Acqua di Firenze
by i Profumi di Firenze

The liquid is blue and the bottle says “Acqua,” but this is no aquatic sport fragrance. Acqua di Firenze is actually a very, very dry, green floral fragrance of extraordinary clarity and lightness. What it does share with the common run of fresh aquatic scents in a pervasive air of cleanliness. This comes not from melon, citrus, or ozonic notes, but from an intensely soapy, powdery foundation. A very healthy dose of ashy-waxy aldehydes helps reinforce the dry, clean aura Acqua di Firenze casts about its wearer. This scent is deceptive in its delicacy. While transparent, it projects surprisingly far, so that you’ll catch unexpected drifts of its soapy florals as you move about.

Acqua di Firenze’s relatively sparse structure eventually dissipates into a whisper of a clean musk and soft wood drydown. Acqua di Firenze is unfailingly polite throughout its development, and though the aldehydic floral accord strikes me as “perfumey,” the scent’s dry, clean character renders it paradoxically quite gender neutral. I happen to find this type of aldehydic, soapy fragrance too stuffy for comfort, but I have to acknowledge Acqua di Firenze’s quality. I’d never wear it myself, but I do recommend that anyone who’s looking for a fruit-free, non-aquatic take on “clean” give this scent a try.

Acqua Mirabile Odorosa di Firenze is the full title I have. This is a lovely sort of scent. Though it is a bit more floral than is my usual preference, it is neither sweet nor heavy. I don’t think the green notes are *very* green, they fill in the spaces around the two floral notes, iris and honeysuckle. Iris is the emblem of Renaissance-era Florence so it an appropriate element in this signature fragrance. Here the violet-like qualities of iris root convey the fresh and transparent aspects noted by many. Honeysuckle gives a warm, rich quality, suggesting to me jasmine with a hint of vanilla. I find this to be pleasant, but I’m not wowed by it.

I've smelled and tested an awful lot of fragrances, and Acqua di Firenze made me sit up and take notice—not because of outstanding dramatic accords, but because it is such a unique and sensitive take on light floral accords. It is beautifully transparent and sensitive and clean. It is refreshing and basically floral, but the florals do not send out a strong floral ambiance. The light florals—iris, and honeysuckle—are peppered by some strange but very pleasant green notes. The entire movement of the fragrance is light, transparent, clean without citrus, aquatics, ozonics or any other of the ordinary standbys in the light fragrance arsenal. Thoroughly interesting, pleasant, and fresh, it is surprisingly unisex. The longevity is not great, but it is better than I had been expecting.