Meo Fusciuni Varanasi Review (Giuseppe Imprezzabile) 2020 + Olfactory Mandala Draw

 

Meo Fusciuni Varanasi review

 Meo Fusciuni Varanasi, photo by Meo Fusciuni with digital effects by Elena

To me, its smell is a contemplation of all the stories of man, the stratification of so many generations and a thousand stories, only in this way can I describe the first olfactory encounter with India, there, at that moment I seem to feel it all at every moment, and I wanted it never ended.“

There are travels that become not only physical transitions from one place to another, but turn into inner journeys, intimate and spiritual, that weave delicate and invisible webs made of emotions, feelings, and memories of experiences shared that bond a traveler’s soul to the places traveled to – forever. Sometimes, you cross oceans and seas to experience this, and sometimes don’t even have to leave your home to become spiritually one with this feeling and places that had moved your soul: the power of perfume can take you to those places in one swirl of a scent that rises invisibly, its development powered by warmth of your skin. This is the beauty of journeys that feel like first loves, visceral emotions translated to scent, and movements of soul on wings of poetry: ah, the magic of perfume!

Meo Fusciuni

Meo in India, photo by Meo Fusciuni

Meo Fusciuni Varanasi, the eleventh perfume in the collection, is the extracted essence and a personal diary of a trip that Giuseppe Imprezzabile, the owner, the nose and creator of Meo Fusciuni Parfums made to India in 2017 together with his partner Federica Castellani (artistic director of the brand), and their two close friends. At the exact time when all traveling was canceled, a perfume that opens a new chapter of the brands was conceived, marking the beginning of “The Timeless Trilogy“ (Trilogia Senza Tempo) line that will feature sincere olfactory impressions of Asia, starting with India. Scented poetry of  Varanasi is accompanied by a printed booklet with recorded moments and memories in words and poetry, wonderful postcards from India, and a suggestion of inspirational music: this perfume was created and brought to life while listening to the album Stockhausen&Mortazavi – Hamdelaneh.When you listen to Varanasi, imagine the water, flowing in the bowels of the earth, touching the roots of everything, nourishing our soul. Varanasi is an olfactory mandala.“

Spiritual and carnal, intense and flowing, spicy, and animalic, Meo Fusciuni Varanasi is composed of contrasts placed in a deliberate pattern that form an unusual olfactory structure.

spices from India

 Spices in India, photo by Meo Fusciuni

In its configuration, the first gate that opens upon immediate contact is sultry with spices and dense like the late afternoon air hovering above a wide river that flows slowly. It pulls you in unapologetically – the bowels of earth growl intensely. Yet this animalic muffled roaring, eons old, is warm and rich on the surface, with thick layers of saffron and cardamom, and as it soaks in deeper into your pores, as you become one with it in mists of incense that blur the borders of reality, the second gate of this fragrant journey opens, revealing the heart of the fragrance, the deep underlying aquatic current throbbing like pulse points. And although the pace has changed, these all-encompassing sounds of silence feels like a chant, mesmerizing.

The third gate, one with a body made of flowers appears, with a rose so dark and ripe that it feels more like an illusion, an imprint of a rose in oud and ambergris-tainted soil it fell into. Time stops as these serene flowers melt, blurring the outlines that define floral, earthy, and woody, stained with amber and still warm from trails of spices that linger on your skin. As you reach the fourth gate, descending the spiral staircase leading to the dry down, the chant of oud is more and more audible. It’s slightly smoky, radiant, and rooted in vetiver, soothing and nurturing, and soaked in balsamic chords that vibrate gently, remaining soft without any sweetness or sharpness that would disturb this fine balance.

Varanasi by Meo Fusciuni Parfums

 Staircase, photo by Meo Fusciuni

You are the river, the land, and the heritage of all that have crossed this path you are walking on, long before you: this is Meo’s India. It’s complex, it’s powerful and intense, and long-lasting memory of it is now a soulful fragrant blend of Varanasi. “Every human time is the heritage of our time, of our gaze, it is gold in the mist of emptiness.“

Notes: Saffron, Nutmeg, CardamomIncense, Ambergris, Jasmine, Rose, Ambrette, Cypriol, Spikenard, Vetiver, Oud, Gurjum, Leather, Animal Notes

Elena Cvjetkovic, Editor and Author of The Plum Girl

Disclaimer: A sample of Varanasi was kindly sent to me by Meo Fusciuni for my consideration. Opinions and feelings are – as always – of my own.

