For brand's with a rich history, innovation can be a tough nut to crack. It's often not as simple as just doing something new – that might alienate your existing fans and customers.
Instead, those brands must delicately innovate, paying homage to its history without merely repeating it. It's the same story whether you produce watches, phones or men's fragrances.
It's the latter which we're dealing with today. Acqua di Parma Buongiorno is a new offering from the brand, which is designed to celebrate the beauty in the everyday moments.
The scent opens with top notes of lemon, spearmint and rosemary. Lavender and mandarin leaves make up the heart of this scent, while the base sees cedarwood, amber and white musk.
On the skin, it's the mandarin leaves which come through most prominently. There's a real punch of zesty orange right at the start which lingers neatly. It's not at all dissimilar to the more lemony citrus notes of Acqua di Parma Colonia Essenza.
Still, it's not a direct comparison. Colonia Essenza really relies on that lemon note in the dry down, where it and the soapy characteristics make up the majority of the overall profile.
With Buongiorno, you can expect a little more of a rounded profile in the dry down. The freshness of the spearmint and the sweetness of that mandarin leaves a delicious character which kicks in after a few minutes and lasts for hours. It almost reminds me of a range of cocktails – sometimes you get an old fashioned, other times you'll find a mojito.
Still, if you're a fan of the brand, this will fit right into your expectations. It's definitely more lively than the Colonia family, but it has a similar overall design which feels very familiar.
It also sits on the feminine side, but I wouldn't go as far as to label it with any gender-specific label. It's a unisex fragrance in the truest sense of the word, and that's absolutely fine by me. After all, when something smells as good as this, why would anyone want to gatekeep it?
