Reviews of Acqua di Giò Profondo 
Giorgio Armani (2020)

Update 2: the bad experience I had in my last review must have been from a bad bottle. I tried it from a third bottle which matched my initial experience.

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Update: a few weeks after my original review testing this on paper I decided to test it on skin today. The pleasant green notes passed after half an hour to leave behind a faint synthetic jasmine(?) flower smell? Notice that the notes I loved are the same ones YouTube reviews are fawning over... And I do not get them on skin! And the fragrance was a skin scent in 1 hour and totally gone after 7 hours. What?!

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This is definitely one of the best of recent designer releases. I can only detect rosemary, cypress, and the marine notes. It was really trying to do it's own thing by combining a traditional "blue" fragrance with the novel cypress "green". It sits right on the fence of uniqueness between crowd-pleasing and unique as to not offend but not fade into the ether or just another release. Definitely the best of the AdG line. I think it takes the best of the AdG DNA and really makes it something I hesitantly call magical. I'm split whether I prefer this or Luna rossa ocean, but today it's profondo.

This worthy flanker
Re-Essenzas Essenza
In a welcome way

A bit less citric
A bit more oceanic
A bit less shiny

Just a touch of salt
A deep breath on the shore with
No brimstone in sight.

Hard no to like especially if you are a fan of AdG.
I find it more oceanic, more aquatic, which sometimes is hard to believe is possible.
I am certain there have been 'our version of' clones that smell like this :)

I like this. I’m more comfortable overall with Profumo, I think, as it’s a heavier more mature scent (even for an AdG flanker). But Profondo is more buoyant, more fun, youthful, a dumb reach at the beach, etc. (I could make an ad here). Anyway, I agree that Armani did an inspired job with this in modernizing the original AdG, and I enjoy wearing it. Is it a bit superfluous given other offerings in this niche of the woods? Maybe, but it’s still a strong contender. It’s a fragrance with a balanced use of ambroxan and calone that I can actually enjoy. The price tag, however, is still a bit steep, and the younger crowd who should be this frag’s target audience might be advised to look at Versace’s Dylan Blue or D&G’s Light Blue, or even the very inexpensive Nautica Voyage, as good “blue” alternatives that won’t run you a Benjamin. But this is still very good and a quality Armani scent. Dive in and go deep.

Considering it’s a mainstream mass market release, Acqua di Gio Profondo smells hilariously close to cleaners and disinfectants for all of ten minutes. Thereafter it’s a well-edited reinterpretation of Acqua di Gio, trimming out the musky sweetness for a herbal woody freshness that goes in a slightly greener direction. Not perfume-y, but crisp, clean, fresh, and ‘professional’ - as one would expect.

After misfiring with Absolu, the Acqua di Gio line is back to form with Profondo. While there’s a vague shower gel element, there isn’t much connection here to Bleu de Chanel or Sauvage.


3.5/5

Just bought this in a local perfume store. I was looking for a new blue one. It's the best aquatic out there at the moment in my opinion.

I didn't immediately get any similarity to the original AdG but in the drydown it's definitely there. What they have done here however, is cancel out the cloying you'd get from the OG just enough and added a universally likeable marine accord. Think Eros but better.

For me it stood out a lot from others I tried there: Montblanc Ultra Blue, D&G Light Blue Forever, Issey Miyake Fusion.

The only one that's somewhat close in scent profile and quality is Dunhill Century Blue.

This is diversive amongst the fragcom. You either think oh Armani has jumped on the blue true train or you think ah this a great stronger fresh Acqua Di Gio update. Wonderful bright fresh opening. Lovely slightly citrusy,woody dry down that is abit generic but it's a great long lasting dumb reach summer frag. Well worth the money at discounters now

What we have in Acqua di Gio Profondo is Giorgio Armani's take on a "blue" fragrance and well....why not? It takes the original Acqua di Gio out of the past and into the present. However, I don't personally think that there is really a need for this fragrance.

To further explain what I mean, let's look, objectively, at what Profondo is.

40% Acqua di Gio
40% Acqua di Gio Profumo
20% Bleu de Chanel

We already have all these fragrances and for that reason I wouldn't suggest anyone rush out and get Profondo unless you really want/like it or want to complete a collection.

It is NOT a bad fragrance by any means and I would happily wear it but personal preference as a man approaching 40 would be to stick with Profumo.

YMMV

Edit: I was sent a second sample of Profondo with another order and enjoyed it more second time around. Ended up with a FB and now thoroughly enjoy it as a companion to Profumo. Rating changed to Thumbs Up.

In initial wave, Profondo flanker seems to be Armani's answer to Bleu de Chanel and Dior Sauvage but in an AdG way. As it gets closer to drydown, it's more and more similar to the Profumo flanker but in a less "dark" way and to the original, but stronger.

I'm very 50:50 about this one. Profumo flanker is a rather good one and the original AdG is overworn as it is, which makes Profondo flanker very redundant albeit exquisitely well done. AdG Profondo is a very good, universal frag for the summer, but it'll not smell unique or "new".