Giuseppe Imprezzabile Meo Fusciuni Varanasi review

photo Meo Fusciuni with Digital Effects by Elena

Thanks to the generosity of Meo Fusciuni Parfums, we have a 100 ml bottle of Varanasi for one registered reader from EU/Great Britain, US, and Canada (you must register on our site or your comment will not count). To be eligible, please tell us what you enjoyed about Elena’s review, if you have tried a Meo Fusciuni fragrance before and where you live.  Draw closes October 1, 2020

Editor’s note: Giuseppe Imprezzabile is Meo’s real name.

This is our Privacy and Draw Rules Policy

Photos: Meo Fusciuni

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87 comments

  • HiMyNameIsWaste says:

    “Spiritual and carnal, intense and flowing, spicy, and animalic” neatly sums up what I like in a scent.

    I have tried a few Meo Fusciuni scents at Patron of the New in NYC – not sure which ones, but I remember liking them all.

    I live in Nashville, TN, USA.

  • As soon as I read the fragrance name Varanasi, I knew it has been inspired by a city in India. It makes sense the fragrance has spicy and floral elements because a fragrance inspired by India should touch on these elements. Like other Meo perfumes, this also seems a dark composition. USA

  • I like the sound of this. Animalic, spicy, floral. This sounds complex and beautiful. I have not had the pleasure of trying anything from Meo. I live in Denmark, EU.

  • I am new to this house, but Elena’s description of this perfume has really intrigued me. The notes are fascinating – spices, aquatic, and dark rose. I am a big fan of jasmine, rose and cardamon. While I am unable to travel at the moment, this perfume sounds like a destination in a bottle.

    California, USA

  • Meo Fusciuni is a house I was considering but with their higher cost I was putting it off for the near future.
    Varanasi sounds mysterious, deep and exotic much like the Sub-continent that inspired it.
    Cheers from SK, Canada

  • I enjoyed how Varanasi was described in stages, as if walking through gates during a fragrance journey. The spices and incense are speaking to me. Thanks for the opportunity to sniff! Mich USA

  • What an evocative and unexpected progression, from spices to aquatic to floral to oud! This is not how I think of fragrances developing. I have not sampled any Meo Fusciuni fragrances, but Elena’s description makes Varanasi sound mysterious and sensual. I like the idea of linking the fragrance to the perfumer’s specific travel experiences.
    I am in the U.S., in North Carolina.

  • Oh I love this review and the notes of this perfume. I haven’t tried any of the Meo Fusciuni fragrances until now. I love when Elena says that sometimes you don’t physically have to travel to go places. Perfumes are how I travel. I crave and need them in this time where I don’t really move much from home and even work from home. Elena’s review really transported me to the colorful India. 🙂 I’m from Illinois, US.

  • Meo’s photos from the trip to India are so vibrant and I assume illustrative of the olfactory experience of Varanasi. The list of notes reads like an ingredient list from an Indian bazaar. The gate concept that Elena describes as the fragrance unfolds is interesting although I wonder where the aquatic phase in the second gate comes from (ambergris?) I’ve not tried a Meo Fusciuni scent before. Commenting from the US.

  • Haven’t tried the house, Elena paints a beautiful picture. It sounds so intriguing and not the usual run of the mill fragrance.
    Pennsylvania USA

  • I am always very interested in any interpretation of India travels as it is the place that has made the most profound impression on me, and it is where my love of scent really first became a passion when I lived there years ago. This perfume sounds like it captures a slice of life there. Thank you for the review. I’m in the USA.

  • I have not tried any Meo Fusciuni fragrances before. I enjoyed this list of notes from Elena’s review; Notes: Saffron, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Incense, Ambergris, Jasmine, Rose, Ambrette, Cypriol, Spikenard, Vetiver, Oud, Gurjum, Leather, Animal Notes. I live in the US.

