Acqua di Parma Colonia Observation / Question

[Pippin06]

I was recently gifted a bottle of my beloved Acqua di Parma Colonia. The batch code is 1852X with a production date of 7-4-22. It is beautiful, but much stronger and longer lasting than I remember it from about 4 years ago when I purchased my bottle then. Now, only 1 spray projects amazingly, and lasts forever. My last bottle had very soft projection, and didn't have anywhere near the longevity--even with 4 or 5 sprays.

Has anyone else experienced / noticed that the most recent batch of this classic has very impressive projection and longevity? Thank you.

 

[Brooks Otterlake]

It might've gone through a more recent reformulation.

This doesn't answer your query, but I currently have a relatively old bottle with the older seven-digit style of batch code (which you can't run through the likes of CheckFresh), and it's fuller-bodied with a thicker jasmine note than the Colonia I tried in the 2016-2020 period.

Maybe that's just due to aging, maybe it's not. Early bottles of Colonia Assoluta and later bottles are strikingly different from one another.

 

[hednic]

It is much stronger and longer lasting than I remember it from about 4 years ago when I purchased my bottle then.

That's a good thing for sure.

 

[woodnotes55]

Interesting..... the only reformulation type talk I remember on it was a very few people saying the deep vintage, maybe 20 or 25+ years back was richer and different. I have one older bottle but no way to date exactly and no big differences.

Just looked and my current one in use is 7 digits also, but I might have some with 5 around, I have bought more of it any time I see it to cheap to pass up. If I find time maybe will take a look at some of them.... but I'm in the camp that's never complained about longevity with Colonia, always chalked it up to skin. If there are weaker versions they were never weak enough to bother me, but it might explain some of the poor performance comments by some. I can recall reading someone griping about it early fall and at the time I was around the 12 hour mark and still enjoying it.

The new Futura definitely has much more projection and performance, so maybe they borrowed one of the fixative elements in it and passed over to Colonia.

Curious to see if others have had the same experience as you....

 

[JBHoren]

This doesn't answer your query, but I currently have a relatively old bottle with the older seven-digit style of batch code (which you can't run through the likes of CheckFresh), and it's fuller-bodied with a thicker jasmine note than the Colonia I tried in the 2016-2020 period.

My bottle of AdP Colonia has an 8-digit batch code, which generates an "invalid data" error message on CheckFresh.

However, it's accepted by checkexp.com — which agrees with my having purchased it in mid-2008 (together with the matching shaving cream and ASB).

 

[SmellSharpe]

Weird. I own bottles Acqua di Parma Colonia Club, Colonia Intensia and Colonia and they are all fairly weak. They smell great but don’t last very long. I would wear them a lot more if they lasted longer.

My bottles are all from 2019-2021.

 

[Pippin06]

As was suggested earlier in the thread, maybe they are using a better fixative for longevity now. Makes sense.

 

[DoctorM81]

Interesting..... the only reformulation type talk I remember on it was a very few people saying the deep vintage, maybe 20 or 25+ years back was richer and different.

I have an old bottle (not sure how old, but certainly sometime pre 2008-ish) and I recall it being markedly different to the more recent bottles I own, so I can vouch for this. I'll try to remember to come back in here when I get back around to it - likely to be when the weather warms a little...

 

[pouring]

I was recently gifted a bottle of my beloved Acqua di Parma Colonia. The batch code is 1852X with a production date of 7-4-22. It is beautiful, but much stronger and longer lasting than I remember it from about 4 years ago when I purchased my bottle then. Now, only 1 spray projects amazingly, and lasts forever. My last bottle had very soft projection, and didn't have anywhere near the longevity--even with 4 or 5 sprays.

Has anyone else experienced / noticed that the most recent batch of this classic has very impressive projection and longevity? Thank you.

I do hope this is true.

This was my signature for years and was dropped because of longevity issues.

I might need to invest in a new bottle to see.

 

[Pippin06]

I do hope this is true.

This was my signature for years and was dropped because of longevity issues.

I might need to invest in a new bottle to see.

I still can't believe the difference. 1 spray is enough for me with this newest version.

 

[DoctorM81]

I still can't believe the difference. 1 spray is enough for me with this newest version.

That certainly sounds like a dramatic transformation!

 

[Pippin06]

That certainly sounds like a dramatic transformation!

Yes, but I am a light sprayer anyway.

 

[checkmate]

Hello all,

My suggestion would be to contact ADP directly in an effort to find what (if anything) has changed. My guess is that if there’s an answer that’s readily accessible, you’ll likely hear from them.

