Colonia Essenza
Acqua di Parma (2010)

It does have the Colonia DNA. Feels like a classic, classic in the sense that there's no modern sweet twist or aqua note, just a traditional blend that recalls a time when colognes where relatively straightforward and not necessarily simple, but restrained and conservative. Colonia Essenza is a true gentleman's scent. There is no sweetness, no gourmand quality. This citrus aromatic is masterful example of the marriage of freshness with masculinity and also of delicacy with depth. Classy, cool, sophisticated, clean, manly, well put together, without being stuffy.

Opens with a burst of sweet citrus. It smells zesty and juicy at the same time. During this opening there is a lovely sharp herbal note in the background, almost like rosemary and sage. Slowly the neroli comes forward as the citruses fade. The white floral bouquet in the middle is shine beautifully, non particularly distinguishable, so as to create the effect of a lightly pungent yet relaxing bouquet. The dry down is a woody with an astonishing and warm touch of fine amber, and the citrusy-floral notes recade into the background. Totally feels like that the wearer may feel he has just emerged from the barbershop but the quality and refinement this scent assure us that this is no mere drugstore cologne. If you like citrus fragrances but always find them dissipating too quickly give this fragrance a try. It is an absolute lady magnet scent.

My wife had an instant and sustained favorable reaction. Nothing groundbreaking, but better than TF Neroli Portofino. If you prefer your EDCs bright and astringent, look elsewhere, but if you like a soapy/creamy profile, this should be right up your alley. I wouldn't pay retail, but FragranceNet's price, as of this posting, of under $120 for 6 oz sounds right.

Once in a while, a perfume sneaks up into your life and changes your perspective about a certain perfume group. For me, that group was fresh florals.

Colonia Essenza is one of those rare gems which shattered that perspective for me.

Here are my 5 quick takes:

- An excellent choice for the classy gentleman
- Fresh and Floral scent family
- Created by master perfumer Michel Almairac
- Long-lasting eau de cologne best used in warmer weather
- Youngsters should sample it before purchase

It is a masterpiece and true holy grail signature perfume. Check out the full review on scentgrail.com

A traditional neroli eau de cologne with an herbs-and-patchouli supporting structure.

That prominent patchouli somewhat spoils the fragrance for me, because it somewhat dirties up the otherwise clean, refreshing aura of the genre. For that reason, I'm more partial to Colonia Assoluta, which is just as soapy but uses a "clean" amber-musk base to bolster and extend the composition.

That said, it's undeniably well-made, with clarity of structure and fine materials, and can be found for very reasonable prices.

For something with a similar profile but a cleaner dark-woody base, seek out Banana Republic Neroli Woods.

Go to scent when I can't make up my mind what I want to wear in my collection. Masculine, not unisex IMO. Love.

It's as though somebody started from 4711 and took off in the opposite direction as Neroli Portofino: hack off anything remotely citrusy, crank up the soapiness to an unbearable level, and make it stick around for, mercifully, only minutes even on a shirt collar.

Colonia Essenza is Acqua di Parma Colonia (1916) plus neroli.

Not to be too flippant about this scent, but there was no huge overhaul or reimagining of the original. For all intents and purposes, this is a soapier version of the original, and quite honestly, I think I prefer it to Colonia.

It still suffers from the same ephemeral nature of Colonia, but the neroli gives this a fresher, more clean scent, while the original is more citric, and in my opinion, it can be somewhat off-putting. I've worn Colonia for years, and it's something I own more because it's a classic rather than it standing on its own merits. Its name carries it a good distance, for lack of a better way of phrasing it.

If you are a fan of Colonia, you will probably enjoy this, and if you are a fan of neroli or "soapy" scents, chances are that you may enjoy this more than Colonia, which for me is the case, though I don't enjoy it enough that I will be purchasing this. Certainly a "try before you buy," but a good scent, and a nice direction for Colonia to take.

Thumbs up for a nice update to the original.

Expensive hotel soap.

A solid cologne that's ideal for office and formal scenarios, and also works well in summer casual setting - it lacks the richness and depth (leatheryness) of Neroli Portofino Forte, but more soapy and understated/wearable day in day out. And considerably less expensive. Smells very similar to penhaligons Castile to me ie almost identical.

Love it all the way, only problem is longevity, however, I always over spray to overcome this problem. I believe its better than original colonia,assaluta,intensa & pura.

A wonderful barbershop neroli scent that smells of high-end Italian soap, this fragrance is basically a mix of a bouquet of white flowers, gentlemanly spices, and green Itlian herbs - with neroli being the dominant note. It's a masucline and herbal take on the neroli accord, and is distinctly Italian, as compared to the French neroli eau de cologne scent in fragrances like Tom Ford Neroli Portofino or 4711 Eau de Cologne. There is a slight chalkiness to the texture of the scent, and it is very upscale in the sense that it would greatly suit a tuxedo. The scent overall reminds me of the wedding scene in The Godfather. Performance is also great, with 6 hours good projection. Overall, one of the best neroli scents out there (and coincedentally, this smells very similar to Xerjoff Nio but at a fraction of the price, to my nose anyway).

4.5/5

By far my favourite fragrance.

The opening is similar to the original Acqua di Parma Colonia but it seems to me that they exchanged the lavender in the original to neroli.

In my imagination this fragrance is the equivalent to walking through an orange blossom orchard in Italy.

Elegance in a bottle.

(Please never change this fragrance!)