Here is the new Armani Si! Some may like the fragrance line, some hate it,… I, on the other hand… well, I only know the rather average, normal Si (the EDP 2013), so I can't say much about it yet.
I recently got a sample of this fragrance, so I could try it without making a fool of myself in a women's department and having to run away :D
The bottle looks quite appealing! But still, I have no high expectations… because lately (well, actually for about a year now) I've been rather disappointed with Armani, as almost every new fragrance or flanker they released has been really bad, as they seem to be relying too heavily on synthetic notes. I mean, sure, Armani has mostly been a mainstream brand and their fragrances have always had a noticeable synthetic quality, but most of them were still well-crafted scents where the synthetics were part of it without being truly bothersome. However, their newer fragrances have taken this synthetic aspect to the extreme, which, in my opinion, has severely affected the quality of the scents, making them smell cheap. At least that's my opinion…
Examples? Well…
“Acqua di Giò!” For years a great fragrance line, until the new Absolu came out, a totally synthetic, bland scent that couldn't even come close to matching the others in the line. “Armani Code Colonia,”… just as bad and no comparison to the other Codes! I don't even want to start on fragrances like “Stronger with You!” or “Because of You!” I find this development from Armani, focusing so much on noticeable synthetic notes, really bad, as the fragrances come across as “quickly mixed together” just to release something new every year. Sure, Armani has always had synthetics in their fragrances, but never before has it bothered me as much as it does now. Well... at least I liked the previous flankers or fragrances much better!
So I really hope that this Si here at least smells somewhat good… because the first look at the bottle gives hope, as it shines sexy red like a lady's lipstick, ah… I really should stop getting so excited in front of you girls… :D
The scent:
The fragrance starts with a peppery pear, which might sound disgusting (*yuck* :D), but olfactorily it actually doesn't smell bad. The thing is, a considerable amount of synthetic notes makes the scent unfortunately seem a bit cheaper right from the start. Luckily, this is just the first impression and it doesn't hold the whole time. Anyway, the pepper quickly weakens, and the fragrance becomes fruitier and noticeably sweeter. The blackcurrants quickly overtake the pear in terms of the intensity of the fruity notes, the sweetness comes from the jasmine, and the slightly powdery note, which is also slowly emerging, could be from the vanilla. Over time, the synthetic notes fade a bit and are much less bothersome than at the beginning, but they still come through every now and then.
Later, the fruity notes become weaker, and for the most part, you smell sweet notes, including the jasmine, but now also heliotrope (which by the way also has a slightly almondy scent,… but only if you smell directly at the sprayed spot; in the scent cloud, the heliotrope probably won't be noticeable). A little later, vanilla joins in, which, as always, fades last after a longer time on the skin. The synthetic notes are significantly weaker in the base, but still present the whole time; they are not good, but at least they are overall less bothersome again.
The sillage and longevity:
The projection is quite good and at the beginning even slightly room-filling. Later, the sillage does decrease a bit, but I think that for a short while the scent will be pleasant to smell. After four to five hours, however, it becomes noticeably weaker.
The fragrance lasts about eight hours. That's okay.
The bottle:
The bottle is rectangular, but the upper part is rounded or curved upwards. The neck consists of a gold-plated ring, on which sits the shiny black and very distinctive cap for the Si fragrances. The inside of the bottle is made of red-tinted glass (similar to Narciso Rouge), and you can see the fragrance name in gold lettering on the front. A very beautiful bottle.
So…
Si Passione also has this disturbing factor, that is, the synthetic notes I mentioned at the beginning. However, fortunately, this is not as pronounced here, so the fragrance lands in the above-average range, which one could definitely test and some might actually find appealing. Si probably belongs to the fragrances that some will like very much, while others can't stand it.
For the day, I find it a bit too sweet, but it fits very well for going out, especially for partying. And yes, now and then this fragrance could also make a lady or a girl smell delicious, sweet, and nice; you know how I always mean that :D
While many other fragrances perform much better, this one is still nice :)
I hope that Armani's future fragrances will rely less on synthetics, at least less on the kind of synthetics that make a fragrance smell like a low-quality cheap scent from the drugstore. And the new Si is already a good start, as I find it quite nice. Not super great and still needing a lot of improvement, but as I said, nice!
And for anyone who has nothing better to do today, you can count how many times I used the word “synthetic” in this comment, oh dear… :DD
Top Notes 
Pear
Blackcurrant
Pink pepper
Heart Notes 
Heliotrope
Rose
Jasmine absolute
Base Notes 
Vanilla
Cedarwood
Orcanox
Azahar81
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Jazzy76
Sirryscloset
KenyettaC
IrinaSpalko
Topfpflanze3
GeorgeReid
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JoaoMartins
