POSITANO, BOTTLED
MARINA SERSALE CO-FOUNDER OF EAU D’ITALIE AND ALTAIA
I wear fragrance all the time because each one we launch goes through a testing period “on skin”, so to speak – specifically on our skin – before we make the final decision whether to launch it or not. So I’ve intimately experienced all our scents. My personal favourite is the Eau d’italie signature fragrance [a mix of bergamot, incense, magnolia and amber]. This is my first love and I’ve remained faithful to it ever since its launch in 2004.
I’ll never forget spring 2005. I was walking down a street in Rome (actually, I was going to present the fragrance and signature collection to someone who ended up being one of our best clients) and I was (obviously) wearing Eau d’italie. Suddenly I heard someone running up behind me, saying, “Excuse me! Excuse me!” in a sort of urgent tone. I turned around and there was a young woman who said, “Excuse me, you’re wearing the most lovely fragrance – would you mind telling me what it is?” I told her it was called Eau d’italie
and that I had created it with my husband, and to this day I remember how happy and proud I felt.
When you’re the creator of a scent, your relationship with fragrance is more complicated; it’s as if I see a bigger picture, while still enjoying the immediate, more direct form of pleasure that fragrance gives me. I see how it’s constructed; I truly appreciate the quality of the ingredients, which, believe me, make a huge difference in the final outcome. I have the luxury of experiencing it both as the public does and as someone who knows all the moments, all the stories, that are behind the creation of a particular fragrance. For me, it’s a richer experience.