Sensory Returns. Chapter 2: Lisbon – Luminous Saudade

Written by Domenico Arcella

Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa!

This is what the Queen of Fado herself, Amália Rodrigues, used to sing. A hymn to the Portuguese capital, capable of evoking all its scents — not only the tangible ones: spices and the sea, wine and grilled sardines, the warmth of the people filling the streets of Alfama and Mouraria, the aromas of traditional festivities.
But Lisbon carries another fragrance too, a subtler one: the scent of saudade, of memory and tradition. The very soul of the city.

Lisbon / Photo credit: Svetlana Gumerova / Unsplash

Each city carries its own unique scent. Each scent stirs a memory. And each memory leads us back to who we are.

In this column, I want to try to tell the stories of the places I’ve traveled through, lived and loved—those that have left an indelible mark on my own story. I follow the feelings and memories that surface in me in that very moment. There is no fixed plan or schedule: only olfactory memory, and the guidance of heart and skin, leading my steps.

This chapter is dedicated to my best friend, Giorgia. To you, who have always been there and who made every memory in the city even more special.

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Lisbon is an integral part of my life, an indelible piece of my heart. Even if not continuously, I spent three years of my life here. It is the place where I built the most meaningful bonds, where I met friends who were there for me, who still are, and who always will be. Lisbon is the place I return to whenever I need to feel at home. It is the home my heart belongs to.

Anyone who has lived, or still lives, in Lisbon knows the deep sense of belonging the city inspires. Those who love it instantly recognize its unique “fragrance”. And anyone who has crossed its path, even for a short time, understands that Lisbon is not merely a collection of places, but a tapestry of memories and emotions. That is why choosing to tell Lisbon through scent is no coincidence: it is the most authentic way I know to tell it through my heart.

Lisbon / Photo credit: Aayush Gupta / Unsplash

My Lisbon — the Lisbon of my happiest moments — carries the scent of the Santos Populares, the traditional Portuguese festivities that light up the month of June. The streets overflow with people, colors, lights, and music. There is a celebration at every corner. The air smells of grilled sardines, beer and wine, and the fragrance of manjericos displayed on balconies and windows. But above all, it is filled with joy: the longing to be together, to dance, to sing, and to embrace the city until the early hours of the night.

Arso by Profumum Roma and Replica By the Fireplace by Maison Margiela, although inspired by very different seasons, both immediately bring me back to the smell of smoke and burning wood.

Arso smells like Lisbon in June: smoke rising through crowded streets, grilled sardines, the warmth of bodies dancing until late at night. Replica By the Fireplace, softer and sweeter, carries me into a more intimate dimension, where the crackling of fire becomes the soundtrack to a suspended moment — almost a world for two: Lisbon and me.

Basilico & Fellini by Vilhelm Parfumerie, with its green and luminous character, evokes the city’s most playful summer: colorful streets, open windows, laughter echoing through the night, and the occasional scent of manjericos resting on balconies.

I find myself recalling entire Sunday afternoons spent on the beaches of Costa da Caparica. Those lazy Sundays, often after a heavy hangover, when all you crave is silence, sunshine, and rest. The scent of the Atlantic Ocean blends with that of sunscreen, with the wind that makes the summer heat more bearable, and with the voices of the young people from Margem Sul playing on the beach.

Then, slowly, those afternoons would turn into sunset gatherings by the sea: a glass of sangria branca or an ice-cold Sagres in hand, music drifting through the air, people arriving one by one as the sky changed color. An almost magical atmosphere, gradually taking on the tones of an elegant and seductive soirée, worlds away from the slow stillness of the afternoon that had just passed.

When I think back to that Lisbon summer, I can almost separate it into three distinct scents.

Salina by Laboratorio Olfattivo, although it evokes a more Mediterranean summer, perfectly conveys the idea of an afternoon by the sea, among warm sand, seashells, and salt water.

Black Sea by Lorenzo Pazzaglia captures instead the nature of the Atlantic Ocean: its strength, its unpredictability, its cold and invigorating waters — those that bring you back to life with nothing more than the touch of a foot. And finally, Soleil Blanc by Tom Ford: the evening. The most glamorous and luminous part of the day. After a quick shower to wash away salt and sun, a faint trace of saltiness and a delicate hint of sunscreen linger on the skin. Luminous like the Portuguese summer, luminous like Lisbon.

And it is impossible to talk about Lisbon without mentioning the pastel de nata, the absolute symbol of the city. The most famous one, the one from Belém, comes from the tradition of the monks of the nearby Jerónimos Monastery and is now replicated all over the world. A flaky pastry filled with a creamy egg custard, lightly caramelized on top. No trip to the Portuguese capital is complete without a stop in Belém.

It’s no surprise, then, that such an iconic creation has also inspired a perfume: Pastel de Nata by Next Memory. A warm gourmand fragrance, as deliciously fragrant as a freshly baked pastel de nata, capable of evoking a different sensation with every breath — deeply comforting.

And then there’s the jacaranda, whose blooming each year heralds the arrival of spring in the city. A plant that came from far away, yet seems to have found its natural home in Lisbon. With the fleeting beauty of its blue-mauve blossoms, it colours the streets of the capital from mid-April through June.  Jacaranda Cologne by Benamôr seeks to capture precisely this glimpse of spring — this poetic postcard that feels as though it has stepped out of one of Fernando Pessoa’s stories.

Ah Lisboa… que saudade!

A city that gets under your skin. Through its light, its history, its azulejos, its colours. Radiant by day and intriguing by night. Lisbon is complex: a vibrant, dazzling city, yet permeated by a subtle, lingering melancholy.

Xerjoff, with its exclusive Olissipo — available only at the boutique on Rodrigues Sampaio 132B — sought to pay tribute to this very urban poetry, rich in contrasts and nuances. Olissipo is like Lisbon itself: it reveals itself slowly, nuance after nuance.

Perhaps this is exactly what makes Lisbon so hard to explain to anyone who has never truly experienced it: it is not just a city, but a lingering sensation. It stays with you like the scent of clothes after a June night spent wandering the streets of Alfama, like the salt on your skin after a Sunday afternoon in Caparica, like the sweet aroma of a still-warm pastel de nata in your hands.

I never miss Lisbon in the same way. Sometimes I miss the sound of the trams, other times the golden light on the rooftops at sunset. And sometimes, I simply miss my memories — all of them. But whenever I catch one of those scents again, even for just a moment, every feeling tied to that city comes rushing back.

And maybe that’s the true power of scent: to preserve places, emotions, and people better than memory itself. And Lisbon, more than any other place, will always have a distinct scent for me — the scent of home.