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6.9 / 10 37 Ratings
A perfume by Alchemist for men, released in 2003. The scent is fresh-green. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Fresh
Green
Floral
Spicy
Citrus

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
CamphorCamphor Black pepperBlack pepper GingerGinger
Heart Notes Heart Notes
CalycanthusCalycanthus HoneysuckleHoneysuckle
Base Notes Base Notes
FrankincenseFrankincense NutmegNutmeg KripzundolKripzundol
Ratings
Scent
6.937 Ratings
Longevity
5.628 Ratings
Sillage
5.624 Ratings
Bottle
7.230 Ratings
Submitted by Apicius, last update on 12/26/2018.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
L'Eau des Hespérides by Diptyque
L'Eau des Hespérides

Reviews

4 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Apicius

685 Reviews
Apicius
Apicius
Helpful Review 4  
A Soft Breeze From Lago Maggiore!
Stresa is a place at the Italian Lago Maggiore – one of the three big lakes in the Italian Alps. So, Acqua di Stresa is all about southern warmth and Italian Dolce Vita, it is about soft air breezes coming in from the lake but also filled with hints of opulent florals. What a wonderful concept, especially if the realisation is so well done as it is here! Lately, I had the chance to test the current Acqua di Stresa fragrances, and Calycanthus Brumae went right away into my collection. It looks like the new series has just been released, so you might not find them in your local perfume shop. However, you can get a sample set for small money directly from Acqua di Stresa.

Among the four new scents, Calycanthus Brumae is the announced gents' fragrance – but not exclusively gents. Flowers for men are very few, and this one is a green floral! But what kind of flower is it anyway? What looks like a Latin generic term cannot be found anywhere, neither at Wikipedia, nor at Google. Calycanthus has basically two species: Calycanthus floridus (Carolina sweetshrub) and Calycanthus occidentalis (California spicebush). Both seem to provide perfume oil. Calycanthus Brumae (midwinter spicebush?), however, seems to be rather a denomination for a perfumer's freedom of art in order to create the ideal green-floral men's fragrance.

Actually, this note expresses exactly that aspect of (white) florals which one may regard as captivating or pervading. In a very vague and indeterminate way, this smell evokes impressions of Mediterranean gardens, maybe also of visits to your local botanical garden in midsummer. The two gentlemen behind Acqua di Stresa banished something – or let somebody else banish something into this perfume which wasn't available before. Good to see that innovation is still possible in perfumery!

The deep and dark floral character of Calycanthus Brumae is modified by minty and also slightly campherous aspects. There is lots of mint at the beginning. Besides that, I do not see much development. Maybe, something like white musk plays a role in the background. After all, freshness and opulence are both incorporated, in a perfect balance. With its fresh aspects, Calycanthus Brumae slightly touches the area of the aquatics, but it completely misses the artificial or synthetic appeal that many of those have.

Wearing Calycanthus Brumae, you cannot help but getting pictures full of atmosphere: walks at the lakeside in Northern Italy while soft breezes provide cool air, but also splendid scents from nearby gardens – or you just sit at the shore and enjoy life. In a way, Calycanthus Brumae comes nearer to that Dolce Vita feeling than the classic Italian acquae. And after all, that is what people go to Italy for!
1 Comment
loewenherz

148 Reviews
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loewenherz
loewenherz
Very helpful Review 7  
When They Plow Me Under the Grass
Camphor (chemically known as 'Campher') is an essential oil originally derived from the bark and resin of certain evergreen trees native to Asia and is not one of the more common perfume aromas. For centuries, it has been used to treat colds, muscle, and nerve ailments, acting as an antispasmodic and expectorant - the cold remedy Vicks VapoRub contains camphor - and in high doses, it is psychoactive, potentially triggering anxiety and confusion. Its scent is aromatic, reminiscent of eucalyptus and menthol.

This eucalyptus/menthol aroma makes camphor a challenge for use as a perfume. While its scent is generally perceived as pleasant, its pharmaceutical connotation is strong enough that it is not necessarily experienced as sensual - much like one would hesitate to buy perfume in a pharmacy. It requires an antagonist capable of both accentuating and balancing its characteristics - and as such, Acqua di Stresa employs the broken warm sweetness of nutmeg.

Certainly - frankincense is, alongside camphor, the central accord of this strangely transparent-black fragrance, yet it is nutmeg and ginger that provide an echo to its coolness (not coldness!) and add something almost lyrical - 'like a pale morning in spring still breathed upon by winter's chill.' Thus, Acqua di Stresa's Calycanthus Brumae is a quiet but not mute fragrance, serious and full of dignity - yet comforting and almost cheerful - like the long-awaited exhale at the end of a burdensome and lengthy journey.

Conclusion, in the words of Klaus Hoffmann:
'I want song, I want play and dance -
I want to have fun like crazy!
I want song, I want play and dance -
when they plow me under the grass.'
0 Comments
Jensemann

167 Reviews
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Jensemann
Jensemann
Very helpful Review 4  
Herb Cooling
"Calycanthus Brumae" by Acqua di Stresa has definitely been in my collection for about a year now, and until now I haven't really been able to put anything on the screen. The scent is hard to describe. Sure, it has a summer feeling to it, but my nose finds it quite difficult to elicit corresponding words from the vocal organ.

Let's start... when I spray "Calycanthus Brumae" on my neck, you immediately feel a cooling effect. As if you were applying a corresponding after-shave after shaving.
As for the scent, I can only make one association... herbal! Which herb has been used here is hardly recognizable. Ginger... maybe, pepper..., could be, nutmeg..., possibly.

The perfume is definitely well made, and above all, something different. You don't get that typical citrus or aquatic summer scent, but rather something herbally cooling, which is really well done.
2 Comments
Cocostrawberry
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Cocostrawberry
Cocostrawberry
Helpful Review 1  
Reminds me strongly of another fragrance
The comment from Apicius really piqued my interest. So I quickly ordered a sample that arrived this morning. Of course, I couldn't wait at all and immediately sprayed it on.

Right from the first impression, it clicked, and I was really convinced that I had just sprayed Wasabi Shiso from DSH Perfumes.

I couldn't get that out of my head all day. So I hurried home, washed it off properly, and sprayed Acqua Stresa and Wasabi Shiso once each. Lo and behold, they could really be twins.

After about 1 hour, Acqua has become a bit softer and more floral, while the spice notes in Wasabi are coming out stronger.
Both fragrances are indeed very similar, but ultimately still different
different

All in all, a fragrance that, like Wasabi, is not necessarily a pure summer scent. I can also imagine it being very nice now, especially in autumn.
0 Comments

Statements

3 short views on the fragrance
7
2
An original scent with slightly annoying synthetic aquatic notes, but it reconciles with dark-spicy and smoky accents.
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2 Comments
1
How does such a piercingly sweet, extremely annoying, synthetic aquatic come from the notes in the pyramid above?
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0 Comments
1
Fresh and a bit herbal-green, slightly sweet, cooling.
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0 Comments

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Discussions

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Lola82Lola82 13 years ago
Perfume Recommendations
Minimalistic Perfumes
First perfume that comes to my mind: "Series 3 Incense: Kyoto" by Comme des Garçons. Balanced, pure, clean, pretty linear and totally different from indian or european incense.

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