Train journey with now 120 minutes delay and a lot of downtime:
the perfect time for my second review here. Today it’s about Naviglio, the scent I am currently wearing - while sitting on the train.
This fragrance is also a souvenir from the USA, where I searched for my new summer scent in a dreamy niche perfumery among dozens of fragrances (more about that in my first review of Gallagher’s O‘Vert).
The sales assistant casually asked me if I liked soapy scents. Immediately, I thought of my experiences with iris bombs from Prada, which I love on others but become too much for me on my skin after just a few minutes. “Depends” was my answer, and he had already sprayed Naviglio on a strip. Right after spraying, I was transported back to my vacation in Venice five years ago: walking along the Grand Canal after showering in the hotel, that’s how this little paper strip between my fingers smelled. So I sprayed it on my wrist and tested it throughout the day. Quite often in the following hours, I caught myself smelling my wrist, and each time positive vacation emotions surfaced. So I had almost no choice but to purchase the fragrance the very next day, and what can I say, I haven’t regretted it to this day. It is the ideal companion for the airplane, train, at the station, or when you just want to smell clean. Nevertheless, it smells very high-quality, and I would wear it without hesitation at special events because it absolutely brings the “sophisticated quality” (especially when it’s really hot and you don’t feel like juicy citrus, this would be my first choice).
The soapy accord, which is initially accompanied by a bit of citrus, neroli, and lavender (for me, the lavender is clearly present from the first second), remains the focus throughout. Over time, the aforementioned notes are replaced by white musk and slightly aquatic notes, which give it a certain transparency without smelling synthetic (a feat that, in my opinion, far too few “aquatic notes” actually achieve). It lasts through an entire workday, even though it comes closer to the skin after initially solid projection (which is good for my intended uses).
The bottle is top-notch, the cap is very heavy (that’s how heavy I always imagined the PdM caps, I find them rather average) and magnetic, the glass is extra thick to protect the perfume from external influences, and the old-school design fits very well with the fragrance, which, with the prominent notes of neroli and lavender, might smell “too old” to some.
Overall, a super high-quality soapy scent with a great bottle and good value for money. Those who don’t like “classic” fragrances or are looking for something super exciting might not be happy here.
People who find Prada and Co not soapy enough and fans of classic colognes will get their money's worth here.
Yes, it's really great. What I like about Naviglio is that it doesn't smell soapy, even though it's a budget fragrance; instead, the concept here was French soap. I also enjoy wearing it; it lasts on my hair until the next day!
Misca 3 years ago