Be Chic

At SNOUF 2026 I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of Balocchi, a very kind person clearly in love with his project. The brand was created with a clear idea: celebrating Italian identity in all its facets, and the BE line (Be Chic, Be Unique and so on) serves as the vehicle for this philosophy. That said, let me make a small preliminary critique of the storytelling, intended purely as constructive feedback. A brand called Balocchi with a rocking horse as its symbol makes me expect a narrative universe built around play, childhood, nostalgia—something playful and unexpected. The BE line instead moves in a completely different direction and has very little to do with that imagery. It’s a pity, because the toy theme could have created something truly original and recognizable. I hope they reconsider it. As for the fragrance itself: Be Chic is, quite simply, a beautiful caramelized violet. Vanilla and caramel immediately wrap around the violet without suffocating it—on the contrary, they support it and make it richer and more seductive. The violet holds its ground through the central phase, then after about three hours it gives way to a very pleasant sweet gourmand base. Nothing revolutionary in the structure, but everything feels balanced and well measured. What really surprised me is the perceived quality relative to the price. This is an EDP priced quite “democratically” (€120 for 100 ml), yet it lasts, it projects, and when sprayed it feels dense and oily almost like an extrait. I would bet the real concentration is higher than declared. The bottle itself is also solid and elegant, made of thick glass. In short: an elegant, versatile fragrance with controlled gourmand sweetness and a quality-price ratio that embarrasses much of niche perfumery. Fully approved.

This is so, so pretty. Somebody picked beautiful fresh violets and dusted them with icing sugar. Then they whipped a bowl of vanilla cream and drizzled it with a sumptuous caramel. To serve they used the violets as topping. This is so perfectly feminine. She’s a lady, not a beast. That said it does last a good 6-8 hours on skin a longer on clothing. The thing I love about this is there’s no artificial, plastic scent that similar fragrances can have (I’m looking at you Celeste). I would wear this anywhere and any time. Particularly when I want to feel soft and feminine. This is currently flying under the radar but I predict it will become very popular. It can be a little faint at first but within a few weeks it gets stronger. I’m surprised by how perfect this is. I am giving it 10/10. I wouldn’t change a thing. And it’s now in my top 5 most reached for in a collection of hundreds of fragrances.