Antonia Bellanca opened her East Hampton flower shop, Antonia’s Flowers, in 1981. Unhappy with the floral perfumes then on the market, she decided to capture the scent of her shop in a bottle. Her first fragrance, called simply Antonia’s Flowers, was created with perfumer Bernard Chant and launched in 1984.
Tiempe Passate, her third fragrance, was named for a love song written by her grandfather in the 1920s. Bellanca wanted a perfume “designed to immediately smell as if it’s been on the skin all night” (The Independent, 12/14/02). The result, by nose Norbert Bijaoui, features notes of bergamot, clementine, sage, mimosa, cyclamen, Montauk rose, white orris, cedar, vetiver and amber.
Tiempe Passate starts with a rush of citrusy bergamot, but quickly settles into a blend that smells primarily of cedar and iris. The very early stages are mildly sweet and fruity, but after that it is earthy and dry, with a light, peppery-spicy edge. The florals are indistinct — I would guess that I pick out the mimosa and rose only because they are listed in the notes. The Montauk rose is said to have a salty quality, and sometimes I think it does smell very salty, more so the longer it warms on the skin, but again, perhaps that is only the power of suggestion.
It reminds me somewhat of Hermès Hiris, but worn together their differences are striking. Tiempe Passate is warmer and heavier, with its feet planted firmly on the ground, while Hiris is floating around somewhere in the upper atmospere. Hiris reminds me of spring, Tiempe Passate of fall. Both fragrances are elegant, but Hiris has a playful elegance, Tiempe Passate, in keeping with its back story and packaging, has a more nostalgic, old-fashioned air.
It is a lovely fragrance with a lovely bottle to match, and my only complaint is that it is only sold in 60 ml bottles of Eau de Parfum. That is just more juice than I need. And unlike Hiris, it cannot be easily found at a nice discount. One day when I am feeling particularly flush, I will probably buy it, but in the meantime, I’m sticking with my Hiris, which is to my mind one of the all time great bargains in perfumery.
Tiempe Passate is $125. For buying information, see the listing for Antonia’s Flowers under Perfume Houses.
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I had a sample of TP and your post finally made me try it just now. Power of suggestion works one me too, because it does smell kind of salty. And a little smoky. It reminds me of something (not Hiris, sadly, I love that one)…I can't put my finger on it…Very pleasant. But $125? Bah!
I've tried the other two, but have neglected to get around to trying this one yet. I found those two both had slightly rough openings before they settled into something very smooth (although markedly less rough with Floret) – would you say it's the same with Tiempe Passate?
Thanks for this. I didn't realize that Antonia collaborated on her fragrances. Do you “knows” the nose for Floret, one of my favorites?
M, I don't find the price outrageous for the amount of juice…just don't want that much juice! Half the juice at half the price would suit me fine.
K, unless you hate bergamot, I don't think you would find it rough. Hope someone else will weigh in on this…
I am sorry, but it is the only scent of hers that I've never seen attributed to a perfumer.
The opening for me is a blast of cedar. It's overwhelming dry and acrid. But If I can make it to the drydown without scrubbing it off, it is one of the most beautiful, delicious drydowns ever.
Isn't that interesting? To me, TP is the absolute essence of spring. I bought it after having trudged through a foot of snow on my way to Barney's in Chicago. It was February or March, and my body was absolutely craving something springlike. I love iris scents because to me they scream spring: fresh earth, roots, flowers all muddled together; sunlight warming the top half of your body, cold earth chilling the bottom half. Hope, resurrection, Girl Scout Cookies — ah, spring…
-Bellanca wanted a perfume “designed to immediately smell as if it's been on the skin all night” -
Oooh, I love that! Why is every perfume always better 24 hours later, when you have to shower it off?
R, I do not know why I have ignored this one, because I have worn both AF and Floret and loved them both intensely.
Hmm…I will have to think on that one!
:)
Hugs!
Salty quality is what I get from this too. It is a very lovely fragrance, but the 2oz size stops me as well.
Ah…see Victoria below on the acrid blast of cedar…
Interesting…love the cedar in the opening, but can see where someone might not!
K, double laugh at the Girl Scout cookies…but I associate those with winter too, as my niece calls me soon after the order forms are out. A few days ago, in fact. I guess my seasons are all screwed up
I liked that quote too, and I think she achieved her goal for the most part.
And I liked this one so much that I've kind of ignored AF & Floret! Need to revisit both of them.
V, this is another line that should have a coffret set of all 3 in half oz bottles.
Several years ago I was given a generous sample of this at SpaceNK. I liked it a lot, but was reduced to speechlessness when I went back to ask the price. It was about £100 then (still is, I see – so it's much cheaper in the US!). So I put my precious sample somewhere 'safe'….yes, one of those safe places I will never find again. I remember it as dense, rich, and probably too much for office use. But 2oz/60ml would do me for two lifetimes, wearing TP only!
Wow, N, that is a pretty hefty price difference. I wish I could say I wouldn't pay that much for anything, but I bought Osmanthe Yunnan, and unsniffed at that. I do wish that TP would show up at a discounter just once…I'd buy it in a second.
Oh dear, R, I take part of the responsibility for the Osmanthe Yunnan! This exchange rate thing is really weird; there are several lines, such as The Different Company, where it's often cheaper to order from the US and pay shipping, than to buy here. I'm considering buying Delrae or Jalaine – but it's wildly cheaper to buy these from the States than from Europe. Odd, isn't it?
I need to give this one another try.I recieved a sample of this once and abhorred how it smelled, but oddly I love the other two!
I love the dry woody/floral character of Tiempe too, but I balk at getting 2 oz of it. It's eBay decants for me.