Conclusion: well done but also very well known DNA. Regardless, I'm rating it positively.

Originality: 3/10
Scent: 8/10
Longevity: 9/10
Projection: 7/10
___________________________
math grade: 67,5%
subjective impression 7/10

I think everyone with their ear to the ground in the perfume world heard this one coming from miles away, especially with the number of aquatic flankers crowding shelves early on in 2020. Acqua di Giò pour Homme (1996) is the number one selling masculine fragrance, but having been on the market for a quarter-century, is a bit long in the tooth according to modern trend-obsessed designer fragrance standards. That Acqua di Giò pour Homme remains an evergreen and the most-popular fragrance of all time isn't lost on Giogrio Armani one little bit, which is why they have been cranking out flankers left and right, getting a new foothold before the sun begins to set on the AdG empire. Most flankers have felt like flavor additions to the range (both good and bad), with Acqua di Giò Profumo (2015) feeling like what guys who wore the original in their teens graduated into now that they're in their 30's. The newest Acqua di Giò Profondo (2020) is something altogether different than an addition or enhancement to the line, and an obvious telegraphed swing of a fragrance feeling more like a do-over, especially since Alberto Morillas (who created the original feminine and was one-half of the team behind the pour Homme) is back at the wheel. To be perfectly clear, this is a "modernization" of the Acqua di Giò pour Homme DNA, infusing its characteristics with a modern "blue" men's fragrance patterned after Bleu de Chanel (2010), Dior Sauvage (2015), or Yves Saint Laurent Y (2017). This means if you hate everything about the development of men's designer fragrances since 2010, you might want to bow out now, as this is more of the same with an Acqua di Giò twist. I think for what it tries to be, Acqua di Giò Profondo succeeds and shows that Morillas hasn't lost his soul to the machine quite yet, but there is nothing revolutionary about it either.

Acqua di Giò Profondo opens like a direct splicing of Bleu de Chanel and the original 90's Acqua di Giò pour Homme in that it marries the ozonic "aquazone" note made famous by the original with the smooth bergamot, sweet mandarin orange, and grapefruit of Bleu de Chanel. This sweetness isn't overbearing like a clubber but it's greater than your typical aquatic opening, even though it does contrast and pair up nicely with the dihidromyrcenol "aquatic" edge, persimmon fruit, and the salty ozonic elements of the first AdG. From there, we get a green lavender and rosemary paired with mastic and a sharp cypress. This semi-bitter green heart helps allay any fears that Profondo is going in a bubble gum direction like many modern "shower gel" blue fragrnaces tend to do, drying it out and making Profondo more mature than your brother's Paco Rabanne Invictus (2013). The base of Acqua di Giò Profondo again marries old and new, this time combining the patchouli and mineralic incense vibe of Profumo with ambroxan and white musk. Profondo is smoother and rounder than the original Acqua di Giò pour Homme, utilizing the heritage DNA from the original and adding that 2010's "blue" mass-appeal vibe, while also bringing some of Profundo's richness without too much of its maturity, making this right in the wheelhouse of guys who find the purely ozonic/aquatic vibe of standard Acqua di Giò pour Homme too dated. Wear time is above average at about 9 hours and projection is less that Profumo but more than the original, having enough versatility for all seasons save a harsh winter. I'd use this in casual or office scenarios but not really on dates or when going out. A lot of useless aquatic flankers have been released in 2020, and even though this one wasn't particularly needed either, I'm glad to say this one isn't useless.

I don't think Acqua di Giò Profondo is necessarily meant to replace Acqua di Giò pour Homme as the mainstay of the line, because that stuff still sells like it's nobody's business (giving Giorgio Armani no need to worry about such replacement), but in making Profondo the house is admitting that the very youngest of male customers may be starting to view the original in the same way we viewed our dad's bottle of Fabergé Brut (1964) in the 90's. The only hiccup in this whole process is the fact that Profondo is marketed as an upscale eau de parfum just like Profumo, and therefore has a stiffer pricetag of about $140 for 125ml/4.2oz. Placing something this mass-appeal and made for early Zoomers/Gen Z in what is effectively an entry-level niche price bracket will steer them away and back towards the bottles of Sauvage this scent seeks to compete against in the first place. Strict connoisseurs that only bother with either vintage or niche styles won't concern themselves with this, and I can already hear their snarls of derision from here, but save your condemnation because if this is you than this scent isn't for you anyway and be grateful you have Profumo to scratch that "grown-up cultured Acqua di Giò" itch. For everyone else, this is a thoughtful and well-executed entry into the "blue" genre of mass-appeal masculines which adds a bit of something considered a modern classic to the mix, even if it is a bit overpriced and slightly redundant for folks who still wear the first Acqua di Giò pour Homme to work in the same capacity as this new flanker. Test for yourself if possible before jumping to blind-buy this spiritual reinvention of the wheel. Thumbs up.