Michele Marin. An artist. An aesthete. A creator of fragrances. Twice finalist at The Art and Olfaction Awards, with Animal Café (Extra Virgo, 2022) and Else (Francesca Dell’Oro, 2023). An Italian “nose” (he was born in San Bonifacio, Verona, but has been living in Florence for 18 years now) that the whole world envies us and who, after collaborating with many brands, is now ready to introduce the whole world to his own.

You started your own brand Michele Marin Essenza. Why this necessity?

The need comes from passion and the desire to give through my creations an inner, direct and deep look at the raw materials I love most.

When does your love for the world of perfumes date back to?

From adolescence and they have never left me since. Then the discovery of niche perfumes in the mid-1990s through a girl named Stefania who worked for Olfattorio on Via di Ripetta in Rome, opened wide my heart and the passion I began to cultivate. Stefania is now an important friend in my life.

If I asked you to describe the word “nose” with an adjective, which one would immediately come to mind and why?

The nose is a maneuverer. The sense we first use as soon as we open our eyes, even unconsciously, wake up and smell the scent of coffee in the air. The nose of always drives. It is said to have a nose, to sniff. I believe that through the nose our most authentic choices happen. The stages of seduction and the encounter with the skin of the person we love, and then we don’t forget the nose that turns on when we enter the environments we live in, spiritual places, museums.

But are noses born or become?

One is born and one becomes. One studies and learns. Genius is not for me. Olfactory craftsmanship is.

What do you start from to create a perfume?

A song, a film, a raw material that I wish to explore and be fascinated and surprised by in composition. Really an alchemical transition between synthetic molecules and essential oils.

What does “niche perfume” mean?

A perfume that speaks about you, that is yours because it moves you. Not because of its cost, not because of the brand, but because of its original vibe that a perfume must have when you wear it, it represents you intimately and that’s a lot. It speaks about you to yourself and to others.

Is there a special feature, a common thread, that ties all your essences together?

In this collection of five Michele Marin Essence extracts, there is no real common thread.

But there are scents of different intensity that I hope will reach those who will wear these essences. And for that I thank them.

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book and thought about what scent that character might wear?

In another life having worked in opera with masters such as Franco Zeffirelli and Marco Bellocchio, the idea of associating a perfume with a heroine or literary character was very common. Among my creations for other brands I can mention Tadzio (Death in Venice) for Homoelegans and recently Else for Francesca dell’Oro inspired by the novella “Miss Else” by A. Schnitzler. And so for “A Postmodern Weekend” by Soul Couture Parfum inspired by Pier Vittorio Tondelli’s essay. In short, a lot of fun.

I really like this image of yours “an olfactory polaroid” to indicate a fragrance that blocks in the mind a moment of our life

Thank you. Yes it speaks precisely of this instant in which the fragrance freezes and defines an unrepeatable and precious moment of your life and there it remains. That is what perfume is. That’s why in my opinion the choice of a perfume is really very important. But not difficult to accomplish. Frame, breathe and snap.

You named your perfumes for the person and candles for the environment, with the letter “E” for Essence, I think, followed by a number. Can you explain the meaning?

The E really means Essence but also Emotion and then Elegance in English you can also say Embrace and so that too. Some numbers are significant to my life while others are prime numbers that represent our uniqueness, irreducibility. And Our Primality.

Have you ever thought, “I would have liked to create that scent myself”?

Obviously yes. Among the classics “Jardin de Bagatelle” by Guerlain, my childhood olfactory polaroid, then “Pour un homme de Caron.” Among the creations of the first niche I would say “L’autre ”by Diptyque old formulation. And then many others.

Is there a component you can’t stand and therefore would never use in your creations?

Every synthetic or natural raw material has its own very unique potential. I don’t have any raw materials that I can’t stand. The secret is to find the unrepeatable and unique accord through the formula. And everything is transformed from there.

You will be present at Pitti Fragranze, which opens tomorrow at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence.

I will be present in the Spring section. It is really an honor for me to be there for the official launch of my collection. I owe a lot to this magnificent city. “Florentine Gardenia” is my olfactory polaroid for her.

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