Reviews of Acqua di Selva (1949)
by Visconti di Modrone (orig. by Victor)

Minty cologne. Well defined citrus, lavender and a pine note in there gives it a minty illusion. Darned good though average. Best bang for your buck.

First memorable fragrance purchased for me in 1979. Of course, there were others before it, but ADS was the very first frag that I thoroughly enjoyed. It got me interested in colognes.

The opening was, and is to this day, a bit biting. Within minutes however, it settles into a calming,almost soothing fragrance. On my skin, it exudes a vetiver mixed with pine. I found Pino Sylvestre to be akin to it, but not quite as pleasing.

Downside is it doesn't last being an EDC. Nice bang for the buck however if you're conducive to a scent like this.

Soapy scents and me aren't always the best of friends, and the likelihood of a mismatch tends to climb when the thermometer does likewise, even with scents that I wear well in other seasons.

But - surprise, surprise - this passes the test, perhaps because it's not so soapy as it could have been. A rare case in which the feather-light, EDC nature of it actually helps it maintain its integrity. Generally short-lasting though it may be, the wispy, soft-focus finish from drydown to fadeout is among the best of its type.

Undoubtedly one of the great value scents - hardly cheap-smelling, full of panache and gentlemanly aplomb, and the added benefit of being not so common for me compensates for any longevity issues.

AdS's natural briskness running the gamut from breezy citrus to ephemeral herbs and greens - not forgetting a slight camphorous quality that reminds one of mentholated cough drops (in a good way!) when combined with the zesty citrus notes. But the bulk of its transitory lifespan is provided by a gnarly pine note and a rustic moss base. All things considered, a well-designed compromise between old-school power-scent longevity and newer-school warm-weather-ready refreshment, as well as a good break to the normally synthetic, clinical nature of many summer scents (not a universal slam, some are quite good as I'm finding out).

But in the end, it is a compromise. The coniferous tree-hugger in me often wishes it lasted a little longer, but as long as you spray a little more than normal and remember to treat it as a different species with its own evolved characteristics - related to but inherently different from Epicea, Wellington, Pino Silvestre, Green Jeans and the like - you'll enjoy it for all its momentous mystique.

Works wonders on my T-shirts during the summer and doesn't seem to stain. Attempt that trick at your own risk.

Only when you want an eau de cologne. I agree with MisterK in his assessment to the extent that and EDT (or, better yet, an EDP) would be far superior. I never buy EDC for good reason -- it has no lasting power. But the scent itself here is top-rate -- can't be beat for the dollar.

This was the lecture that the Baron de Charlus delivered to the Society of Perfumes in Paris on the subject of Acqua di Selva: 'Messieurs and mesdames, this is surely among the finest of the pine family of scents. It outstrips the somewhat eccentric Agua Brava, it outsoars the mundane Pino Silvestre, and it sails in dimensions unknown to the worthy but unimaginative Polo. This is not, as some have mistakenly called it, "a cheap drugstore fragrance". Rather, its whole beauty lies in its exploration of one of the subtlest yet simplest notes of quiet, clean pine known to perfumery. I sniff my wrist...I lose myself in a reverie...I find myself in other lifetimes...a maze in the gardens of the Court of Versailles...a familiar phantom leads me on...simple, childlike, regretful, mocking...a long, green, pure echo...it promises a deep and very upright bliss amid all these blind alleys and illusions.'