NOBILE 1942: LEVANTE REVIEW

Levante is a limited edition summer fragrance that was released in 2017, from the brand Nobile 1942, and is also part of their Fragranza Suprema line. 

About the brand: 

Nobile 1942 is a niche perfume brand by Massimo who was inspired by Umberto Nobile's legacy during 1942, and decided to create Nobile 1942 to "evokes the spirit of a man, that embodies the spirit of all mensuch as those of the Nobile family, who, over the years, have had the courage to follow their own decisions with confidence determination, and respect. It was the birth of a fragrance that evokes the freshness of genuine memories, of men and of places with a story to tell, of an ancient craft and a depth of wisdom; a fragrance that moves, seduced by beauty and by passion."

The brand is typically only sold around Italy and around Europe, they describe their work process as such: "We pride ourselves in being one of few companies producing and packaging by hand in "house" our fragrance products - we do this job with care and dedication.

In addition to the Italian ingredients such as lemon from Sicily and Florentine Iris, we purchase raw materials from where we know they offer the best quality. 

We are always on the lookout for new artisans, materials and and exclusive work process. Through this work method we use Damask skills from Lorsica, hand blown glass from Altare and Silver filigree from Campo Ligure..."

Where to find this: 

As I mentioned above, Nobile is made in Italy and typically is only sold around Italy or around Europe, and while there are a few online vendors for the store, I would not recommend buying full sizes blind unless you're a seasoned scent enthusiast or you don't mind spending money on blind buys. Since this specific perfume is limited edition, it might not be possible to find this anymore, but a quick google will give you a good scope of where to get Levante. 

This shop online (https://www.luckyscent.com/brand/523/nobile-1942 ) will ship to Australia and Hong Kong, and a few other places, and they also offer samples from the brand if you're looking for something like that. 

Luckily, I was in Europe when this was released. I was trying to find some ideal vanilla scent at the time online without a lot of luck, and I was on the hunt for Montale Paris' various vanillas, sweet vanilla/vanilla cake any would have sufficed. I went to a small perfume shop (one of the chain ones) and I asked the shop assistant if she had the Montale Paris ones, and she told me they were sold out - but what notes was I looking for anyway? 

I told her, vanilla and caramel, so she suggested Levante to me. She, rather erroneously, told me that Levante only had caramel but no vanilla, but to me, this has a good bit of vanilla in this in my opinion. 

Levante is actually my first full size purchase of any fragrance, and at a hefty €110 EUR for 75mL, I thought I would give it a try, something more luxurious, with the quality of the products and the beautiful packaging of the perfume as well. 

I'd never smelt high end gourmands at the time, but I really liked this anyway. 

The scent: 

The official description behind Levante is: 

The inspiration behind Levante, Nobile 1942’s new fragrance, is of course the Levant, the historical term used to describe the stretch of land in the Eastern Mediterranean covering everything from Greece to Lebanon and Syria. The word Levant derives from the old Italian word, Levante, which means “rising” – and specifically the rising of the sun in the East. Levante, the fragrance, is every bit as bright and sparkling as its inspiration.

In Levante, the salty breeze of the sea rises to meet the sensuous siren call of the white flowers that tumble over every wall and creep up every pergola. The bright brine of the marine notes sluices the structure of the perfume with freshness, infusing the creamy white jasmine with enough air to breathe. It sparkles like a pavé diamond in the sunlight. A surprising finish – sweet vanilla and caramel providing a light touch of gourmandise over a soft, woody base. This is a calming, grounding perfume, one to wear when you want to feel the magic of the Levant settle around your shoulders on a warm summer’s evening. 

The notes for Levante are described as:

Top notes: Maritime notes, Jasmine, White flowers

Middle notes: Patchouli, Cedar

Base notes: Vanilla, Caramel, Musk, Benzoin

To me, Levante opens up with a light salty breeze with a tinge of sweetness and musk, there's a light floral aspect from the white flowers but it's not overly noticeable to me. 

After the dry down, the woody notes flourish a bit more, but they're not too long lasting, because the base notes of vanilla and caramel with a touch of benzoin give this scent it's nice sea side freshness. 

After revisiting this scent after a while, on close inspection, the benzoin and cedar are much stronger, there's a strong woody resinous scent that I actually never noticed before that clings to my skin, but there's a cloudy wave of vanilla and caramel that I've taken to associating with this scent that floats around me and you can smell behind the cedar and benzoin. 

To me, this reminds me of a windy summer's day at a beach, holding a cup of ice cream, dropped somewhere on a cruise in Europe. While it's not at atmospheric scent by any means, the scent gives me a weirdly holiday-esque feeling. 

The wear time for this scent is rather long lasting, it has about a 6-7 hour wear time, and the projection on the scent is moderate, although it's more of the vanilla/caramel/sea breeze note rather than the woody/resin note. 

Personally I feel this fragrance is something of really light and refreshing nuance, it's a scent that I associate a lot with European summers or my travel scent. The bottle itself is gorgeous from the cute cap, the special marine/sailor striped cardboard box, to the hefty luxurious glass, and what's inside is just as delicate and wearable for any summery occasion. 

If you come across this fragrance, definitely give it a huff because it's divine. 

And if you manage to get your hands on any of Nobile's fragrances, let it languish on your display shelf because they have such gorgeous bottles.