Colonia Acqua di Parma (1916)Eau de Cologne

Colonia (Eau de Cologne) by Acqua di Parma

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Designer Edition 2011 von Luca Scacchetti

Colonia (Eau de Cologne) (Acqua di Parma)

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8.0 / 10 511 Ratings

Colonia (Eau de Cologne) is a popular perfume by Acqua di Parma for men and was released in 1916. The scent is citrusy-fresh. It is being marketed by LVMH.

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Top Notes	Lemon, Orange, Calabrian bergamot
Heart Notes	Lavender, Bulgarian rose, Verbena, Rosemary
Base Notes	Vetiver, Sandalwood, Patchouli

Ratings

Scent

8.0 (511 Ratings)

Longevity

6.4 (370 Ratings)

Sillage

5.9 (346 Ratings)

Bottle

8.0 (351 Ratings)

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 04.06.2020.

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Reviews

05/04/2020

8.5
Scent 6
Longevity 7
Sillage 9
Bottle

Skills0401

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Skills0401

Top Review 12

The Barber of Emilia-Romagna

In my almost two years here at Parfumo, writing comments is something I haven't necessarily indulged in - writing a good comment takes time and reflection, so I reserve the right to write about fragrances that awaken something special in me. All the more respect for all those who comment much more often and for a longer time!

But today it's time again - it's about 20 degrees in New York and after a rainy spring, which is overshadowed by COVID-19, it's finally sunny for a longer time. The air on these early summer days always has a special energy for me and on such days AdP Colonia is a fragrance that underlines this energy but at the same time reminds me that it doesn't take much to enjoy life

The energy is expressed here in particular by the tangy and lemon-dominated opening, which is at the same time pleasantly cool. Accompanied by a light bergamot, Colonia makes a self-confident but very natural appearance here and brings a kick of freshness that lifts and energizes the mood. This prelude is a rather short pleasure, because after about 20-30 minutes the citrus fruits embed themselves very harmoniously into the base of the fragrance, which makes a lot out of little. Lemon and lavender are carried here by other herbs and a fresh, slightly soapy note, which evokes associations with the south, with sun, but also with down-to-earthness. There is no need for a protruding pyramid of scents here, just a few natural ingredients - you won't find any synthetics here.

A few weeks ago, I had a very similar scent in the nose of a barber in a Mexican city, and there was nothing superimposed on it either: a chair, wonderfully aged wooden furniture and a barber and apprentice who did their work. Simple, but efficient, and proud of what you are and what you do - I have the same feeling with this classic from Acqua di Parma. And perhaps it is this association that makes me think of Colonia as a so-called "barbershop" fragrance, or rather a precursor of it.

Shelf life and sillage are not the most important things with Colonia. 4-5 hours one has a pleasure with it, whereby the sillage is stronger than expected at the beginning, but then quickly recedes, leaving the wearer almost alone with his pleasures.

All in all, Colonia is a wonderful companion for warm days, reminding me that less can often be more - an important lesson especially in Corona times

8 Replies

04/26/2020

8.5
Scent 7
Longevity 6
Sillage 7
Bottle

FvSpee

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FvSpee

Top Review 28

Colonia instead of Corona. No. 4: Parma per sempre!

With "Parma" everyone has his own associations. Gourmets think of Parma ham and Parma cheese (a.k.a. Parmesan), my friend Miro, who works at the EU Commission (no, he's not responsible for the allergen rules on perfumes), probably thinks of EFSA, the EU agency for food safety based in Parma, historians may think of the house of Bourbon-Parma (Parma was for a long time Austrian or French before the foundation of the Italian nation state), and literature lovers think of Stendhal's novel "The Charterhouse of Parma", which, however, is not about Carthusian monks but about love and politics. Perfume lovers think, of course, of Acqua di Parma, perhaps THE best-known Italian fragrance brand, at least in the men's segment.

One of them is the "blue series" of AdP with a wide variety of mostly quite successful summer waters: I think the house has succeeded very well in occupying the modern niche segment and earning a lot of money. I'm no expert, but could I imagine that this series appeals to a similar (perhaps not quite as prestige-conscious and rip-off-resistant) segment of buyers as the equally blue one by Tom Ford.

The other is: This scent here (and its flankers): THE ORIGINAL.

