Baraja (2002)
by Acqua di Biella

Baraja starts out with a non-descript slightly stale smell. Within fifteen minutes I began to enjoy the scent, detecting ginger and fragrant wood. It really felt like the ginger and wood did no more than say a short hello before the main act tiptoes in. For roughly three hours my skin smells like standard fare fabric conditioner.

It's true that there is something more interesting going on underneath the main projecting smell of Baraja, but it's so ghostly that to my mind it's irrelevant.

I just can’t get my head around this scent. To help my wife explained, “I can totally understand that someone would want to smell like freshly washed clothes, afterall the clean clothes smell doesn’t last too long after the wash”…. I’m wasn't convinced. Wouldn’t it make more sense to buy Febreze ‘Fabric Refresher TO GO’ for 5% of the cost of Baraja. It easily fits into your pocket or bag, you can then spritz your clothes with they need freshening up. Baraja is not a bad smell but I'm not going to help dupe anyone into buying this by leaving a neutral.

This is just OK to me. A fine quality soapy (not a bad thing) scent that's fresh but a might cloying at first. The EdC strength really kicks the bucket on this one. I think I'll pass.

Refreshing citrus and and very prominent scent of TIDE laundry detergent. Not my favorite accord, but funny enough, my kids LOVE it! Lasting power is medium, sillage is fairly low on me. Not a favorite, but not awful in the least, and I can imagine that on some skin there would be much less TIDE, much more refreshing and clean citrus.

Baraja opens with lemon, citron, and lime. This is a burst of a very fresh "green" smell. It actually evokes to color of green. the middles notes are black currant, peach and a hint of honey. This lends a fresh "air" vibe to the mellow green smell that stills persists in the development while not detecting anything componet from the middle notes in particular. The rich base notes of amber, patchouly, and vetiver support the green composition by adding a bit of depth and character. Vetiver further supports the opening act to add opulence and vibrancy to the green aura while the amber and patchouly only support the vetiver and move it forward. Overall, it is very fresh, very pure, very green, and a fragrance that instantly makes you happy! I understand the conotations to fresh linen but this in no way is the complete picture. This is an instant love for me and when you want to be happy, want to smell clean, want to feel good, this is the perfect choice. Baraja is perfectly blended and is very smooth in operation. One might think it wears close to the skin because you receive gently wafts here and there but, it projects and has sillage in a "civilized" way. A perfect 10/10 and a must have. Your get clean, soapy, depth, and satisfaction. Great job Acqua di Biella!

A clean, fresh smelling fragrance that I agree does smell similar to fabric softener. I find it to be quite long lasting with a good amount of sillage. I had emailed the company to inquire about the strength, and was informed that it is an EDT.

Finally, I couldn't resist and purchased a bottle of Baraja even if I worried about its lasting power. Now, I got addicted to this scent. It really smells a bit like fabric softener (in a positive way), very clean, fresh, slightly fruity. And it lasts surprisingly long on me. It stays very close to my skin, compareable to the Gendarme fragrances, but I can detect it even after several hours. A feel-good scent suitable for any occasion.