Fancy putting your feet up and having a brew? Yeah, us too. This fragrance actively encourages that.

Listed notes

Ginger powder, violet, artemesia, iris, black tea, milk, sandalwood, cardamom, white musk.

Top notes

One could easily inspect the notes list of Beyond the Wall by Italian house, Gritti Venetia, and imagine that we would be in for something, soothing and relaxed with things like tea, milk and cardamom nestling in sandalwood and iris. If that is indeed what you thought then you would be correct – why not reward yourself with a brew? This is one of those perfume-equivalent-of-a-hug fragrances, it’s all jeans-and-a-white-t-shirt, bare-feet-and-cup-of-tea-in-hand types of scents which will both soothe and relax stressed minds and tired bodies.

Beyond the Wall begins its journey with what is listed as “ginger powder”. You may wonder how this is different to a fresh, root ginger, for example. The ginger here smells like the sort of dried and powdered ginger that you would add to ginger biscuits or cookies. The almost citrusy zest and zing of fresh ginger has gone, yet the ginger here retains a warmth. The ginger piquancy of fresh ginger, that makes the mouth water, is dialed back too, so that it doesn’t jar with the soothing tones of warm milk which diffuse throughout the scent. The combination of both these facets gives Beyond the Wall the gentle quality of some sort of milky posset, prepared in order to comfort and indulge. Despite the hard lines and shiny surfaces of the bottle, right from the start, the fragrance lets us know that all is well here, all is safe and calm with this scent. Give it a while on your skin, and you might start to feel that way too.

Heart notes

Moving slowly past the first phase of the fragrance, the vibe of Beyond the Wall doesn’t really change. This isn’t a scent that wants to catch you out or trip you up. Instead it wants you to slow down, put your feet up, grab a cuppa. There is an earthy grounding which comes into the fragrance as it progresses further, and it feels like a combination of both the black tea and the gentle tones of artemesia at different times. The iris acts as a powdery bridge between these elements and the milky ribbons of sandalwood which snake throughout the scent. The black tea accord itself is slightly chewy, slightly resinous, a touch smoked. It doesn’t skew or twist into something too green or sharp, it just adds a mellow low hum like a beautiful, resonating string instrument adds to an orchestra. And of course, at the same time, the milky facets are continuing to run over the face of the fragrance soothing everything further, easing it all out into a beautiful sense of expansive relaxation.

Beyond the Wall has elements which feel both powdery and silky, and this all helps to add to the impression of something cosseting and soothing. The scent slithers around the wearer, gently calming the mood, but at no point does it feel forced or “fake cheerful”. The artemesia whispers soothing meadowy thoughts in the background, and the violets add little points of sugary sweet interest into the heart of the scent – but these never feel tooth-rotting, they just act as counterpoints to some otherwise quite un-sweet tea and milk accords. Don’t worry though if you are not a violet-lover, it’s subtle here.

Base notes

White musk and cardamom join the party towards the end of a wear. The fragrance moves slowly though so it may take a while before you can detect them. The white musk is pillowy and soft, and the cardamom adds a warmth similar to that from the ginger that we noticed at the start and giving the whole fragrance an almost cyclical feel. The spices, musks and tea accords all together do give the fragrance a certain “cola” vibe at times, but it isn’t sweet enough to completely bend in that direction. The remaining sandalwood we continue to enjoy in the base is dolphin-smooth, sinuous and delightful.

Gritti are a self-confident and luxurious house and with Beyond the Wall they have imagined something which is sumptuous and soothing, a cashmere blanket of a scent, this is the sort of thing to wear when you are feeling in need of some TLC. It’s a scent to treat yourself to, and then treat yourself to wearing, when you have had a tough week, when the world just needs slowing down a little, or when you want a deep breath or two just to yourself. That’s the vibe of Beyond the Wall, and it certainly feels like something we could all do with indulging in right now, or is that just me?

The other stuff

The perfumer listed for Beyond the Wall is Luca Gritti.

The longevity of Beyond the Wall is very satisfying, about six to eight hours following application. The sillage, or projection, of the scent is polite. It goes to about hugging distance or thereabouts, and feels like something you would wear to please and pamper yourself first and foremost.

Beyond the Wall feels like the sort of fragrance that you could wear to a night out – it certainly feels both refined and elegant enough for that – but actually, it’s more at home wearing it in the house, in either comfy jeans and a clean white T-shirt, or cashmere loungewear. Either way, it’s a scent which will make you feel warm and cosy so why not lean into that?

Given that vibe, I would also suggest that Beyond the Wall will find perfection in being worn in the autumn, as the nights draw in a little. Bliss!

If you liked Remember Me by Jovoy then Beyond the Wall has a similar soothing tone so you may well enjoy it too.

The brand

Gritti Venetia are an Italian luxury brand with all the finesse that phrase conveys. The bottles are sleek, brick shaped in gorgeous different glass colours denoting the different collections (Beyond the Wall belongs to the Ivy Collection). The brand has a huge range and number of fragrances in its collection, but the scents are classy, extremely wearable, and possessed of that Italian sense of style which the rest of Europe coverts and aspires to.

Gritti aim to operate in the artistic space which includes inspiration from history, poetry and travel – amongst other things – but make no mistake, the scents are very wearable, a bit different, and extremely confident in their presentation and packaging. You’re in safe hands with a brand like this, or at least they convince and reassure you that it feels that way.

The scents are manufactured in Bologna.

Buy it

Beyond The Wall is available as a 100ml extrait strength fragrance from the Gritti web boutique, where it is priced at €245 for 100ml of extrait de parfum.

We were very kindly gifted a bottle of Beyond the Wall by the brand.

Header image by Pexels from Pixabay. Images of the product by The Sniff.