From the Esxence 2025 stands
Cristiano Cavagna, Dusita, Frassai, Francesca Bianchi, Source Adage, Free Yourself, Coreterno, Eau de Boujees, Vallense, Blackcliff, Sarah Baker, Hiram Green, Borntostandout, Fugazzi, Double Dragon, Emil Elise, ELDO, Filippo Sorcinelli
Iva Mirisna
< 1 min.
23/02/2025
REGINA VERGINE by CRISTIANO CAVAGNA
If you like full-blooded tuberoses, Cristiano Cavagna line is a must.
Read the impressions here.
Regina Vergine (2025.) delivers an interesting contrast of green top and honeyed, waxy, warm and sweet drydown.
New DUSITA perfume – TONKA LATTE
The name does not say it all. Pissara Umavijani created a feeling of a peaceful, happy home—a cocoon of warm lactonic top notes and an invitingly sweet but not overly sugary blend of vanilla and Tonka, all infused with honey.
AJERDEZ (Ralf Schwieger, 2025.) BY FRASSAI
Natalia Outeda, the founder of Frassai, launched the slowly developing perfume that truly bridges time.
The perfume is inspired by and named after Jorge Luis Borges’s sonnet Ajerdez, which means “Chess.” You should smell it.
The perfume is inspired by and named after Jorge Luis Borges’s sonnet Ajerdez, which means “Chess.” You should smell it.
THE CODE OF EMOTION (2025) BY FRANCESCA BIANCHI
Francesca Bianchi’s team, covering two brands, is now bigger.
Consistently exploring the emotional aspects of life at the border of comfort zones, Francesca Bianchi presented the new perfume, Code of Emotion, which merged the traditional, safe, comforting fougere structure with tropical fruit notes.
Considering Francesca’s words about fougere being a comfort zone (for me, it is the same) and the popularity of tropical fruits presented on the Esxence 2025 stands, I think the comfort zone generally shifted towards fruits.
Emotions can’t be coded or at all—there might be as many codes as emotions. The general comfort zone and the general code of emotion result from a general overlap.
Francesca Bianchi did precisely that.
A fan like no other – look at this:
The FB brand, infused under the skin.
AKAULA BY SOURCE ADAGE
Smoky Aka’ula, initially launched in 2016 for the US market, has undergone an exciting enhancement:
Now compliant with EU regulations and set to complement the Italian line, the new Aka’ula (2025) offers a softer, more enveloping feel while maintaining its rich depth.
FREE YOURSELF COLLECTION
Jeff Miller and Todd Thurman of the USA brand from Bennington, Vermont, are what I commonly call nice guys.
They have a nice-smelling collection, too.
They presented four perfumes inspired by the original elements: Terre (Earth), Feu (fire), Eau (water), created by Xavier Blaziot, and Air by Maud Chabanis.
On day three, I returned to their stand to see which wrong-rubber word was the most pinned. 
HYPNORANGE (Luca Maffei, 2025.) BY CORETERNO
The long-standing cooperation between Luca Maffei and Coreterno resulted in Hypnoorange, a fruity-amber coquetting with a gourmand. Those who steer clear of the sharp citruses and love the Coreterno style may find the new release interesting.
EAU DE BOUJEE
Nick Gilbert and Pia Long of Olfiction keep building a fantastic collection.
They are my equivalents of the Turner and Bowie duet in the olfactive realm. When I smell any of Eau de Boujees perfume, they sing art and craft and reassure me that “everything will be alright” with perfumery.
I also smelled the two finished creations that will be launched later this year. The first is inspired by tea, and the second, with a memorable, playful name, is inspired by new, glossy magazines.
Again, everything will be alright, na na na na an …
VALLENSE collection:
SPIRIT, SUN and SOURCE
Vallense, a new UK brand, presented three perfumes created and produced in collaboration with Olfiction. Imagine the day’s flow from fresh morning Spirit, warm and bright Sun, to a darker evening-like Source.
The latest is an AOL Awards 2025 finalist, but my favourite is the first one.
I also liked William Borrell, the brand’s owner. The text is coming.
BLACKCLIFF COLLECTION
A lovely surprise from a very nice brand!
A lovely surprise from a very nice brand!
SARAH BAKER
Sarah Baker also launched a dark, mushroomy, patchouli-grounded Prism Head, created by Miguel Matos.
I liked her Peach trilogy collection – read the impressions here.
HIRAM GREEN
Hiram Green’s all-natural and handcrafted perfumes are worth smelling and revisiting.
Red. White.
No other introduction needed.
The brand keeps rocking hard, loud, heavy, and sweet:
36 perfumes in three years (2022 – 2025).
The beasts delivered belong to a short but impressive family tree whose branches are proudly generated by the children of Godzilla and Predator on one side, and Danery’s black dragon and King Kong on the other.
EXTRAIT EXTREME COLLECTION BY BORNTOSTANDOUT
Black Mango, Black Guava, Oud Candy, and Purple Stain.
A 60% concentration may sound both good and bad, but –who fuckin’ cares.
FUGAZZI
A vending machine and the fruit market presentation of the collection.
But it’s working, obviously…
Though the photos are self-explanatory, I wrote the comment, read it here:
The current moment stripped naked and turned to a show.
DOUBLE DRAGON
The Dupe show
– For this fair, we invented a game by copying all the most copied acords and mixing them into two total dupes. The game is called Dupe Show because on our stand, the Esxence visitors can vote on which dupe they like more, said the brand representative on the stand.
My comment is also in the article mentioned above.
NOSTOS by ETAT LIBRE D’ORANGE
Starting in 2020, I liked Nostos more than all other ELDO releases in the Orange Extraordinaire line. This is a rich yet soft oriental (despite the notes listed by the brand) that pays tribute to the scents of the East, surrounding a rose and a narrative tribute to Greek mythology. By now, we should have become accustomed to likeable ELDO 2.0 and all controversy removed.
EMIL ELISE COLLECTION
As evident from the design and the visuals, the young team behind the German brand Emil `Elise, founded in 2022, targets young, dynamic audiences.
The brand presented a collection of nine perfumes, two of which are new: Unfolding Echo and Twisted Sin.
The bestsellers are the gourmands and smoky-ambers, but I found citrusy-green Dancing on Goosebumps charming.
BREZZA LEGERA BY FILIPPO SORCINELLi (2025.)
Filippo Sorcinelli traditionally presented an attractively designed monochromatic and open-plan stand and already impressive collections.
The brand has introduced the revamped “Atmosphere d’Emotion” collection and new uniform bottles. In 2025, all 10 perfumes will be available in the extract version.
Three additions are Vento Forte, Brezza Legera, and Ruah. My favourite is Brezza Legera—it captures the essence of a fresh, salty breeze while offering a grounding, rooted feel.
Filippo used to surprise with up to two new creations a year.
Are old days gone?
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