Reviews of Colonia Leather by Acqua di Parma

Demachy's work for Acqua di Parma is overall very commendable, and Colonia Leather is one of the very best versions of the "suederal"-style leather introduced and popularized by Tuscan Leather.

An exuberant citrus-herbs bouquet leads us into this smooth, sophisticated, dry leather, helping give it a bit of EDC refreshment and establishing s connective throughline back to the Colonia namesake. But that leather--mostly stripped of the bombastic smoke and raspberry--emerges, dry and dusty, a bit like the smell of shoe polish. It's refined and sophisticated, a suit-and-tie fragrance if there ever was one, just with a bit of Italian rakishness to liven it up and keep it from getting too serious.

The only downside is its linearity, but that's a small price to pay for its achievements.

I own the brown bottle version of this and think it's a wonderful leather cologne. I actually get a blast of blackcurrant/ripe blackberry in the opening note and then it settles into a soft, slightly sweet leather. Beast projection/longevity but a superb scent for me.

I own both this and TF Tuscan Leather and they are very similar. I like both, but Tuscan Leather is a bit loud and I tend to prefer Colonia Leather for everyday wear. Well balanced, elegant, a real success.

Not sure why I've never reviewed this before, having tried many times, largely on holiday in airports, local shops and the like. But now Christmas has brought me a 180ml bottle so it should be a companion for some time - no bad thing given the replacement of this whole brown bottle series for a new set.

So, if you can imagine something a bit like Tuscan Leather and something very much related to the other old brown bottle colognes from AdP, you're pretty much there. Do those scents from AdP have some kind of common base? It certainly smells like that to me?

In any case Colonia Leather has a strange reversal going on where what you would imagine the fixatives to be appear early and the designated top notes come in later. My first impression is of smoky guaiac wood - a really good instance of this. After a couple of hours the other woods emerge and by the time of the drydown, leather, rose and dry citrus are all evident. That last phase is very much in the realms of Tuscan Leather, and although I kind of prefer the smoky opening, it's robust enough and hugely pleasant at all points. Very wearable, even versatile, and has excellent longevity. In fact, the day two experience is very good indeed. Lovely bottle and packaging makes for a genuinely niche experience.

Lovely smooth, sweet and slightly boozy leather.

CL opens with a bright, tart but full bodied citrus and quickly develops into a sweeter, smooth and slightly smokey leather, the guaiac wood being quite prominent to my nose. The combination of rose and citrus lend an almost berry-like accord. The rose appears deep red to me; sweet and rich but blended such that it is not a rose-heavy leather fragrance like, for example, Dior Homme Parfum.

Performance wise this is long lasting and pretty noticeable, so I'd go easy on the trigger.

Powerful, surprisingly pleasant stuff that has the feel of Tuscan Leather but in a softer, more pleasant delivery. While wearing, it feels like you layered Ombre Leather, which is very wearable to me, with Tuscan Leather, to achieve this very manly but soft and sweet leather scent. It's just not as abrasive as Tuscan Leather and sits between the two Tom Ford scents. Really good leather scent.

Again, this is a power scent in the performance area. Next day longevity and leaves a big trail of scent behind wherever you go.

POW! Acqua di Parma Colonia Leather comes right off as a sillage monster full of a THICK leather accord, loaded to the max with cedar and guaiac woods and intense, clarified drippy rose petals.

This scent is pungent, aromatic, woody, boozy, oily, and filled out with hesperidic grips from deep within (from the orange and lime, which take a bit of examination to really make out amidst the leather bomb vibe). I like heavy fragrances like this for when all I want to do is to have a solid scent curtain around me that isn't dated nor otherwise cloying.

This is NOT for everyone. It takes some getting used to, and DEFINITELY requires discretion to apply (it can easily become a monstrous offend everyone scent if too much is put on). I like the intense oily leather and hearty wood vibe from it, and I wouldn't mind sampling it every now and then when I feel BOLD, lol. :-)

Like many have noted, this is much like Tuscan Leather.

