Lorenzo Villoresi Aura Maris Mare Nostrum
Last friday I had the pleasure to meet the Italian perfumer Lorenzo Villoresi at the Perfume Lounge in Amsterdam. His line never appealed to me but I wanted to meet him nonetheless. I am glad I did. Lorenzo Villoresi told us about his latest eau de toilette Aura Maris and let us smell some of its pure ingredients.
Meeting Lorenzo Villoresi made me realize how serious he is about his perfumes and how much work and effort his perfumes have taken him to create. While telling us about exploring the Middle East for good quality raw materials he took us back a moment into ancient times of spice trade. One could almost imagine camel caravans travelling through Middle Eastern deserts transporting golden spices.
Aura Maris is the first perfume from the Mare Nostrum Collection and means sea breeze. Mare Nostrum is latin for our sea, the Mediterranean Sea. Although a perfume inspired by the sea fortunately, it is not an aquatic scent. The top citrus notes made with mandarin, lemon and bergamot are exquisite. This is a reason on its own to buy this eau de toilette, which I did. The citrus notes are very uplifting and are favorite notes of Lorenzo Villoresi. In the heart notes hedione and narcissus are used which we scented as ingredients as well.
The Mare Nostrum Collection is a tribute to the Mediterranean Sea with its rich cultural, historical, mythological history. What does Aura Maris capture ? Lorenzo Villoresi told us Aura Maris captures a light breeze and the scents the sea breeze brings from the trees next to the sea, wood and some herbs. The image I get is from a bright sun shining on the Mediterranean Sea. It reminded me personally of the Mediterranean in Southern Spain during summer holidays.
Aura Maris suggests an eau de cologne due to the citrus notes but it stays longer on the skin. It is not a very original scent but captivating due to the sparkling citrus notes. Longevity is not very long so you have to reappply during the day. 
It is an excellent perfume to invite spring into our lives for those of us who do not live near the Mediterranean Sea and are still having a very cold winter.
March 2013