Brioni
Eau de Parfum, Brioni (2021)

This nonsense (in a similar vein to Ralph Lauren Purple Label) is a relatively expensive waste of time. Fruit pastil freshness with no backbone. I can see a distant over the mountain tops nod to Dior Farhenheit but you have to look for it. A pleasant inoffensive cleanliness especially the Brioni- and faithful customers will just add a bottle to their sale purchases. The rest of us can safely ignore this and rest assured in the knowledge we aren't missing out on much. Lazy brand reliance at its head shaking worst.

Blue--but elegantly so. Gasoline/petrol violet is noticeable here, but it is toned down a bit as compared to the ever so vaguely similar Fahrenheit. Smooth leather marks the base. Longevity is not as lengthy, nor projection as formidable, as I had expected given what seems like copious amounts of aromachemicals in use here.

The presentation is also classy and elegant, as befits the Brioni name. A gentlemanly fragrance that is suitable for most situations and seasons. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Brioni appears to have learned their lesson somewhat with the famous flops that were the ultra-expensive and ultra-limited 2014 masculine releases, housed in those lethally heavy bottles that seemed like they were at least half the cost of the fragrances themselves. Expensive and made-to-order as Brioni's suits may be, the point of fragrance from designers and apparel brands stretching all the way back to when Chanel issued the first successful designer perfume is to be an entry-level product compared to the rest of the house's wares, something people who otherwise could never afford the brand could buy as an aspirational luxury item. Granted, most designers have these days interpreted that as meaning built-for-cost and designed-by-marketing to be the staple product keeping the brand afloat, but the best way to garner interest and publicity is to balance perceived luxury quality with accessibility, and Brioni have finally done that here with Brioni Eau de Parfum (2021). Designer production also means designer pricing too, so retail doesn't go much above $120, while most of you are going to be chomping for it to hit discounters for about a quarter of that, unless they take it exclusive like with Lalique Ombre Noire (2017).

Speaking of Lalique, perhaps this proverbial "hitting the nail on the head" has more to do with who Brioni partnered with this time to make the fragrance, that supplier being the esteemed Lalique Group SA (formerly Art and Fragrance SA), a brand known both for an illustrious past of bottle designs and in more recent years, really well-crafted yet accessible fragrances that straddle the line between niche and designer. Lalique hired Michael Almairac to design the new (and third) signature Brioni masculine scent made in a decade, and he handed them a delightfully suave violet woody musk. The opening has some ozonic aldehydes, a tart apple note, and pink pepper bursts that will appeal to modern noses not into the classic Italian cologne openings of past Brioni scents, but the core of violet that made the 2014 entry so worthwhile was kept, treated in the "petrol" way only a master of these ionone accords can, then smoothed over Iso E Super and ambroxan with touches of vetiver and suede leather. Wear time is going to be at least 10 hours, and projection is really good. Is this a year-round signature? Oh yes, defintely. Best part is I can see men of all ages who appreciate this style coming to bat, meaning it has timeless makings.

In my eyes, what Brioni Eau de Parfum does is take the infamous "barrel note" style of amalgamated violet-dominated ionones and recreates them without the spice, the vanilla, and the conflicting elements that made Dior Fahrenheit (1988), one of Almairac's most prolific works, so challenging. This is that rakish gasoline violet we all know and love (or hate) without the background noise of Fahrenheit, dialed down and made "blue" by the inclusion of fruity ozonic and woody elements, then laid across a similar leathery base that wears just as potently, but with more grace and versatility. While it shouldn't be said that Brioni Eau de Parfum smells as good as Fahrenheit much beyond that common core, I would be remiss if I didn't say this could have been a flanker to it. Of course, there will be those who say a violet-dominated fragrance isn't very Italian, and they're right if going by stereotypes, as violet-heavy fragrances have always been more French and British historically, but who really cares when it's this damned good? Mature, modern, and world-class, Brioni Eau de Parfum is the first Brioni masculine truly worth checking out in a long time, since Brioni Good Luck (1958) hit the scene over 60 years prior. Thumbs up