Acqua di Biella No. 1 (1872)
by Acqua di Biella

Upon application, Acqua di Biella No. 1 gives a lovely burst of lavender citrus - a very pleasant scent with whispers of mint and bergamot. Unfortunately, the fragrance disappears on dry down - disappears completely, even after multiple applications. Not a hint on it remained after 30 minutes. The warmth of my breath couldn't revive it.

I'm generally a fan of this category of fragrance, clean, soap and water type scents that are typified by Philosophy's Pure Grace, Victoria's Secret Pink Fruity & Bright and the mother (perhaps grandmother) of all clean soap & water scents, Jean Nate.

Although, Acqua di Biella No. 1 would probably be a more interesting fragrance if it lasted, my choice of this type of scent is still Philosophy's Pure Grace. The price and staying power of Pure Grace are what make it the clear winner in my book.

13rd May, 2010.

Herbs and citrus, mint and lavender, but mostly indolic jasmine on me. None of the reviewers here note the jasmine, but thankfully one of the comments at luckyscent reflects my experience. Rather unremarkable and not worth the price.

14th March, 2010.

Lots of citrus and citrus-like notes in this one, and the accords are quite spectacular. The herbals used in conjunction with the citrus augment the citruses almost silently, leaving the impression that it’s all about citrus… but it isn’t all about citrus, it’s about richness and delicate variance in the citrus accords: It is as beautiful use of citrus as I’ve seen… Unfortunately, the beauty lasts all of ten minutes, and the fragrance becomes an uninteresting, extremely soft skin scent that lasts another half hour on my skin. I understand the concept of sandcastles, but I’m not into sandcastles built on the shore as the tide is coming in… This fragrance needs to last longer…

19th August, 2009.

Old fashioned fruity spicy. Man! Lavender all at once in the beginning! Mint, too. Very weak since it's an EdC. I detect the neroli early on (smells a little like Creed's Neroli Sauvage). Very nice but also very linear. Not that that is a bad thing. Smells like my lavender, mint and sage herb garden I have outback.

10th June, 2008.

No 1 opens with a slight "Old World" feel. I agree that the mint and lavender play the major roles in this act. Upon first waft, mint water comes to mind. I say water because it literally conjures emotions of running water due to the EDC concentration. Upon further examination, I realize the lavender yields an earthy quality, and if shaved root bark soaked in water. For me, this note is dischordant and adds a bitter tinge that disrupts the composition and is incongrous with what the fragrance wants to be. The lavender also keeps the mint and bay. The mint is struggling to come out and play but remains reserved as if there is no confidence to socialize. I don't detect any of the other notes off hand. Overall, it smell fresh and good enough but rather fleeting. It would be hard to absorb the purchase price for this EDC. For real stunner however, check out Baraja by Acqua di Biella which is in my opinion, redemption for this house! I give No 1 a 4.5/10 earining it a neutral rating if you round up.

7th April, 2008.

I really liked the initial burst of mint, bergamot and lavender. Very masculine, classy and discrete. Ideal for office wear. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few seconds on me and the many repeat applications made it a very, very expensive choice for a fragance. Sorry, I pass...!

24th May, 2006.