Quick answers
History
Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi, “close your eyes and then you see,” is the thirteenth fragrance of the UNUM collection. It takes coulrophobia as its subject, the fear of clowns, a relatively common and often misunderstood phobia. Its explicit inspiration is Pennywise, the wicked clown from Stephen King's novel It, who has terrorized generations of readers and viewers.
The house offers an almost clinical reading of that fear. The figure of the clown, tied to entertainment since medieval jesters and the harlequins of the commedia dell'arte, turns disturbing through its exaggerated makeup: it distorts the features and makes the face illegible. Yet our most natural disposition is to read expressions in order to guess another's intentions. When that reading is blocked, anguish is born.
Sorcinelli places this perfume within a wider research on the deep meaning of fear, begun with But Not Today in 2018 and continued with Né il giorno né l'ora. But the conclusion is not black: ambiguity, the house says, is the lagoon of thoughts, and only authentic Art intervenes on facade wickedness as it intervenes on the soul.
Art describes without limiting and without indulging the negative; by exposing it, it lets the matter of Beauty take over, even in dark situations. Released in 2024, Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi closes the house's triptych of fear on this idea: the center of wickedness can become a social construction, provided the other circumscribes its limit.
Harmonic evolution
Filippo Sorcinelli is an organist; he does not conceive his perfumes as a pyramid of volatility but as a score. Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi is therefore stated in three movements, subject, counter-subject and tail, as the house publishes them under the heading of harmonic evolution.
The subject lays a dense, dark woody footing: vetiver and cedar give the dryness, sandalwood the softness, amber and oud the oriental depth. The aromatic counter-subject, artemisia, clary sage and petitgrain, brings a green bitterness and a brightness that air the wood. The tail of citrus and lavender softened by a touch of strawberry leaves a final ambiguity, a painted smile you cannot quite read.
Olfactory profile
Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi is a dark woody held by an aromatic weave. From the opening the wood takes hold: smoky vetiver and dry cedar form a grave footing that sandalwood softens and amber and oud deepen. It is a perfume of matter, with no decorative lift-off, in the image of a fear that comes from far away.
The counter-subject makes all the perfume's tension. Artemisia and clary sage unfold a green, aromatic bitterness, while petitgrain and patchouli hold the balance between bright and earthy. That bitterness is the olfactory equivalent of the mask: something slips away, refuses to be read directly.
The tail plays the ambiguity to the end. Lemon, bergamot and lavender bring a familiar, reassuring freshness, but a touch of strawberry troubles the reading, a sweet, childlike note laid on a dark base, like a clown's painted smile. Longevity is that of an extrait, long and skin-close; the sillage, woody and aromatic, leaves a grave and faintly unsettling trace.
“Authentic Art intervenes on facade wickedness as it intervenes on the soul: it describes it, but lets the matter of Beauty take over, even in negative situations.”Filippo Sorcinelli, on Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi
Key characteristics
When and where to wear
Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi is a woody for cool seasons and the evening. Its dark density blooms in autumn and winter, in the evening more than the day, in moments of withdrawal. Its aromatic weave also lets it hold the shoulder seasons; in high summer, the oud and amber are best dosed with measure.
Usage markers
Seasonal fit
| Season | Fit | Critical notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | ★★★☆ | On evenings that stay cool, the aromatic weave breathes. |
| Summer | ★★☆☆ | Dense; dose it lightly. |
| Autumn | ★★★★ | Its prime season, the dark woody settles in. |
| Winter | ★★★★ | The grave register reaches full measure. |
Context fit
| Setting | Fit | Usage recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal, reading | ★★★★ | Its vocation, a perfume turned inward. |
| Indoors | ★★★★ | Enveloping without intruding, at home. |
| Evening | ★★★★ | A woody gravity, never showy. |
| Shared office | ★★★☆ | Discreet by nature, wear it without worry. |
| Daytime | ★★★☆ | More at home in the evening, but wearable by day. |
Similar perfumes
The dark woody aromatic has its neighbors; a few share its gravity or its place in the house's triptych of fear.
| Perfume | House · year | Why it is close |
|---|---|---|
| Né il giorno né l'ora | Filippo Sorcinelli · 2023 | The other chapter of the fear diptych, on the parable of the ten virgins; a musky amber where Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi seeks the woody aromatic. |
| But Not Today | Filippo Sorcinelli · 2018 | The perfume that opened the house's research on fear; an aromatic ambery woody of the same dark vein. |
| Symphonie-Passion | Filippo Sorcinelli · 2016 | The house's vetiver woody, an organ-cold; to set against the aromatic density of Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi. |
Common questions
See also
Sources
- Official Filippo Sorcinelli document, Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi sheet (Italian and English editions)
- Filippo Sorcinelli Fragrances 2026 press kit (UNUM collection)
- Filippo Sorcinelli, official Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi page
- Fragrantica, Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi entry (release year 2024)
- Parfumo, Chiudi gli occhi e poi vedi entry