But while Tom Ford's offering is harsh and downright punishing, AdP's variation is smoother, gentler and more well behaved, all without loosing an ounce of masculinity.

I would pick this over Tuscan Leather any day.

It is one of the best fragrances I have ever smelled, very smokey leather, very manly, a must have for all men. I would rate it 9.5/10. This and Essenza are my favorite, haven't tried their Mediterranean line, which looks promising.

I didn't have high expectations from Acqua di Parma Colonia Leather, but it is indeed a nice leather fragrance, modern and sleek. No marks for originality, as it is very similar to Tom Ford's Tuscan Leather; so much so that having both is perhaps redundant. However, it doesn't have the fruity aspect of Tuscan Leather, and is instead citrusy. Colonia Leather is largely defined by a linear leather accord, smelling similar to brand new leather shoes, rich and dark but also with a nice suede aspect. There is an ashy element to the accord, especially in the beginning and mid phases, but it mellows down after a couple of hours. While unoriginal, given Tuscan Leather and the plethora of 'smellalikes', Colonia Leather is quite well balanced and edited, which shows the expertise of the perfumer.

Colonia Leather has good sillage and duration on my skin based on a moderate application. I am surprised to discover that it wears very well on summer days, and sillage is perhaps even better. If you can manage it without overbearing, this could be the leather counterpart to the summery suedes like Cuiron and Daim Blond. Leather is often an abstraction in perfumery, and Colonia Leather isn't abstract. It is not as refined as Cuir Cannage, Cuir d'Ange, Cuir de Russie or Cuir Ottoman, and it is not as complex as Cuir Mauresque or M. Whether one likes Colonia Leather (or Tuscan Leather, for that matter) depends on whether one likes or dislikes this principal smoky accord of leather. I happen to like it quite a bit.


3.5/5

I'm not too sure about leather fragrances yet. Haven't liked most that I've tried (big thumbs down for Tuscan Leather) but ADP Colonia Leather is ok.

Pretty smooth, pleasant fragrance.

Might actually give this one a go when I'm feeling daring next winter.

I guess leather lovers will love it. I can't stand it. So strong, awfully long sillage. It makes me sick. It's worked on leather and nothing else. Men, don't wear this if you are not sure people around can stand it.

Can't stand it. They only plus point is the pure strength of the juice and the sillage.

I actually really enjoy leather scents but to me this just smells like old sweaty sandal leather. Made me feel rather sick and had a hard job getting it off me.

This is basically a quinoline-heavy saffron leather, clearly based on Tom Ford's Tuscan Leather, but with Ford's infamous cherry cough syrup sweetness replaced by citrus and greens. It's quite nice and works well, but there are so many of these Tuscan Leather clones coming out now (seriously, every middle eastern perfume and attar company has a couple, and many domestic niche lines do too at this point) that it's hard to get excited that now there's one with subtle hints of orange. It's still worth a thumbs up for the deft balance it achieves, but maybe it's time to put this cliche to bed...

A classy dark leather based fragrance.

It opens up with zesty citrus with the dark genuine smelling leather very noticeable from the start. it has the most genuine smelling leather out there. its not a fresh fragrance by any means. it is a dark classy fragrance that is suited for mature people. performance is very good (12+ hours).

