Nasomatto: Scents of Freedom and Impulse Unleashed by the “Crazy Nose”

“I even thought about closing the brand. But then I realized I needed Nasomatto’s revenue to support the new brand, Orto Parisi.”

— Alessandro Gualtieri, from an interview with Wallpaper* magazine

Basic Information

Founded: 2007 (some sources date the early creations to 2008, but the current official website gives 2007 as the release year for Duro and Narcotic V.)
Founder: Alessandro Gualtieri
Based in: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Official website: https://nasomatto.com

“Nasomatto” means “crazy nose” in Italian.

The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

The Origins of the Nose

Alessandro Gualtieri has roots in Puglia, Italy, and grew up in Milan. His father worked in the meat business.

The first “living smells” he encountered were neither perfume nor flowers. The raw smell of meat and blood, the earthy scent of the vegetable garden tended by his grandfather Vincenzo: these memories of primal smells would later form the foundation of his aesthetic as a perfumer.

Training in Germany and a Fateful Encounter

His formal education as a perfumer began at a training institution in Germany, where he systematically studied traditional perfumery techniques. But a chance encounter interrupted the course of that education. At the town’s only bar, near the training institution, he met an experienced Italian perfumer named Arturetto.

“He [Alessandro] and Arturetto were not brothers, but they shared a passion for perfume. Arturetto, an experienced nose, taught Alessandro perfumery.” This relationship, something like that of master and apprentice, would eventually lead to their co-founding Nasomatto. Guidance from both formal education and an informal mentor nurtured his approach: respecting tradition while being unafraid to break every rule.

Working for Major Brands and the Birth of the “Crazy Nose”

After training in Germany, Gualtieri spent eight years at a major fragrance company. He then worked for many years on fragrance development for leading brands as an independent agent, including Fendi, Versace, Helmut Lang and Valentino, and served as an in-house perfumer for Diesel.

Throughout this period, however, he continued to feel constrained.

“It was a desperate outburst after years of being restricted by the industry’s many rules and regulations. I wanted to express myself fully and share my creations and ideas directly with consumers.”

His days were bound by brand briefs and trend forecasts, with constant instructions about what was “in” and what was “out” that season. Yet his creations remained bold: unusual combinations of materials and formulas that defied industry conventions. His outlandish ideas eventually earned him the nickname “Crazy Nose” among those around him.

A Journey to the Middle East That Transformed His Senses

Alongside his work for major companies, Gualtieri visited Sharjah in the UAE in the 1980s, when he was working for the large fragrance-materials manufacturer Haarmann & Reimer. There, his senses were transformed.

“I became completely absorbed there. Completely captivated. For me, that was real perfumery. You could touch it with your hands. You could actually feel it.”

He went on to travel to Oman, India and Saudi Arabia, avidly absorbing each country’s ancient perfumery techniques. A philosophy of fragrance entirely different from Europe’s, with its respect for materials, direct expression of sensuality and secret recipes, took deep root within him.

Choosing Independence and the Birth of Nasomatto

While gaining experience at major companies, Gualtieri quietly kept notes on the fragrances he would create if he one day started his own brand. When he struck out on his own, he imposed one principle on himself: “I will not rely on the connections I made in my previous career. I will do everything from scratch.”

In 2007, with the help of his old friend Arturetto, he founded Nasomatto in Amsterdam. The initial collection emerged in 2007–2008, and a contemporary article from 2008 introduced the first five creations. This beginning, described as a “desperate outburst,” was also a declaration of rebellion against the industry.

The first releases comprised five fragrances: Absinth, Hindu Grass, Narcotic Venus, Duro and Silver Musk. It was an unconventional lineup, to say the least. “I kept knocking on doors for a long time, and finally one store agreed to carry them. Many others followed.” The debut was far from glamorous, but the response steadily spread.

What Defines the Brand

A Fragrance Philosophy of “Feel It, Don’t Define It”

Nasomatto’s most distinctive principle is its refusal to disclose fragrance components, or notes. There are no industry-standard lists of top, middle and base notes. Behind this lies Gualtieri’s deeply held conviction.

“In the past, perfume was a magical potion, and its ingredients were closely guarded secrets. I want to maintain this approach in my own perfumery. Revealing the ingredients limits the olfactory experience and sends it in the wrong direction.”

He does not believe in fragrance “pyramids,” or note structures. Instead, he presents each creation’s “effect” or “theme” in a few words. Duro is intended to “heighten every manifestation of masculine strength,” while Black Afgano seeks to “evoke the finest-quality hashish.” The wearer is asked to encounter each creation by trusting their own nose and senses.

Gualtieri states this position unequivocally.

“Why ask me? People always try to explain everything, understand everything, and find reasons for things. Sometimes you just need to feel.”

The Creative Process: Welcoming a Loss of Control

His work is an exploration entrusted to instinct and chance, rather than a logical blueprint.

