Acqua Classica di Parma

It's a very fresh and simple cologne with strong juicy citrus opening, more orange than lime to me, and spiced with ginger. It's strange that not many people mention the strong presence of ginger, which gives the cologne some chill feeling mixed with its spicy aspect. Later it becomes herbal, mixed with a fainted floral notes(might be Geranium) and then a smoky woody/mossy base (it becaome more smoky on my hair than on skin). This is not a complicated one, but its simplity somehow makes people feel friendly. I saw some peole compare it with some cologne from Acqua di Parma which I also tested before, the biggest difference between the two is, Acqua di Parma makes me feel tense, it refused to "melt" on my skin, as if i was rejected, while Borsari is totally easy-going. I like it also because of the ginger, which is so common in China and I always remember the old recipe we use to cure the cold: add the fresh ginger slices into brown suger water, bring to boiling, and drink!

Beautiful, light, citrus, bright, neroli, hints of woods and spice. Initially thought it was just another 4711 type fleeting scent, but there's a certain depth to it that makes it unique and I love it. Definitely in the same genre as 4711, Eau de Guerlain, Neroli Portofino type scents, but has it's own personality. Very natural and well blended. Very subtle sillage and weak longevity tho. Scent: 8 / Sillage: 5.5 / Longevity: 6 ============================= UPDATE: Re-visiting after 9 months. All my previous comments still apply, but in addition, I'd say it's slightly less citrusy and woods than my initial review, and more vegetal, herbal, and green. Like hints of a rustic italian herbal garden. Still very nice, but not as uplifting or refreshing as the typical citrus aromatic. More of a calming, introverted scent. Maybe a spring or mild summer day reading a book in the back yard.

Created in 1880 this 132 year old fragrance from the house of Borsari is sharply elegant. White linen suits and Borsolano hats in the spring along the Tiber come to mind. It fairly pops glorious with its lemon opening them moves into an intriguing germanium that is never too sweet thanks to the sandalwood notes. The musk and oak finish it off nicely like an espresso at a cafe in the Piazza Novona just after midnight. Pure joy and gets lots of warm complements. This scent is certainly a uni-sex fragrance and the new bottle not shown here is classically cut glass and feels good in the hand. Five Platinum Stars *****

Technicolor, true to life citrus and one of my favorites of the genre. Fresh squeezed lemons, bitter limes, juicy oranges, accented with green ivy, lush geranium, and spiced ginger. This one has legs, lasting at least a few hours longer than the usual citrus-centered fragrance, and the dry down is a cozy cedar and oakmoss. Shockingly under the radar for a fragrance with a 100 year history. Be advised that it currently comes in a square, hefty glass bottle with a gold cap. Choice citrus!

........Wow! Freshly squeezed zestieness :o)...Dreaming I'm in a summer garden sipping iced lemonade!........Goes on with a blast....then settles down to a lovely warm yet still fresh scent...I can smell the geranium...Very simple bottle presentation...but it's not about 'fancy bottles' it's what's inside that counts..This is unisex in my book.....Got my approval :o)....Now, back to my lemonade.....Mmmmmmm....do try it :o)

Juicy citruses with Bergamot and lime the most noticeable. This scent makes my mouth water every time I spray it! This is my favorite scent to wear after a shower it wakes me up! In high desert heat this lasts about 4 hours on me and leaves a juicy citrus trail for first hour. This is absolutely the best citrus scent I have ever tried and I highly recommend it!

This cologne is a must have for summer. Fresh citrus followed by geranium and delicately spiced. It is fresh, uplifting and as a very fine quality to it. This is just perfect on a hot summer day. However it is just as good in winter. Sunshine in a bottle.. Love it.

Blind bought this, and it arrived today. WOW, what an great, classic cologne. If you like Acqua di Parma Colonia Intensa, you will like this. One of those hidden gems.

Citrusy of course! I usually associate citrus fruit with colder days because my favourite citrus fruit types are all harvested from fall to winter, like Beni Madonna Ehime and navel orange and tangerine, but with fragrances, citrus in my humble opinion is better a fit for humid and hot weather. For this very particular Acqua, the dual personality of warmth and coolness not only makes ginger so fascinating, furthermore such undeniable character of ginger makes the cologne stand out of most of its kins. The citrus is popping out, but overall sweet and mellow, less towards tart, acid and sharp side. The main "body" after citrus diffuses is ginger, herbs and teeny touch of floral notes weaved in the soft bed of fuzzy, puffy and clean musk, which could last for hours. Bravo for the ginger and this cologne!

