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Acqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta

post #1 of 21
4/9/10 at 7:47pm
Thread Starter 


I've been shopping around for a fresh, luxurious, clean, and even a lightly citrusy summer scent and settled on AdP's Colonia Assoluta. After testing it today, while I was really fond of the top notes I feel that as it progressed it got safer, a little more conservative, and almost too mature smelling for me.

Are there any younger guys like me (I'm 22 years old) who wear Colonia Assoluta? I hear many people saying this fragrance is one they tend to associate with old people / grandparents while many others in fact refer to it as a quintessential summer scent. I'm not sure if I was predisposed to the former opinion which is why I feel that way now or if I would've come by that conclusion naturally.

The last thing I want when I'm snuggling a pretty 22 year old girl is to evoke feelings of her dad or grandfather. I want something that inspires thoughts of freshness, elegance, and youth that works well in the summer months. Something green and herbal perhaps. I like niche frags and am looking to spend around $100. I don't want anything too mainstream. I'm thinking Nina Ricci's Signoricci might be worth a sniff?
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post #2 of 21
4/9/10 at 7:48pm
Thread Starter 
I should add however that the longevity on this stuff is great. My skin tends to soak up fragrances in a hurry and I've had EDPs that don't last nearly as long as this EDC has. I was thoroughly impressed in that respect.
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post #3 of 21
4/9/10 at 9:37pm
I'm 28, but since I'm Asian, I still look 16-18. I rock a pair of jeans, hoodie, and a fitted New Era cap on a day to day basis, but I'd still wear this like it's no problem. On certain fragrances, I don't let them own me, I own them. This one's no exception with the bright citrus top note and a soft, silky, floral dry down. :P
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post #4 of 21
4/9/10 at 11:16pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I've given it a single wear so perhaps my opinion of it will change in the upcoming days. I want to smell refined, fresh and citrusy without smelling old. Hopefully this can be accomplished with AdPCA. Any other recommendations? Hugh Parsons Yellow or perhaps Geir?
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post #5 of 21
4/10/10 at 3:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stoavio View Post

Hugh Parsons Yellow or perhaps Geir?

Geir is a bit weird. One BNer described it as Pepto Bismol meets Wintergreen Tic Tacs. That's pretty accurate. Too cloying in the summer, IMHO. Lasts forever, though. I wish he'd make a Geir Dry.
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post #6 of 21
4/10/10 at 3:03am
Did you try Colonia Intensa?
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post #7 of 21
4/10/10 at 3:32am
It probably isn't going to reassure you my mother just picked this up as her new signature scent.

I find it light, fresh, and pleasant - i.e. everything that I'm not drawn to in a fragrance. None the less, it has enough depth and character that it's by no means a vapid scent. For me it's ageless, sexless, and more of a "place" scent than a "person" scent, and I'm not sure I can even describe what I mean there.
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post #8 of 21
4/10/10 at 4:59am
You're definitely too young for AdP Colonia Assoluta. The jury is out but I also fear the very real risk of a young lady running away from you b/c of its smell.

To avoid smelling like a grandfather please wear anything by Diesel or any recent Rocawear.

Thanks.
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post #9 of 21
4/10/10 at 9:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galamb_Borong View Post

It probably isn't going to reassure you my mother just picked this up as her new signature scent.

I find it light, fresh, and pleasant - i.e. everything that I'm not drawn to in a fragrance. None the less, it has enough depth and character that it's by no means a vapid scent. For me it's ageless, sexless, and more of a "place" scent than a "person" scent, and I'm not sure I can even describe what I mean there.

Yea, I can appreciate it for the qualities that make it a good fragrance but I happen to think it's characteristics are more attractive to an older crowd.
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post #10 of 21
4/10/10 at 9:49am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
To avoid smelling like a grandfather please wear anything by Diesel or any recent Rocawear.

