A brand with a glamorous vibe has hit the shelves. Brazilian actress, television presenter and producer Giovanna Antonelli  has teamed up with Courtois  Mourot (a new Parisian / Brazilian perfume house) to make three very va va voom perfumes that inhabit an amped, high volume, colourful space.  This is a celebrity range with a difference as the perfumes are positioned in the luxury niche market and feel as though real care has been taken in the creation of the fragrances.

There are three perfumes (EDP) to date  : 411 Intenso, 611 Intenso and 811 Absoluto  composed by  Mane  (one of the large fragrance and flavour companies) perfumers : Julie Masse, Cecile Matton and Mathilde Bijaoui.  I’ve really enjoyed wearing each scent and like the unfussy bottle design.  Generally I’m not such a fan of the use of numbers for the names of perfumes as I find these difficult to anchor meaning to. The associated words do help though. All of these descriptors suggest power, depth and passion that are apt for these fragrances that radiate a high wattage ambience.

411 Intenso  EDP : Nose : Julie Masse : Year : 2017 : Notes : Top: Bulgarian Rose, bergamot, pepper, camelia : Heart : Sambac jasmine, ylang ylang, peony : Base : Patchouli, sandalwood, amber, vetiver.

411 Intenso is a modern chypre and stylistically the most traditionally  French of the trio.  Inspired by the Palais Royal in Paris, it is an apt interpretation,  wearing elegance on its sleeve with a sense of history replete with stories to uncover. The rosy floral bouquet is a treat to smell with a deftly, luminous touch. This is a perfume that gets better and better as it wears.  When I first smelt 411 Intenso I thought of Oha another French rosy chypre, from Teo Cabanel. When I tested to compare, Oha is a much darker rose and feels a tad spicier while 411 Intenso has a lighter, more breezy style and the rose is sweeter with a delicate freshness.

To be fair there are other florals in 411 Intenso, so it’s not just about the rose and  they all leave their mark. The jasmine and ylang-ylang provide the more exotic touch. 411 Intenso has reasonable sillage and longevity and the base is very pretty too. Not too heavy, not too light. Perfumer Julie Masse may be known to you from her work for Shay & Blue, a British perfume house.

611 Extremo  EDP : Nose : Cecile Matton : Year : 2017 : Notes : Top: Rhubarb, pear, bergamot : Heart : Tuberose, Egyptian jasmine, hawthorn : Base : Licorice, iris, benzoin, vanilla 

611 Extremo is a big, bold, glittery floral oriental. It’s tuberose writ large and sweetened with rhubarb and pear. A floral with a big heart and a smoothly scented base, this is the perfume that I have worn on summer nights for a much needed boost to provide a foil against the humidity, to cut through and overpower the beast. If you like solar perfumes like Guerlain‘s Teracotta Le Parfum then 611 Extremo  has a similar sort of blowsy vibe but is flashing in technicolour on a bright neon flashing sign.

This is the attention getter in the trio and for tuberose devotees this is a lush treatment, erring to the gourmand with vanilla and benzoin. There’s a twist of licorice too that provides a nice contrast with a greenish tint becoming more noticeable as the perfume wears. The inspiration for this perfume is the Rio Botanical Gardens where Giovanna likes to walk with her children. Having never visited Rio, this is what it smells like in my mind. Lush, ripe and very floral with a warm character. The perfumer behind the scent is Cecile Matton who also created the rather dotty Remarkable People for Etat Libre d’Orange.

811 Absoluto  EDP : Nose : Mathilde Bijaoui : Year : 2017 : Notes : Top: Grapefruit, pepper, clove, lavender: Heart : Green accords, jasmine, honey, balsams : Base : Patchouli, amber, musk, vanilla

811 Absoluto pays  homage to Sao Paulo and its cosmopolitan big city feel.  Mathilde Bijaoui is the perfumer for  811 Absoluto and as a side note also signed Etat Libre D’Orange‘s Like This, their version of a celebrity scent via Tilda Swinton.

Bijaoui says of 811 Absoluto :

“I wanted to create a voluptuous, intoxicating and full-bodied signature that reflects the temperament of fire, both magnetic and sensual and whose silky floral heart is gradually revealed.”

Mission accomplished! 811 Absoluto  is the perfume I was first drawn to and my favourite although admittedly I wax and wane in my decision making with this range. It’s actually a tough choice to pick a favourite – it’s all mood dependent. The darkest of the trio (relatively speaking), 811 Absoluto is very plush with a dusty sensual allure. It feels vamped up with a touch of noir but doesn’t take itself too seriously. A luscious, resinous blend with a sky-high stiletto lift, 811 Absoluto conjures a warm afterglow of cocktail fuzz .

You’ll find a noticeable quotient of clove that doesn’t overpower but provides a gentle but ever-present spiciness within the composition.   There’s also a fruitiness that smells close to plum but of course there’s nothing listed that meets that requirement but it could be  from the jasmine. Against this is a dusty resinous  vibe with drizzles of dark honey and a very smooth blend of  patchouli, amber,  musk and vanilla.   This is the perfect fragrance to wear on a hot summer’s evening but I imagine it will work even better in winter.

Giovanna Antonelli is a celebrity driven range positioned in the luxury niche market that is  off to a great start. The fragrances are interesting enough to be more than a celebrity’s passing fancy, very polished and most importantly smell good. This fragrance trio should attract fans of Giovanna but also perfume lovers, particularly those who are drawn to the ambience of ranges like  By Kilian and Tom Ford.  These are full-blooded yet thoughtfully calibrated fragrances that don’t wear too loudly, providing a scentscape of  sequinned bursts of colour.

The Low Down : A range of glamorous and alluring scents that deliver a lush burst of full wattage star appeal.

Read more about Giovanna Antonelli on Australian Perfume Junkies  Cafleurebon

Pricing : RRP is 150 Euro for 100ml. Check the website for further details.

Notes : Images :  Featured Image : Megan In Sainte Maxime : All others  : Giovanna Antonelli

Disclosure : Sample gratefully received from Courtois Mourot.  Opinions my own.