Arancia di Capri Acqua di Parma 1999

The lovely ElenaLondon sent me this gorgeous fragrance in our mutual search for the perfect orange scent. I think that, for me, there are several "perfect orange" scents with different facets. This is the elegant dessert version of orange!

Arancia di Capri doesn't have the citric bite of many orange scents I love. Rather, it is a shot of orange zest (ground fresh peel) tempered by an orange liqueur (Cointreau or Grand Marnier) with butter and sugar (which comes from the caramel note here). But not too much sugar - it is gentle without being cloying or sticky in any way.

Although this is an Italian perfume, it smells like a perfect French dessert that leaves me satisfied but not overfull.

Upon donning Acqua di Parma BLUE MEDITERRANEO ARANCIA DI CAPRI, I thought immediately of Bond no 9 LITTLE ITALY, which was launched a few years later but smells remarkably similar to me. I don't think that this is a case of plagiarism, it's just that when you blend a certain assortment of pleasing components together, they are going to end up smelling very similar. In this case, there is a touch of woodiness and sweetness along with the tart citrus, primarily orange. It is the sweetness and the lack of greenness which sets these compositions apart from probably the most famous orange cologne: Hermès EAU DE COLOGNE ORANGE VERTE and its cousin, the CONCENTREE.

I am baffled by one strange disparity: the Acqua di Parma orange cologne seems to be loved by many people, while LITTLE ITALY has a fair number of detractors. To get to the bottom of this, I decided to do a direct side-by-side of the two fragrances, to ascertain whether my memory was perhaps playing tricks on me. In fact, I discovered that ARANCIA DI CAPRI and LITTLE ITALY are indeed phenomenologically very similar to my nose, but with a couple of differences.

LITTLE ITALY is brighter and a touch less sweet, and it features primarily clementine, while the dominant citrus in ARANCIA DI CAPRI seems to me to be closer to oranges. Believe it or not, I can speak ex cathedra about such distinctions, because my father (who lives in the Deep South) regularly sends me shipments of fruit from his citrus grove. My latest box contained clementines, satsumas, and oranges, along with kumquats. So I know my citrus and feel confident in making these claims.

A further difference is that the Bond no 9 is also quite a bit stronger (its longevity is not fantastic, but it's better...). Both compositions offer about the same timbre of citrus ensconced in a resinous and light woody base. They both smell great--but only if you love citrus of the orange variety!!!!

My conclusion is that some people just have a deep-seated resentment, verging sometimes on hatred, of Bond no 9.

For myself, I'd be happy with either of these fragrances, but I certainly don't need both, because they do smell very similar to me. The Bond no 9 is more expensive, if you buy it at MSRP, but testers can be had, and the longevity is much, much better than that of ARANCIA DI CAPRI.

Blu Mediterraneo Arancia di Capri, like many others in this line, has captured the exotic Summery-ness of far-away lands through the use of citrus and oceanic undertones.

While I do like this fragrance, the continuous use of citrus in so-called essential Summer scents does get boring at times.

Opening with sour lemon, juicy orange and sharp grapefruit, Arancia di Capri has that all-too-familiar acidic juice smell, that while refreshing, never seems to interest me.

The citrusy quality is a definite mood-lifter, however it often brings me down due to its inability to agree with my skin chemistry. Arancia di Capri unfortunately was not made for me. I have similar issues with Fico di Amalfi, D&G Light Blue and Annick Goutal's Eau d'Hadrien.

On any other person I would probably like this fragrance, especially if the orange decides to dominate over the sharp grapefruit note. I didn't pick up the caramel on my skin, however once again it may shine on another's chemistry.

I wanted this fragrance to develop some more, yet unfortunately the lasting power was quite weak. I have noticed that many others experience the same problem.

It may be a unisex scent, but I see it as more of a feminine fragrance due to its slight sugary-ness. On the right person, in the most idealistic Summer weather, preferably humid, Arancia di Capri is most recommended.

i search high and low for realistic citrus scents, and thankfully i found this early on in my fragrance journey. arancia di capri, and acqua di parma’s blu mediterraneo line as a whole displays a mastery of citrus scents.
i love this fragrance so so much. i’ve gone through a 10 ml and a 3.4 oz size of this. it’s that good.
just smelling the lid you get the floral ripeness that emanates from an actual orange. this is something missing from a lot of other orange scents, they focus on peel and zest without paying attention to that specific note. at first spray, you unleash the true juicy perfection of an orange. genuinely makes my mouth water thinking about it. there is not a single bit missing from this, zest, pith, juice, it’s all blended so well.
people’s main complaints about arancia di capri is its longevity, and while i understand people wanting these to last longer, i also understand that this specific profile cannot last. for the 4-7 hours this lasts, it’s amazing. doesn’t make a noxious cloud, doesn’t enter the room before you do, but that’s generally a good thing. enjoy your fragrance for yourself, not for others.
after a few hours this dries down into a sweet skin scent, an inoffensive smell that’s just barely noticeable. i don’t get any of the caramel or cardamom notes listed really. just a delicate version of what you smell at first.
if you are sensitive to strong scents or get sick of them quickly, this is a great fragrance for you.
this is my all time favorite scent. similar cheaper fragrances tend to lean into some parts of the orange and miss the others.
the bottle is simple and the atomizer is nice, good sized spray and is satisfying to use. simple, comes with a container to keep it inside and shield from the light. pleasant packaging all together.
this was worth the price and worth the wait.
10/10 realism and scent, 4-7 hour longevity, half an arms reach sillage. absolutely recommend.

I went to shop see brand and try this not purpose. Wish I DİDNT. Cause smell is=starting oh okay natural not bad tangarine orange smell. But then turned annoying bad quality citruscent. Very synthetic, artificial. I know these types my start of perfume journey(go sephoras smell wait comment...) I call them toiletblock type. Now I call them dishwasher liquid/water. The drydown was very bad. I didnt went to Capri. Also not %100 lover of citruses in perfume. If you dont like too I dont recommend. Sex= Unisex. Use=Daytime, spring summer. Age=ageless. Sillage=0 zero its not big power type. Longevity= very bad even on paper not last 2 hours. #aranciadicapri