Creed Acqua Fiorentina: Perfume Review
 Acqua Fiorentina, the new perfume from Creed, may have been inspired by the 15th century Florence, but, for me, it went so wonderfully well with the 21st century East Coast of Atlantic ocean, this American paradise of Colonial and Federal buildings, lighthouses, dunes, windmills and a general feeling of affluent tranquility and refined rusticity.The composition is centered on the aroma of greengage plum. Lovers of plum in fragrance, take note. The slighly sweet, slightly tangy, slightly green and a lot mouthwatering scent of unripe plums is astoundingly true to life. The accord makes appearance right in the beginning and stays throughout the scent's development. In fact, hours and hours into the wearing, the plums is the predominant note in the drydown of this unexpectedly long-lasting fragrance. I say, unexpectedly, because one does not assume such longevity in a scent so ethereal. The perfume is a gentle light-pink gauze of young rose and carnation petals and new fruits, airy, soft and joyful. A perfect balance of honeyed sweetness and dry verdancy, a scent at once sublimely ellegant and charmingy innocent. Acqua Fiorentina will be available in September at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, $130.00-$350.00. A portion of proceeds from US sales in October will benefit the National Breats Cancer Coalition Fund. |
posted by Marina |
12:00 AM
36 Comments:
I adore plum, I really want to try this! Plum is often hidden in a mass of sugar and other fruits in perfumes, it's nice to see one where it is showcased instead.
I want it to be a salty Japanese plum. Is it anything near that?
I have been very influenced by LT and TS absolutely panning Creed in 'Perfumes: The Guide' and have avoided the house as a result. Have I been wrong to do so? This certainly sounds lovely, and something I might enjoy. Although you could write about tar water, Marina, and make it sound seductive :)
Mimi - bear in mind that LT and TS are very much orientated to classical French perfumery in the Guerlain mold. I think it is a weakness of their (generally fantastic) writing that they were so driven by taste that they dismissed some very well made fragrances which do not fit into this catagory. Many of the Creed (especially the older ones) are superb, made out of good ingredients. They come from a different tradition though. - W.M.
I love the smell of greengage plums and to me this sounds really delicious....not for me, but for my son's girlfriend perhaps who is a lover of all things light and ethereal. Your review made my mouth water though M:)
So I don't need to be afraid of the word "Acqua" in the name?
;-)
affluent tranquility and refined rusticity...sounds good to me! But the likes of me have to read the likes of you with a thesaurus! :)
Donna,
I did not find this one sugary at all, you might like it.
Cait,
I am ashamed to say that...I wish I knew how that tasted and/or smelled :-(
Mimi,
Well, if you do decide to give Creeds a try, may I also recommend others I like from the collection: Angelique Encens and Love in Black. Both very different from AF, by the way.
Beth,
I don't see why not for you! :-) It's not THAT ethereal, there is some substance there. I can "see" you smelling delicious in it.
Alyssa,
:-)) It's not a(c)quatic at all, not to me anyway!
Zebediah,
Love your name, one of my favorites, along with Zachary and Zion. And here is thesaurus.reference.com, enjoy! :-)
W.M. and Marina, I'm a huge admirer of Guerlain and that style of perfumery myself. I did find several of TS and LT's verdicts perverse, however(Tommy Girl?). Based on this review alone, I shall certainly explore Creed with a more open mind :)
Mimi,
Deefinitely, definitely do try Angelique Encens.
You got me at the 'light and ethereal'. Who wouldn't want to smell anything like that? And I actually snack on plums. One of my fave. Must be one heck of a delicious scent.
I'll need to seek this one out!
Anti-aging Health Products,
It is nice, let us know what you think when you try it
Tom,
Don't "see" you wearing it, but would love to hear your opinion on it!
Wow, Marina, I am eager for this one. It sounds heavenly. What a gorgeous description.
Luscious review! I don't think I've ever tried a plum fragrance. I believe now is the time. :-)
Oh my....here we go again. This sounds really lovel, and I like the charity tie-in.
At least I've got some time to save up for it....
Hi Marina,
I was searching for reviews of this and I believe this is one of the first ones out there. Its extremely well engineered and balanced, and although I am not a fan of plums, the note has been interpreted extremely well here. Creed seem to be flying high right now with many quality diverse fragrances coming out of the house - ViW, Love in Black, Amalfi Flowers and now A. Fiorentina. I am glad they have avoided the repetitive rut that others are now mired in.
Linda,
I wonder if you'd like it. Would love to find out when you try it.
Victoria,
There aren't that many, are there? or rather, the plum is usually ripe and sweet
Tammy,
I actually think,it's already available in some places :-))
faizanjax,
They definitely are giving us a wide range of releases, I do like that fact as well.
I have a sample of this and although I appreciate it's uniqueness, am quite certain I won't be reaching for it. It has a very sour fruitiness on my skin, which I agree, lasts and lasts. I'm sure it will be very popular.
Thanks for the review!
lovethescents
S,
I can see where and how it might go sour if it doesn't want to sit well. I too think it will sell well.
Kakoi zhe krasivyj jetot rozovovyj flakon! Pravda?
Vika,
Cvet prosto nevestinskij kakoj-to :-)
They have it at Neiman's to sample and pre-order. I tried it today and it was pretty, but didn't seem to last on me.
Of course, I also was trying out Jasmine White Moss and Cristalle Eau Verte, so it's possible that it was just drowned out by the other scents.
I'll have to give it another shot or see if I can finagle a sample when I go back to Neiman's next week.
Cynthia,
What did you think of Cristalle Eau Verte?
Oh my goodness - I loved the Cristalle Eau Verte. The opening was stunning on me - if they would have had a bottle for sale and not just to pre-order, I probably would have walked out with one on the spot, even though I know better and that I should wait for the dry down.
I'm a novice at describing things, so I don't know if I'll get this right .. but it had a very bright green, sparkling, citrus fruit opening without it being edible or "household cleaner" in any way or even smelling like a recognizable fruit.
To me, it smelled like what Spring should smell like after it rains - like the world is new and bursting with life. Yet it didn't come off as that dryer cloth fresh that many "fresh" scents do. The dry down is trickier because I was sniffing so much other stuff, but it seemed to soften up quite a bit, although I couldn't describe what notes came out. It's one of the few scents that I couldn't stop sniffing - I'm sure people thought that I was nuts, walking around sniffing the back of my hand all afternoon.
I have to go back to NM next week to pick up my pre-ordered GWP, so I'm going to try it again with no competition, pay more attention to the dry down, and see if I can finagle a sample. (And try to resist pre-ordering it on the spot).
In the interest of full-disclosure, I have recently fallen in love with Chanel and am not completely unbiased - although I really wasn't expecting to be wowed after reading some other reviews and because I don't tend to like "fresh" scents.
Cynthia,
if I did not like this one already a lot, I'd have fallen in love with it just because of the way you talk about.
OLFACTORY PERFECTION!! A reviewer on another site said it best: Acqua Fiorentina is young, but hard, soft but unmistakable, and tart but sweet. PLUMS, yes that's it. yet, it's not a singular scent of plums, but a complex layering of subtle smells.
i find this is best sprayed in the morning, and has the strongest citrus smell in the first 5 minutes. a perfect "wake you up". but then it becomes so much more: sweet, green, flowery, sophisticated, complex. Acqua Fiorentina wears through the day just as a day should wear: bright and strong at first and softer and calmer by day's end. LOVELY>
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