And this passionate love for their richly storied homeland and everything Italian was modeled in all they watched, listened to, smelled, tasted and touched to their respective children. Born just two days apart, Antonio and Lidia (Lidia being the older of the two) loved being raised in their deeply Italian customs and traditions that were celebrated and kept alive by their individual families.

Whether it was growing up with full vegetable gardens as their backyards, crushing cases of grapes to make home-made wine to the clickety-clack sound of Papà’s torchio, carefully cutting bushels of San Marzano tomatoes to bottle fresh tomato sauce, cooking specialties at Easter and Christmas, or simply gathering around the special weekly Sunday family lunch, where both of them would be awakened by the smell of a fresh tomato sauce simmering on the stove, Antonio and Lidia were immersed in all things Italian from the day they were born.

When Antonio and Lidia met in their mid-20s, not only was Antonio surprised to learn that he had fallen for an older woman born just 48 hours before him, but more importantly, it was their strong Italian roots and the many stories they shared with one another that helped solidify their bond. They recalled how visiting Italy for the first time as young children, they were overwhelmed with the richness of the country. The history, art, geography, music, food and the many town festas celebrated in the piazzas with nonno, nonna, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

With more frequent trips to their adopted homeland, their love and appreciation for Italy only deepened. From listening to Italian pop music, which Antonio is a fanatic about, to visiting historic museums, which Lidia thoroughly enjoys, to learning more about their parents’ hometowns and spending complete summers there, all this ignited and inflamed their senses in the same way it did for their parents.

Soon after they wed, Antonio and Lidia Gentilucci became dual-citizens and their love affair with Italy continued to grow. They had a vision to bring more of Italy to Canada. In 2012, they opened Gentil Uomo, a gentleman’s boutique in Toronto, with curated shirts, accessories, fragrance and body care products, all rigorously and exclusively made in Italy. To this day, Antonio takes frequent trips to Italy on a yearly basis, to discover and procure brands that he could showcase in Canada, many for the very first time. Today he works very closely with over 30 family-owned manufacturers, some in their third and fourth generations, and all of them have become famiglia.

With a deeper knowledge and appreciation for fragrance and body care products made meticulously in Italy, Antonio and Lidia decided to birth Gentil Scents. An extension of Gentil Uomo, but a space devoted exclusively to fragrance and body care products for her, for him, for home. Made in Italy.

Gentil Scents is a place to discover and explore curated products from historic Italian brands – some that have literally been around for centuries – that will delight your sense of smell, pamper your body, and infuse your home with the fragrance of Italy. And to that we say, Benvenuti.