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11/05/2012
Apicius
222 Reviews
Apicius
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4
A Soft Breeze From Lago Maggiore!
Stresa is a place at the Italian Lago Maggiore – one of the three big lakes in the Italian Alps. So, Acqua di Stresa is all about southern warmth and Italian Dolce Vita, it is about soft air breezes coming in from the lake but also filled with hints of opulent florals. What a wonderful concept, especially if the realisation is so well done as it is here! Lately, I had the chance to test the current Acqua di Stresa fragrances, and Calycanthus Brumae went right away into my collection. It looks like the new series has just been released, so you might not find them in your local perfume shop. However, you can get a sample set for small money directly from Acqua di Stresa.
Among the four new scents, Calycanthus Brumae is the announced gents' fragrance – but not exclusively gents. Flowers for men are very few, and this one is a green floral! But what kind of flower is it anyway? What looks like a Latin generic term cannot be found anywhere, neither at Wikipedia, nor at Google. Calycanthus has basically two species: Calycanthus floridus (Carolina sweetshrub) and Calycanthus occidentalis (California spicebush). Both seem to provide perfume oil. Calycanthus Brumae (midwinter spicebush?), however, seems to be rather a denomination for a perfumer's freedom of art in order to create the ideal green-floral men's fragrance.
Actually, this note expresses exactly that aspect of (white) florals which one may regard as captivating or pervading. In a very vague and indeterminate way, this smell evokes impressions of Mediterranean gardens, maybe also of visits to your local botanical garden in midsummer. The two gentlemen behind Acqua di Stresa banished something – or let somebody else banish something into this perfume which wasn't available before. Good to see that innovation is still possible in perfumery!
The deep and dark floral character of Calycanthus Brumae is modified by minty and also slightly campherous aspects. There is lots of mint at the beginning. Besides that, I do not see much development. Maybe, something like white musk plays a role in the background. After all, freshness and opulence are both incorporated, in a perfect balance. With its fresh aspects, Calycanthus Brumae slightly touches the area of the aquatics, but it completely misses the artificial or synthetic appeal that many of those have.
Wearing Calycanthus Brumae, you cannot help but getting pictures full of atmosphere: walks at the lakeside in Northern Italy while soft breezes provide cool air, but also splendid scents from nearby gardens – or you just sit at the shore and enjoy life. In a way, Calycanthus Brumae comes nearer to that Dolce Vita feeling than the classic Italian acquae. And after all, that is what people go to Italy for!
Among the four new scents, Calycanthus Brumae is the announced gents' fragrance – but not exclusively gents. Flowers for men are very few, and this one is a green floral! But what kind of flower is it anyway? What looks like a Latin generic term cannot be found anywhere, neither at Wikipedia, nor at Google. Calycanthus has basically two species: Calycanthus floridus (Carolina sweetshrub) and Calycanthus occidentalis (California spicebush). Both seem to provide perfume oil. Calycanthus Brumae (midwinter spicebush?), however, seems to be rather a denomination for a perfumer's freedom of art in order to create the ideal green-floral men's fragrance.
Actually, this note expresses exactly that aspect of (white) florals which one may regard as captivating or pervading. In a very vague and indeterminate way, this smell evokes impressions of Mediterranean gardens, maybe also of visits to your local botanical garden in midsummer. The two gentlemen behind Acqua di Stresa banished something – or let somebody else banish something into this perfume which wasn't available before. Good to see that innovation is still possible in perfumery!
The deep and dark floral character of Calycanthus Brumae is modified by minty and also slightly campherous aspects. There is lots of mint at the beginning. Besides that, I do not see much development. Maybe, something like white musk plays a role in the background. After all, freshness and opulence are both incorporated, in a perfect balance. With its fresh aspects, Calycanthus Brumae slightly touches the area of the aquatics, but it completely misses the artificial or synthetic appeal that many of those have.
Wearing Calycanthus Brumae, you cannot help but getting pictures full of atmosphere: walks at the lakeside in Northern Italy while soft breezes provide cool air, but also splendid scents from nearby gardens – or you just sit at the shore and enjoy life. In a way, Calycanthus Brumae comes nearer to that Dolce Vita feeling than the classic Italian acquae. And after all, that is what people go to Italy for!
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