“I start making something, but at a certain point it begins to make its own choices. The process itself guides me. I like the feeling of losing control and no longer being the only one making decisions. My role is to create something that is alive and can keep saying something new. I want a fragrance to have an intelligence of its own, rather than be a slave to my meaning.”

This aesthetic of “relinquishing control” stems from a view of the perfumery process itself as a kind of performance art.

Bottle and Packaging Design

The bottle is a minimalist square glass flacon. Towering over its simplicity is the wooden cap distinctive to each creation.

Materials are chosen to echo each fragrance’s theme and tactile character: smoked oak for Black Afgano, wenge for Duro, zebrano wood for Narcotic V., burl wood for Pardon, cork for Baraonda, hazelnut wood for Blamage and padauk for Nudiflorum. Each grain pattern is as unique as a fingerprint, and no two caps are exactly alike, even for the same fragrance.

“The cap embodies the physical concept behind the olfactory image.”

All packaging is made in Italy. The materials and colors are designed to reflect the ideas and ingredients that constitute the fragrance.

The Fragrance Lineup

Here we introduce 11 representative creations featured on the official website. All are offered as extrait de parfum, a highly concentrated form of perfume, itself an expression of the brand’s uncompromising approach.

Black Afgano: A Legendary Cult Fragrance

Released in 2009, this creation took Gualtieri himself at least six years to complete. Its inspiration was “the finest-quality hashish.” It sought to convey through scent the mood of intoxication, happiness and release associated with hashish.

On its release, it disappeared from stores around the world almost as soon as it arrived, and bottles with a retail price of $185 were resold on eBay for $300 or more. A landmark fragrance that shook the niche perfume community, it brought Nasomatto’s name to a global audience.

Duro: One of the First Releases

One of the fragrances released in the brand’s early days. Some sources give its release year as 2008, but the current official website lists 2007. “Duro” means “hard” or “strong” in Italian, and the fragrance sought to distill the essence of mythical masculinity and sexual attraction.

Narcotic V.: A Hymn to Female Sensuality

Formerly called Narcotic Venus, this fragrance pays homage to Venus, the goddess of love, with overwhelming female sensuality as its theme. It has been described as inspired by the idea of recreating the scent of the Monguba flower encountered in Brazil.

Baraonda: A Literary Homage

Inspired by the Russian writer Venedikt Yerofeyev’s prose-poem novel Moscow–Petushki (Москва — Петушки). “Baraonda” means “uproar” or “chaos” in Italian, and whisky, spices and woody materials intersect in complex ways. Its cap uses cork from Portugal and Italy.

Absinth: The Spirit of a Forbidden Plant

Inspired by absinthe, the wormwood spirit. Gualtieri describes it as “light laughter, irresponsible lightness, and a descent into frenzied hysteria.” The green aspects of wormwood mingle with earthy depth and subtly resinous spice. Its cap is made of olive wood.

Fantomas: A Phantom from French Crime Fiction

Released in 2020. This fragrance takes its theme from Fantômas, the enigmatic criminal of the French crime novels Gualtieri had loved reading since childhood. It is described as “a fleeting trace that hints at an unnoticed transgression.”

Other Fragrances in the Current Lineup

Blamage: A philosophical creation on the theme of “the beauty of failure,” distinguished by its irregular hazelnut-wood cap
Pardon: Released in 2011. An homage to the refined masculine figure of the dandy. Its burl-wood cap conveys elegance
Silver Musk: A minimalist creation that seems as though it were composed entirely of musk. Its theme is unattainable ideals and aspirations
Nudiflorum: Named from the Latin for “naked flower.” Its themes are intimacy and the sensation of skin
Sadonaso: Released in 2023. A fragrance expressing the idea that “the meaning of life lies in sensual pleasure”

Discontinued Fragrances

China White and Hindu Grass are now discontinued and continue to command high prices among dedicated collectors.

Incidentally…

In an interview with Wallpaper* magazine at the time of Nudiflorum’s launch (the current page bears an update date of October 18, 2022), Gualtieri candidly admitted that “there was a time when I thought about closing Nasomatto.” He even said, “I thought closing it would be the coolest thing I could do.” What stopped him, he explained, was the need to keep Nasomatto going as a source of revenue for his second brand, Orto Parisi, launched in 2014. It is a statement every bit as direct as his brand philosophy.

Orto Parisi is dedicated to his grandfather Vincenzo’s vegetable garden in Puglia. At the 2014 Esxence exhibition, Gualtieri reportedly declared theatrically, “Nasomatto is dead! Orto Parisi is born!” In reality, both brands remain very much alive.

His wife is the Dutch fashion designer Lilian Driessen, with whom he has also worked on the brand MariaLux, later renamed Maria L. Gualtieri’s creative work has thus extended into at least three perfume projects: Nasomatto, Orto Parisi and Maria L.

References