From the moment perfumer Myriam Palmero first set foot on Madeiran soil in 2021, she sensed her life was about to change dramatically. Her intuition did not betray her. She moved with her husband to the island, which she considers a "paradise", and founded the Água da Madeira company, inspired by the sense of discovery that the island territory awakens in her.
“I’m always in search of sensations and fragrances. What inspired me most when I first discovered Madeira was the flora – it’s incredibly rich. The first perfume I created is essentially a journey through the island, but it’s also a love letter,” the Panamanian perfumer tells us, smiling.
She explained in detail the creative process behind the fragrance she launched on the market last year. The Água da Madeira brand includes a body range (perfume and soap) as well as a home range (scented candle and air freshener).
“When we land at the airport in Santa Cruz, the first scent that greets us is the sea – the smell of salty air. But then, heading into Funchal, we reach the Mercado dos Lavradores, and there we encounter the scent of flowers and tropical fruits – something very special and unique. Finally, everyone ends up going on a levada walk, and that brings about a different set of aromas – like moss, musk and something to do with wood,” Myriam Palmero reveals.
The visual concept of the Água da Madeira brand is also a tribute to this Portuguese region. It symbolises, in a minimalist way, the cobbled paving of Largo do Colégio in Funchal, rendered in blue to echo the sea.
This year, the company is preparing to launch two new exclusive fragrances – “one more floral and the other greener, more mountainous.” To that end, Myriam Palmero invited the renowned Italian perfumer Mariaceleste Lombardo to collaborate on the creative project.
They have been exploring the island’s scents and working closely with the University of Madeira to study and thoroughly understand endemic plants. The aim, they explain, is “to share the character of Madeira with the world through a perfume.” Mariaceleste Lombardo holds a philosophical view of perfumery: each person communicates through the perfume they wear. “It’s a great responsibility,” she tells us, laughing, and adds, “We leave a living memory in others through our fragrance.”
So, what does Madeira communicate? And how can its essence be translated into a perfume?
With a gleam in her eye, the Italian perfumer readily acknowledges the challenge ahead. She praised the island’s wild and exotic nature, which “expresses something expansive – contrasts of temperature, light and shadow, sea and mountain.”
“Our eyes are constantly absorbing different scenes here. There’s even a scent that comes from the volcanic rock, from the greenery – these are completely opposing natural nuances. I feel at home here. I was born in Sicily, which is also a volcanic island. I grew up surrounded by the salty smell of the sea, by jasmine, trees, orange groves. And in this creative process, I’ll be incorporating something from my own roots, because we imprint scents into our memory. And since they remain with us, they allow us to relive the places we belong to. They’re connected to our deepest roots.”
In that sense, the Italian perfumer highlights the monumental – yet passionate – task of “organising all these ideas and sensations into olfactory notes.”
In short, Myriam Palmero and Mariaceleste Lombardo are not simply creating two new perfumes under the Água da Madeira brand. They are building bridges between scent memory and a place’s identity. Above all, it is a project that celebrates what Madeira evokes – and leaves in the air.