Oh good, I am happy to have someone to blame
Jalaine or Delrae I can understand, since they are US companies, but very surprised that you can get anything from The Different Company cheaper from the US!
C, Many people find the cedar overwhelming, so perhaps it just isn't to your taste. The phrase “too much cedar” has no resonance for me, LOL…
Yep, thank heavens for ebay!
I have only read about this line, but never seen it sold anywhere.
I'm very curious. Can anyone give a brief capsule description of what Antonia's Flowers smells like? Tiempe sounds like it would be too woody for my taste.
For the life of me, I cannot find my darned sample! I have never actually tried it on skin, so going on a very old memory of spraying it on a card at Neiman Marcus: rather odd top note, then lots of freesia. Freesia is a flower I adore in real life, but have yet to adore a freesia perfume.
R, your description sounds so perfect, as i love earthy irises, but this definitely was such a sad thing on me – all pepper and burn. blast you, Bergamot!
i do think you description will be a lovely inspiration for another formula, though.
thanks!
R, I am so surprised, the bergamot seemed relatively short lived on me…but then, I love bergamot, and love anything peppery, so probably just didn't notice, LOL!
I just love TP – possibly one of my top 5 ever. To me it's a salty floral chypre and I don't get cedar which is a relief given that I generally dislike it. The price in the UK though is just ridiculous. AF is pure freesia to me and quite lovely too, more so in edt than edp. Floret is migraine in a bottle – piercing white floral – dislike it intensely.
Glad to see another TP fan! As I said above, I need to revisit the other 2 scents…my memory was that AF was closer to a piercing white floral than Floret, so perhaps I have them confused.
Just back from my job in Hawaii, and waiting for me yesterday was my decant of Tiempe Passat! I'm wearing it today. I really like it – and you've described it brilliantly.
Welcome home, and so glad you like Tiempe!!
Thank you! I'm glad to be home. I missed my perfumes, I brought only two with me. Tiempe is really gorgeous. I'm warming up to florals these days…so many lovely ones.
I am so surprised of all the comments on AF with all the freesia. What about all the overwhelming “Gardenia” notes, I have one of the keenest noses and am wondering “Am I crazy?”
I don't remember gardenia, but like I said I only tried it on a card and that was some time ago. Perhaps you are right!
This is my favorite of her three fragrances. And, I think you have to buy the eau de parfum. Why haven't I bought this fragrance??? Mmmm….Oh, I know…because when I have an extra $100 to drop on a fragrance, I can't justify it being spent on anything by Serge Lutens.
I mean I only want to buy Serge Lutens. It is late… this is sign that I need to be in bed. : )
LOL — I knew what you meant
Antonia's Flowers is my favorite perfume and has been since the early 90's when I first smelled it at Barney's. I just love the licorice-yness of the first blast. Gorgeous and I'm not really a “floral” kind of girl. However, it really doesn't have much staying power — silliage? The drydown just isn't terribly interesting. The perfume lady at Barney's gave me a sample of “Tiempe Passat” to try and I really like it. The drydown is very incense-woody although “Perfumes:The Guide” calls it “synthetic musks” and gives it 2 stars. Still, I like it and I layer it with Tea Rose to make Tea Rose more interesting.
I love Tiempe Passate, two stars or not
Yeah, I'll admit I rely on that guide too much. They're both such great writers! But I really don't care for much of the 4 or 5 stars and find myself loving the 3 stars quite a bit. But I'm new at this perfume thing and need to educate myself so I feel confident choosing for myself.
They really are great writers, but they dissed lots of my favorites, and of course, they have favorites I don't much care for. So it goes…
I think the two who wrote that book are off on a lot of scents and they praise all the newer, modern crap that smells the same, so looks like to me they are butt kissers in the industry. Look for Chandlers comments on Tiempe Passate in The Emperor of scaent. How could anyone diss this genious of a blend.
We agree on Tiempe Passate but disagree on Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez…I thought it was a great book.
None-the-less, I did enjoy their book and still do and I love the humor in the descriptions. I do not discount their expertize, only on some of the ones mentioned.
Quite — you're not likely to agree w/ all of the reviews, no matter who wrote the book, right?
HI there!
I have been reading Now Smell This blog for a while now and have finally decided join as it's Saturday night and i'm at a loose end… Not a chance of going out for drinks, dinner or a movie tonight as i have spent all my money on perfume this week
Anyhow…. TP is one of my top five favourites… that said i dont even own a bottle as it costs AU$350 over here and is only available from Mecca Cosmetica. I too rely on decants from a generous sales assistant. I will get around to buying it one day when i stop buying other perfumes long enough to save up for it.
I love the soft woodiness of this fragrance… and i'm not usually a fan of wood. But this one reminds me of the wood in pencils and is child-like and nostalgic to me… then again i was very aware of aromas as a child and one of my favourite things to smell was my pencil case. The pencils, ink, scented erasers…. sigh!
Hi and welcome! I've been living on swapped decants for a very long time too — it isn't a cheap scent, and it's impossible to find at discount. If you love that childhood scent of pencil shavings, do try Serge Lutens Santal Blanc.
Funny you should say that as the same person who decants TP for me also recommended Santal Blanc… love them both but find SB a bit Indian curry-ish for me…. prefer it on others.
PS…. thanks for having me!
There is a scent by Shiseido Serge Lutens also created Feminite du Bois that REALLY smells like pencil shavings that shares a few notes with Santal Blanc, cinnamon, rose and the sandalwood or cedarwood are similar in their duskiness. FDB is beautiful and if you love that smell I would consider this one as well. I'm also wondering if his Cedre is also similar.