Mona di Orio Carnation: fragrance homage of a discontinued gem

"Gigi you're not at all that funny awkward little girl I knew. Over night there's been a breathless change in you. When did your sparkle turn to fire and your warmth become desire, oh, what miracle has made you the way you are?" 

  CARNATION by Mona di Orio was created by the late perfumer as homage to the French writer's heritage – "I created Carnation as a tribute to Colette, my favorite writer. Carnation tells a story of wet skin from the sun, of perturbing intimacy, of a boudoir with sensual chypre fragrances. The nectars of flowers stand out, highlighted by leather, evoking a masculine facet of disconcerting seduction." 

                                Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Portrait of Countess Varvara Musina-Pushkina

 The fragrance by Mona di Orio is neither cantered on carnation the flower, nor the sentimental notions of femininity as a created vision of a creature to be cherished in apostasy. Carnation by Mona di Orio is a living and breathing thing, a woman whose carnation, her texture, her very skin is glowing with the desire that warmth and life has instilled in her, made her the way that she is. Mature, inquisitive, all aglow. 

 Mona di Orio dashed past us, with deliciously beautiful fragrances and disappeared into the boundless darkness of the unknown due to a surgery gone wrong. As much in love with scent as her favorite writer, the pupil of the great Edmond Roudnitska, she created her own brand Mona di Orio Parfums in 2004. Carnation by Mona di Orio is a Amber Floral fragrance for women and men, launched in 2006. The house, managed by her partners, has now been finally closed. 

The nose behind Carnation is Mona di Orio. Top notes are Bourbon Geranium and Bergamot; middle notes are Ylang-Ylang, Jasmine, Violet and Precious Woods; base notes are Styrax, Amber and Musk.

Mona di Orio: 1969-2011

I can't describe the feeling I got upon hearing the perfumer Mona di Orio has just died. Totally unexpected! Her untimely passing at the young age of 42 came about during or after surgery, according to reportage.
My deepest condolences to her family and friends and deep sympathies to all perfumistadom mourning for such a young loss.
The best way she can go on living is on our skin, by wearing her perfumes; like my beloved Mona di Orio Carnation, her Nuit Noire, her Nombres d'Or Musc.

Born in 1969 in Annecy, France, of an Italian father and a Spanish mother, Mona was famously a protégée of legendary perfumer Edmond Roudnitska. She went on from there to form her own brand in 2004, Mona di Orio parfums.

The official Facebook page and her partner Jeroen Oude Sogtoen state: "Today, completely unexpected and leaving us in great sorrow, our great inspirer, friend, colleague and name giver to her great loves, her beautifull parfum creations, MONA DI ORIO has passed away.
We are shocked and deeply saddened and speechless but will still help realize her dreams.
Team Mona di Orio Parfums"

Read older interviews with Mona di Orio on Osmoz and at The Perfume Magazine.

Mona di Orio Discontinuations: Waving Good bye

I don't know if writing has the power to change the world, but it might have the power to halt certain small enterprises from pushing product to interested members: Mona di Orio has been steadily producing fragrances that are really unusual and -many of them- beautiful, but after a long deliberation she has decided to stop her original line in favour of focusing on her new one, Les Nombres d'Or (Cuir, Ambre, Musc and recently Vetyver, Vanille and Tubereuse) . Therefore, if you have been a fan of Jabu, Chamarre, Nuit Noire, Amyitis, Lux, Oiro, or Carnation, you should hang on to your bottles. (My friend Gaia has posted reviews of almost the entire house, if you don't know anything about it)

The news come from the official Mona di Orio Facebook page and are uncontestable:

 "To be able to broaden the Les Nombres d’Or line in the future, to provide a service excellence and having the adequate stock levels we have decided, for the time being, to discontinue the Grey Collection and focus on the Les Nombres d’Or line. We hope and trust you will understand and respect our decision. We know we have to disappoint some of our loyal followers and believers since day one, but we are convinced that the new Mona di Orio fragrances will give you pleasure, passion and surprises. High Quality materials and a unique approach of classics in the perfumerie. We have stock of some references (not all) available for ordering, please check at your local retailer or at info@monadiorio.com for final deliveries."

