Qué Chimba! Lorenzo Pazzaglia 2025

Lorenzo doesn't make the best fragrances - purely in terms of quality and content, but the good man can do one thing; bold yet wearable scents! Now, after I have been able to test several fragrances from Mr. Pazzaglia, his signature is often unmistakable; not that the fragrances all smell the same, but you can definitely sense the DNA. "Speechless | Lorenzo Pazzaglia" was nice, but somehow it didn't captivate me. Sex Sea was much more exciting for me. Therefore, it was all the more important for me to buy this fragrance after the first reviews on TikTok. Why? It is supposed to be a "dedication" to Colombia, a country full of life and color. Did the fragrance fulfill its mission?...

...long story short. Let's get into it:
- First: the fragrance is truly brilliant and has a niche character. In the opening, you get a good dose of sweet-spicy anise, peppery with a hint of cinnamon, intense, but somehow also fruity; guava, a bit of passion fruit, and citrus automatically join in and prevent the fragrance from drifting into the unbearable in the opening, even though star anise is definitely more noticeable. A truly brilliant interplay.

- As it develops, the fragrance gains a subtle, underlying floral note. Subtle, as anise remains the main player. The tobacco is for me rather medium-moist, so not the dry amber tobacco like in XXI: Art Deco - Blonde Amber, but slightly moist, playing a brilliant symphony with the floral notes. Individually, the flowers are hardly detectable, as the spice is simply still too present, but rose and orchid are slightly perceptible.

- In the drydown, this spice remains the main player and is rounded off by an ambered, slightly earthy base, which does not clash but is well-rounded by the amber, vanilla, and sandalwood. Here too, the spice prevails, but nicely rounded with a hint of tobacco, slight floral notes, and the minimally remaining fruitiness from the opening.

- Longevity and sillage with this fragrance are finally good again; probably also due to the good dose of spice :) For the sillage, I would have liked to give an 8.5, but an 8 would be too little.

In summary; a bold fragrance that perfectly captures the life and contrasts of Colombia while remaining true to the brand's core principles. Not a top-level fragrance, but a creative, bold, and above all exciting scent.

Definitely test it beforehand, as the spice might not appeal to everyone :)