FZOTIC

All 4 FZOTIC perfumes on ScentVerdict have a verdict. 3 are Favourites and 1 is a Statement. Each verdict sorts a perfume by character, using the same measures for every house, whatever it costs or who makes it.

FZOTIC is a one-person perfume house run from San Francisco by Bruno Fazzolari, a painter who taught himself perfumery. The house describes itself as grown with no outside investment, with every scent composed by Bruno in his own studio.

He began blending fragrances while working on paintings, exhibited them alongside his art, and the perfume community found him. Lampblack, the scent that launched the house, was awarded four stars by Luca Turin and named a Top Ten pick by Artforum, according to the house. The first FZOTIC scents appeared in 2013 and new releases have followed every year or two since.

The current range is eleven Eau de Parfums sold in 30 ml bottles, with 9 ml travel sprays, at $145 for the large size. They are Lampblack, Monserrat, Vetiverissimo, Room 237, Corpse Reviver, Lilac Brûlée, Five Squared, Soft Focus, Deixis, Ummagumma Extra and Creosote. Earlier scents such as the original Ummagumma, Unsettled and Au Delà Narcisse now appear only in sample sets or as unavailable listings.

The scents are known for graphic, bold bottle labels and for concepts that pull from art, cinema and place: a hotel bathroom from The Shining, a printmaker's studio, rain on the Sonoran Desert. FZOTIC sells mainly through its own website, with a sample set programme that gives credit towards a full bottle.

Wearers praise Vetiverissimo, Lampblack, Monserrat and Ummagumma most often. The darker, stranger scents such as Corpse Reviver divide opinion, which suits a house that says it works without committees or trend forecasting.