Reviews of Albi (2002)
by Laura Tonatto

Michael Edwards classifies this a as a rich citrus and that is exactly how it comes across to me. The density of the scent is owed to the healthy dosage of treemoos, which is exquisitely married to the long lasting petitgrain-heavy citrus notes. While there is a moment of sweetness here, it is not the sticky candied citrus peel variety (amply displayed in the hard to find Tova Cologne for Men) which I am personally not fond of. I find the lavender plays but a supporting role here. It is light and contributes some herbaceous treble counterpoint to the mossy base, rather than showing a strong personality of its own. All in all Albi squares several circles in presenting itself as an innovative citrus, blending spriteliness with masculine mossy gravity, and providing astounding freshness-cum-longevity (and sillage). A masterful creation and a pleasure to wear.

I don’t like Albi. It is very dense on me and it reminded me of another scent I disliked – Mambo. I compared the notes and didn’t see any real similarity – was I crazy? Then I did a side by side test and Mambo did remind me of Albi, although they were certainly different and Mambo had a bit of fruitiness not in Albi. Anyway, Albi strikes me as a very heavy scent; I seem to find certain lavender presentations to be undesirable and Albi seems to be one of these.

What a lively, sparkly winner this one is: light and sweet, peppery and mossy. So very unique, it is elegant and edgy at the same time. It isn’t an aquatic or a citrus, although there is a noticeable petitgrain in it. There is such a clean feeling presented by its opening lavender, petitgrain, and pepper. The pepper wears off and the moss joins in with the light lavender and petitgrain to provide a clean, sophistication. Robyogi is right: As light as it is, it is a sillage monster and needs to be applied with discretion. Bright, loud and light at the same time, it is wonderfully complete with Laura Tonato creativity and passion.

I find Albi to be amazing stuff. There is something in it called "mousse d'arbre" or "foam of tree." I did a little internet research on this a while back and found that it's apparently some sort of moss collected in France. Albi has a persistent natural sweetness to it that I find addictive. Usually I don't like sweet scents because they seem so thick and cloying. This one, however, feels bright and light, uplifting almost, and is very unique, hard to explain. This sweetness balances the pepper and lavender, which are equally prominent. It is a monster sillage projector though, so I go light or apply long before I leave the house. Longevity is good, especially for a brighter, summery scent like this, and especially on my clothes. This scent brings a smile to my face, and gets 4-5 stars in my book.