  • The review is like a visual journey through fragrance. I love it.
    I haven’t tried anything from this house yet, will take any chance to get introduced after reading this superb review.

    Kind regards, from Germany.

  • Hello, please enter me in your giveaway! I love in the United States (Florida). I personally have never had the chance to try a Meo Fusciuni fragrance before, but the sound of this really excites me and definitely puts this fragrance on my list of “must try’s”! I really enjoyed Elena’s review for how she broke the whole fragrance down. She really made this out to be one really sexy and beautiful fragrance! From her review, it’s almost as if you could just close your eyes if her review was read to you, and mind over matter would just make you able to imagine the scent of this. Very well done review and really makes the reader able to understand everything that comprises this scent, and really brings it alive. I love the combination and intertwining of rose with OUD, jasmine, incense, leather, vetiver, and ambergris!! All the notes in this I’m sure come together to make one really intoxicating scent, and I really hope I win this one, because man, this just smells simply exquisite!! Thank you for putting this fragrance on my radar!! Very well done review, and really hope I can win this one!!!

  • Beautiful description. I’ve just heard a lot of great things about Meo Fusciuni’s house, but never had the chance to test anything from them. This time would be a really nice chance for trying Varanasi, thanks for the draw, i’m in the EU.

  • Love the comparison between a journey and a fragrance. “Spiritual and carnal, intense and flowing, spicy, and animalic” is what makes me wanna try it. Have never tried a Meo Fusciuni fragrance before. I am from Romania.

  • Thanks for the draw and the review, I liked the picture of the four gates, this journey sounds interesting and mystic. I havent tried a perfume from Meo Fusciuni Parfums yet.

  • Anamalics are my favourite genre in perfumery so it’s always interesting to hear both how others react to them as they can be divisive , also its fascinating to see how the notes are used in conjunction with other notes to blend them and also make a unique creation just like it sounds like they have with this one. So it has my curiosity piqued!

    I’ve tried little song from the brand and its sensational, a house that deserves a lot more attention.

    I’m from Ireland, EU

  • I like how this fragrance is composed of different contrasts and has different “personalities” – it is carnal and spiritual at the same time, it is spicy, animalic and intense.

    I am in EU. Thank you.

  • I just spent some time near South Lake Tahoe in California and discovered this incredible house at the fantastic Fragrance Vault. I left with a bottle of “Spirito”, and “Narcotico”, both incredibly rich fragrances that evoke so much for me. This review of “Varanasi” captures what I love most about the inspirations, artisanship, and poetic rendering of the experience of place that Giuseppe Imprezzabile of Meo Fuscini brings to his expression in perfume: they are a journey to a place and moments rendered in olfactory “imagery” that capture above all, a spiritual sense of place, time, memory… I live in the US.

  • I enjoyed the spiritual connotations of this fragrance – Varanasi is an olfactory mandala is the quote that captured my attention. Varanasi sounds just divine and I feel unfortunate to have not yet tried any of Meo Fusciuni’s fragrances. I’m in USA

  • Elena’s review triggered my interest in this perfume, especially because it is inspired by travelling I crave so much. I havent tried any of the perfumes from this house yet but I promise to that in the near future.
    I like when perfume has different layers and tells certain story.
    Lina
    EU, Lithuania

  • So this fragrance took me on this complex spiral, swirling down through different aspects of India. Dark and animalic, vivid and surprising, loud and powerful. The pictures are very beautiful too.
    I haven’t tried any Meo Fusciuni by now and I live in EU.

  • Never tried the house. The spiciness of the fragrance is interesting. It looks like something for special people. Big opportunity to sniff, thanks!
    I’m from EU.

  • I like the stages/ gates in the review and of course the fragrance notes. I’m a sucker for deep and dark fragrances, especially during fall and winter. I live in EU and I would love to win this exciting fragrance. Thanks to Meo Fusciuni Parfums and Cafleurbon for this awesome draw!