Rating 8.0/10

For those who love leathers, this offering is both funky and refined. I can't effectively deconstruct the scent pyramid for anyone reading the reviews, but I can offer some observations. The "leather" really is in the same vein as Tuscan Leather. It lasts all through the life of the scent on my skin. Initially there is the subdued citrus and woodiness that is more reminiscent of this house's Oud Concentrée, versus the hallowed Colonia. Therefore, it may be considered, like the Oud, a flanker to the Intensa branch of the Colonia family. As she evolves, this fragrance exhibits a bit of powdery undertones, but they're fleeting to my nose, which is not very skilled, admittedly. Once into the heart of the fragrance, I detect a slight peppery-ness. This is a very enjoyable scent, one that has me smelling myself often. It is pronounced and strong, so others will notice, at least up close. If I go heavy on the application, it settles down quickly, and never strikes me as being offensive. I think it's not necessary to restrict AdP's Leather to formal wear, or evening wear, unless one wants: it is one I can wear happily at any time. While pronounced, it's never offensive or intrusive, the way Tuscan Leather can be. Which brings me to the inevitable comparison with TF's TL...It's an obvious comparison. The notes may differ, the ones surrounding the leather accord, but they are so close that one is better served attempting to explain how they differ slightly than how they are closely related. I'm too pedestrian a scent-lover to do this. I will say that AdP's entry to the Leather realm is mellow, restrained, reeled-in, and safe, versus Tuscan Leather. This one can be worn in shorts or in a suit. Ford's TL is one I choose to wear when I fire up the motorcycle, pull on the Chippewa engineer's boots, and throw on the faded leather jacket. Wearing AdP, I have no affectations, but instead feel slightly erudite, reading a book, people watching at the cafe; TL, however, makes me feel like I'm a bit brash, dis-respectful, and boastful, knowing others smell me, and although they may not want to, they like it. TL is a cocky punk; AdP is his professor. For the reason that TL is so challenging, I prefer to purchase a bottle of that for when I want to get my funky leather on, and because that would satisfy my leather love, I wouldn't add the AdP Leather to my shelf. I do own a FB of AdP's Oud, so I'm not averse to springing on the Ingredients Collection, but I'd rather own the TL. It does what it's supposed to do a little better, in my opinion. Still, Acqua di Parma's Leather is a double thumbs up for me!

Imagine entering a windowless room. It is obviously one man's sanctuary from life. There is a worn leather chair, a well-used leather bag on an old wooden desk, and many old, yellowed books lining the walls. There's definitely an ashtray or two hidden away somewhere, but they are now in disuse. The occupier of this room sometimes uses citrus air freshener in an attempt to cover the ashy odor that has permeated everything in the room including the wooden walls themselves. It doesn't succeed, but it helps a little. I was transported to this room the first time I tried Acqua di Parma's Colonia Leather. This is not a new leather bag scent. It's old. And dirty. And yes, ashy (guaiac wood?). While there is some brightness from the citrus, it isn't enough to overcome the ashyness. As it dries down, there is a light sweetness and much of the ashy/stale smoke scent finally dissipates. While I find this ashtray vibe objectionable, I still like this fragrance as the masculine indulgence it is. I think it would be a good candidate for layering. Maybe with something on the sweeter side. Lasts all day for me. I personally wouldn't want it to project to the point where others could smell it (to be fair though, this is my attitude regarding fragrances in general.)

Colonia Leather is the second chronologically of the Acqua di Parma concentree line, and the second I've tried, and is a very strong leather entry in the limited world of leather fragrances that I've sampled.

Comparisons to Tom Ford Tuscan Leather are more than appropriate, given the pairing of a traditional leather smell and the Colonia smell of citrus (I even get some neroli, though it is not listed in the note breakdown).

Colonia Leather is more citrus, Tuscan Leather is more of a varied fruity smell (i.e. berries), but Colonia Leather still has some sweetness of its own. It's worth to try both to compare, though admittedly, Colonia Leather is about half the price ($166 for 100ml on FragranceNet vs. about $300 for 100ml TL through most retail). Surely that comes down to price.

I'd argue that Colonia Leather might be redundant enough with Coach Leatherware No. 3, which is now discontinued but I managed to locate a couple of months ago, as even Leatherware No. 3 is a similar essential expression of leather with some citrus and woody aspects.

Performance-wise, it's certainly stronger than most Acqua di Parma offerings, both from the Colonia and Blu lines, and is probably the strongest I've tried in terms of both projection and longevity, on par with Colonia Ambra (I still need to try Colonia Oud). However, Colonia Leather isn't as strong as Tuscan Leather, and in that respect is a little easier to wear on a year-round basis.