Mona di Orio "Les Nombres d'Or" ~Ambre, Musc & Cuir: new fragrances

Mona di Orio, the author behind an eclectic and quirky collection of individual scents, among which the stellar, intimate Carnation, is launching a new trio of fragrances centered on three emblematic notes: amber, musk and leather. Mona di Orio was inspired by a mathematical concept, the Golden Rule, for her new creations, saying following the rules of proportion was result in a harmonious melody and naming the collection Les Nombres d'Or (Golden Numbers). The notes for the new Les Nombres d' Or Ambre, Musc and Cuir are as follows:



AMBRE – Les Nombres d’Or: Atlas cedar, Comores Ylang ylang concrete, benzoin, Tolu balsam, Madagascar vanilla absolute.
MUSC – Les Nombres d’Or: Neroli, angelica, rose, heliotrope, Tonka bean absolute, musk.
CUIR – Les Nombres d’Or: Cardamom, artemisia, leather, cade oil, opoponax, castoreum.

notes & pic via extrait.it

Mona di Orio Carnation: fragrance review

The Mona di Orio line is something like the Meet the Parents' (the Fockers that is) "inner circle of trust": You have to really give your whole before you get past the distrurbing opening to see what lies beneath. What you do past that point is up to you, but the journey there is full of apocalyptic awe and a few surprises.

Ravaged ~on an almost personal level~ by Turania, who apparently paid so little attention that they even misunderstood the very name (Carnation being the one which "blooms not in a flower bed but on a woman's cheeck"), one would have thought that the perfume's and the perfumer's fate seemed sealed to belong to the 9th circle of Dante's Inferno. Perhaps this is an eminent case of the adage "there's no such thing as bad publicity" and "say whatever you want about me as long as you spell my name right" because Mona di Orio not only sufaced victorious ~after a distribution problem~ and is referenced in a gazillion of publications, but she is also producing new perfumes and has participated to great aplomb in the recent Firenze Fragranza No.7 exhibition (Another independent perfumer, Andy Tauer was very appreciative and vocal about it, which is so graceful and so him).

Part of the initial triptych including Lux and Nuit Noire from 2006, Carnation is meant to evoke a tender embrace after a day spent in the sun and although it's a very individual scent and one that probably gets some getting used to (and no doubt some of you won't get used to it no matter what), I find myself most fascinated by its almost leathery impression, despite the description of it being a floriental. It is a par excellence musky fragrance on far drydown, both "dirty" and delicate, more than a little carnal, with mildly spicy accents on a bed of cream (provided by the floral notes). Mona dedicated it to Colette, a woman very attuned to cosmetic and fragrant preparations as well as the sensual world (Her Flower and Fruits book is a good companion).
Carnation's beauty lies in its "flaws": The initial spicy accent (resulting from the giroflée, the plant that produces cloves) is just a tad medicinal, which combined with the woodier elements and the kid's-glue-like complimentary styrax produces an arresting impression of a dentist's office nurse with the wickedly smiling face of Béatrice Dalle, her gap between front teeth an ironic exclamation mark on the artistry of said doctor.
The lasting power is very good, sillage is pleasantly there but non intruding and it should fit both sexes and most seasons (hold August).


Although Mona sat with Edmond Roudnitska, it is true that her style does not necessarily reflect the same aesthetic choices or sparseness of style. She even proclaims herself that the siren of Serge Lutens lured her into a different path of orientalia that diverted from the classic French mold, on which Roudnitska has put his final seal. Her Italian/Spanish heritage might have something to do with it. People who have met her in the flesh comment on her sparkling personality and struggling English, so it might not be so easy to translate her Damascene metamorphosis. To my mind, her imaginative Lux and of course Carnation present opposing impressions of the same coin: luminosity and crepuscular shadows, one after the other in quick succession and prove that a little exploring of her creations is highly recommended to all.

Notes for Mona di Orio Carnation:
Top: Bergamot, girofle, geranium Bourbon
Heart: ylang-ylang, violet, jasmine, precious woods
Base: musk, amber, styrax


Carnation is presented in the trademark cork-top faceted flacon of Mona di Orio's line in Eau de Parfum and is available for purchase in the US at Spafumerie: 2nd Ave. and 48th st, NYC. Tel: 212 644-9525 Email: thespa@spafumerie2.com Fax: 212 644-9529
In Europe Les Senteurs in London carries the fragrance ~as of this minute~ both in store and online, as does Aus Liebe Zum Duft.

Pics of autographed Mona di Orio Carnation bottle ©by Elena Vosnaki
Beatrice Dalle pic via nathalie-agency.blogspot.com

Jabu by Mona di Orio: new fragrance

Mona di Orio despite rumours to the contrary is alive and kicking and issuing new fragrances. The latest is called Jabu, which means joy, and is inspired by Africa and the Orange Babies Dutch charity (for babies and mothers with HIV).
The new fragrance will include notes of: Brasilian orange flower, South African petit grain and sweet pea, rose damascena, ylang ylang, Amyris sandalwood, Siamese benzoin, plum and myrrh (according to Basenotes & official press).