In "Colonia" by Acqua di Parma we encounter (historically certainly not correct, but in the sense of a felt truth) something like the Italian Ur-Cologne, the ultra-montane counterpart of 4711 and Farina Gegenüber. Especially in the opening phase, the relationship to the German and French colognes and colognes in the tradition of the Cologne houses, but also, for example, of Guerlain's Impérial, is clearly noticeable: A tradition is being continued, which is why there are nine points for the well fitting name "Colonia".

The attack is perfectly lemony; and this lemon holds exactly the middle ground between creamy soft veiling and sharp, hard or sharp prickiness. It is a wonderfully strong, medium to dark yellow, round, solidly built, soft and yet strong lemon, with slightly green and bitter-fresh citric companions (I would have guessed bergamot and bitter orange here and was close).

After about 20 minutes, stronger floral impressions become visible, I would not have suspected rose, a decided (even heavy) rose scent is also missing, it is more an unspecific, but very beautiful floral aspiration. I don't think that rosemary and verbena were separate either, but I assume that they provide the stable, pithy and masculine bass underlay, even without smelling them specifically. In this phase Colonia changes miraculously between a floral-soft lemon and a crisp lemon sorbet, possibly with pistanzias on it.

Here I think, wow, this is such a stand-alone fragrance that is just as difficult to optimize as a Parmesan loaf, a cypress or the cathedral of Parma. The thing just stands in the world and you hope, forever, or at least for a few thousand years. After about an hour, however, there is a development that irritates me a bit, because the lavender enters the stage noticeably and fills it for about an hour. Lavender in eau de cologne is classic at most, it is also in 4711; but I find this too dominant here; for my nose the citric is (temporarily) too much displaced here. But that may have a very subjective touch. I actually like lavender very much, but for the last few months I seem to have been noticing it very strongly, perhaps more strongly than it is there.

From the third hour onwards, the citric regains lost ground, lavender remains moderately present, and at the same time the base, first woody, then wonderfully classic, fades into soapy, tender sweetness. Great, incredibly harmonious finish! br />
Apart from my lavender irritation, I like colonia very much, but I perceive it as almost overclassic. So classic that I find it almost a bit old-fashioned, which is saying something for me, because I'm not twenty-five anymore either and usually get rather curious about labels like "Opaduft". But my opinion doesn't seem to be a general opinion: If I look at this: 385 owners, and many of them with rather hip and club-suited nicknames, which rather less remind of educated citizens in retirement. It's nice that this fragrance seems to have kept its youthful freshness; I indulge and wish it at least another hundred years. Parma per sempre!

Two further remarks:

A friendly perfumer has left a note under No 1 of this small series saying that hard times are good for light fragrances. There seems to be something to that. The No. 3 of this series was launched in 1938, during the time of the annexation of Austria, the Munich Agreement and the late phase of the Spanish Civil War. This one actually dates from 1916. What "Verdun" is for Germans and French, the Isonzo River was for the Italians and Austrians, where the bloom of Italian youth died in mud, hail of grenades and machine gun fire during several years of war in succession, including 1916. It was a stalemate that lasted for years, ironically "won" in the end, in 1918 the Austrians: the Italian front collapsed and the way through northern Italy to Rome was open. But at this very moment the Spanish flu and the political disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire caused the Austrian army to collapse. And so everything remained as it was: a big draw, military situation as it had been four years before, only with infinite mass graves in addition, such as Northern Italy had last seen, if at all, in ancient times. And in the middle of this mess, a few dozen kilometres behind the front, in 1916, this light, cheerful little summer water was created, which is still a good mood bringer today. Crazy, right?

AdP's Parma occupies an intermediate position for me: it clearly shows its affinity to the Franco-German tradition of light, fleeting, citric-cool colognes. At the same time, with its good performance, differentiated fragrance development and a shelf life of five to six hours, which puts many a modern 300-euro-supplier-niche EdP in the shade, it can unhesitatingly claim ambitions to play a role in the world of "real perfumes".

21 Replies

02/13/2020

8.5
Scent 5
Longevity 6
Sillage 6
Bottle

Tijanero

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Tijanero

Lemon paired with soap

Actually, I'm more of a fan of heavy fragrances, but when I visited my regular perfumery at the weekend, I couldn't go home without what I learned was the classic Acqua Di Parma - Colonia. The citric freshness combined with soap just blew my mind. Seldom have I been so happy with a spontaneous purchase as with this one.