  • I really like the idea that he brings everything together, scents, memories, poetry and music. This seems like a very intelligent construction with the different layers and I would really love to try. I am always intrigued by the scent of spices and would love to visit India one day.
    Living in the EU

  • I have never been to India nor have I tried anything from this house, but the connexion he has with India, and with this city in particular, is something beyond the usual experience of someone who visits a place. It is beyond any human perception, beyond the senses, it translates into higher realms.
    I am quite intrigued by it, to be honest. I would love to get to try it. Thank you. Europe.

  • You are the river, the land, and the heritage of all that have crossed this path you are walking on, long before you: this is Meo’s India. It’s complex, it’s powerful and intense, and long-lasting memory of it is now a soulful fragrant blend of Varanasi. “Every human time is the heritage of our time, of our gaze, it is gold in the mist of emptiness.“

    Notes: Saffron, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Incense, Ambergris, Jasmine, Rose, Ambrette, Cypriol, Spikenard, Vetiver, Oud, Gurjum, Leather, Animal Notes. Intrigued by his trip to India and it is reflected in the notes physically and spiritually. This is a house that I am not familiar with but I am intrigued especially the inspiration being India is close to my heart. Thanks a million from the United Kingdom

  • There are travels that become not only physical transitions from one place to another, but turn into inner journeys, intimate and spiritual, that weave delicate and invisible webs made of emotions, feelings, and memories of experiences shared that bond a traveler’s soul to the places traveled to – forever. Sometimes, you cross oceans and seas to experience this, and sometimes don’t even have to leave your home to become spiritually one with this feeling and places that had moved your soul: the power of perfume can take you to those places in one swirl of a scent that rises invisibly, its development powered by warmth of your skin. This is the beauty of journeys that feel like first loves, visceral emotions translated to scent, and movements of soul on wings of poetry: ah, the magic of perfume! A magical and evocative description by Elena really stole my heart. I am intrigued by the notes especially Spices and Incense just conjure up an image of India dark and mysterious. A house that I am not familiar I am afraid. Thanks a lot from the United Kingdom

  • I’ve never tried any of Meo Fusciuni’a fragrances. I enjoyed reading this piece from Elena and I find the different olfactory stages depicted here, to take you on a journey to India. Many thanks for the draw. I live in France.

  • I admire Imprezzbile very much as the creator of the Meo Fusciuni brand, one of the few true artists in Italian perfumery who does not seem to follow the conditioning of the commercial apparatus and the dictates of fashion too much. I have been following him since the first fragrances produced and I have the n.2 (shukran) a fantastic mentholated memory of a trip in Morocco.
    This one sounds more complex and inusual in its structure, but more fascinating and enveloping in its mixture of Spiritual and carnal.
    A magical casket from which a kaleidoscope of exotic images emerges supported by notes that I love. Spices, moist flowers, oud, vetiver and many others to represent the various sacred and deadly elements. Earth, water, fire and air. I imagine it really superb, to try.
    I live in EU.
    Thanks!

  • Mi sono registrate e volevo dire che dell’intervista mi sono piaciute le immagini, ancora non ho sentito Varanasi, ma altri capolavori di Meo Fusciuni. Vivo in Italia a Rimini.
    I registered and I’d like to tell that from the interview I liked most Photos. I haven’t smelt yet Varanasi, buttare others Meo Fusciuni’s masterpiece. I live in Italy, Rimini.

  • Danu Seith-Fyr says:

    My sweet friends latest creation is all this and more.. Varanasi is an exquisite journey into a mystery reality and a reality mystic. It extends beyond the bounds if its components, touching essential nature.
    I would love to have a bottle, living and loving in SW France….

  • At a time when travel is hard or impossible, this olfactory trip to India is so welcome. Varanasi is a spiritual city next to the holy Ganges river, and I can’t wait to see if its scents and textures are truly captured in the fragrance. Elena’s review leads us through the four gates of the city, as we descend deeper and deeper into its sacred heart. This sounds like a dark, spicy and earthy offering, and I can’t wait to try it. I’ve not tried any MF scents and I’m based in the US.

  • A friend of mine returned from India raving about Varanasi and they described the place is more or less the same way Elena’s described the fragrance: spiritual, intense, flowing, spicy, so I’m very curious about it. I also like the vibrant images chosen for this review. I haven’t tried any Meo Fusciuni fragrance before. I live in the EU.

