Acqua di Parma • Colonia • Fragrances

smootsa on 10/19/2012 11:24:00 PM more reviews by smootsa

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Brown, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Green    

you've got to love a product that's been around since 1916 ;-)

a true unisex classic - it really is lovely on men and women. although it is refreshingly citrus, for me it has the strength, spiciness and warmth to be worn all year round ... but i do live in australia where the sun is never too far away ;-)

a fragrance for when you want something special and unusual, but not too edgy (yes serge lutens, i'm looking at you) :D

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* WentworthRoth on 3/13/2011 3:48:00 AM more reviews by WentworthRoth

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

Notes: Sicilian citrus, lavender, rosemary, verbena, Bulgarian rose, sandalwood, vetiver, cedar and ylang-ylang.
 
This fragrance opens with a a lively blend of citrus and herbal notes. At first rich lemon dominates the accord, but gradually gives way to lavender and rosemary. The lemon note now adds translucence to the conservative herbal composition, but there are moments the scent smells rather stuffy on my skin. As the fragrance progresses the herbal notes disappear and floral notes emerge. What is supposed to be soft, powdery rose smells like a pissoir on my skin. I smell urine, lemon scented disinfectant and urinal cake. The only saving grace is the verbena which I can distinguish very close to the skin. The dry down is sweetened by ylang-ylang which adds a honey-like quality to the woody notes. Honestly, the dry down is the best part of the fragrance. Lasts for more than 4 hours on my skin.

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*TOP REVIEWER* isitfriday on 4/26/2010 10:09:00 PM more reviews by isitfriday

Age: 44-55   Skin: Very Oily, Medium   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

YAY i found the scent i have been searching for! this is crisp, clean and timeless. it smells like luxurious lemon soap on me. at first the initial spray is SHARP and quite manly.. but i gave this time, and it developed into a very soft beautiful scent. it wears very close to my skin, and is not obnoxious or heavy. i want this to be my signature scent- i love it!

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Amst on 2/10/2010 3:44:00 PM more reviews by Amst

Age: 44-55   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

This is my one and only fragrance now. Clean, crisp and inviting - people always lean closer to me when I am wearing this.

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rwashecheck on 2/4/2010 12:15:00 PM more reviews by rwashecheck

Age: 19-24   Skin: Dry, Fair   Hair: Brown, Curly, Coarse   Eyes: Hazel    

Lovely! Starts out as a clean and delightful citrus - somewhat more like sugared lemon cookies than like fresh citrus, and definitely nothing like Pledge.

Middle notes are a warm and powdery floral based on roses and iris. Even if you consider yourself a powder hater, this may change your mind. I was sure I hated iris notes until I smelled this.

This ultimately dries down to a very subtle sweet soap smell, which I was also sure I hated until I met this fragrance.

Really lovely and classic. Refined and subtle. Also totally inoffensive - I'm sure it's impossible to dislike this fragrance, and it's very subtle and light. Almost too light - I feel like I need to apply several spritzes to really smell it, and I'm usually a rollerball girl.

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tuisquash on 1/4/2010 8:50:00 PM more reviews by tuisquash

Age: 36-43   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Green    

I loved this scent, it's so clean, lasts a lot very light and is perfect to wear in atropical country. Very unique fragrance.

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*TOP REVIEWER* condesadepitimini on 2/18/2009 6:08:00 AM more reviews by condesadepitimini

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Fine   Eyes: Green    

What a lovely cologne!

A great classic, and something you definitely have to wear/try at a certain stage of your life, or in a certain season (for me it's spring/summer).
Don't be fooled by the initial blast so similar to the 4711 cologne.
AdP Colonia is a more complex fragrance!
The fresh cirtus part is rich: not only lemon, but LOADS of Bergamot & cedar, some grapefruit and little orange peel. Citrus verbena is also there.
Then, after a while, you can smell a "warm" heart of white flowers, rose and lavender.
Then it evolves into a powdery scent (=iris), that reminds me of Iris Nobile (another one I love), but mantaining some fresh notes.
I love this on both men and women, but may be a little too "feminine" for certain guys.
Definitely a must have - I wish the staying power would be longer, though!

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Chabli on 2/13/2009 4:09:00 PM more reviews by Chabli

Age: 36-43   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

I should never review scents the day I buy them as I have the attention span of a gnat, I'm sure by the time I'm halfway through this bottle it will be on the back of a top dusty shelf, completely forgotten.

But I just bought Acqua Di Parma today and I'm completely in love with it. I feel so European!

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Kaijia on 2/5/2009 11:48:00 PM more reviews by Kaijia

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

i have to admit that i fell for the hype; though i usually don't like the concept of unisex. i first got this as a free sample and sprayed it on purely out of curiosity. it grew on me and after resisting for a year and a half, i caved and bought an 100 ml bottle in st tropez.

it opens very sharply, which i don't like, so tend to spritz as soon as i'm out of the shower so that it dries down while i tend to other things. by the time i'm ready to roll, the scent mellows down to one of lavender and rosemary, with the sandalwood just sneaking through. it stays close to the skin, which i adore, and strikes the perfect balance of powderiness and a crisp dryness- inescapably refined.

a word of warning: apply with a light hand. one spritz too many and you have an unpleasant dirt/soil smell, which is headache-inducing.

this is summer on the mediterranean: quiet elegance, white cotton and linen, glass after glass of rose in the lazy afternoon sun with friends.

