Colonia Russa (1901)
by Santa Maria Novella

CR opens with a blast of realistic citrus--orange, bergamot, lemon, and then light herbs and florals, but the entire time the dark leathery base is apparent. This is the coming together of east and west in 18th Century Europe. The bright citrus and florals of the Farinas meets the dark leather and incense of medieval Russia. A tad discordant like Peter the Great forcing the boyars to shave their beards and adopt western fashion lest they face the Tsar's wrath.

30th October, 2010.

Eh, it's ok. It definitely does not hide the fact that it's a floral citrus cologne. A touch of leather in this makes a very interesting but blase accord. Not very long lasting but it was nice while it lasted.

15th November, 2008.

"Colonia Russa" is a very nice citrus fragrance, with a great neroli heart note, a hint of rose and a light oriental leather base with a patchouli note. It is a very classic yet subtle cologne for neroli lovers, far better than any other neroli cologne I could found.

16th July, 2008. (Last Edited: 26th May, 2011.)

This is a marvellous, underrated, gentlemanly scent: soft bitter orange peel and orange blossom with a slightly civetish-russian leather drydown. It has also a soft melancholic and nostalgic quality and I love it. It can take a while to appreciate this scent because it is old fashioned and far from the current mainstrean colognes. Very suitable for fall and winter. There is also a whole line of aftershave balm and lotion, soap, and so on. It is worth a try. The lasting power is not bad, 3-5 hours on my skin, but I can detect very close to the skin some whiffs also in the evening. But you can solve every lasting power problem using the perfume extract, which has a more prominent "animal quality".

20th February, 2006.

A nice leather scent with accents of amber and lavender, but as usual, doesn't last very long. I wouldn't buy a bottle, but would happy to seek out a decant.

15th January, 2006.

Frankly, I wasn't as impressed as I have been by other SMN items by far. This is a rather light fragrance with a drydown that faintly reminds me of Amouage Gold Cristal at the base of bases. O.K., but not all that distinctive.

19th December, 2002.