3 Replies

07/27/2019

EmmaPeel

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EmmaPeel

Very helpful Review 10

The ultimate fragrance even for the hottest summer days

The only fragrance I can stand even on hot summer days, which still surrounds me with a touch of elegance and freshness despite sweating.

As with lemon ice cream, the art is that it should taste like lemon, but the balance between sour and sweet is the art.

Here it doesn't smell like a rest stop, but like a relaxed ride in a cabriolet along the Amalfi coast, with a light breeze, on a hot summer day.

I've been using this fragrance for almost 30 years now and every summer I think you could get something new.

Then I smell my way through 30 new perfumes to end up with one of my two classics (Hermes Orange Verte/Aqua die Parma Colognia)
The term timeless fits here like ass on bucket.

1 Replies

06/17/2019

8
Scent 7
Longevity 6
Sillage 6
Bottle

Mantus

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Mantus

The softest shaving foam cream in the world

First of all, one can perceive an intense citric note, which brings with it a fine sourish hint and is due to the lemon.

At the same time, the lemon is enveloped in a fine, sweet, fruity shade, which ensures that the lemon's sour fragrance does not sting in the nose, but appears extremely pleasantly soft and is due to the orange
In the background a subtle herbaceous note rounds off the top note wonderfully and in my opinion is responsible for the fact that the soft aura is still a little potentized and comes from the Calabrian bergamot.

A little bit later the hint from the top note in the heart note has unfolded completely and is not to be surpassed in softness and you really see an older gentleman standing in front of you who has just painted himself with the softest shaving foam in the world.

Very fine sweet, slightly Mediterranean, but also herbaceous notes of lavender and rosemary merge with an even finer sweetish flowery, very delicate creamy nuance of the Bulgarian rose to a true shaving cream - fragrance that still possesses the quality that many "shavers" among us appreciate very much.

"Ick unfortunately can't shave me "right", because ick would look like a light buoy for 2, if not even 3 days; but the others could finally eat, but ick, if there would be the scent as shaving foam, would actually want to try again without hesitation.
- But ick must be honest to myself - Blank shaved look ick just like a Dullie" :-)
- And ick find dat wonderful, ick have always liked the Jeruch of shaving cream, already as a child, even if it is classified with most with the older faction - Why? - It's just like that, some scents just can't be explained and I think that's a good thing!
- Some things can also be "explained dead", but what is completely meaningless for me' - Just enjoy is' here the better option, as ick find!"

The entire heart note is enveloped in a wonderful, very delicately cooling greenish hue, reminiscent of mint and nuance, which provides a certain refreshment and comes from vervain.

In the last 3 hours a beautiful clear crème-like wooden breath remains perceptible on my skin and is due to the musk in interaction with the sandalwood.

Unfortunately I couldn't see Patchouli, but I can imagine very well that the fragrance component was used for background music.

In total, the fragrance lasts 7 hours on my skin.

The Sillage is designed from the start to be perceived very well at half an arm's length and this is maintained for 2.5 hours before it is minimised in quiet steps until the fragrance ends.

06/12/2019

8.5
Scent 7
Longevity 6
Sillage

Groxxda

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Groxxda

Very helpful Review 8

First-class Cologne implementation

Colonia - as simple and precise as your name is your content. A perfect refresher for the guest bathroom.
When sprayed on, a friendly, balanced and noble top note with the promised citrus smells - no trace of pungent acidity or the dreaded toilet associations, but: light, fruity and pleasantly refreshing.
A small drop of bitterness that you pay for this unobtrusiveness is that this beautiful top note quickly clears the stage for the main actors. Maybe this is even wanted: You get the feeling of freshness without immediately pointing it out to the whole society.

Now to the main performance: I perceive Colonia as a balanced clean scent. Not after clean laundry but slightly soapy - inconspicuous but nevertheless unmistakable - by no means like trying to cover a bad smell but a self-confident charisma of "I washed my hands thoroughly".
The woody notes round off the fragrance very nicely. Make it unobtrusive, round and discreetly male (but not completely unsuitable for ladies).