Very strong, versatile leather fragrance. Highly and frequently wearable but also refined enough to dress up and keep as a fragrance for special occasions. I highly recommend trying this out, as despite lacking the Tuscan Leather reputation, I imagine that many will find this better.

8 out 10

This is a brighter and lighter leather than many others, and on my skin the leather is present straight from the opening blast on. It intermingles with an orange sidekick, and in the drydown sees a rather synthetic and somewhat unexciting rose added. There is an underlying freshness to this leather, which in itself bears the hallmarks of a clean, new, smooth handbag leather - maybe a hint and the handbag maker that owns this fragrance house?

The base adds a woodsy impression that initially is rather generic on me, but towards the end some guaiac in noticeable; and at that stage the wood is very pleasant and the guaiac quite convincing.

The performance is good, with moderate sillage, good projection and eight hours of longevity on my skin. Bearing the name of this famous Cologne house renowned for fresh summer scents does not do this product justice, as this is a true leather fragrance indeed, with the leather being clean and a touch too synthetically sanitised. Nonetheless, the opening phase of this leather impression is rather nice, and together with its very good longevity this pushes it into the realm of a positive score -just by the skin of its teeth. 3/5.

I have a 5ml sample of ADPL and believe it is one of the very best leather scents I have ever experienced. IMO, there is a broad spectrum that leather fragrances can take and ADPL points toward a cleaner, sweeter leather. As others have mentioned there are fruit notes in the opening, but they don't really reveal themselves very strongly IMO. The fruit quickly gives way to the rose dominant middle and this is where the fragrance really develops into a pleasant clean leather, rose and wood accord. I get incredible sillage and longevity, as it's parfum strength, but easily one of the strongest fragrances I own, so just a single spray at my wrist is plenty. I like this fall and winter, casual or formal, but might be a bit strong for the office.

Compared to Tuscan Leather, I would choose ADPL. I like the middle better and the price is slightly less than the TF per ounce. When my sample is used I'll purchase a full bottle or look for a decant, I like it that much.

Definite thumbs up.

This smells of Old Napoli, thats..... well actually on the first spray, I thought wow, leather, after half an hour this is leather, with a sweetness and almost plummy undertone. It is very special. It is like being on holiday in a country and you go into the library where leather clad books are around and you just know someone has sneaked in a raspberry tart and eating it, with a vague citrus burst coming through. Very nice. I can't see a woman wearing this, unless she is one of those goth, rock chicks who eyes fleeting meet yours and she looks at you like, whats up Gramps and then comes over and sticks her bubble gum under an old oak table and says to you do you know time travel is possible under Einstein's rules time is a string theory....more profound than she initially appears. Dark mysterious and with attitude, but yet soft and engrossing the more you get to know.

This is just a beautiful elegant pure smoky leather all the way through.
If you like "TF Tuscan Leather" or "Montale Aoud Leather", personally I believe this is much better version of them!
They all do have the same type of leather but something that I truly love about this fragrance is that the leather note here is always the domination note.

In "TF Tuscan Leather" we have a strong fruity scent of raspberry and in the mid a strong sweet floral scent of saffron that mutes the leather note and I don't like that! but here in this fragrance that huge blast of smoky leather note on top stays up in front all the way through and only in the base we get small dose of slightly sweet and fresh rose completely in the background.
Projection is really good and longevity is more that 8 hours on my skin.
The best of this genre of leather.

Some old school ADP characteristics and, while I don't disagree with the notes called out by others, I get a pervasive desiccated dirty ashtray note that is intolerable.

This is a thumbs up, but borderline neutral. It is so much like Tom Ford Tuscan Leather that I would have to be a fan of the style to want much of either. Another reviewer (Klaaon) mentioned a clean laundry smell in the development, and that is true, and that is different than Tuscan Leather; but it comes later. The clean laundry part smells like Azzaro Chrome and/or Nautica Voyage, in a way that's not too bad, and that strangely works ok. It turns into a typical-smelling sweet, Tom Ford-like base.