with wood and softer notes in such a way that they neither dominate their wearer nor offend sensitive noses close by. There are wonderful new perfumes that make tuberose shine.
For this post, though, I decided on a classic and strong perfume in the old tradition, first produced in the year 1998. “Tuberosa” by Profumum Roma has only three ingredients: jasmine, tuberose and gardenia. It is warm, loud and has the olfactive strength of a field of flowers in full bloom in the noon sun. The scent does not change much, almost none of the Profumum Roma scents does. You get exactly what you bought. Till now, the brand did never disappoint my nose. “Tuberosa”, for example, is like a blueprint of a strongly feminine tuberose scent.
What else can I say? “Tuberosa” is a flower overdose of classic tuberose and gardenia. Tuberose and gardenia rule, heavy and sweet, the jasmine stays in the background. Luckily the sweetness of the perfume is not of the decaying kind. Mixed in a certain way, the sweetness of tuberose can get a morbid touch that appeals to some people. It is the scent of flowers dying. It somehow reminds me of pictures/movies of voodoo ceremonies in a graveyard. A bit too much. In the Profumum Roma scent the tuberose stays very much alive and on the flowery-light side of things.
Profumum Roma was founded in 1996 by the 4 siblings of the Durante family, originally from Sant’Elena Sannita in the south of Italy in the Apennin region. Their parents left for Rome in the 1950s and had success there with their line of luxurious body care products. Their children, frustrated by the quality of fragrance and body care products of the end 1980s and early 1990s, decided to go forward with their own brand. Profumum Roma is still owned by the family. By now it is an established, expensive niche perfume brand, only sold by the best stores here in Europe and overseas. 34 perfumes have been developed over the years and more are to follow. The creative flow of the family is unbroken.
Small Sant’Elena Sannita with its 250 inhabitants is now the home of the “Museo del Profumo”. The collection of perfumes and books and olfactive artefacts boasts over 1000 pieces and a small botanical garden. It is nowhere mentioned on the museum’s homepage, but for sure the Durante family is part of the foundation that created the museum. It is one of those places that you only find when you know where it is, like Captain Jack Sparrow’s Isla de Muerta. If I ever come to this remote region, I will visit the museum for sure. What a nice touch to base the museum there, in full knowledge that it will be difficult to ever make money or at least come to a break even through ticket sales. It is where the family came from and where the roots lie. To honour one’s roots is as strong a statement as clear scent notes in perfumes.
Profumum Roma usually uses only a few, distinctive scent notes, as explained above, but sometimes with incredible results. Never loose your way, never stray, better stay true to your values, the brand seems to say.
With “Tuberosa”, one of their first perfumes, they have implemented this concept brilliantly.