Eau de Parfum Renaissance. Nacreous palazzos. A dormeuse against an egg-shell blue wall… pearls, gold, marble. A setting for pale sun-shy skin. Silks fluttered by sea-tinted breezes. Jasmine flowers crushed beneath slumbering bodies in a gilded bed, decorated with scallops and abalone pearls. A Murano chandelier catches the shifting light, flickering light around the room. Viva Maria conjures all of this to the soundtrack of Madonna’s Like A Virgin as she shimmers at the peak of her beauty in lace on a gondola and trails wedding whites through chiaroscuro rooms. The fantasy and ache of Viva Maria is beautifully realised, focussed on the indolic thrill of jasmine, that combination of white solar gloss and animalic allure. The perfume explores the dichotomy of Madonna/whore, goddess mother, the two Mary’s in the story of Christ. This is something Madonna Ciccone has been exploring her entire visual and musical career. The jasmine is the centrepiece but around it are fascinating elements that wrap and play with the evolution of the flower’s sensuality. A squeeze of bergamot in the top notes served to sharpen any potential over-sweetness and Amelia has used Fichi D’India, or prickly pear as it more commonly known, to introduce a delicious moist note with watermelon and pear facets. It is an unusual and uplifting note that is exalted superbly by a wash of crushed seashells and ambergris, both elemental oceanic notes. More often than not, the seashell note has a pungent seared personality but here it is softly nostalgic and a perfect counterpoint to the pearlescent floral mood. Viva Maria is vivacious, intelligent perfumery that uses materials to conjure a distinctive mood of slumbering grace and the fires within. Please note: Bottles of Viva Maria no longer include the dangling charm. Composition Bergamot, Fichi D'India Jasmine, Crushed Seashells Ambergris Perfumer: Amelia Rose, 2024 inci list: Alcohol Denat., Parfum, Tetramethyl acetyloctahydronaphthalenes, Amyl Salicylate, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Peel Oil, Hexamethylindanopyran, Benzyl salicylate, alpha isomethylionone, Jasmine Oil/Extract, Limonene, Linalyl Acetate, Linalool, Pinene, Santalol, Benzyl benzoate, Benzyl alcohol, Eugenol, Isoeugenol