  • I love India, and I love the smells of India. And Elena’s description of four distinct layers (or gates as she calls them) seems immensely enticing!
    I have smelled one of the Nota di Viaggio by Meo Fusciuni, but I don’t remember which one :-S
    I am in France, EU.

  • I always enjoy Elena’s dramatic descriptions and here I like how she says you don’t have to leave your home to experience a place because of the magic of perfume. I am a huge Meo Fusciuni fan and this is one of the aspects that makes his perfume special to me, in addition to the beauty they are very transportive. They allow me to visits places I will probably never see and Varanasi is no exception. I’ve been lucky enough to try it and fell in love first sniff and it took me to a far away land when I felt like I needed escape. Reading about Meo’s travels there and smelling the perfume, I felt like I had been there myself. I love this perfume so much and love Elena’s review. Whoever wins will be very lucky. Good luck to everyone. Thank you for the generous giveaway. I’m in the US.

  • The real art is the one that walks the path of the history of man’s heart. The one that goes across rivers and land, as if they were our blood and body. No, it is not necessary to physically travel to move our spirit to another place. Not only that, but a lot of times when we travel physically, we don’t go anywhere. Sometimes when we are at our office or our houses, there are triggers that take us directly to the heart of man, the heart of all men. A fragrance, a phrase, a song can be enough to travel to the beginning of time, when men walked naked, one with earth, where we were not corrupted by the world yet. Today, this kind of art is more needed than ever, the one that connects us to the man lost within. These words were inspired by Elena’s review. I have never had the pleasure to test any fragrance by Meo Fusciuni. But if they awaken this type of review, it would be a true pleasure to test any fragrance at all and this one in particular. Miami, Florida.

  • The Plum Girl says:

    Thank you all for wonderful and inspiring comments! It’s amazing to read your impressions and how perfume, even virtually described by words, can touch our souls. Beautiful! Good luck to all, to have a full bottle of Meo’s fragrance is wonderful indeed!

  • Very interesting article by Elena. I enjoyed reading her olfactive adventure through India.
    I planned to go on a trip to India this year with one of my friends, but this was sadly cancelled (due to obvious reasons). I would love to experience this trip through India while in isolation myself.

    I have not tried any of Giuseppe’s fragrances yet.
    UK.

  • Oh wow, what a impression.
    I like the way you described it Elena. There are scents which grow your mind, maybe better than the real “walk” to paint a picture 😉
    Never smelled something from Meo only listened to the description and rewies other ones took.
    Would like to change this ♡
    I am from Germany,
    Lovely greetings

  • What I appreciated about Elena’s review was the artwork, especially the one concerning the spices of India. And then there’s her description the 4 gates of the fragrance of which, because I love rose, my favorite was the 3rd gate, which will feel like an “imprint of a rose in oud and ambergris-tainted soil it fell into” which, after a meldiing, will ‘blur the outlines that define floral, earthy, and woody, stained with amber and still warm from trails of spices that linger on my skin’.

    I have never tried a Meo Fusciuni fragrance before, but after this review, I will have to change that.

    I live in Waldorf, MD, USA.

  • Sounds unique! I love that it is complex, powerful, intense and long lasting. Most of all, I love oud based fragrances. Never tried any from this house yet. IL, USA

  • redwheelbarrow says:

    This sounds like an amazing experience. I love the idea of pairing the fragrance with music and poetry as well. I sit here trying to decide which gate most appeals to me but they all sound incredible – I love most all of the notes described and a floral spicy fragrance sounds perfect for the season. I have never tried this house but I’m quite curious now. Thank you for the draw. I am in the US.

  • India is a place I’ve always wanted to go and an olfactory fantasy/nightmare. Elena’s review lights up the fantasy side of that equation. I’ve never tried a Meo Fusciuni fragrance and I live in the US.

