New Notes: Fragrances from Milan That Capture the Scent of Now

Contents

Basic Information
The Founder and the Origins of the Brand
What Defines the Brand
1. The Fragrance Lineup
An Additional Note…

Basic Information

New Notes is a niche perfume brand based in Milan, Italy. It was established in 2021 under the perfume company HIC Beauty. The company’s creative director, Erik Minati, is the face of the brand as its founder. Calling itself “The Scent of Now,” the brand positions itself as a new generation of extrait de parfum, a category of perfume with a very high concentration of fragrance, that crosses the boundaries of gender and genre. Its official website is en.newnotesparfum.com.

Some accounts date the brand’s beginnings to 2021, while others place the start of its full-scale rollout in 2022. In July 2022, the German perfume specialist Aus Liebe zum Duft featured it as a brand founded the previous year. Between 2021 and 2022, the New Notes name began coming to the attention of perfume enthusiasts.

The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

Erik Minati previously designed brands in the beauty industry. Work in the Middle East brought him into contact with a culture where perfume was part of everyday life, prompting him to connect fragrance and design.

At New Notes he leads concepts and visual expression. “I work with several perfumers,” he explains (translated from Croatian), describing the division of creative roles in his interview.

The brand belongs to Milan-based perfume company HIC Beauty. Its official introduction describes an international outlook grounded in Milanese craftsmanship.

As the brand has grown, initiatives such as its collaboration with the long-established Parisian niche perfume specialist Jovoy have increased its presence within the industry. In 2025, Minati and François Hénin, who revived the present-day Jovoy, jointly introduced the limited-edition fragrance Cherry Prosecco. In 2026, it was further announced that NOBILIS GROUP would take on exclusive distribution in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from May of that year. On that occasion, HIC Beauty CEO Cindy Guillemant said the following.

“This partnership marks a turning point for our brand and a decisive step on the path toward a global success story, strengthened by the support of NOBILIS GROUP and our shared vision.”
— Cindy Guillemant, CEO of HIC Beauty

In the same announcement, Minati also commented in his capacity as creative director of HIC Beauty.

“We are convinced that, with its proven expertise, the NOBILIS GROUP team is the right partner to bring this holistic approach to life consistently and sustainably.”
— Erik Minati, creative director of HIC Beauty

In March 2026, Minati himself appeared at launch events in Barcelona and Madrid to discuss the creative background of the new fragrance Magico Safrano. At the events, he led sessions in the form of a “fragrance tasting,” offering an experiential introduction in which participants savored each scent as they would at a wine tasting. There, Minati reiterated an idea fundamental to the brand: that skin is perfume’s “final ingredient.”

What Defines the Brand

The concept New Notes emphasizes most strongly is encapsulated in the phrase “The Final Ingredient: Your Skin.” This is a clear invitation from the brand not to judge a perfume on a paper mouillette, or scent blotter, but always to try it on one’s own skin. Its fragrances are built on a combination of high-quality natural raw materials and sophisticated hi-tech molecules, meaning chemically synthesized fragrance ingredients. By bringing nature and technology together, it aims for more avant-garde fragrances that move beyond conventional perfume formulas.

This thinking extends to the structure of the fragrances. Contemporary Blend combines familiar perfume materials with contrasting elements. Hologram layers different facets of the same note to create depth. The range also includes the Modern Liquid Collection.

Attention to sustainability is another characteristic of the brand. It advocates “radical transparency,” communicating openly about its formulas. It states that its products contain no phthalates or parabens and are cruelty-free, without animal testing. It says that its packaging, from bottles to outer packaging, uses 100% recyclable materials. All its perfumes are conceived and manufactured in Italy, and the brand also emphasizes that they are “100% Made in Italy.”

Its gender-neutral stance is equally consistent. The brand’s position is that “our perfumes are for everyone, because perfume should not be assigned to a particular gender.” Both fragrances traditionally seen as masculine, such as New Leather, and sweet, flamboyant scents such as Latte di Cherry are offered without explicit gender categories.

The Fragrance Lineup

All New Notes perfumes are extraits de parfum. Their subjects range from the textures of leather and flowers to cocktails, confectionery and scenes encountered while travelling.

