Ambient fragrances are conquering more and more consumers, especially in times of pandemic, forced to stay a long time at home, people are looking for a fragrant and relaxing environment. In the world, the home fragrance market is growing at a rapid pace, sales in the US last year increased by 13% according to NPD Group data, the segments that fared better were candles (+ 8%), diffusers ( + 5%) and home fragrances (+ 4%).
«The American data are comparable to the Italian ones, we are lovers of beauty, we have many raw materials to create refined fragrances – says Alessandro Agrati, eclectic designer who in 1988 introduced olfactory furniture in Italy and founder of Culti Milano -. I still remember the perplexity of my friends in front of the first room fragrances, they could not understand their usefulness. The idea of linking perfume to design was a creative path that took some time, the brand I founded I called CULTI, the abbreviation for culture, or culture of the environment that was missing at that time. In France and the USA many bouquets were used that mixed various perfumes, I wanted a different perfume with few ingredients, two at most, and above all that it was spread by wicker sticks. The idea came to me while I was working as an architect in the Brianza laboratories, I realized that the wicker held and released odors like a sponge, it was enough to make the pores more open to increase the diffusion of the perfume ». From this intuition Culti Milano was born and it was immediately a success. Today Agrati is the creative soul, the Culti Group which in addition to the Culti Milano brand also includes Bakel and Scent Company, since 2017 it has been listed on the AIM market of the Italian Stock Exchange and is specialized in the production and distribution of home and personal fragrances. care.
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Each fragrance has its own story
The environment in which we live, in addition to being beautiful in our eyes, must also “know” good because it tells our inner kingdom. The perfume has a very strong evocative force, from the nose it immediately passes to memory. Each of us has an olfactory memory, there are notes that are part of our personal baggage, capable of arousing emotions and memories. «I don’t like to suggest a perfume for every environment, the person has to choose the perfume he prefers – continues Agrati -. The fragrance must be able to harmonize with the environment, but first of all with the person, it must be delicate, subdued, non-invasive, it must not overload the place. Our fragrances, which require years of study, can be combined with each other to give rise to a new olfactory combination, so that each person can have the home with his olfactory signature. My advice is to choose the ingredients of the season, fresher and sparkling fragrances, with citrus notes, for the warm seasons; of the most enveloping fragrances, with woody and oriental notes, for autumn-winter. Furthermore, it is not necessary to use only the diffusers, but to spray the fragrance on specific targets, such as: cushions, rugs, books, jars, curtains and many other objects. And for the environments? In general, for the kitchen it is always better to opt for fresh and citrus fragrances, the woods and resins are reserved for the bathroom, while in the living area and in the bedroom relaxing essences based on flowers should predominate, but I repeat the choice it’s very personal. “
The olfactory novelties for the home
The choice among home fragrances is really wide, also given the growth in demand. Culti Milano has just launched “Gratia”, a perfumer dedicated to roses, a tribute to Spring for an intimate and sweet moment. For those who want a limited edition, “Van Gogh Irises”, dedicated to one of the most important paintings of Van Gogh’s artistic maturity, born from the collaboration between Culti Milano and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
The Acqua dell’Elba company creates scents inspired by the beauty of the sea, which give a feeling of well-being. An adventure started in 2000, on a sailboat, by three young entrepreneurs, who managed to transport all the essence of the sea into a building: seaweed, cistus, jasmine, helichrysum, woods, all the vegetation and fruits present on the ‘island. The new essence of Wally 1925, the Cedrato of Florence, has an ancient and modern history, that of the cedar. Introduced in the citrus fruit collection of the Medici Gardens, it comes from the Pietrasanta countryside and is the most fragrant and sweet of all lemons.