acqua di parma: 3 posts

Patricia on Acqua di Parma Colonia and other citrus favorites, from Parfums de Nicolai and Annick Goutal to The Different Company and Guerlain. 

Colonia by Acqua di Parma is a fragrance with a past. Created in 1916 as the first fragrance of a small perfume factory in Parma, Italy, it was first used to scent the handkerchiefs that men carried with them at the time. Later it was the darling of worldwide celebrities seeking Italian chic in the early and mid twentieth century. Acqua di Parma then fell on hard times but was revived, along with Colonia, in the 1990s.

I must confess a partiality for aromatic citrus fragrances. Like one who works out real-life problems at night through recurring dreams (being caught unprepared for an examination is a personal favorite), I repeatedly buy citrus colognes very similar in nature, the most recent of which is Colonia, purchased on a hot sunny September afternoon in the South of France.

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Italian fragrance brand Acqua di Parma is introducing a new fragrance this month. Ginepro di Sardegna is inspired by the aroma of Sardinia, an island in the Mediterranean sea, it blends pepper, nutmeg, juniper, cypress and sage with Virginia cedarwood (itself a type of juniper) and true cedarwood.

“Then he thought he saw the flame that released the scent of juniper from the wood logs in the fireplace; and this scent,
in turn, opened up, beyond a musky tunnel, a landscape of woods, rocks, green slopes that reached down to the blue line
of the sea.”
from “Il Cedro del Libano” Grazia Deledda

According to the press release, Ginepro di Sardegna “opens with the aromatic and balsamic notes of juniper blended with the sunny brightness of bergamot and the vivid spicy notes of pepper, pimento, and nutmeg that recall the green landscapes, deep blue skies, and bright colours typical of the lands of Sardinia. The energy of juniper, at the heart, is enhanced again by the aromatic resinous notes of common sage, with cypress bringing warm balsamic accents to the fragrance, in perfect balance with a base of warm and woody accents of Virginia Cedarwood. A feeling of deep satisfaction that is only offered by the Sardinian landscape, where the Mediterranean reaches the pinnacle perfection.”

Available at Acqua di Parma boutiques and department store counters. Via press release.

My recent exploration of Chanel Les Exclusifs and the love affair with 28 La Pausa inspired me to consider other irises outside of my beloved trinity: Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist, Chanel No 19 and Frédéric Malle Iris Poudre. Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile was created by perfumers Francis Kurkdjian and Françoise Caron of Quest in 2004. It is an unusual iris in that it does not smell of frozen roots like the other irises I admire. Its character is soft and floral, with a delicate sprinkling of delicate ornamentations.

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