Colonia Essenza fragrance notes
Head
- lemon, orange, bergamot, grapefruit, mandarin, petitgrain
Heart
- rosemary, rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, clove
Base
- patchouli, white musk, amber
Where to buy
Latest Reviews of Colonia Essenza

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.

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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

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.



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.




4.5/5

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!)