Palermo
Byredo (2010)

Bitter lemon with bergamot- the recipe for a sunny and bright opening. Light and refreshing - an uplifting opening blast.

The drydown develops the second prong in the development of this composition: a mix of white musks that is pleasant, not intrusive and fittingnis nicely with the fresh start. Sone white floral hints together with a rose impression are also present, but on me the rose never really comes out of its shell and remains more in the background.

The base spins out further the white-musks theme until the end, with hints of a nonspecific wood added.

I get moderate sillage, good projection and an impressive twelve hours of longevity on my skin.

Whilst the core concept of this scent for cooler summer days is simple - citrus plus white musks, the execution has been quite skillful, and in all its simplicity results in an agreeable if somewhat unoriginal creation. There are similarities with Acca Kappa's Muschio Bianco and Jovan's White Musk, but the Byredo is fresher overall. 3/5.

Byredo Palermo is a great fresh citrus blend, tart from what seems like a mix of grapefruit, pomelo, and bergamot, and anchored by some light musky elements and rose underneath.

Like Pulp, Palermo is an entry I find to be a fun, fresh take on a summer fragrance, though certainly it can be argued that Pulp is a bit more unique than Palermo. Still, Palermo may be the most agreeable Byredo fragrance I've tried to date, and while it isn't especially daring, there's merit in having such a unisex easy-to-wear fresh citrus scent in the catalog. It lacks the vetiver- and violet-laden intrigue of Bal d'Afrique and the guts of Pulp, but it serves its purpose.

Still, it's a tough sell as it doesn't project much on my skin and, of course, citrus-dominant fragrances come much cheaper, particularly from a house like Atelier Cologne.

8 out of 10

A mildly fruity-citrusy scent reminiscent of pomelo pulps rather than grapefruit, smelling as though I'd peeled off the fruit, got the juices all over my hands and forgotten to wash them off. I don't know how truly representative it is of Palermo but its discreetly soft tang and clean musk makes it easily wearable as a gender-neutral fragrance. Unfortunately for a Byredo it performs well below my expectations.

Opens with an acidic orange and grapefruit note which to my nose quickly evolves into a nice "baby scent" neroli. I don't get much musk or rose. Nice summer fragrance.

Pretty nice, but not good enough to buy. I was hoping this might make a good travel fragrance, but on me, it didn't produce a fragrance with much chops. There was a nice pettigrain and slightly bitter grapefruit expression that lingered on the skin for hours which ended with pale wooded florals. It was a nice mild skin scent after a few hours, but I just wanted a little more. On my skin some of the notes didn't quite emerge, so the fragrance ended up feeling incomplete and lacking.

Good, but not fantasticTo my nose, this is a rather simple fragrance that starts with grapefruit amd ends with woody rose. If that's what you're after, you should try it.Pros: Realistic and well executedCons: Not entirely wearable