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crob on 1/22/2009 2:51:00 PM more reviews by crob

Age: 30-35   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Oh so beautiful. This is the smell of Sicily in a bottle - the most perfect blend of citrus and herbs imaginable. Smells fantastic on men and on women. I just wish it lasted longer - even layering it with the body lotion doesn't keep it from being of only moderate staying power.

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

Colorado100 on 5/16/2008 5:36:00 PM more reviews by Colorado100

Age: 44-55   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Vile!
Its not like I haven't given this one a chance. I have repeatedly over time retried this fragrance hoping to conjure up the multilayered experiences my fellow reviewers describe. Alas, I am consistently reminded of that sort of cheap bathroom soap found in Mom and Pop gas station restrooms commonly found on road trips. And I cannot get the smell off my arm!

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*TOP REVIEWER* nelci1 on 4/22/2008 7:29:00 AM more reviews by nelci1

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

It's Muelhens 4711's rich cousin with a (much) better staying power . They share the same bergamot, lemon, orange, rosemary and rose notes, but 4711 is sharper while Colonia is soapier.
Colonia is a beautiful unisex scent - a perfect citrus balanced with Bulgarian rose and a touch of jasmine. If you like fragrances like Clarins Eau Dynamisante, Eau d'Hadrien and 4711, you'll love Acqua di Parma Colonia.

6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* 52pigtails on 4/3/2008 9:54:00 AM more reviews by 52pigtails

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I was a bit squeamish about Aqua di Parma fragrances: they seem too retro for my tastes. Yet I posted a question in the MUA fragrance board where I asked for something I thought impossible: a powdery citrus. I got many answers there (thank you God for this wonderful board!) and 2 o 3 mentioned this Colonia, so I gave it a try and was so grateful I did that I purchased a bottle immediately.
But first, let me make you a recommendation: never, ever try a fragrance on a paper strip, it's untrue. You have to let it settle on your skin for ten minutes at least, until it "melts" in it: if it doesn't melt, and you still smell the alcohol after ten minutes, then it's not a good fragrance.
This is especially true when it comes to ADP fragrances (Iris Nobile has the same effect, it reveals it beauty only after ten minutes on your skin): Colonia, which can smell a lot like 4711 or any other cheap Cologne out there, changes powerfully with time, and after a while the harsh citrus notes leave some space for my beloved ylang-ylang to emerge, then you smell some roses and a very light hint of jasmine, until the patchouly comes out to lend some firmness and character to the whole. At some point, it smells like a barber shop, but in a good, lovely and vibrant way.
Some compared it to Eau d'Hadrien, but while Adrien only features lemon among the citrus notes, this has something different than lemon: it's cedar, orange, bergamot and some good Vetiver, so it's far more complex that Adrien.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Wyrmiax on 1/19/2008 6:37:00 PM more reviews by Wyrmiax

Age: 44-55   Skin: Very Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

Has the same Lemon Pledge note as Eau d'Hadrien, and that note is tenacious. Too bad, because there's a lovely herbal rose note underneath, if the citrus would just step back a bit. It does get a bit more subdued in the drydown.

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frankiemac28 on 10/25/2007 10:26:00 AM more reviews by frankiemac28

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

History would have it Cary Grant, Ava Gardner and Audrey Hepburn were big fans. It had been an established classy favourite for many years before making a comeback when the new owners took over. It is not standout (therefore fine for business) but very subtle, as people have asked many times what I'm wearing. I'd say mostly citrus but with an added extra something that raises it above the ordinary. Maybe the Ylang Ylang. Some say lavender but I don't find it there too much, amber, slight rose and jasmine too. It is without doubt the classiest light fragrance I own. Hope that helps. My daughter won't let me wear anything else when I'm with her.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

Snoepie06 on 7/5/2007 2:12:00 PM more reviews by Snoepie06

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

At last I've found my summer fragrance together with MJ Rain!!! This cistrusy fresh fragrance smells clean to me, like shower clean... I just love the smell on my skin... I will end up purchasing the whole range, as I want to smell like this forever!!!! ;D

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*TOP REVIEWER* amyhuskiewicz on 2/8/2007 1:47:00 AM more reviews by amyhuskiewicz

Age: 30-35   Skin: Dry, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

This makes me think of a beautiful hippy bookstore I used to go to - once the citrus wears off, it smells like incense on me. It gives me wonderful nostalgia and although I don't wear it, I always enjoy the smell.

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pusscat68 on 1/11/2007 11:10:00 PM more reviews by pusscat68

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I've browsed the reviews for the perfumes I wear (or have worn). It's interesting to see how one's woman's favorite can be another woman's waterloo. Proves that the success of a scent for you really does depend on body chemistry, etc. That said.

This is a great scent. It's been around for ages, great on a man, lovely on a woman. Strong citrus rush at the begin, but--it dries down to a sexy, musky something on my skin that is just divine. I find I dash it on weekends, with jeans and a loose sweater, hair piled up. perfect. Next time around I'm buying the splash bottle, not the spritz. It's potent, for a light cologne.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* greenreed on 12/30/2006 10:46:00 AM more reviews by greenreed

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

To me this is neither "light", "citrusy", nor "unisex", and it is probably the patchouli that kills this one for me! Applied lightly on an man this might be ok.

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mjrq on 8/15/2006 9:09:00 PM more reviews by mjrq

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

A true summer classic for men and women alike! I first discovered this fragrance when my husband tried it while we were on vacation. It is citrusy without being tart, as well as fresh and clean without being oceanic. It's one of the sexiest fragrances a man a wear!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No