Bottega Veneta
Bottega Veneta (2011)

Bottega Veneta by Bottega Veneta (2011) was the brand's first step into the perfume arena, courtesy of Coty Prestige and Robertet's Michael Almairac. The original schtick of the house then was the "invisible, private luxury" used to describe the brand's low-key vibe. In the words of then creative-director Tomas Maier in an interview with WWD; he envisioned “An old house in the beautiful countryside in the Veneto region of Italy with rolling green hills" and within that house "a room with old wood floors, library walls and leather-bound books with the windows open wide, the breeze coming in and cut grass, hay, moss, garden flowers, growing through the room and everything mixing up". I can say I see it, somewhat; but I also see other things here not listed in the market copy. Overall, this is a fruity peppery patchouli and leather, or a "fruitchouli" merged with what passes for leather chypre in the modern built-for-cost and regulation-choked designer fragrance world, where creativity seems reserved for the "exclusive range" perfumes carrying $300 price tags and up. Bottega Veneta recently decided this is where they needed to be and wasted their entire signature range in favor of just boutique exclusives.

Here, there are wisps of creativity doing battle with the demographic marketing-stifled design-by-numbers-ghoul style which had by post-recession become de rigeur. Pink pepper and bergamot set on a backdrop of old-school milky lactonic fruit notes, something like praline and muguet, a biting woody-tobacco essence filled in with fractioned patchouli molecules, lifted by jasmine sambac in the heart, and settled onto the chypre-ish base best describe Bottega Veneta. This isn't for everyone, and it's not meant to be, although I find the leather more suederal than isobutylquinoline, velveteen rather than sour, almost to the point you can miss it, I also get the faintest trace of violet ionones zipping around. Bottega Veneta is a smart perfume, and one that some may liken to a distant cousin of Jolie Madame by Pierre Balmain (1953), of which a sample was sent to me along with a sample of this to compare old and new approaches to a similar concept. This is much more pepper and patchouli than fruit and leather, which is where Jolie Madame chooses to live, so it feels more punchy. Performance is adequate. Since both are headed for unicorn-land, I'd get the Jolie first myself, as it's more unique.

Overall, I like Bottega Veneta, and it honesty reminds me more of discontinued male-market things like Vera Wang for Men (2004) or Kokorico by Jean-Paul Gaultier (2011) released in the same year. All those things played with fruity over woody and isolated patchouli molecules too, and all of them ended up being flushed out of existence by the time the 2020's dawned on us, since things have only gotten even more dystopian in the designer perfume market (and indeed much of the world over) since then. Rather than depress you on the state of once was and the potential shape of things to come, I'll just say that you aren't missing out on too much here unless you were a particular fan of these nü-chypre exercises, where the last sliver of allowable oakmoss was used to anchor a melange of synthetic things from the Sweet-n-Low version of labdanum in things like Emporio Armani Si (2013) - Bottega Veneta's closest rival - to the vanilla ambergris thing that Creed Aventus (2010) and its many clones begat. The differentiating factor for the also-discontinued Bottega Veneta was that ghost of violet leather past, but is it enough? Thumbs up

Like the famous intrecciato handbag upon which it is based, Bottega Veneta weaves together tonally-greige strands of plum, jasmine, and patchouli for a dusky, hoarse-throated take on suede. It has the same milky bitterness you get in other light suede fragrances such as Daim Blond (Serge Lutens), which it resembles slightly. But it is the addition of the gruff, stone-washed patchouli that makes Bottega Veneta the more robust and sexier scent. Sadly, Bottega Veneta has discontinued this perfume, along with all its original ‘department store’ perfumes, choosing instead to throw the brand’s entire marketing budget at its soulless, couldn’t-strike-upon-an-idea-if-it-tried luxury segment (Palladiano). Well, fuck you very much, Bottega Veneta.

Topnotes of watermelon jolly rancher and wet dough dissolve into a watery, slightly sweet calone-infused smooth suede, which becomes more powdery and elegant as it dries down. Not for me but a decent leather that could appeal to others.

This is really quite pretty. At first spray, I thought it seemed like a generic sweet floral, but I'm glad that I let it develop and tried it a second time as well before writing this review. The second time, I smelled the pink peppercorn note, which I loved. It's a lovely perfume to be aware of over a day, and to keep smelling to see how it's changed.

I bought a bottle of Daim Blonde (Sheldrake) and the comparisons dredged my memory banks, archived away, those of Cuir Amethyste and the reviews that it engendered. The two (CA and BV) sit together in Michel Almairac's spreadsheet no doubt. Here I am sitting with all three, my spreadsheet diminished, not bolstered, but years have gone by since I owned the releases of Opium, Cinnabar, Youth Dew, Poison etc, nobody would chide you for having those in your collection now. The prices have never dropped! Bottega Veneta is a tamed Cuir Amethyste, which was the alter ego of Xenia Onnatopp and with Jean Claude Ellena's Cuir d'Ange is the best mainstream example of its type. They're all simply wonderful, very collectable.

This uncompromisingly feminine concoction from Bottega Veneta revolves around a quite evident accord of smooth mossy leather and super spicy lily of the valley. The latter, as connected to jasmine and probably rose, is heady and musky, really sophisticated and smooth. Leather is mostly a suedish musky floral sensual feminine leather. I detect definitely piquant spices, hints of frankincense, benzoin, rose and a warm musky sensual patchouli. A classic Armani fragrance like Onde Mystere jumps on mind as well as the more modern and sensual Cuir Amethyste (warmer, more rosey and vanillic). Another fragrance jumping on mind is the spicy floral Giulietta Capuleti Soul Drops (really close in style to Bottega Veneta). A fragrance constructed on a gorgeous classic style but with a musky cleaner modern twist. Dry down is sultrier and warmer. A well made mature bold appointment.