The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
A Bit Hazelnutty was born from a cup. Specifically, from the bicerin, a traditional layered drink native to Turin, Italy: espresso, drinking chocolate, and milk, served in a small glass and often accompanied by gianduja, the chocolate-hazelnut paste that gives the city much of its culinary identity. The concept was straightforward enough. Capture that drink in scent. The challenge was more interesting. A bicerin reveals itself in layers. You taste them separately, one after another. Perfume doesn't work that way. Notes arrive together, overlap, evolve. So instead of trying to isolate each layer, the composition was built to hold them all at once, letting the wearer discover different facets as the scent develops throughout the day. Hazelnut, cocoa, and rum arrive immediately, bold and unapologetic, like the first sip of something warm and sweet. Then the heart settles in. The fragrance was created by Antonio Alessandria and launched in 2024.
What makes A Bit Hazelnutty interesting as a composition is how it handles sweetness. Gourmand fragrances often lean into a single note, or they escalate sweetness until it becomes cloying. Here, the sweetness is immediate but structured. Nutella and cocoa arrive at the opening, yes, but they're held in place by rum's warmth and coffee's slight bitterness. The florals, when they appear, don't fight the sweetness. They soften it. Lily of the valley and jasmine add a quiet coolness that keeps the chocolate from becoming one-dimensional. The spice notes, cinnamon and clove, work underneath the surface, adding warmth without heat.
The evolution
The opening hits immediately. Nutella, cocoa, and hazelnut arrive all at once, with rum and coffee in the background adding warmth and a slight bitterness that stops the sweetness from feeling juvenile. There's no polite introduction here. The fragrance makes its intentions clear in the first minute. As it develops, vanilla and whipped cream arrive, creating a creamy middle ground that tempers the chocolate richness. Jasmine and lily of the valley add a subtle floral lift, while cinnamon and clove work underneath, adding a warmth that keeps the composition grounded. The hazelnut doesn't disappear. It deepens, becoming more toasted and less sweet as the florals take up space. By the third hour, the drydown settles in. Sandalwood and vetiver provide the woody structure, with amber and musk adding warmth and a quiet intimacy. The sweetness is gone. What remains is warm, close, and intimate.
Cultural impact
A Bit Hazelnutty translates the bicerin, a layered Italian coffee drink from Turin, into scent. It's a quiet exercise in capturing place through taste memory, with an edible warmth that reads across fall and winter days when that kind of sweetness feels earned rather than indulgent. The composition balances rich chocolate and hazelnut with subtle florals and spices, creating something that feels both familiar and distinctly personal.