 

[Pippin06]

Hello all,

My suggestion would be to contact ADP directly in an effort to find what (if anything) has changed. My guess is that if there’s an answer that’s readily accessible, you’ll likely hear from them.

I'm just delighted with my ADP Colonia--I love it! No inquiry further than here on the boards for me.

 

[speckmann0706]

I’m interested now haha always passed off trying this one because of said longevity issues. Although I wore Chanel Pour Monsieur EDT current version at the time with 5 sprays on my shirt and it wore strong until the end of the day. I might try this in time and hopefully I experience excellent performance as well.

 

[Brooks Otterlake]

View attachment 320277 My bottle of AdP Colonia has an 8-digit batch code, which generates an "invalid data" error message on CheckFresh.

However, it's accepted by checkexp.com — which agrees with my having purchased it in mid-2008 (together with the matching shaving cream and ASB).

Cheers!

I'm not a big "reformulation radically changed the scent" guy, but the earlier ADP stuff has a fairly different quality than the current lineup. (I still like and own many newer ADP bottles, though.)

 

[pouring]

I still can't believe the difference. 1 spray is enough for me with this newest version.

I am very excited by this

 

[woodnotes55]

So I pulled a recent bottle and on checkfresh it shows as 5-24-21 (5 digits) and current in use bottle has 7 digits and was not found on checkfresh or checkexp. Did two sprays on each arm. Somewhere in the 3-4 hour range the old one seemed to be stronger. (Should have done this early in day but did later post-shower so) Only had about 8 hours to end of day, at that point the old one was definitely stronger. Didn't really notice much difference in projection or scent....

The PS.... the next morning could still smell the new one very lightly but could pick up the old one and identify it at close - 4-6 inch - range. For comparison to some recent wears, Dunhill Desire red (which was doused and way oversprayed) and Floris 89 were basically gone the next day, Noir Anthracite was still there similar to the ADP. Probably most I wear are not usually noticeable or can be identified the next day.....

End result, not conclusive to the thesis.....

 

[Mark_Trail]

Interesting!
This being one of my all time favorites any change is worth noticing.
My current bottle is ancient, from late '90's I think and it is not very strong, so maybe I'll get one of the new ones and test it out

-Mark

 

[LiveJazz]

I have a bottle dating from early 2019 and find it fairly strong and long lasting for a scent of this type. It'll last solidly into the late afternoon/early evening (soft projection by that point...but I can still easily pick it up, particularly in warm weather).

Much stronger than the closest analog I have, Nicolai Cologne Sologne. Definitely beefy for a classic eau de cologne.

 

[rum]

I also have a 2019 bottle according to CheckFresh (batch 1759X) and it is just as I remember it.

I have definitely smelled many more recent batches of Colonia that appeared much stronger to my nose (at least in terms of projection). There were definitely reformulations of this scent, but right now it's hard to pinpoint exactly when.

 

[H_West]

It's hard to compare my bottle with the samples I have been wearing years back, since the amount you spray differs. My bottle has a 5 digit batch code which dates it to 2020-03-04 and I have always thought it was a great performer, certainly for these types of fragrances. I should say though that I am a light sprayer and I guess I more often got problems with too strong scents rather than too weak. I've never understood the talk about this being too week, so maybe you are onto something here.

Anyway, excellent fragrance!

 

[slpfrsly]

I was recently gifted a bottle of my beloved Acqua di Parma Colonia. The batch code is 1852X with a production date of 7-4-22. It is beautiful, but much stronger and longer lasting than I remember it from about 4 years ago when I purchased my bottle then. Now, only 1 spray projects amazingly, and lasts forever. My last bottle had very soft projection, and didn't have anywhere near the longevity--even with 4 or 5 sprays.

Has anyone else experienced / noticed that the most recent batch of this classic has very impressive projection and longevity? Thank you.

It's plausible that they've worked on the performance and added more fixatives or base notes that don't necessarily change the smell but boost the performance. It would make sense that this is something they'd look to do given that Colonia is likely to be what a lot of customers buy first, and poor performance might prevent them returning/buying another of their fragrances.

On the other hand, Colonia and colognes in general do degrade quite quickly. It might be that the freshness of the new bottle accounts for the superior performance compared to your older one?

 

[_Nicolas_]

I've had many bottles of it since 2015 and haven't noticed any huge difference in longevity, but what I have noticed is that it has become woodier in the last bottle I had, which has put me right off it.