Perfumer Cristian Calabrò created the early fragrances. In a 2022 interview, he described receiving images developed in discussions with the brand and translating emotions and memories into scent. Erik Minatì guides the concepts and visual expression, while the perfumer turns those ideas into a formula.

Contemporary Blend Collection

Contemporary Blend pairs familiar perfume materials and scent families with contrasting elements: spices over suede, citrus and sea air through rose, or flowers brought closer to the impressions of sweets and milk.

New Leather imagines a second skin that wraps the body like cashmere. Bergamot, pink pepper, nutmeg and saffron flowers lead into iris, rosewood, labdanum and cardamom. At its centre is a suede accord, a combination of fragrance materials that creates the impression of leather. Cypriol, vetiver and gurjun balsam place earthy, woody and resinous layers beneath the softness of the flowers. The composition brings together leather’s strength and a smoothness that follows the skin.

Talco takes the sensation of touching a baby’s soft skin as its starting point. Bergamot joins jasmine and rose; iris and a talc accord create a powdery texture, wrapped in tonka bean, vanilla and musk.

Rosa Limone brings the contrast between flowers and citrus to the foreground. Damask rose is paired with lemon, mandarin and pink grapefruit, with a marine accent. Ambrette seed, patchouli and sandalwood support a floral heart that includes jasmine, geranium and ylang-ylang. Its subject is a garden beside the water, its flowers caught in summer light.

Osmanto Shock centres on osmanthus absolute, joined by white peach, sweet orange and pink pepper. An absolute is an aromatic extract obtained from flowers or other materials using solvents. Jasmine, white rose and cananga lead towards the sweetness of vanilla and tonka bean. Fruit and spice draw out a dense expression of the flower.

Cocktail Maracuja began with an unexpected combination in a drink. Minatì recalls drinking a gin and tonic during a Christmas holiday in Jamaica when a piece of passion fruit fell into his glass. That combination of flavours suggested a perfume one might want to drink. Passion fruit is joined by blackcurrant, pear, strawberry and lemon, with ginger, cardamom and pink pepper giving movement to the fruit’s sweetness. Vanilla, milky notes and white musk carry the cocktail’s impression onto the skin.

Queen of the Sea also grew from a scene Minatì witnessed. On the seafront in Saint-Tropez, a woman walked between parasols and deckchairs and ordered champagne and oysters at the bar. He recalls her bearing becoming the basis of the fragrance’s concept. Lemon, pink grapefruit and neroli meet a marine accord, opening into rose, magnolia and geranium.

For gourmand scents, those that evoke food, there is Caramelo Vanilla. Caramel and vanilla meet candyfloss and dulce de leche, a confection made by slowly cooking sweetened milk. Frangipani and white flowers sit between them, supported by tonka bean and musk. Within that shared sweetness, the composition explores the different textures of caramelised sugar, airy candyfloss and condensed milk.

Latte di Cherry pairs cherry and red berries with sweet orange and almond, leading into jasmine, Turkish rose and ylang-ylang. The base contains vetiver and sandalwood as well as vanilla and tonka bean. Fruit sweetness, floral fullness and the steadiness of woods build its interpretation of cherry.

Latte Pistachio adds lemon, orange and salty notes to the combination of frothed milk and pistachio. Cardamom and coriander form a passage towards sandalwood, amber and musk.

Flowers take the lead in Latte Mimosa. Mimosa and bergamot move into jasmine, ylang-ylang and iris, with sandalwood, musk and vanilla creating a milky, enveloping impression. Bonbons à la Violette, meanwhile, takes violet sweets as its subject, combining bergamot and orange, violet and jasmine, with vanilla, cedarwood and mossy notes.

A.K.M. layers mandarin, passion fruit, raspberry and apple with freesia, jasmine and lily of the valley, leading towards a woody, amber base. The current fragrance foregrounds the contrast between bright fruit and spicy woods.

Erotika Minimale explores sensuality in understated gestures. Cinnamon and coriander meet geranium, rose, jasmine and iris, followed by amber, musk, patchouli and vanilla. In its sequel, Erotika Maximale, animalic notes and resins become more prominent.

Hologram Collection

Hologram layers different facets of the same note to create depth. Taking its analogy from a three-dimensional image emerging from a flat surface, it builds multiple layers by allowing one material to bridge into another.

