When music existed as vinyl LP’s there were a number of records I owned which had the instructions to “Play Loud”. The idea was by turning up the audio volume you would experience the music in the way the artist intended. For the latest iteration of the classic Acqua di Parma Colonia, Colonia Essenza; I keep thinking the bottle should have a similar instruction as Colonia Essenza takes Colonia and plays it loud.
This idea is confirmed by the press materials where the following statement resides; “Colonia Essenza is a new fragrance that highlights the essence of the original Colonia fragrance. The more recognizable notes and accords that represent the “soul” of Colonia are boosted….” If this was the basic brief the perfumer worked off of, they succeeded and, the first two-thirds of the development of Colonia Essenza take this inspiration and make something inspired until the base unfortunately returns to something all too common and keeps Colonia Essenza from being a complete triumph.
The opening of Colonia Essenza adds three notes of Mandarin, Grapefruit and Petitgrain to Colonia’s original quartet of Bergamot, Lemon, Orange, and Neroli. Colonia is one of my favorite men’s fragrances precisely because those four notes are exquisitely balanced. That Colonia Essenza succeeds by adding in two more citrus notes and another botanical citrus note is amazing. Most times in perfumery more is not better. Here the grapefruit adds to the tartness already present and the mandarin adds a sweetness that wasn’t present in the original and the petitgrain adds a slight green quality. The balance is enhanced and improved upon. The same pattern is repeated as this moves into the heart. The original Colonia has a beautiful heart of lavender and rosemary which is refreshing in its floral and herbal simplicity. In Colonia Essenza the rosemary carries over and clove is added to the herbal side and just as in the top one floral, lavender, is replaced with three: lily of the valley, rose, and jasmine. As in the top this more is better shouldn’t work but it doesn’t just work it improves upon the inspiration. With this kind of success I was waiting for the base to bring this to a spectacular close. Unfortunately Colonia Essenza does not finish with a bang and while it isn’t exactly a whimper it carries one big flaw for me. Vetiver, is the common note shared with Colonia, and along with a light musk and patchouli to create new textures this should’ve been great but then the choice of Ambroxan to impart amber to the base takes Colonia Essenza right to the department store counter. I think perfumers must love playing with a new toy. Iso E Super a few years ago and now Ambroxan has become the note that seems to show up everywhere and like Iso E Super before it sometimes it works and as in the case of Ambroxan and Colonia Essenza sometimes it doesn’t. Ambroxan turns the ending of Colonia Essenza sharply woody and slightly cheap smelling. To compound the problem for me the Ambroxan is the most tenacious phase of Colonia Essenza and what is left on my skin at the end.
Colonia Essenza has excellent longevity and above average sillage.
Just like those old albums of mine there were many where the first two cuts on a side were brilliant before the artist would indulge some need to embrace some trend of the moment. Colonia Essenza is like that as the top and heart are brilliant riffs on the original that not only improve it but make me look back at the brilliance of the simplicity of the original. The final cut dominated by the omnipresent Ambroxan is where the needle scratches across the record and leaves me with a vaguely unsatisfied feeling.
Disclosure: This review was based on samples of Colonia Essenza provided by LVMH.
-Mark Behnke, Managing Editor