Brioni
Eau de Toilette, Brioni (2014)

Brioni is a brand that has had a bit of a checkered history with fragrances, because they release each one with next to no information or fanfare, and often discontinue them immediately or make them limited number from the start to ensure exclusivity. By the time Brioni Eau de Toilette (2014) was launched, it had been only 5 years since the previous eponymous masculine market Brioni (2009) had been released then quietly put to pasture, so anyone still looking for that probably ended buying this by accident. In a hyper-intense version of typical Brioni exclusivity, Brioni Eau de Toilette was a strictly limited affair of only 7000 bottles that retailed for about $300-$400 when new, putting serious reservations in the mind of anyone interested in the brand as they were now running up against haute luxe snobbery sentiment usually lobbied at brands which retailed for this price with seemingly no explanation other than they're worth it. As you can probably imagine, anyone not of the target demographic Brioni courted for its usual tailored leather goods and tuxedos would wait until this scent inevitably crashed and burned into discounters just like other haute luxe perfumers like Creed or Parfums de Marly, which is where life truly begins for this experiment in "semi-bespoke" men's fragrance. The usual loudmouths on the then-budding YouTube reviewer circuit and across social media made a big stink about how great this fragrance was, and the heavy whiskey-glass-inspired bottle just screamed "I read GQ unironically and carry a comb in my back pocket", so tryhard online dudebros with the forum icons of slicked hair and smarmy grins flocked to this like it had a hot blonde's phone number on it. Later, an eau de parfum version was quietly released alongside of this one, but I don't know if it was any more or less limited in number.

Brioni Eau de Toilette is at its core an aromatic citrus chypre type of scent, very traditionally Italian, following in the footsteps of classics like Acqua di Parma Colonia (1916), Acqua di Selva by Victor/Visconti di Modrone (1949), and Pino Silvestri by Vidal (1955). Boasting of the highest quality naturals, the fragrance was composed by Firmenich perfumer Raymond Matts, who really just zeros in on a mid-2000's citrus and woods design that to me does not smell nearly as expensive or noble as the ad copy claims. In a nutshell, this smells like an expensive take on Kenneth Cole Signature (2005), with a better citrus top note being the only palpable difference. Cold-pressed Sicillian lemon smells a whole lot like the signature Kenneth Cole house grapefruit note, which is also produced at Firmenich. The middle of magnolia, iris, and violet just reads to me like the usual jumble of refreshingly masculine ionones and acetates, nothing luxe at all besides perhaps potency, and then the woody base that claims agarwood/oud, but smells more like Iso E Super and vetiver with some cedary tones and a bit of peppery spice. Where the saffron is I have no clue, although the labdanum is just barely there to make this a proper chypre, even if oakmoss quotient is equally suspect like the claimed saffron. I can only imagine the surprise most of these aforementioned dudebros had when they realized they had just bought Kenneth Cole Signature at a 400%-1000% markup, with marginally better materials and a nod to mid-century Italian cologne design. Performance is very tenacious though, and the violet does come in to steal the show late in the long wear, so that may prove interesting to some, with Brioni Eau de Toilette going at least 12 hours on skin. Projection is above moderate, but the particularly bracing sillage will alwasy peek its head out in most weather and situations save maybe the coldest ones, making this a proper versatile signature.

My verdict is this stuff smells pretty good if you like dry citrus and wood smells with the usual masculine dandy assortment of green floral notes stuffed in the middle. Forget the price, exclusivity, or name, and you end up with something that could sit in the same wheelhouse as the aforementioned Kenneth Cole, or maybe be a slightly more modern update to the mid-century Italian citrus and woods classics that date themselves in the eyes of some people due to their reliance on pine, dry tonka, and oakmoss. Once you factor in the original MSRP, the reduced price these often sold at via online discounters still being above $150 for only 75ml of fragrance, and the now-unicorn state of rarity and pricing these go for in the second hand market because there was only 7000 of them to start with, and it comes across like a really bad deal. If you managed to sample Brioni Eau de Toilette but missed the boat on it, just grab the Kenneth Cole and thank me later, maybe even layer it with a shot of Acqua di Selva if you want that mature lemon and extra-dry woodiness Brioni has over the Kenneth Cole, then call me in the morning. I do really love this bottle though, which was claimed to be of hand-blown glass and hand-fitted with caps that were then housed in hand-stitched leather pouches. If you ask me, that's likely where all the money on this one was, not in the juice itself. Strictly as a collector's piece, I can this maybe being a worthwhile purchase, but that's only if you're into ornamentally collecting fragrance bottles but not using their contents. Don't be duped by the hype and overpay on this one if you're after a nice functional fragrance with a bit of uniqueness to it, or you'll be sorely disappointed. Neutral

Reminds me of Dunhill Icon Elite so I compared them side-by-side. Brioni has sweeter citrus, less leather, and an almost minty feel. I'm also getting more oud or smoke in the Brioni, but it feels more like a smokey sandalwood. Obviously, these two scents aren't identical but that's the scent it reminded me of overall.

I get good projection and longevity. It won't clear a room but anyone close will be able to pick it up with 4-5 sprays. Lasts most of the day.