Approach
“Notte Oscura – Hermetic Parfum is a project born in collaboration with Make a Mark for the perfume market. The project was driven by the idea of providing a pleasant sensory experience through materials. The interplay between light, glass, and form translates into an object that holds a ‘secret’ and reflects an aura of elegance and mystery. Renders and physical mockups were created for this concept.”

Bottle
The “Estal Custom Notte Oscura” glass bottle is crafted from high-transparency glass. The bottle’s shape was inspired by a modern interpretation of classic minimalist lines. The sharp curves and linearity of the forms blend into a timeless design, lending the object an elegant appearance. Inside the bottle, a specially shaped glass resembling a precious stone was placed to represent the philosopher’s stone. The glass selected not only for its purity but also for its ability to delicately reflect light, creating iridescent plays of light and shadow.

Cover
The metal cover, produced by Signet company in London, is made from metal and adorned with icons that produce a mother-of-pearl and holographic effect. Geometric patterns were used for the engravings, employing the Debossed technique. Each icon represents symbols from the esoteric alchemical language, connecting metals with planets in the solar system, providing the user with a “map” to understand the hermetic concept at the core of the project.

Closure
The cap is crafted from an antiqued metal. Using the Embossed technique, Greek inscriptions were created, concealing a hermetic concept waiting to be uncovered. The upper part of the closure is made of glass, and an emblem representing the “alchemy’s squaring of the circle,” a symbol associated with Greek sacred geometry, is affixed inside.
In the initial concept of this “empty capsule,” we contemplated incorporating liquid mercury to harness the unstable and liquid movement of the metal in a “play of oscillations.” To enhance sustainability in the packaging, we opted for an alternative material: Gallium.
The 3D sculpture of the silver serpent embodies the universal energy that consumes and renews itself. It symbolizes unity, the totality of the world, infinity, eternity, cyclic time, eternal return, immortality, and perfection.

Label
The chosen paper is Avery Dennison’s Cotton Black, a high-quality material that feels rough and warm to the touch.
The label possesses a deep black surface, as profound as the darkness of the night, capturing the essence of mystery.
During the printing process, a “special” black ink was used for the eclipse image, capable of absorbing 99% of light, creating a tone of “pure black” to emphasize the concept of darkness and produce strong contrasts. This ink is also used in the aerospace industry. For depicting the eclipse, a hot stamping technique was employed with Luxoro’s holographic foil LIGHT LINE® SPACE, providing dimensionality and contrast to the design. The brand characters were printed using a black KURZ Colorit Trans 812 foil to create an additional black shade. The label aims to play with different shades of black through the paper, foil, and ink.
The label, with its symbols and materials, draws the user into one of the phases of the alchemical journey (notte oscura), elucidating a path toward achieving the “essence” and awakening of the soul, using the perfume as a metaphor that aligns with certain alchemical principles during its production phases.
The project serves as an experimentation platform where materials of different natures such as steel, glass, and mercury harmoniously merge, creating a sensory experience that seems to hold a magical elixir.

Concept
Notte Oscura (Dark Night)

The dark night of the soul is a concept that originated with the Carmelites, later taken up by transmutative alchemists, and subsequently used in psychology.
The dark night is that moment when, either due to trauma or existential problems, the mind collapses, bringing forth awareness.
When the “psycho-spiritual” transformation process reaches its final and decisive stage, it sometimes gives rise to intense suffering and inner darkness.
For mystics, it’s a period of sadness, fear, confusion, and solitude, necessary to draw closer to God.

Alchimia e Nigredo (Alchemy And Blackness)

The process of purification and creation involves various stages, among which is the Nigredo. The dark night of the soul resembles the alchemical Nigredo, the initial death characterized by the archetype of the Shadow, through which the old dies to make way for the new.
Nigredo, a Latin term meaning the color black, in alchemy signifies the phase of the Great Work involving Blackness, the initial step in the creation of the philosopher’s stone, the stage of putrefaction and decomposition of the elements.
It is the first and most crucial moment symbolized by a black crow, a skeleton over a black sun, where it is necessary to “kill off” all the alchemical ingredients, macerating and cooking them long enough to form a uniform black mass.
The dark night represents the phase where the material must be decomposed to return to its primitive state, that is, the condition of the original chaos from which all creation began.
Initially, it is essential to destroy the elements so they can later be reassembled into a higher synthesis. “Solve et Coagula” was indeed the alchemists’ motto, indicating the operations to be carried out, of which dissolution and decomposition necessarily constituted the first unavoidable step. The solutio or liquefaction allowed the reduction of matter to its undifferentiated essence, identified with the philosophical mercury.
Just as in the pursuit of the “Great Work,” a perfume is born from the phase of dissolution and distillation of the elements. As in alchemical practices, so in the creation of a perfume, there is a combination of natural ingredients to create a unique, powerful, and evocative blend that can have positive effects on the mind and body, reflecting the idea that perfume can bring a sense of spiritual transformation to the wearer.
This perfume is a complete sensory experience that touches not only the sense of smell but also that of the soul.