Roberto Dario of DFG 1924 and Ida at Esxence

At Esxence this year it was a rare pleasure to meet perfumer Roberto Dario in person (after having been familiar with his work for quite a while) – and engage him in discussion. His most recent compositions comprise a trilogia, his youthful, tender DFG 1924 Storie d’Amore (Love Stories). To refer to them as ‘youthful’ does indeed render short shrift; I quote the copy offered, not my personal opinion –  which is that perfumes this exquisite are suitable for anyone, any time in their life path, frankly.

Perhaps it is their delicacy, refined sentiment which led DFG 1924 to describe them thus. Each of the three perfumes in Storie d’Amore possesses excellent longevity, yet their approach is as ineffably diaphanous as a butterfly’s kiss.

DFG 1924 website image of perfumer/chemist Giustino Dalla Favera

Many readers might not be familiar with DFG 1924; I certainly wasn’t, so a bit of introduction is helpful. The company begins with Italian chemist Giustino Dalla Favera in 1924 as he set up his lab near Treviso where he compounded elixirs, liqueurs, and created perfumes and toiletries which were largely unavailable elsewhere. Giustino’s wife Patrizia and his grandson Fabio picked up the fragrant baton and continued his work, breathing new life into his compositions. In 2016, the perfume house DFG 1924 came into being, named after Dalla Favera Giustino, with 1924 commemorating his first endeavors. Then, the family made a truly wise decision: they chose Roberto Dario as their “house nose”. A coup, in that Roberto’s elegant Italian style incorporates the beauty of classical French perfumery with his own inimitable manner. Consider Catherine de Medici’s contribution to French cuisine and perfumery, and you understand completely… So Roberto it was and is.

DFG 1924 Storie d’Amore Trilogia d’Amore

The DFG 1924 Storie d’Amore trilogy encompasses three eau de parfums which represent individual phases or levels of love. The first flush of love is hopeful, winged: La Baia di Jasmine (The Bay of Jasmine). As affection takes a deeper turn, emotions run rampant – passion, obsession: Non Dire No (Don’t Say No). Unconditional love is eternal, pure and filled with wonder: Il Sentiero Degli Dei (The Path of the G-ds). You’d be hard-pressed to pick just one – but if so pressed, the last perfume sings to me so completely that it feels bespoke. I want to follow in the footsteps of the deities, please.

DFG 1924 La Baia di Jasmine (The Bay of Jasmine): heliotrope, wild jasmine, ambrette seeds – a dream, the beating of wings, explosion of unexpected energy

Often one feels embalmed in heliotrope – a beautiful material, but when overdosed it may be so sweet as to be unpalatable. Roberto Dario never presses the point; its effect is of a solar nature, expansiveness when partnered with a tender jasmine and the dual floral/horsiness of ambrette (I do love ambrette!). La Baia takes flight on gossamer wings, buoyed by infinite possibility, optimism. Everything about it is so attractive that you can’t pull away. It’s a fragrance to fall in love with, surely.

DFG 1924 Storie d’Amore Non Dire No (Don’t Say No): galbanum, Indian sandalwood, dark amber – passion, obsession, impetuosity.

You were wondering when we were going to smolder, sizzle, simmer – weren’t you? Here we go, but not in the ubiquitous fashion – no overdose of spice, unctuous florals or oud overload here. Instead we are given an unexpected yet discreet dose of galbanum for surprise, then labdanum-rich, sandalwood-laced seething passions take over. We are in deep, and although it may be (and is) substantially darker than the bookending scents – balance reigns nonetheless. There is profound depth of feeling which is expressed through Non Dire No; it too is irresistible yet maintains an elegant bearing.

DFG 1924 Storie d’Amore Il Sentiero Degli Dei (The Path of the G-ds): iris, musc poudrée, cedarwood – eternal love, truth, purity, eternity, endless music, marveling every day

Il Sentiero is the most subtle of the trilogy and it is Divine. It smells (to me) like a marriage between heaven and earth: silvery iris is celestial and cedarwood grounds us with its woody suavity. Silky, powdery musks float heavenward like clouds of bliss. I have only a smidgen left to spray from my carded sample, so goodness knows how I might inundate myself if more of Il Sentiero were available. I would bathe in it, most likely – it feels like serenity bottled. Mmmm.

Thank you, Roberto Dario – for your time, friendship, samples! I adore your work. My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor and Natural Perfumery Editor

Photos taken by Ida at Esxence 2019 unless otherwise noted.

Ida sniffing DFG 1924 Storie d’Amore

Thanks to the generosity of perfumer Roberto Dario of DFG 1924, we have one set of carded samples of DFG 1924 Storie d’Amore for one registered reader in the US, EU, and Canada. You must register or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please tell us what interested you most in Ida’s review, and where you live.  Which of the DFG 1924 Storie d’Amore sounds the most appealing to you? Draw closes 8/13/2019

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