Acqua di Giò Essenza Giorgio Armani 2012
2
In my opinion, the best ADG flanker we've seen thus far...
ADG is a name that most of the world has heard of at this point. It's one of the fragrances that put Armani on the map. There's a high likelihood that you've smelled ADG on someone at some point in your life. When they released Essenza, it wasn't even on my radar at first. I wasn't actively searching for it and I stumbled on it by chance. Little did I know that I would go on to own a true gem and, in my humble opinion, (take that for what it's worth) one of the best ADG flankers if not THE best we've seen at this point. Sadly, I used my last few sprays in 2021 and it was bittersweet. I would go on to find out it was discontinued. I smelled Profumo during that period and at that time, I thought it was close to the same level back in 2021 and I said that Absolu (which I also owned) was an okay release. Now I get to revisit it, this time, with no bottle in hand or sample to work with but I still have notes. Time to take another trip down memory lane.
The Smell: Essenza takes the typical ADG DNA and turns it greener. This is the main thing I remembered about my time with it. Sadly I don't have a bottle, decant, or sample near me to remind me of that beautiful intro. I still have my notes from my initial review so thank goodness for that. Essenza seemed to amp the citrus up a little more on the intro but not in a "kitchen cleaner" type of way. You could definitely tell you had an ADG on your skin but it wasn't the same as the OG. The woods, basil (I barely got it but it's there), and sage come through and quickly turn the ADG formula with the citruses dialed up a notch even greener. The cedar, vetiver, and patchouli on the dry down were also a nice touch. The vetiver wasn't the dirty, dark vetiver that I typically enjoy but more of a cleaner, greener vetiver like you would get from Mugler cologne. People can say I'm lying but I actually preferred the smell of Essenza to the original. I've made it known on Fragrantica as well as when the girls that I've dated have smelled me wearing each version gave their opinions. Each girl I've dated that has smelled either on me has always preferred the original. I'm the opposite. I think I can look at this point in time and narrow it down to this being the point that my taste in freshies changing to woody, green scents.
Rating: 8/10
Projection: ADG Essenza has moderate to "high moderate" projection. I won't say it's solid projection because it's a freshie through and through and I don't know of many freshies, unless you throw a ton of ambroxan in there, that will jump off the skin. The green aspect definitely helps in that department and there is Ambrox listed in the note breakdown but I don't think there's a ton of it like you'd find in a BDC, Sauvage, or the other fragrances that followed the "blue" trend. Essenza essentially took the original ADG formula and improved the performance by a point or two in this department. The best wearing I ever had was wearing it during summer at work and every time I would walk by an area I was previously standing, I could still smell it despite it having been on my skin for a few hours. It does settle closer to the skin after roughly 5-7 hours but that's not terrible at all for a fragrance in this genre.
Rating: 7/10
Longevity: Depending on the situation, my best wearing was 10 hours. It has become practically a skin scent by hour 7 or 8 but it still clings on for a bit longer. 10 hours for a designer is definitely nothing to scoff at objectively speaking. It does suffer in the cooler weather especially if you're going to be outdoors often. Unfortunately, the green factor doesn't help ADG Essenza in that department.
Rating: 7/10
Pricing: This section is where the overall rating is about to take a nose dive. Being as it's discontinued, getting a bottle under $200-$300 USD is going to be a challenge. I didn't say it was impossible but you will have your work cut out for you. If you're going to spend that much on a designer fragrance, you might as well be spending it on niche at that point unless Essenza has sentimental value (e.g. signature scent, gift, etc.). At one point, in early 2021, you could get a bottle for about $150 USD which I would pay honestly to get another bottle but as you can see, prices have steadily increased over the years.
Rating: 4/10
Versatility: Essenza definitely scored well in this department. It was heavily in rotation for my work scent during 2019-2021. I used it an absurd amount and as a result, I went through that bottle quickly. Had I been aware or paid attention to the rumors of discontinuing it, I would have snagged another bottle quick. Such is life. Essenza is highly versatile and can be worn basically anytime you choose. It does perform much better when it's warmer so Spring & Summer are basically locks for it, with your warmer fall days being in the discussion as well.
