Colonia Club
Acqua di Parma (2015)

I really like this - a more vibrant take on the classic eaux de cologne.
I immediately get an association with Varvatos Artisan Acqua which was lauched a year before this. Colonia Club is more restrained, owing to the absence of toscano and basil, notes that seem to turn people away from Artisan Acqua.
Good to have an alternative then, but I prefer the Varvatos as I am fond of basil.

Little in the way of redeeming features here. As suggested elsewhere, it is not a good fit with the AdP house style. It lacks that slightly powdery note that seems to inhabit the brown bottles, and just isn't composed to the standards of the traditional cologne types in their range. Quite harsh and astrigent, and given we know what this house can do, that makes it annoying.

It's okay. I quite like the opening but thereafter I find it to have an unclean/cloying edge to it; like the lingering stale smell of Brut deodorant in a changing room at the public swimming baths. There's something a tad irritating about it.

In the opening I can discern two components: firstly, a fresh cluster, comprising of bergamot, a bit of lemon and petitgrain, a mandarin with a whiff of a sweet grapefruit with cantaloupe, and moments of pine followed by a minty neroli - initially more neroli, but with time the mint comes to the fore; it is a somewhat synthetic mint on me.

The second component in the top notes is that of quite a dominant galbanum; which on its own is equal in force to the fresh counterpart cluster or even stronger.

The drydown adds a green lavender, which is complimented by a pleasant geranium with whiffs of hay, but the mint and the galbanum retain their presence throughout the heart notes also.

The base sees the freshness gone, and replaced by a dark and woodsy vetiver with a touch of ambergris-style saltiness; the latter is rather weak though. A good splash of white musks is present towards the final hour.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection and eight hours of longevity on my skin.

A pleasant scent for cooler summer days, this is not really a typical Eau de Cologne but is is an interesting variation on the theme. Unfortunately, of the notes as a bit on the generic side and overly synthetic. Overall 2.75/5.

It's definitely a green one, a vetiver. It also has a sharpness, a leafy, ethereal pepperiness that's enjoyable. Sort of like peppermint. Besides that the mint to me is eucalyptus like which I usually don't prefer over mint. Might be the petitgrain giving it that twist.

Aforementioned sets it well apart from for example Creed Bois du Portugal even though they share a similar vetiver ambergris base.

It's a very refined cologne but given the price level it sits at I can't quite give it a positive.

This one get's a lot of hate it seems. It's true that during the initial application you get a huge blast of Mint. If you don't like mint, this one's probably not for you. I don't believe the mint in question smells synthetic, that's just how mint smells. It's relatively cheap to produce so it doesn't make sense for ADP to do that.. If they did.

I noticed a cooling effect on my skin after applying which was nice. After about an hour it settled down nicely into a Minty fresh Fougère. I get mostly Mint, Lavender, Neroli, and Vetiver from this. It works perfectly in the springtime. You can wear this formally or casually. In my opinion this is one of the best fragrances the house has to offer. The longevity last around 5 to 7 hours on my skin. The projection is as good as you want it to be. I sprayed twice behind the neck, once on the wrist and got an arms length.

8/10
One of my favorites.