Argento Renato Balestra 1997 Eau de Toilette

Argento is a men's cologne playing on the stage for 20 more years now, though I've never got a chance to test it, or better I've never got any attraction to it thinking it was an old-school cloying chypre for grown men. Thus I always overlooked it willfully. It was only on a recent evening that I noticed it on the shelf of a perfume store, there was just one EDT left together with the AS, the price was a bargain lesser than 10 bucks, plus an additional 30% for the summer sale. "Why not?" I wondered myself. A quick search on the web got me promising results, so I blind bought it. Once back in my car, I couldn't resist any longer and gave it a try.
Oh man, a blast of pureness, brightness, and clearness saturated the car. I let the alcohol fade away and then a gentle citrusy, rosy, and mossy accord raised from my skin, so delicate, so comforting, and so contemporary disregarding its mature age. I closed my eyes and tried to figure out what sensation it brought me. A summertime scarlet rose kissed by the droplets of the silver morning dew.

Argento opens up with a blend of citrus and spicy accords, and the aroma is full of citrus blossoms, peel of mandarin orange and bergamot, with a touch of tangy cardamom. This blend is reminiscent of another scent I used long ago, Comme un Evidence by Yves Rocher. The rosy aura kicks in the top notes since the very beginning, and I have to say, I quite like the use of the rose in here, it doesn't feel feminine like some other scents that utilize this note. I'm a big fan of the smell of rose, especially in the winter's oriental colognes, but I like what Balestra has done here. From the start, let me state that Argento, probably isn't for everyone. It is a unique scent that will work very well for guys who have an individual taste.

The cyclamen, the rose, the lily of the valley, and the coriander comprise the heart of the cologne. This combination deepens the floral of the aroma while adding a dash of woodiness. The rose is a lovely note, and it's incredibly smooth and soft but ultimately linear and never dull.
Not more than 30 minutes later, the rose turns up and doesn't leave till you are just left with a rose smell that gets fainter and fainter and dies after about six hours. The heart is elegant due to the dominant note in it being the smell of rose, mixed with mossy notes and lots of spices as well as hints of cardamom and coriander to make it a very masculine rose fragrance (which is pretty rare). The rose is also exceptionally well done and smells like fresh rose petals.

Patchouli, oakmoss, cedar, and musk blend together to create a woody base that grounds the cologne in an earthy accord. A strong note of patchouli makes it very authoritarian and the cedar reinforces the structure of the fragrance. It's long-lasting and very close to the skin. The rose-geranium duet is conservative, and the base is woodsy-musky with a touch of creamy resin.

Ultimately, Argento is a spicy, based on a rose chypre with a deep woodsy temperament and a heritage of discreet elegance, a white flower/ rose/woody fragrance for the summer, which works for men. However, I think women could wear this too just due to the rose note. The rose note is well done as well and smells like real roses. Aside from the change after the first ten minutes or so, this cologne stays pretty constant. What you smell is what you get. The overall quality doesn't feel synthetic. Excellent longevity on my skin with moderate projection, all qualities that make this scent useful for office and leisure time. A daytime summer scent, fresh, airy, light.

-Elysium

Argento disappoints from the very beginning. Contrary to promises, there is no glimpse of a citrus grove with radiant white blossoms, vibrant fruits, and lush greenery, just a blurred idea of cardamom, as if from an overturned shower gel bottle, pre-2YK. Not vintage, dear friends, unfortunately, so quickly onward to the garden.

Here, a mixture of somewhat fragrant pastel flowers stands out against the greenery. But where does this musty smell come from? From the coriander greens (who doesn't know that in Thai soup and fishes it out like the proverbial hair)? Or is it the cyclamen? The shy lily of the valley certainly isn't. And the roses, where are they?

Nefertiti loves roses, which is why she has come here, but at first, she sees none. She sets off in search of them in the garden. Strange, there was something… Yes, there it is again… Whoa, an aquatic ghost! Nefertiti is not timid, but she almost always flees from water spirits, immediately. At the exit, a simple wooden door like from the hardware store, through and out. No roses today.

Nefertiti reflects: actually, it was quite nice here, but nothing more. No, there was something else, a fuzzy brandy haze, quite secretly now and then, brownbagging then. If it's high-proof for the throat, she prefers single malt from the Scottish islands - there she finds the sea okay.

Conclusion: Since I trust the noses and judgments of Cappellusman and Joe, I suspect that this fragrance, beautifully described by the two years ago in 2018, is a poor victim of reformulation. Therefore, I recommend budding rose cavaliers and caballeras to pick their bouquet elsewhere.

... where "personal" should not be understood as the sister of "bad." The "Chypre-like" aspect does not really reveal itself to me here; the scent starts off very soapy and creamy. Quite intense and requires some getting used to in the top note, in my opinion. It reminds me a bit of "Aigner No. 2."

As it develops, "Argento" becomes more pleasant, "classic," without ever losing its very own character. The rose is very dominant; you have certainly smelled it in a more natural form (like in "Acteur," for example), yet in the heart and base notes, a solidly crafted men's fragrance unfolds far beyond what is typically produced today.

I certainly would not have guessed the year of creation 1997 in a blind test. The scent seems much older, almost old-fashioned and quaint, which makes it interesting again. You simply don't smell such things anymore today. Perhaps the rather rarely used oak in the base note contributes to this.

In any case, another worthwhile discovery in the realm of classic and affordable Italian fragrances. Those who enjoy soft, powdery, and creamy scents will certainly find this to their liking.