Alessandro Dell'Acqua
Alessandro Dell'Acqua (2001)

It opens very strong with an isobutyl quinoline and acetone smell, but it quickly gives way to a soft geranium, lemon, and powdery sandalwood, violet, ionone, rose and sweat pea accord. The floral aspect takes away the sharp edge of geranium and lemon. It is clean and soft smelling, yet a little on the masculine side.

A nice, almost classic-smelling flowery aldehydic chypre along the lines of VC&A's First (though cheapened up a bit), topped with candy-sweet lemon. It reminds me of 80's Estee Lauder - loud and pretty and way better than most of the current dreck selling at similar prices, but lacking the true depth of the all-time classics. The lemon merges with the eggy aldehydes to take on a pleasant lemon meringue smell, but the powdery white flowers and soapy chypre base make sure this smells 100% perfumey all the time and never like a gourmand. The only thing modern about Dell'Acqua is the sweetness of the lemon - other than that, it smells very 70's/80's to me. It's quite strong on first application, but it's inexpensiveness shows through when it fades quickly, leaving the very nice soapy musky chypre basenotes very hard to smell after all that loud powdery lemon.

Seriously, you could do way worse for 20 dollars, and I'll take this 80's style cheap perfume over yet another candy-scented fruity floral any day. Way to go Alessandro! Thumbs up!

I was interested in trying this fragrance because of the sweet pea top note ( a noshow; why is this one so hard to get right?) After getting my hands on a sample I have decided to give it a neutral. I don't dislike this scent but it is not right for me. It is seductive, a little strong (excellent sillage) with a musk bottom note that is not too cloying. It's best suited for evening and would encourage anyone who likes distinctive musk scents to give it a try.

This type of fragrance is not my usual 'cup of tea' as I tend to love niche scents, especially orientals, gourmands and spices. Having said that, I am so surprised that I love this! The initial blast of musty, dusty aldehydic powder quickly settles down to a soapy, clean, delicate floral. It is very pretty, in the best sense. It's not a big bold 'in your face' fragrance. It's subtle and interesting, complex and memorable. I'm waiting to smell the incense (several hours into my wear), and the musk and sandalwood are still playing a remote second fiddle to the florals, but are slowly making their beautifully balanced presence known. This is quite lovely. The kind of fragrance I might wear to see a Nutcracker matinee with my daughter, or for lunch with my mom in San Francisco.

Powdery, flowery and bonds to the skin dramatically. Very freshly soapy and will last for hours, with a more delicate woody drydown. I'd recommend it for a night out rather than a day at the office as some might find it cloying.

I don't quite speak the language of formal notes so my reviews will be in laywoman's terms. This one smells very clean, soapy, and wet to me. It is rather sharp but in a good way.