Aqua Allegoria Bergamote Calabria
Guerlain (2017)

A sharpened, astringent grapefruit and woody musk. It remains the same throughout, no further development. It smells like a lot of other dry, masculine leaning fragrances. Cardamom is one of my favorite scents, and unfortunately, it didn't show up. I don't hate it, but it's not for me.

[b]Aqua Allegoria Bergamote Calabria[/b]
[b]Category[/b]: 3 Bright Citrus
[b]Rating[/b]: 4/5
[b]Longevity[/b]:3/5

If Mediterraneo by Carthusia is lemon tea, then Aqua Allegoria Bergamote Calabria is [i]lemonade[/i]. Lemonade made fresh with too much sugar, the way my son likes to make it. In this way it reminds me of Eau de Guerlain with its warm sweet base supporting the citrus. There is a scene In the book [i]I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings[/i] where young Maya/Marguerite is invited to the home of the classiest lady in town, Sister Flowers, where she is offered fresh lemonade and tea cookies.

[i] They were flat round wafers, slightly browned on the edges and butter-yellow in the center. With the cold lemonade they were sufficient for childhood's lifelong diet. Remembering my manners, I took nice little ladylike bites off the edges. She said she had made them expressly for me and that she had a few in the kitchen that I could take home to my brother. So I jammed one whole cake in my mouth and the rough crumbs scratched the insides of my jaws, and if I hadn't had to swallow, it would have been a dream come true.[/i]

It's a marvelous scene, and I now imagine it might smell like this.

The opening blast could be summarised as “bergamot & spice +”

The first blast clearly centres around the bergamot-citrus core, further livened up with some petit grain. Nearly immediately a spicy note is introduced, the cardamom, but the spice is not overpowering and blends in well with the citric core. Whiffs of a rather green ginger impression come and go.

Later on some restrained sweetness emerges, owed to a tonka added in, and the rest of the base is constituted by some nonspecific white musks.

I get moderate sillage, good projection and six hours of longevity on my skin.

A nice scent for cooler summer days, the well-executed first half is dragged down by the generic end stage, but overall this is a good Guerlain. The combination of citrus and spice is not new, of course; Creed's Orange Spice is one of the earlier examples of this genre. Bergamote Calabria follows this line. 3.25/5.

This really isn't about the bergamot, as much about the cardamom. It's got a nice zingy opening, but shortly after fades into a spicy cardamom accord...basically Voyage d'Hermes, but more Guerlain somehow.

Fresh, spicy citrus play on the ubiquitous Calabrian Bergamot fragrance note, done Guerlain style.

It actually smells like a slightly spice-adulterated lemon
tea, thanks to the ginger and cardamom present here. Aqua Allegoria Bergamote Calabria is like a story being told that features bergamot, rather than a strict featuring of the same. It can also be viewed as a classic Eau de Cologne with spice and sweet elements creating a new interpretation that smells quite refreshing and clean.

Juicy bergamot, bright petitgrain, and green leaves that are kind of sweet. Add some ginger. Touch of cardamom. Sweet vanilla & musk base. Work safe frag.

A good and obviously citrusy scent, that makes me think of a fresh, usual eau de Cologne. Not too sharp.

I have to admit that, whenever I sniff a new bergamot perfume, I'm always hoping it'll smell like Earl Grey tea. They almost never do, so I'm happy to report that Bergamote Calabria actually is a really good Earl Grey scent.

It seems to be mostly a really clever interplay between the bergamot and cardamom, which adds a chai tea effect. The tea rests on a woody platform, and there's just a hint of sweet soap in the background keeping things rich.

Definitely a thumbs up for fans of tea scents.