Spicy
Woody
Top Notescassissaffronsulphur
Heartcypriolincenseorris (iris root)smoke
Base Notesambercashmerangaïac woodvetiver
Tags
#beast
#smoky
Style
unisex
The new and third formula in the Extreme Talismans collection (after Osang and Talento).
Athanor is a scented incarnation of the 50th hexagon from the ancient Chinese Book of Change.
50/“Ting”, alchemic athanor or cauldron – a symbol of change within, the man being the crucible in which new energies come about from various ingredients transforming and merging.
Mendittorosa in their unique alchemic way try to explore the metaphysics of the universe through perfume formulas.
Athanor is a rich incense perfume with an unusual sulfur streak.
There is a tiny gold plated bronze nugget in the bottle and the cap is a miniature of two atlas-like figures holding the athanor of change.
Note from the brand:
“[Use] your nose. Always. Feel the sulfur evaporating from the process. Giving way to a delicate body of saffron and flowers, finding its space between incense and precious wood. Let the Athanor enhance your personality and lead your way.”
Perfumer: Luca Maffei
Concept: Stefania Squeglia
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
Athanor suits a close, deliberate setting where presence matters more than polish: a room with low light, warm surfaces and people who notice texture before sweetness. It projects a serious, almost ritual mood, as if the wearer has brought a trace of smoke and heated metal into the air.
How to wear
Best worn in cool weather or at night, Athanor benefits from a light hand: one to two sprays are enough for its extrait strength and strong diffusion. On skin it develops slowly, with the sulphuric edge softening into incense, saffron and amber; in air it reads smoky, dry and persistent, with exceptional longevity.
Who it’s for
For those who like smoky, resinous, spicy fragrances with an unusual mineral edge and a dramatic, artisanal feel. It will appeal to wearers who enjoy incense, woods and amber, but want them rendered with tension, darkness and a slightly untamed character.
Release year
2020
The nose
Luca Maffei is an Italian perfumer known for compositions that balance clarity with texture, often giving niche fragrances a vivid material presence and a strong sense of movement. In Athanor, he shapes Mendittorosa’s alchemical brief into a smoky, resinous extrait that shifts from a sulphuric opening toward incense, saffron and woods. Maffei’s work often reads as precise but expressive, with an ability to make unusual accords feel coherent rather than merely provocative. Here, that skill is especially useful: Athanor depends on tension, and he turns that tension into a controlled burn rather than a rough effect.
Collaborators
Stefania Squeglia, Mendittorosa’s founder and creative director, shaped the concept and symbolic world of the fragrance, framing it as part of the Talismans line and its alchemical, protective vision. Luca Maffei translated that brief into the final formula, while the bottle and cap design were developed as part of the brand’s artisanal storytelling, including the Atlas-like figures and the gold-plated bronze nugget.
Mendittorosa’s story
Mendittorosa treats perfume as art, research and sensibility, building fragrances as intimate objects of memory, spirituality and transformation. The house favors artisanal design, symbolic narratives and natural-minded, cruelty-free compositions, with each perfume conceived as a kind of talisman rather than a mass-market formula.
Athanor’s concept
Athanor belongs to the Talismans Extreme collection and is built around the image of the athanor, the alchemical crucible associated with transformation through fire. The fragrance translates that idea into a smoky, sulfuric opening that gives way to saffron, incense and woods, echoing the brand’s interest in inner change and symbolic metamorphosis. Its bottle reinforces the concept with a miniature Atlas cap and a small gold-plated bronze nugget inside.
Extra info
Athanor is named after the alchemical furnace or crucible, and Mendittorosa builds that idea into both the scent and the bottle design. The flacon includes a tiny gold-plated bronze nugget, while the cap is sculpted as two Atlas-like figures supporting the athanor of change. It is part of the Talismans Extreme line.
Top Notescassissaffronsulphur
Heartcypriolincenseorris (iris root)smoke
Base Notesambercashmerangaïac woodvetiver
Tags
#beast
#smoky
Style
unisex
The new and third formula in the Extreme Talismans collection (after Osang and Talento).
Athanor is a scented incarnation of the 50th hexagon from the ancient Chinese Book of Change.
50/“Ting”, alchemic athanor or cauldron – a symbol of change within, the man being the crucible in which new energies come about from various ingredients transforming and merging.
Mendittorosa in their unique alchemic way try to explore the metaphysics of the universe through perfume formulas.
Athanor is a rich incense perfume with an unusual sulfur streak.
There is a tiny gold plated bronze nugget in the bottle and the cap is a miniature of two atlas-like figures holding the athanor of change.
Note from the brand:
“[Use] your nose. Always. Feel the sulfur evaporating from the process. Giving way to a delicate body of saffron and flowers, finding its space between incense and precious wood. Let the Athanor enhance your personality and lead your way.”
Perfumer: Luca Maffei
Concept: Stefania Squeglia
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
Athanor suits a close, deliberate setting where presence matters more than polish: a room with low light, warm surfaces and people who notice texture before sweetness. It projects a serious, almost ritual mood, as if the wearer has brought a trace of smoke and heated metal into the air.
How to wear
Best worn in cool weather or at night, Athanor benefits from a light hand: one to two sprays are enough for its extrait strength and strong diffusion. On skin it develops slowly, with the sulphuric edge softening into incense, saffron and amber; in air it reads smoky, dry and persistent, with exceptional longevity.
Who it’s for
For those who like smoky, resinous, spicy fragrances with an unusual mineral edge and a dramatic, artisanal feel. It will appeal to wearers who enjoy incense, woods and amber, but want them rendered with tension, darkness and a slightly untamed character.
Release year
2020
The nose
Luca Maffei is an Italian perfumer known for compositions that balance clarity with texture, often giving niche fragrances a vivid material presence and a strong sense of movement. In Athanor, he shapes Mendittorosa’s alchemical brief into a smoky, resinous extrait that shifts from a sulphuric opening toward incense, saffron and woods. Maffei’s work often reads as precise but expressive, with an ability to make unusual accords feel coherent rather than merely provocative. Here, that skill is especially useful: Athanor depends on tension, and he turns that tension into a controlled burn rather than a rough effect.
Collaborators
Stefania Squeglia, Mendittorosa’s founder and creative director, shaped the concept and symbolic world of the fragrance, framing it as part of the Talismans line and its alchemical, protective vision. Luca Maffei translated that brief into the final formula, while the bottle and cap design were developed as part of the brand’s artisanal storytelling, including the Atlas-like figures and the gold-plated bronze nugget.
Mendittorosa’s story
Mendittorosa treats perfume as art, research and sensibility, building fragrances as intimate objects of memory, spirituality and transformation. The house favors artisanal design, symbolic narratives and natural-minded, cruelty-free compositions, with each perfume conceived as a kind of talisman rather than a mass-market formula.
Athanor’s concept
Athanor belongs to the Talismans Extreme collection and is built around the image of the athanor, the alchemical crucible associated with transformation through fire. The fragrance translates that idea into a smoky, sulfuric opening that gives way to saffron, incense and woods, echoing the brand’s interest in inner change and symbolic metamorphosis. Its bottle reinforces the concept with a miniature Atlas cap and a small gold-plated bronze nugget inside.
Extra info
Athanor is named after the alchemical furnace or crucible, and Mendittorosa builds that idea into both the scent and the bottle design. The flacon includes a tiny gold-plated bronze nugget, while the cap is sculpted as two Atlas-like figures supporting the athanor of change. It is part of the Talismans Extreme line.