Nasomatto: Concentrated Artistic Perfumes by Alessandro Gualtieri

An artistic perfume house founded in 2007 by Italian nose Alessandro Gualtieri in Amsterdam. Nasomatto — from the Latin nasus and the Italian matto — is defined by its high-concentration extrait de parfum, released without any declared olfactory pyramid, and conceived as sensory experiences first and fragrances second.

History and philosophy

Alessandro Gualtieri, born in Milan in 1967, trained in fragrance composition in Germany during the 1980s at Haarmann & Reimer, before refining his craft working for fashion houses including Versace, Helmut Lang, and Diesel. His years in the commercial market convinced him of the need to work outside industrial constraints: in 2007 he founded Nasomatto in Amsterdam, where his laboratory remains to this day, launching the first collection the following year.

The brand's philosophy rests on a radical choice: no olfactory pyramid, no ingredient list. Gualtieri believes that disclosing raw materials shapes the wearer's perception and diminishes the olfactory experience. As in pre-industrial perfumery, the formula is kept secret, and those who wear the fragrance are invited to build their own personal reading of it.

The aesthetic

Nasomatto works exclusively in extrait de parfum concentration, with a dosage of perfume oils that ensures both lasting power and pronounced intensity on the skin. The compositions draw on resinous, woody, and animalic materials — oud, cannabis, musks, tobacco, earthy notes — often set against unexpected elements such as alcoholic, metallic, or fruity accords. The minimalist flacon, with its sculptural wooden cap, is an integral part of the aesthetic vision.

• All fragrances are formulated as high-concentration extrait de parfum.
• A deliberate absence of any olfactory pyramid or publicly declared ingredient list.
• Unisex compositions, often provocative, exploring bodily, animalic, and psychotropic territories.
• Pared-back packaging with a wooden cap, conceived as a collectible object.
• Small-batch production at the Amsterdam laboratory.

The best-known fragrances

The Nasomatto collection numbers around fifteen titles, each built around a precise idea or emotional state rather than a conventional olfactory family.

• Black Afgano — launched in 2009, this is the house's most recognisable fragrance: a resinous, woody extrait inspired by high-quality hashish, with accords of cannabis, dark woods, and spices.
• Duro — part of the inaugural 2008 collection, this is a fragrance of intense, masculine structure, built from woody and musky materials of considerable tenacity.
• Narcotic Venus — from the first collection, it explores floral and sensual accords in a deliberately excessive register, with a powdery and carnal character.
• Blamage — released in 2014, it moves between floral and woody accords with an almost chemical opening note that evolves into something androgynous and complex.
• Baraonda — evokes the atmosphere of a late-night venue, with notes of whisky, smooth wood, and warm musks, in an olfactory construction that is intentionally unruly and full of life.