Rating: 10/10
Final Verdict: 7.2/10 by the numbers. Subjectively, I'd give this a solid 8. I would definitely buy it again if the opportunity presented itself and I could find it cheaper than what people are asking for it currently. It took an already fresh DNA for ADG and gave it another fresh aspect in another way by going the green route. In my opinion, in this saturated fragrance market, this one should have been the one to stick around instead of some of these newer releases. I recommend if you can get your nose on it, please try it at least if you get the opportunity.
The Smell: Essenza takes the typical ADG DNA and turns it greener. This is the main thing I remembered about my time with it. Sadly I don't have a bottle, decant, or sample near me to remind me of that beautiful intro. I still have my notes from my initial review so thank goodness for that. Essenza seemed to amp the citrus up a little more on the intro but not in a "kitchen cleaner" type of way. You could definitely tell you had an ADG on your skin but it wasn't the same as the OG. The woods, basil (I barely got it but it's there), and sage come through and quickly turn the ADG formula with the citruses dialed up a notch even greener. The cedar, vetiver, and patchouli on the dry down were also a nice touch. The vetiver wasn't the dirty, dark vetiver that I typically enjoy but more of a cleaner, greener vetiver like you would get from Mugler cologne. People can say I'm lying but I actually preferred the smell of Essenza to the original. I've made it known on Fragrantica as well as when the girls that I've dated have smelled me wearing each version gave their opinions. Each girl I've dated that has smelled either on me has always preferred the original. I'm the opposite. I think I can look at this point in time and narrow it down to this being the point that my taste in freshies changing to woody, green scents.
Rating: 8/10
Projection: ADG Essenza has moderate to "high moderate" projection. I won't say it's solid projection because it's a freshie through and through and I don't know of many freshies, unless you throw a ton of ambroxan in there, that will jump off the skin. The green aspect definitely helps in that department and there is Ambrox listed in the note breakdown but I don't think there's a ton of it like you'd find in a BDC, Sauvage, or the other fragrances that followed the "blue" trend. Essenza essentially took the original ADG formula and improved the performance by a point or two in this department. The best wearing I ever had was wearing it during summer at work and every time I would walk by an area I was previously standing, I could still smell it despite it having been on my skin for a few hours. It does settle closer to the skin after roughly 5-7 hours but that's not terrible at all for a fragrance in this genre.
Rating: 7/10
Longevity: Depending on the situation, my best wearing was 10 hours. It has become practically a skin scent by hour 7 or 8 but it still clings on for a bit longer. 10 hours for a designer is definitely nothing to scoff at objectively speaking. It does suffer in the cooler weather especially if you're going to be outdoors often. Unfortunately, the green factor doesn't help ADG Essenza in that department.
Rating: 7/10
Pricing: This section is where the overall rating is about to take a nose dive. Being as it's discontinued, getting a bottle under $200-$300 USD is going to be a challenge. I didn't say it was impossible but you will have your work cut out for you. If you're going to spend that much on a designer fragrance, you might as well be spending it on niche at that point unless Essenza has sentimental value (e.g. signature scent, gift, etc.). At one point, in early 2021, you could get a bottle for about $150 USD which I would pay honestly to get another bottle but as you can see, prices have steadily increased over the years.
Rating: 4/10
Versatility: Essenza definitely scored well in this department. It was heavily in rotation for my work scent during 2019-2021. I used it an absurd amount and as a result, I went through that bottle quickly. Had I been aware or paid attention to the rumors of discontinuing it, I would have snagged another bottle quick. Such is life. Essenza is highly versatile and can be worn basically anytime you choose. It does perform much better when it's warmer so Spring & Summer are basically locks for it, with your warmer fall days being in the discussion as well.
Rating: 10/10
Final Verdict: 7.2/10 by the numbers. Subjectively, I'd give this a solid 8. I would definitely buy it again if the opportunity presented itself and I could find it cheaper than what people are asking for it currently. It took an already fresh DNA for ADG and gave it another fresh aspect in another way by going the green route. In my opinion, in this saturated fragrance market, this one should have been the one to stick around instead of some of these newer releases. I recommend if you can get your nose on it, please try it at least if you get the opportunity.