Armani Acqua di Gioia (2010) Take 2: The Lifestyle Fragrance Review {Perfume Short}
After a short interruption of our program, here is Take 2: The Lifestyle Fragrance Review for the new Acqua di Gioia, the practical-minded sister to the Long Review.
In this section, we answer questions the fragrance raises about wearability, taste, appropriateness for social occasions and everything else more practical. You can always ask for more details.
Notes: crushed mint leaves, Calabrian Limone Primo Fiore Femminello / pink pepper, aquatic jasmine and dewy peony / cedarwood heart, brown sugar and labdanum.
Acqua di Gioia means "Water of Joy" in Italian and is intended as a pun upon the first three letters of designer Giorgio Armani's name as well as to recall its masculine counterpart, one of the top fragrance bestsellers for men, Acqua di Gio. When pronouncing or wearing the fragrance you will know that brands often like to use letters from their names so as to strengthen their brand image phonologically. A famous example is Dior <---> J'Adore.
The bottle is better-looking in person than on the picture and I particularly liked the 1 fl. oz / 30 ml size which looks flatter and therefore even sleeker. It feels a bit like a worry stone and is practical for carrying in your purse...
The fragrance is offered as an aquatic scent but while the watery facet is perceptible, it is at the same time a more full-bodied perfume than you might expect. Evident from the start is a juicy, 3-D illusion of fresh and fleshy mango - the Calabrian Limoncello is more fruity than citrusy apparently - followed by warm floral notes. The base of the fragrance, rather than to end up as an even more transparent drydown of the composition chooses to darken its mood. The resinous, slightly incense-y, very pure labdanum which has been dirtied up a bit on purpose is very much perceptible. It feels at time like you got an impromptu whiff of coastal balmy air coming from the Mediterranean and blowing over herbs dried up by the sun.
If you pay attention, the most interesting part of the fragrance is the way in which it changes its personality overtime but without feeling like a grand, complex composition. It rather prefers to develop a succession of varied simple accords that feels like different tunes played by the same jukebox, as I have expounded upon in the long review.
You can tell that Acqua di Gioia was designed with young women in mind, even if you did not look at the advertising featuring model Emily DiDonato because it features some trendy accords that are associated with contemporary young women's tastes. There is something a bit romantic and tender (dewy rose and vanilla as in Chanel Chance Eau Tendre), a bit sensual (musky floral, both a bit pungent and clean) and a bit edgy, rock 'n roll and urban (a mineral graphite accord also present in the new Miss Pucci.) The latter is like a note of tomboyishness to recognize the advancement of women coming out of girly frills territory.
It's a very easy fragrance to wear because it never intrudes and while it smells good, it's hard to tell at times if it isn't just some nice sillage in the room coming from another person. If you are tired of hearing comments from people zeroing in on "perfume offenders" or "fragrance culprits" in the workplace or in public spaces, you might want to give it a go. It's a good cover while still sending a seductive scented signal to the world.
In fact, it's so easy to wear, I'd call it a no-brainer fragrance, especially since it smells of different things, it allows you to not feel torn between different families of scents you might enjoy. It's like a mini wardrobe of nice scents in just one bottle.
Appropriate for: almost any occasion.
The Takeaway: The fragrance was designed to be super versatile and it is. It's a discreetly sweet, warm, wet-and-dry scent with fruity, floral, marine and resinous overtones.
