I'm generally a contrarian when it comes to fragrance; I dislike a lot of universally loved fragrances and try to dig up diamonds in the rough, even if they have bad reviews. But I really can't help but like Torino 21. I avoided trying it for so long since the name and theming irritate me. I understand that Xerjoff are a sponsor of some tennis tournament, but they have to name it after the city it's taking place in plus the year? That would be like naming the official World Cup fragrance Moscow 18 or Qatar 22, just zero creativity or hint as to what it might smell like (and the different editions Torino22, Torino23, etc smell nothing like this one). In other words, I had a lot of negative thoughts surrounding Torino 21 before trying it.
But it is really a beautiful scent. The folks deriding its lack of originality, I totally understand, since I was in their place a year or two ago. But there really isn't a lot you can do to make a citrus-musk freshie stand out. Torino 21 is just composed brilliantly: the mint is there and strong, but doesn't take over the scent, the herbs don't dominate either, as unfortunately they did in Buongiorno. Mostly the citrus, fruity notes (blackcurrant in the note pyramid), florals, and musk come through, and it really reminds me a lot of Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Aqua line. However, the florals are toned down in Torino 21 compared to, say, Aqua Celestia Forte, to make way for the mint note, and I appreciate the change.