I hope that was a joke...
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post #11 of 21
4/10/10 at 11:11am
assoluta is the first cologne i ever liked as an adult when i first went out to actually buy cologne that i liked. it was too expensive for me then but luckily it went on sale at huge discounts.
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post #12 of 21
4/10/10 at 11:37am
Give it a few more tries. I can appreciate your concern and can understand where you're coming from... but, if *you* like it, then I'd say go for it.
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post #13 of 21
4/10/10 at 3:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stoavio View Post

I hope that was a joke...

Yes it was glad you took it as such
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post #14 of 21
4/10/10 at 3:32pm
Ask this question about Rive Gauche and you'd likely get flooded with replies from 20 somethings who wear it. Yet, I'd associate RG as a much more traditional "older guy" scent than ADPCA. Assoluta does have a barber shop clean vibe just toned way down, at least on my skin. If you are really concerned with what the other sex is thinking, you should ask for opinions from them and see.
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post #15 of 21
4/10/10 at 6:39pm
Trust me on this one. Try out Penhaligons Castile. So similar to Assoluta, but even brighter and I think suits our age group better. (I'm 22 also by the way)
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post #16 of 21
4/10/10 at 7:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by shortino View Post

Give it a few more tries. I can appreciate your concern and can understand where you're coming from... but, if *you* like it, then I'd say go for it.

Good advice.

Quote:
Yes it was glad you took it as such

A BNplus member with a 1,525 post count surely had to be joking by dispensing advice like that. I might be new to the boards but I didn't just didn't just fall off the turnip truck. :P

Quote:
Trust me on this one. Try out Penhaligons Castile. So similar to Assoluta, but even brighter and I think suits our age group better. (I'm 22 also by the way)

I was debating on those 2 and chose the Assoluta instead. So, who has a bottle of Castile they want to trade me?
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post #17 of 21
9/7/10 at 7:53am
I'm 18 and it's my favourite scent.
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post #18 of 21
9/19/10 at 12:16am
I don't mean to break the crowd here, today I had a chance to go to David Jones to try Aqua Di Parma Colonia and Aqua Di Parma Assoluta. I like the fresh Citrus opening of Colonia which overpowered Assoluta's opening hands down. Both were very pleasant in their own ways. After about 10 minutes Colonia became subtle and hard to detect compared to Assoluta. While Assoluta's white musk and cedarwood became more dominant by that time.

Personally I wouldn't buy neither of them, it reminds me of older lady between the age of my mother and my grandmother. Pleasant, but no thanks.
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post #19 of 21
9/19/10 at 4:05am
When I was about 22-23 years old I just adored Colonia Assoluta, as I still do now, yet I NEVER perceived it, not even back then, as too mature for my age, besides, belive me, there were girls of the same age as mine (so, also around 22-23 back then) neither particularly old-fashioned, tacky or geeky, some of them actually more on the girly-attractive, others more on the intellectual-urbantite-business casual side, who almost all showed a fondness, whenever we were out shopping or testing frags together, who showed a certain fondness- without perceiving them as something suitable for their father's generation or style, not just for most ADP frags- but also for the citrus notes in a wide range of frags like Roberto Capucci PH, Jaguar for Men, Eau d'Orange Verte by Hermes and more
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post #20 of 21
9/19/10 at 7:00am
I don't agree that Colonia Assoluta 'is one they tend to associate with old people / grandparents'. Maybe Colonia, but not Colonia Assoluta.

If you like it, wear it. IMO there is nothing like Colonia Assoluta. It is one of Jean Claude Ellena's best citruses. I've gone through a whole bottle and I miss wearing it.
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post #21 of 21
9/6/12 at 9:30pm
Just re-visited this tonight. I forgot how beautifully constructed this was. The notes are very well blended and have enough depth and richness to them to distance itself from other boring citrus based fragrances.

I sprayed some on the back of my hand maybe 2 1/2 hrs ago but now it is barely noticeable. I've read that most people find this to be extremely potent. I did too until now. There is hardly anything left to smell What a pity.

Beautiful while it lasted.
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