Ex Manifattura Tabacchi.

Ex Manifattura Tabacchi was born from Floridia’s love of Naples’ bustling streets and its historic tobacco workshops. Perfumer Giovanni Festa, inspired by the scent of hand‑rolled leaves drifting from the old factories on Via San Gregorio, set out in 2024 to capture that gritty, aromatic atmosphere. The result is a tribute to the city’s raw, herbal character, translating market‑stall aromas into a modern niche scent.

The composition’s trio of tobacco, violet and myrtle is unusual; the floral violet softens the smoke while myrtle injects a fresh, slightly peppery green that recalls the herb stalls of Chiaia. Adding a synthetic amber note, Norlimbanol™, gives the drydown a lingering, resinous glow that most tobacco‑focused fragrances lack, making the scent both nostalgic and forward‑looking.

At first spray, tobacco bursts forward, dense and sweet, immediately softened by a flash of violet that adds a powdery elegance and a sprig of myrtle that injects a crisp, herbaceous lift. Within ten minutes the opening settles, revealing a heart where lavender’s clean aromatics mingle with earthy vetiver, while vanilla drifts in, rounding the composition with a creamy sweetness. As the perfume dries, guaiac wood emerges, delivering a dry, smoky resin that anchors the scent. The synthetic amber of Norlimbanol™ lingers in the background, a faint amber haze that persists for hours, leaving a subtle, smoky‑sweet trail that clings to skin long after the night ends. Overall, the arc lasts roughly four to six hours, with the most pronounced drydown lingering into the next day for those with cooler skin.

Since its 2024 debut, Ex Manifattura Tabacchi has been noted as a finalist in the Independent category at the 2025 Art and Olfaction Awards, earning praise for its bold tobacco‑violet blend. Wearers often describe it as the scent of a Neapolitan night‑shift worker stepping out of a tobacco shop, giving the fragrance a gritty, authentic cultural resonance that sets it apart in the niche market.