Osmanthus

I've never met an Acqua di Parma I didn't like. They are all classy, refined, very nicely blended fragrances that fundamentally I like to smell. I like the way they smell on testing strips and I like the way they smell on me. I've also never found one that lasts how I wished it would. As someone with close to 200 bottles in the collection and having got my nose on thousands of fragrances in my life, I still maintain that Colonia Essenza would be one of my top five fragrances of all time if it was a genuine 8 hour performer that stayed in for a whole day the way it does in the fabulous first two hours. I still think Bergamot di Calabria is one of the greatest citrus freshies ever made and that its longevity is the main reason it isn't exalted in its rightful place by the FragCom. I also think Sandalo is criminally underrated for the same reason.

The osmanthus is a little shapeshifter in this EDP: at times I detect the leathery nuances of osmanthus absolute, at other times the apricot side. However, the osmanthus is always hidden behind sharper citrus and floral notes, and as I prefer the warmer and sweeter side of osmanthus, I did not find what I was looking for in this fragrance. All in all it is a nice fragrance if you are looking for something refreshing with citrusy and floral aspects, but I would not recommend it if you are looking for an osmanthus-centric fragrance.

I am obsessed with Acqua di Parma. I got my s/o Sandalo and I’ve been trying to collect Acqua di Parmas different scent offerings ever since. I like Osmanthus. It’s an aquatic floral, citrus scent with pink pepper to add that bit of spice to make things interesting. I think it leans feminine but I know some young men who wear it and it smells amazing on them too. It is interesting enough to not be boring, but inoffensive enough for a variety of palettes

Beautiful summer floral. It’s the PERFECT “fresh out of the shower” scent. It smells like an expensive hand soap you put in the guest bathroom and forbid any members of the household from using. Unfortunately it lasts about as long as actually being fresh out of the shower or the scent of hand soap. I wish I could justify the price but I feel like needing to reapply every hour or two would mean spending $300 on a bottle I’d run out of in a month.

Understanding the house Aqua di Parma for what it is, I really do love Osmanthus. I've owned and loved Magnolia Nobile, as well as a few other Acqua di Parma fragrances, so I know this house's signature notes and I know what to expect. Typical for this "line" of perfumes, as well as most of the Aqua di Parma fragrances, Osmanthus does not disappoint because its notes are simple, high end, expertly executed and well defined.