As soon as the top note is gone, I don't recognize any more scent. The Eau de Cologne works constantly for a few hours. I find the durability sufficient for its intended use (refreshing).
Before I left the house, I wouldn't go to Colonia for perfume. I prefer to leave this work to a full-grown perfume and enjoy its complexity and fragrance. I also see Colonias "Primetime" rather in the evening. In the morning you better take a shower to get clean ;-)

For me, a host can hardly provide his guests with a more appropriate "freshener" than this Colonia. Even at the risk of everyone smelling reservedly and uniformly at an advanced hour, this is still better than the alternative: individual "human scents".

2 Replies

07/23/2018

6.5
Scent 5
Longevity 5
Sillage 6
Bottle

Thatsmr2usir
62 Reviews

Thatsmr2usir

Helpful Review 1

Classic Cologne

This has to be the best traditional citrus cologne known to mankind. It reeks of sophistication in a bottle. Grown up citrus followed by Lavendar which I am not a fan of & some nice floral notes. This is not the teenage sugary sweet stuff. Pure class & sophistication for when you want people to know you have great taste.

This cologne last a good 6 hours on me before coming faint. Much better than any of these summer frags being produced today. It is summer in a bottle, it is a lavish party on the coast of the Hawaiian islands.

It projects medium to low on me which is not bad. Wearing a all white outfit suits this fragrance perfectly. If you have any reservations about Acqua di Parma Colonia smelling old & or outdated, please save you breath. It is anything BUT! You can't do much better than this. Enjoy!

04/21/2016

8
Scent 5
Longevity 5
Sillage 6
Bottle

MasterLi
371 Reviews

MasterLi

Top Review 3

An elegantly made and beautiful eau de cologne...

Colonia by Aqua di Parma may just be the Rolls Royce of eau de colognes. There are some instances where I liken this fragrance to a hand-crafted, elegant, luxury car. It's not so different in structure to many of the eau de colognes out there, true, but it's executed ever so beautifully.

With that being said, yes, it does develop much like an eau de cologne, the characteristic drawback being, it doesn't last so long. However that can be overlooked I believe, by it's smell.

It definitely doesn't smell generic. It reminds me of something very polished and luxurious, but it's a kind of carefree, relaxed luxury... not a stuffy, privileged and exclusive one.

The fragrance opens up with bergamot and lemon, and coupled with aromatic and rich lavender and aromatic rosemary, with hints of solid vetiver. I can also detect the coumarin in the base, and the floral undercurrent of rose, neroli and jasmine. It's such a great experience really.

It's absolutely unisex, and I highly recommend it as an experience. I do prefer other versions to this though (a favourite being Chanel pour Monsieur which I feel has more development than this).Dior - Eau Sauvage is also a strong contender. In terms of a favourite pure eau de cologne, I also like Guerlain - Eau de Fleurs de Cedrat.

However, all being said, this reminds me of a well dressed, elegant young person, who enters a room and catches the centre of attention there. They make an impact on everyone around them, and everyone is intrigued, impressed and interested in them, and want to spend time in their company. Then, as soon as they came in, they go out... leaving everyone in awe. This describes the experience I have of this one. Brilliant and dazzling in the start and beginning, then mellowing into something confidant and relaxed, before slowly fading away and vanishing. Beautiful & elegant, but eventually fleeting. Who said good things always have to last forever? It's definitely worth a try.

06/05/2015

WildGardener
100 Reviews

WildGardener

Faux de Cologne

Not really a cologne because it's as much about rose as citrus, but it is an elegant and well made summer floral none the less.

Edited 22-06-16

04/27/2014

5
Scent 5
Longevity 5
Sillage 2.5
Bottle

WRoth
153 Reviews

WRoth

Colonia by Acqua di Parma

This fragrance opens with a lively blend of citrus and herbal notes. At first rich lemon dominates the accord, but gradually gives way to lavender and rosemary. The lemon note now adds translucence to the conservative herbal composition, but there are moments the scent smells rather stuffy on my skin. As the fragrance progresses the herbal notes disappear and floral notes emerge. What is supposed to be soft, powdery rose smells like a pissoir on my skin. I smell urine, lemon scented disinfectant and urinal cake. The only saving grace is the verbena which I can distinguish very close to the skin. The dry down is sweetened by ylang-ylang which adds a honey-like quality to the woody notes. Honestly, the dry down is the best part of the fragrance.

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