When Perfume Becomes a Manifesto of Eccentricity
by Micaela Morganelli
There are perfumes that please, perfumes that seduce, and then there are those that provoke. Les Folies du Parfum belongs to the latter — a maison that transforms eccentricity into art and personality into scent. Born under the creative direction of Maison Esthétique Group, it stands where imagination, heritage, and contemporary luxury converge, crafting olfactory portraits of lives that dared to defy convention.
At the heart of its philosophy lies the belief that life itself can be lived as a masterpiece. The maison celebrates excess, courage, and individuality, taking inspiration from figures who blurred the line between reality and performance. Among them, Marchesa Luisa Casati Stampa reigns supreme — a woman who turned herself into living art, eccentric and theatrical, her presence both haunting and magnetic. Her legacy permeates every creation of Les Folies du Parfum: unapologetic, visionary, and drenched in storytelling.
The debut fragrance, 22.22, launched on February 22, 2022, encapsulates the maison’s entire spirit. It is more than a date; it’s a symbol — a palindrome of meaning and mystery. Inside its dark ribbed glass bottle lies an unexpected blend of cardamom, bergamot, gardenia, and tobacco. The composition unfolds like a costume change, shifting from light to shadow, from delicate to dangerous. It is Casati’s scent in spirit: an olfactory echo of velvet halls, candlelight, and whispered scandal.
With Memento Audere Semper, the tone becomes a declaration of intent. Its name, meaning “remember to always dare,” distills the brand’s ethos into scent. Fresh basil and lemon collide with the sweetness of fig and the dark sensuality of licorice, grounded in ambergris and vanilla. It feels alive — an aromatic pulse that urges the wearer to step beyond caution. Then there is Arabesian Mind, a voyage through Mediterranean and Middle Eastern reverie, where lemon blossom, cedar, and saffron fuse with oud in an embrace that is both spiritual and carnal. By contrast, Chocolate & Spices revels in temptation — a decadent symphony of chocolate, rose, caramel, and saffron over amber and musk. It’s the perfume of memory, the trace of a dream too rich to fade.
Each fragrance in the collection is a chapter in a greater narrative. Capri Extasy celebrates D’Annunzio’s poetic indulgence and the languid sunlight of the Italian Riviera. Miroirs Noirs reflects the fleeting beauty of the Countess of Castiglione — a woman who staged herself as art long before photography made it fashionable. Others, like Constricteur, Puritas, Acqua Tofana, Koré, and Narcotic Dream, explore the mythic tension between purity and danger, light and delirium. In the maison’s Private Collection, perfumes such as Semiramide, Tigris, Vestis, and Nemea reach even further back in time, reimagining the power and sensuality of ancient legends. These are not mere accessories but talismans — fragrances meant to be worn like secrets.
Behind these creations is a team whose talent matches their vision. Founders Valentina Tecchio and Raul Paronetto, both steeped in the language of niche perfumery and by Bertrand Duchaufour, the master perfumer whose work bridges precision and poetry. Together, they have built a house where every detail — from the scent to the bottle — is a gesture of intent.
Crafted entirely in Italy, Les Folies du Parfum elevates the ritual of perfume into an art form. Its sculpted glass bottles, magnetic caps, and laser-engraved metal labels are tactile extensions of the fragrances themselves — architectural, sensual, and unmistakably luxurious. Even the act of opening a box feels ceremonial, a quiet invitation into a private world of beauty and excess.
Today, the maison moves confidently between continents, appearing at Esxence in Milan, Scent Explorer in New York, and Cosmoprof in Bologna — gatherings where connoisseurs seek not trends, but transcendence. Distributed through Maison Trading S.r.l. across Europe, Les Folies du Parfum has become more than a brand; it is a philosophy of living without restraint, of embracing one’s contradictions and turning them into art.
Because to wear one of these perfumes is not to cover oneself in fragrance — it is to inhabit a story. It is to declare that beauty and madness, when intertwined, can smell divine.
