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

Where is Biella? You say in Italy! Ah!
“Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.”

Acqua di Biella N. 1 is an hyper-conventional aromatic "eau de cologne" quite stereotyped (or better....emulated) and somewhat "nostalgic" nowadays. Wearing this fragrance is like moving inside a Doris Lessing The Golden Notebook's ambience really colonial, exotic and british in style. This seriously old-school cologne is structured over a typical "citrus/aromatic herbs/oakmoss" centered floral (a typical jasmine) accord quite fresh, classic and minty. Petitgrain is an heady element of the mix on the side of bergamot, mint, jasmine and rosemary. A dry jasmine waves finally in the "hesperidic air". Dior Eau Sauvage, Acqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta, 4711 Eau de Cologne, several Roger&Gallet, Santa Maria Novella and dozens (classic but sometimes yet contemporary neo-classic) further concoctions out there jump random on mind. Finally I find these types of cologne somewhat "un-versatile", mannered and stuck nowadays. I frankly don't catch a noticeable synthetic vibe in the aromatic air (just probably a typically medicinal lemony vibe exuded by bergamot) but this is not enough to thumbs this "herbal water" up. Not bad but just that.

Acqua di Biella N. 1 is an ultra-classic and quite conventional masculine "eau de cologne", structured on a texture of lavender, citrus, mossy notes. Several nuances sound a bit artificial and plastic to me, mostly on the base, where lies this nondescript, blurry rubbery-dusty-synthetic smell that does not really convince me that much. Other than that it has however a decent "rich" mossy heart (obviously built around evernyl, don't expect any "real" mossiness) and a nice "Italian barbershop" mood overall, especially on the drydown. Short persistence. Nothing to go mad for, and nothing different from dozens of other classic male colognes, but at least the price seems (almost) fair.

5,5-6/10

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.

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.

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…