The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Licorice arrived in 2024 as part of Federico Cantelli's growing obsession with what Italian confectionery could mean in a bottle. Not the polite candy aisle, the real thing, the black twists and the salted black licorice from specialty shops in Milan that make your mouth dry and your brain light up. Cantelli had already proven he could handle sweet without losing his nerve (Rose Cocktail, Pistachio Obsession), but licorice was different. It had bite. It had history. It had the kind of polarizing power that makes people either lean in or walk away, and Cantelli wanted to make something that would survive the walk-away and still be there when they came back.
What makes this composition interesting is the structural logic underneath the sweetness. Licorice opens as the star, sharp, clean, medicinal in the best way, but it's not alone for long. The heart introduces cherry jam and marmalade, sugared almonds that round out the anise into something almost edible, almost safe. Then the base arrives: star anise doing its thing, spun sugar dissolving into caramel, and salt. That pinch of salt is the whole move. Without it, this is a dessert. With it, it's a conversation. Salt pulls the sweetness back from the edge, makes the gourmand notes feel earned rather than indulgent, gives the wearer something to argue about at the perfume counter.
The evolution
The opening announces licorice without apology, the real, black, pharmacy kind, not the candy-coated soft version. Thirty minutes in, the vanilla and cherry jam push through, turning the sharp into something warmer, sweeter, almost jam-like. The marmalade arrives around the hour mark, pushing the composition into full confection territory: sugared almonds, tart citrus peel, fruit preserve sweetness that lingers. Then the base takes over. Star anise and spun sugar do the heavy lifting now, with salted caramel settling into the skin for the long haul, 4 to 6 hours depending on your chemistry. The salt doesn't disappear; it threads through everything, keeping the sweetness honest. By hour five, you're left with a warm, soft anise-and-caramel haze that stays close to the skin. The next morning, it's still there, faint, but definite, like the smell of a kitchen where something good was made.
Cultural impact
The 2024 licorice movement in niche perfumery finds Cantelli positioning this release alongside rose and pistachio in his growing collection of deliberately provocative sweets. The composition's anise-forward opening and salted caramel base place it in conversation with other modern Italian confectionery interpretations, though the medicinal licorice note sets it apart from more accessible gourmand entries.