Don't let the opening, full of sweet lemonade, deceive you. This joyous cologne rapidly shows its true nature: in a few minutes your nose will feel bitter lime replacing the lemon and deep woody and musky tones developing under 'sugarcandy' camouflage. A good series of sprays can have a tonic/restorative effect. Perfect for a sunny morning. Very wearable and friendly. And if you are a lucky owner of a 300ml bottle, don't be greedy, spray some Colonia on your linen, refresh your wardrobe with it, spend it generously and you'll be rewarded!

This has to be the least offensive scent I own. I can't imagine any amount of this having a negative effect on myself or anyone around me. Even bathing in Aqua Classica would only wrap you in a comforting blanket of citrus and mellow wood notes. In my head the only situations I can think this is suited for are sitting around the house enjoying yourself or at a black tie event. It just seems like anything else would be a waste of a good fragrance.

Just like John, I blind bought this one for my mother who used to wear "Fragonard Cologne Grand Luxe" and she liked it immediatly! Fragonard is kind of smoother , Borsari is more citrus scented, I can mainly smell bergamot and verbena at first and ginger when it settles down. Whit his classic chic 300ml square bottle with old-style atomizer, you can't help loving it!

Classica is a clean, fresh citrus with lemon/orange followed by sandalwood. It's rather inexpensive, which is a plus, but the EdC is extremely short lasting. As I've come to wear AC over time, I think it is more of a mature scent, perhaps better suited for the older fragrance wearer, but that may just be my opinion. Probably worth a try at least.

Very old-fashioned cologne. A lot of fresh citrus, strong floreal notes (Geranium and Chrysanthemum) and a bit of Ivy and spices. I don't like it so much. My vote: 4/10

The nineteenth-century traditional European perfume houses cannot be beat when one wants nothing more than to beat the heat. They make fantastically wonderful colognes! Every summer I spritz myself through large volumes of these excellent, natural-smelling, classic recipe colognes, and this summer's new discovery (which I picked up online during the depths of winter) is Borsari's Acqua Classica, which smells splendid and comes in a huge 4711-size jug (seriously, mine is 300ml!), complete with an attractive black mesh bulb atomizer. Returning from my journeys out and about town in 93F weather this afternoon, I followed my usual ritual of ripping off all of my clothes and proceeding to spritz myself with, today's choice, ACQUA CLASSICA. Wow, it smells and feels so fine. I even removed the atomizer and splashed some on (in emulation of the Tom Ford Neroli Portofino ad--ha ha ha!). According to the box--and my nose--the formula is completely unisex. The notes listed are these: bergamot, lemon, sweet orange, ginger orange blossom, rose, clove Atlas cedar, sandalwood, and oak moss They actually mistranslated oak moss as "oak musk", but it's there listed among the ingredients in all its glory: evernia prunastri. In a word; YES! So it smells great, as predicted. Why these traditional houses are looked down upon--or simply overlooked--by some is a complete and utter mystery to me. Obviously they know a hell of a lot more about perfumery than all of the upstarts in the haute niche scene. I'm sorry, but let's give some credit where credit is due. When a family business has been in business for two centuries, it's because THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING. Why do we need newfangled synthetic and abstract colognes, pray tell? The beauty of a well-made cologne lies precisely in the subtle complexities imparted through the use of real plant materials which contain hundreds of different chemical components. Hurrah for the traditional houses and three cheers for Borsari!!!!!!

The simple joy of citrus and floral notes, rendered in hi-fidelity. You'd be hard-pressed to find a cheerier, cleaner rendition of lemon, lime, and bergamot drizzled over an earthy bed of herbs, ivy, and gingery oakwood. This basic structure is duplicated a dozen times over in most of the high-end colognes from the Old World, but the "green" aroma chemicals used here are well measured, of great quality, and help boost the relatively uninteresting citrus idea into a classier realm. You don't splash this on after a shower and go read a book on a hammock. You spritz it under your collar as you dress for a white-tie summer wedding somewhere in Connecticut. Aqua Classica di Parma Borsari is gorgeous, and worth every minute it may take to find a bottle stateside.

A fine successor of my Eau d'Hadrien. It has this creamy ivy green like no other. And a dash of garden herbs, the right amount under fresh citrus and sour cedar. Don't know if this has something to do with the original formula, or which year was it revived in the current bottle. But I find it so nice to not know. Only in Italy, you can still have such treasures with close to zero marketing/distribution, and no internet presence whatsoever. "Local" is still a thing in Italy.

A classic citrus for warm weather. Fresh, herbal, and long-lasting considering it's an EDT. Unisex, good silage, and affordable. How can we go wrong? Notes: lime, bergamot, other citruses; basil, rosemary, geranium; ginger, sandalwood, ivy, musk, cedar wood.

Great perfume and excellent cost benefit. Strong opening of lemon, but very nice. The drydown is very similar to Anick Duel ...