Acqua di Giò Profondo Giorgio Armani 2020 Eau de Parfum

Hi guys, I tried an Acqua di Giò from Armani again after a long time, the Profundo, which was released in 2020. Although there is now the 2024 version of this flanker, they still had the 2020 in the store. And I was still lucky because it was the only fragrance from this range in the store that still had the spray head on it...!!!! I mean, I understand it when the testers are used up super quickly, especially for fragrances like this, because I've been watching people spray themselves with it from top to bottom (and then vice versa from bottom to top :D) for years... instead of testing it normally, but well, I can still live with that. But then to completely separate the spray heads from the bottle is beyond stupid, I mean why the hell would you do that? And even with bottles that are still full??? Or are they only broken because someone might have dropped it... almost every bottle in the whole store? Over and over again until they've all fallen off? :D
That's honestly hard to believe, I think people did it on purpose, for whatever reason. Or at least by handling them too roughly, because the testers don't belong to them and so people think they can handle them however they want...

I'm not normally one of those people who tell everyone in a clichéd way that humanity is now going stupid at an abnormal level... but humanity is going stupid at an abnormal level!!! :DDDD
Because I don't think everyone has suddenly become extremely clumsy, have they?
But well, let's get back to the fragrance. I tried the fragrance here because I had actually had good experiences with this range in the past. Of course, there have always been outliers that smelled like nothing or were dripping with synthetics, but for the most part, there have been quite usable to pretty good fragrances among these perfumes. The Profundo here has convinced me for a long time, as it reminded me of the great Acqua di Giò Essenza, which was my favorite fragrance from the series.

**The fragrance:**
Basically, the fragrance starts the same way I remember Essenza: It's citrusy fresh, and the citrusy scents also smell tangy in the process, which is especially good on hot days. You can smell the bergamot well, but you can smell the great mandarin even better. Only a little later, a fragrance note is added that I particularly like in summer with citrusy-fresh fragrances, namely herbs. In this case, it's rosemary, which not only smells good and is easily recognizable, but also goes incredibly well with the mandarins. All of this is not only refreshing, but simply wonderfully summery.
The fragrance is rather less sweet, at least at the beginning. This changes a little towards the base, when the musk and amber become a little stronger. Nevertheless, the fragrance remains citrusy and herbaceous for most of the time and gives off a great scent.
In the drydown, i.e. the very late base, the fragrance basically smells the same, but is only slightly sweet. The citrusy scents are then almost completely gone, of course, but you can still smell a nice hint of rosemary with gentle, soft notes in the background. Incidentally, the drydown is quite close to the body.

**The sillage and the longevity:**
The radiance is quite okay at the beginning, but in my opinion it fades a little too quickly, but is still in the "okay" range. The longevity is also more average, as with almost every fragrance in this range, and I would say that it lasts 3-5 hours depending on the dosage.

**The bottle:**
Absolutely nothing has changed in the bottle for years, except of course the color of the bottle. We still have the handy bottle, which is rectangular but slightly rounded, has a thick glass base and no label on the front, so the name is printed directly on the bottle. The color of this bottle is dark blue without a color gradient. The neck of the bottle is chrome-plated and on top of it sits the blue, cylindrical lid, which is not magnetic (I could swear that my Essenza had a magnetic lid many years ago, couldn't I?...). In any case, a beautiful bottle that sits well in the hand.

**Conclusion:**
Admittedly, this fragrance certainly doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does go back to the roots a little (at least to Essenza or Profumo). The actual original, which is "only" called Acqua di Giò, smells slightly different. For example, the herbs are less strong and the top note is also slightly different), which surprised me positively. I also like the fact that the fragrance is not as intensely synthetic as I had expected, which enhances the fragrance for me. Of course, there is a certain synthetic quality, especially towards the end, but it's not as disturbing as, for example, the rather bad Acqua di Giò Absolu from 2018.

For me, this fragrance is clearly a summer scent that perhaps doesn't stand out so much among many other fragrances, but I think it smells nice enough to try. You can use it mainly as a daily companion, whether for work or leisure, somehow it always works. You should only choose a more long-lasting fragrance if you're going to a party or something :)

Well, that's my opinion on Profundo (2020). I hope the 2024 version smells just as good! If I ever get to test it... because stupid people keep ruining the testers, argh!!!! They should really hire people in the stores to look after the testers, you could call them tester guards or something, he he!

Well then, that's it from me again, have a nice evening :)