  • i haven’t tried any release from this house. This one is extremely interesting for my personal taste since saffron, ambergris and leather are some of my favorite notes. Id like to how they combine together.
    Im from Greece, Europe

  • I have never tried anything from this house, but it sounds like it takes you on a beautiful journey. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a perfume that is described as spicy, animalic, aquatic, smokey and balsamic. Elena’s review is soulful and poetic and I would love to try this. Marit in the UK

  • Oh, I am so excited to try this perfume as I cherish my bottle of Meo Fusciuni Little Song. It is one of my favorite fragrances in my collection. Varanasi sounds like a wonderful collection of some of my favorite notes. I enjoyed Elena’s imagery of descending a staircase through the phases of the fragrance and how powerful scent memories can take us on a journey through time and place. I have a house in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and live part of each year there.

  • A wonderful inspiration for a fragrance that includes many beautiful spices, florals, and my beloved leather and ambergris. Lovely review by Elena. I still haven’t tried any of the creations from this line. In the USA.

  • The notes sound beautiful and also have the quality perhaps of layers within the fragrance. It feels languid yet moving. I’ve not tried any of this house, but this does sound amazing. Many thanks for thei lovely review and to Meo Fusciuni Parfums for making this draw possible. I’m in the ISA

  • israelfriedmann says:

    Mysterious and intriguing, dark and bright at the same time.
    This perfume transports you directly to Asia, with its aromas of spices and incense.
    On many occasions it happened to me that an aroma transports me directly to a place that I have already been.
    It is a memory kept but asleep, but if you do not smell it, the memory is not activated.
    It is very pleasant to have this experience with aromas.
    I like !!
    Miami, FL. USA

  • Interesting review and very interesting fragragrance.
    “You are the river, the land, and the heritage of all that have crossed this path you are walking on, long before you: this is Meo’s India. It’s complex, it’s powerful and intense, and long-lasting memory of it is now a soulful fragrant blend of Varanasi. “Every human time is the heritage of our time, of our gaze, it is gold in the mist of emptiness.“ I’m new to this house. Thank you for bringing this to my attention and beautiful article as always from Ellena.
    Florida USA

  • A beautiful review by Elena of Varanasi. The set of notes is wonderful, and the description of how the 4 gates open up, like the opening of chakras, from the enchanting city Varanasi in India. I feel this has to be experienced rather than just reading about it, much as Elena has so beautifully tried to capture in words and pictures the olfactory feelings from the fragrance. Thanks for the review and the draw. Writing from the USA.

  • I also had a pretty big impression of all the varied smells the first time I traveled to India. I agree…lots of spices, and richness and depth of variety. I always love the way my suitcase smells different when I travel overseas. I’d love to see if this fragrance is at all similar to what I remember! I haven’t tried anything from this house before. I live in the USA. Thanks for the giveaway!

  • Varanasi is a controversial place and what I love about this review and the fragrance itself actually is that how carefully they are composed, revealing the charm of this place. I love the poetic revealing of the notes. I love what Meo creates. I only tried Little Song though, beautiful twist of tobacco and coffee!

  • Forgot to mention I am from the UK

    “Varanasi is a controversial place and what I love about this review and the fragrance itself actually is that how carefully they are composed, revealing the charm of this place. I love the poetic revealing of the notes. I love what Meo creates. I only tried Little Song though, beautiful twist of tobacco and coffee!”

  • What a powerful read, Elena’s skillful words described this perfume beautifully. As visceral as earth and water, Varanasi seems to be. The blend of earth and spices with sumptuous sprinkles of flowers with an incessant stream of water pulsing underneath sounds evocative and cathartic. It would be a wonderful experience to try it. I have heard many good things about the Meo Fusciuni house, but never tried any.
    I am in the EU. Thanks for a lovely read and draw.

  • Danny Constantinescu says:

    Scented poetry and describing the notes as “gates” which implies travelling, I found that fascinating. An ode to India and its scents. Live in London, UK. Danny

  • I loved how Elena’s review conjured up vivid imagery in my mind, with the various facets of Varanasi entwined with the accompanying sights. I haven’t tried any Meo Fusciuni fragrances before, but I would love to! I live in the UK.

  • Haven’t tried Meo Fusciuni fragrances before but have heard great things about them! I definitely love the bottle design, and the combination of the notes sounds wonderful.
    Florida, USA

  • Great Elena’s review! It makes Varanasi sound so mysterious.
    I have tried just one fragrance of Meo Fusciuni, it’s Notturno. And it is nothing I have tried before.

