Forza SupremaSpicy Leather Extrait de Parfum

Forza Suprema by Cigno Nero is a niche leather, spicy and woody perfume extract, unisex, designed by Luca Maffei. Concentrated at 28-30% pure essential oils, it is the house's most intense creation.

The black swan, or that which should not exist

The house's name comes from a phrase by the Latin poet Juvenal: rara avis in terris, nigroque simillima cygno — "a rare bird on earth, resembling a black swan". For centuries, the black swan designated that which cannot exist, until one was actually discovered in Australia. Cigno Nero Milano was born in Milan in 2020, created by Emilia Chinigò and Giorgio Biella within the publishing house Niche and Co., to whose credit we also owe Onyrico and Anima Mundi. Its principle: each perfume bears the name of a figure of the marvelous, and one chooses the one in which they recognize themselves. The reference to Milan speaks of Italianity, expertise and modernity. All the juices are extracts at 28-30% pure essential oils, in 50 ml bottles.

An opening of bergamot, neroli and ginger

Bergamot opens bright and zesty, neroli — distilled essence of bitter orange blossom — brings a green and honeyed clarity, ginger a fresh spiciness. A luminous start that gives no hint of what follows.

A heart of leather, cistus, birch, cocoa and nutmeg

Leather settles in, tanned and supple, cistus brings its honeyed resin. Then birch lays down its black smoke, cocoa its powdery bitterness and nutmeg its woody warmth.

A base of olibanum resin, vetiver, musk and cashmere wood

Olibanum resin brings its dry and resinous smoke, vetiver its earthy root, musk and cashmere wood a velvety texture. The trail is powerful and very long-lasting.

The house's signature

Birch is the smell of tar. Its essence is what gives Russian leather its black smoke since the 19^th century: a brutal, almost industrial material, which resembles no warm spice. Placing it next to a bitter cocoa is an additional gamble: the gourmand and the burnt in the same accord, without one softening the other. And the bergamot-neroli opening gives no hint of this shift — the perfume starts in full light and ends in smoke. It is the most contrasting construction in the catalog.

For whom, for what occasions?

Leathery, spicy and woody, this extract is aimed at those who love smoked leathers and perfumes with character. It gives its best from autumn to winter, in the evening, worn equally well by women as by men. Spray sparingly: the concentration does the rest.

With Forza Suprema Cigno Nero, Luca Maffei makes tar and cocoa hold together in the same accord.