Musk Complexity puts this idea into practice. Calabrò singled it out as a particularly difficult fragrance to create. He described introducing the concept of layering into a perfume as enjoyable but complicated.

He explained that he layered six expressions of musk, allowing each to take up characteristics of the preceding one. Within a single formula, musk moves between woods, spices, fruits and flowers, with the aim of changing slowly on the skin.

Lemon, bergamot, petitgrain and ginger meet a rum accord, followed by jasmine, labdanum and cardamom. Later come a sweetness reminiscent of demerara sugar, sandalwood, patchouli and guaiac wood. The surrounding materials are part of the design, changing the way the musks are perceived.

The listed notes also name musk materials including Muscenone, Exaltone, Fixolide and Civettone.

Modern Liquid Collection

Modern Liquid brings together subjects such as sunlight paired with mango, an untamed spirit moving from day into night, and the warmth of saffron and woods. Jovoy’s collection guide groups Mangomina D, Felina, Erotika Maximale, Magico Safrano, Pomelo Malindi and Cherry Prosecco here. The brand’s own Collections page, however, lists Erotika Maximale under Contemporary Blend, so the two sources differ in their classification.

Mangomina D translates the sensation of sunlight on skin into scent. Mango, mandarin and yuzu meet marine notes, followed by solar notes that evoke sunshine, saffron and rose. Patchouli, sandalwood, cashmere wood, moss, amber and musk form the base. Rather than carrying fruit towards the creamy sweetness of the Latte fragrances, it opens into sea air, sunlight and the texture of woods.

Felina portrays an untamed spirit moving from daytime energy into nocturnal adventure. Coconut, milk, vanilla, caramel and chocolate are joined by coffee and cinnamon. Juniper, olibanum, tobacco, woody and powdery notes follow, supported by sandalwood, vanilla and musk. The imagery of sweets and drinks develops into a composition with spices and resins.

Erotika Maximale was created as a sequel to Minimale. It opens with mandarin and saffron, then layers iris, violet and labdanum with animalic notes. Vanilla, benzoin and musk rest over sandalwood, cedarwood and cashmere wood.

Magico Safrano explores the meeting of saffron and woods. Saffron is joined by cinnamon, mandarin, pink pepper and nutmeg, leading to lily of the valley, labdanum, benzoin and tobacco. Woods, leathery and mossy notes, amber, musk and tonka bean follow.

Pomelo Malindi brings together coastal air and ripe pomelo. Inspired by the coast of Malindi, it adds icy notes to pomelo, yuzu, lemon and lime, followed by mint, coriander, nutmeg, orange blossom and jasmine. Woods, white amber and musk form the base. Where Queen of the Sea gives its seascape a floral breadth, this fragrance foregrounds citrus, mint and the impression of coolness.

Cherry Prosecco: A Collaboration with Jovoy

Cherry Prosecco, listed within Modern Liquid, was created in collaboration with the Parisian perfume specialist Jovoy. On 2 December 2025, Jovoy introduced it as a limited edition of 250 bottles.

Its subject is the festive moment of glasses meeting in a toast. Cherry is layered with an effervescence recalling prosecco and champagne; jasmine, tuberose and white flowers occupy the heart. Musk, vanilla, amber and patchouli follow in the base. The composition evokes clinking glasses and the warmth that lingers as the evening deepens.

Although both take cherry as a subject, Latte di Cherry includes almond and tonka bean, while Cherry Prosecco combines sparkling drinks and white flowers.

An Additional Note…

One intriguing aspect of New Notes is that, unlike established HIC Beauty brands such as Moresque, centered on Moroccan aesthetics, or Blend Oud, specializing in agarwood, it looks less to “history” and “tradition” than to the fragrances that might emerge now. As scent amor puts it: “This brand does not want to explain how perfume was once conceived, but to show what niche fragrance can be today.”

New Notes is sometimes described as a brand that resonates with Generation Z. Names and concepts that make people want to talk about fragrance on social media are one aspect of how it is received. Choosing a fragrance that feels right for who you are now, without being constrained by gender or traditional scent categories: that freedom connects with the brand’s idea of “The Scent of Now.”

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