  • Great Elena’s review! It makes Varanasi sound so mysterious.
    I have tried just one fragrance of Meo Fusciuni, it’s Notturno. And it is nothing I have tried before.
    I am from the EU.

  • I have never tried this house! Ambrette is a gorgeous note. I enjoyed the ‘gates’ of this review. This sounds like it could be quite a powerful fragrance.
    From Canada!

  • Elena’s reviews are always a joy to read, especially this time as we are taken on an olfactory journey into the historic, spiritual soul of India. I especially liked how she emphasizes the motif of water, as water is truly a crucial element to the life of Varanasi the city. It is a place legendary for pilgrimages of ritual bathing in the Ganges River. After reading this, I want to go on this sojourn myself! Meo Fusciuni is a house I have not yet experienced, but I hope that will soon change. Thanks so much for your generosity and the chance to experience this work of art! I’m in Oregon, US.

  • I liked the idea of an olfactory mandala, and that the “birth” of the fragrance happened while listening to a certain musical composition.
    Unfortunately, never tried a Meo Fusciuni fragrance before and I am living in Europe.

  • wandering_nose says:

    This fragrance sounds otherworldly while at the same time being deeply rooted in the heritage of precious ingredients that true perfume lovers are familiar with. It was a pleasure to read such a poetry and magic infused description. I haven’t had the privilege to try Meo Fusciuni fragrances so would love to get to know Varanasi. Based in the EU

  • Wow what amazing notes for this one!! Love them as I love traveling!So the conection of the perfume with travel is awesome.I have never tried one perfume from Meo before.I live in Italy

  • I have never tried a Meo Fusciuni scent before but I am hoping to be able to with this giveaway. My favorite part was the description of the scent of all of the different spices of India as well as the description of the oud and the rose and the ambergris-tainted soil.
    I live in FL, USA.

  • I enjoyed the review and how it described the fragrance as going thru multiple gates. It seems this is a very complex, interesting and unique scent which is great and I like the inspiration being travel to India as well. Ive not tried any Meo Fuscini fragrances yet. From CT USA. Thanks for the generous giveaway.

  • I adore Elena’s factual yet poetic review, as well as Meo Fusciuni’s scents… “Luce” is my favorite from this house, as well as my absolute favorite. It will always remind me of the small streets of Alghero, the cosy perfume shop – N’Aria – I bought it from…

    I live in The Netherlands, Europe

    Thank you for the daily dose of “perfumistic” inspiration!

  • Fascinating, like reading a Jules Verne book. A poetical and spiritual journey through the senses.I enjoy Elenas’s parallelism between gates and pyramid notes almost like a religious initiation a rite of passage ceremony marking the entrance to another dimension a transformation in which the initiate is ‘reborn’ into a new role. Varanasi sounds like a forest mantra rooting every corner of your soul gloming, irradiating, purifying, elevating your spirit. Thank you from Ireland (EU)

  • Hello! I never tried a Meo Fuscini fragrance before.
    I especially enjoyed the attention paid to all the textures of the significance and context of the fragrance, not only to its composition. And the courage to mention “visceral emotions”, which is a warning as well as an invitation.
    I live in Romania, EU.

  • doveskylark says:

    I enjoyed reading how Elena described the different stages of Varanasi as gates. The third gate, with the deep rose, intrigues me. I have never been to India, so I’d love to travel there through this fragrance. I have never tried anything from this house, but I’m excited to try the different fragrances in the Asian inspired collection.

    I live in the USA.

  • What an interesting way to describe this fragrance! I love the 3rd gate – The third gate, one with a body made of flowers appears, with a rose so dark and ripe that it feels more like an illusion, an imprint of a rose in oud and ambergris-tainted soil it fell into.
    Anything with rose in it is right up my alley!
    I’ve actually never heard of this fragrance house. I look forward to exploring their line.
    I live in the US.

