Hey Crew. Remember the amazing Vero Kern? What a perfumer. I was lucky enough to have been at the Esxense where she introduced Naja. She was best friends with one of our dearest friends Val the Cookie Queen. Vero even offered me a bottle of Naja but I STUPIDLY declined because my bag was so overfull already. She came shopping with us one day and I bought a couple of her perfumes, yes before she offered me Naja. We had dinner with her one night too. It was one of those truly unbelievable evenings with Vero, Neela and her husband T, Polish Margo, Val, Jin and me. A small Italian restaurant around the corner from the event that Jin and I had discovered the night before. Full of locals and not very expensive but the food was so good and there was plenty of rough wine to wash it down. That night is one of my fondest memories.
Here we are with Val, Antonio Gardoni and Vero.
We lost Vero in 2018. It was a very sad day for perfume.
Naja by Vero Profumo
LuckyScent gives these featured accords:
Osmanthus absolute, melon, linden blossom, tobacco
Decant Demolition 2025 has brought some amazing beauties to light. I had a 10ml decant of Naja that I used to about the 2ml mark and kept the rest for reference. I reckon there’s 1ml left so my description is about a decant that has evaporated by about 50% over a few years. It won’t be a story about the original but a much oxygenated, extrait version.
I don’t think I can better my previous writings, “Naja opens ferociously green, like Granny Smith apples and honeydew melon fruit salad. As soon as you get your head around its acidic sweetness a leathery linden and thick pollen wash like a wave over the top engulfing and then slowly receding. We are caught in this briny fantasy for a while and it both glorious and weird, skirting the edges of too much but never quite pushing over the edge. The newness of Spring with underlays of bilge, flowers, leather, over ripe melon and also the cool wash of fresh sea water.”
Naja is not for the faint hearted. It’s a mad rollicking ride akin to freedom. Scary, amazing, glorious and overwhelming. Proceed with caution and enjoy every moment.
Did you know LuckyScent still has some of Vero’s perfumes, recreated by CampoMarzio70, in bottle and sample.
Are you a Very fan?
Portia xx
I dearly love Vero Kern’s perfumes. Kiki and Rubj are my favorites, but I’m fascinated with Onda (it is scary and the EdP is scarier than the extrait), Naja, Mito and Roczy. I haven’t tried the ones Luckyscent has now. I’m kinda nervous to try them. I don’t want another lemming.
I corresponded with Vero a couple times and she was so kind and answered my weird perfume questions. You passed on a bottle of Naja? I’m sure it was the best and kindest decision at the time…but whoa! (I’m betting Jin would like Naja better than Onda.)
Vero’s perfumes never clicked with me. I tried several, including Rubj in all three versions. I thought the voile was nice, but no more than that. I do remember how Val loved Vero and her perfumes. Makes me smile.
That sounds absolutely NUTS and not me, but a lot of fun! I’m still hoarding a generous decant of Rubj and contemplating getting a sample of the newer version via Lucky for comparison, because I didn’t know they still existed!
Vito fragrances always scared me and I assumed them to be completely out of my realm, so I never explored her work. Now that I’m older and my tastes have changed somewhat, perhaps I can pull this off. A sample of Mito now in my cart. 🙂
Hey VerbenaLuvvr!
Here’s hoping Mito wears like a fragrant dream for you.
Portia xx
I think I have my original samples of the first three hidden in the closet box. Need to go check. I really admire her work but never bought anything post those samples. I think Harrods had leftovers from the line for a long while (given the price point and how out there they are). I love your stories, Portia.
Thanks Cinnamon,
Those first three were so groundbreaking
I hope you find them
Portia xx
The only Vero I have ever tried is Onda in the Voile version. Dear Lord it gave me the heebeegeebees. To me it smelt of something terrifying lurking just out of site in a damp, algae ridden cellar. Put me off her other creations forever!
Naja would have been a vastly better starting point & I would be very tempted to sample now. Thing is Luckyscent’s shipping to the UK is prohibitively expensive & I’m still trying not to buy. So I won’t be scratching the itch you just created this time
So funny you mention Onda Alityke. I’ve brought a decant with me on holidays and spritzed some yesterday after a Korean bath. Jin was outraged and kept side eyeing me and spluttering for the first hour. It was hilarious. Like I’d personally tried to attack him.
He and Onda calmed down after that
Portia xx
Portia, I am so with Jin on this! The Ancient Dungeons of Onda!
I love that he takes stinky as a personal affront
I’m very much a Vero fan. I never got to meet her but we did correspond and I both respected her incredible talent and enjoyed her humor and kindness. I’m glad her perfumes are still available.
Tom, you and Vero would have sniggered together like naughty schoolboys. She would have been putty in your hands.
What a shame she never had the pleasure of.
Portia xx