Lorenzo Villoresi
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The first spray delivers an almost aggressive brightness—bergamot and lemon clash pleasantly with elemi's subtle resinous character, whilst lavender and petitgrain crystallise into something sharply herbal rather than floral. It's crisp, slightly austere, with the sensation of citrus zest being expressed directly onto warm skin.
Within an hour, the composition becomes noticeably spicier; clove emerges with peppery warmth whilst sage introduces an herbaceous, almost medicinal depth that transforms the neroli from honeyed to something more bitter and sophisticated. The fresh accord remains dominant, but now threaded through with savoury complexity that feels almost culinary.
By the fourth hour, rosemary becomes the dominant narrative—a green, slightly camphorous dryness takes hold as the citrus ebbs considerably. Musk creates a subtle skin scent that feels like a whisper rather than a declaration, leaving behind something austere and contemplative rather than present.
Acqua di Colonia arrives as something rare in modern perfumery: a composition that respects the classical eau de cologne tradition whilst refusing to be museum-bound. Villoresi's 1996 creation opens with a brilliant citric assault—bergamot and lemon paired with the slightly resinous, almost woody lift of elemi—that immediately establishes freshness without the synthetic brightness of contemporary fragrances. What distinguishes this from countless other citrus compositions is the interplay between the lavender and petitgrain, which ground the top notes in herbal precision rather than allowing them to float untethered.
The heart reveals Villoresi's sophistication: neroli enters with its characteristic bitter-almond honeyed quality, but rather than softening the composition, it sharpens it. Clove and sage create an unexpectedly spiced temperament—this is no innocent splash of cologne. The sage particularly anchors what could have been a pedestrian floral-citric framework, introducing a distinctly savoury, almost culinary dimension that prevents the neroli from becoming sweet or powdery.
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4.0/5 (246)