  • m.r.everything says:

    Meo Fusciuni is a brand I have never heard of, yet it sounds so enticing! Reading Elena’s review of Varanasi has, yet again, added another fragrance to my “Must Buy” list. I love spices in fragrances and how fitting of a time to feature a spice heavy scent. Fall is my favorite time of year, as with most people….. that also means that fall has some of the best fragrances, in my opinion. I absolutely adore scents with spices, and that gravitate toward the Fall and Winter seasons. Varanasi is one I would blind buy just based on Elena’s description of the scent! Giuseppe took us on such a fragrant adventure through India and it sounds so divine! Although I have never heard of the brand before, it is now on my radar with this one being at the top of my list. Thank you, Elena, for your thoughts and take on Varanasi…. you have added another one to the ever growing list and introduced me to a brand that sounds so promising. Thank you to team Meo Fusciuni for your generosity and for this awesome opportunity. It is truly appreciated! Thank you, as always, to Michelyn, for bringing us this content and making all of this possible! Sending warm wishes and gratitude from Delaware, US. Good luck to all and stay safe friends!

  • immortano26 says:

    It looks like ebony tree. Hope it smells the same! When i saw the notes(first thing i look up) – out,leather and animal scents i fell in love with this fragrance in a second. Then i read the review and my love was even deeper. This is one of my favourite review on this site and I mean it. The first photo is just gorgeous. This is my first touch on Meo Fuscini fragrances but definitely not last! If i dont win it I will have to buy it. You’ll ruin me dear CaFleureBon writers and reviewers! Hope you’ll burn in hell for it 🙂 Just joking, at least i will smell amazing even living on a street 🙂

  • “An olfactory mandala” is such a lovely description. Gorgeous photos and such an intriguing review. I’ve never tried this house but I look forward to doing so, I’m in the US.

  • Elena’s description is so creative and descriptive and makes me want to be transformed into this fragrance. I love the animalic, rose/floral and spices notes, but the second stage of aquatic scent is intriguing. I would love to try this fragrance and I love complicated fragrances, but yet to find the ONE. New York, NY

  • Great review by Elena! I loved her descriptions of the fragrance, especially how it unfolds through the various gates. I am intrigued by “Spiritual and carnal, intense and flowing, spicy, and animalic”. This fragrance sounds amazing and is perfect for this time of year. Since we are unable to travel right now, Varanasi is my way to travel to India. Thanks for the generous giveaway and I live in the US!

  • John Michael Jones says:

    As a lover of Rose… once I read, a rose so dark and ripe that it feels more like an illusion,” YOU HAD ME! Oh, this sounds so beautiful. Good luck all from Boston, Ma. USA!

  • Varanasi, though I have never visited, conjures up temple, temple going people, Indian classical music (particularly Varansi gharana), impressions of smoke, wet earth, smoke, ash and incense. I can see how rose (especially dark or broody one), those beautiful Subcontinental spices and oud (albeit an accord) go so aptly for such a moody composition. At least that is impression I am getting from the wordsmoth Elena. Thanks for the opportunity. UK

  • Varanasi sounds wonderful with the nutmeg, cardamom, incense, ambergris, jasmine, rose. I have not tried anything from Meo Fusciuni yet.
    Canada

  • I enjoyed the journey this review took me on. I haven’t tried any in this line, but this fragrance sounds quite appealing. I live in the USA.

  • Michael Prince says:

    Elena, great review of Meo Fusciuni Varanasi. Giuseppe Imprezzabile, the owner, nose, and creator of Meo Fuscini is inspired to make fragrances during a specific moment and place in time. This fragrance goes through four different phases to describe that moment spicy facets to start, followed to animalic and oud touches, a unique faded rose, and earthy undertones. This fragrance sounds really intriguing to me and sounds perfect for the fall and winter. I haven’t tried any fragrances from Meo Fuscini. I am from the USA.

  • AlwaysWater says:

    Wow sounds incredible. Reading this review felt like a walk through a foreign city. I was interested to see that this fragrance contains spikenard as well. A precious ingredient with a lot of fascinating religious history, like many of the other ingredients I see listed as well. so cool! Haven’t tried any from this house before. USA

  • Fragrancejourney01 says:

    I own 5 fragrances from Meo and they all are really wonderful.I’m really excited to smell this new release from the line.Thanks for the wonderful overview.