Acqua Di Parma Colonia Futura Review – 2020

You might have expected a cologne with ‘Futura’ in its name to take its cue from that most forward-looking and influential of modern cologne-style scents, Mugler Cologne, with its barely-contained explosion of steamy, sci-fi musks. But here, the future isn’t so much about interstellar travel as it is about basic, terrestrial preservation. Cue: the s-word that’s popped up in most brands’ press releases at some point over the last few years. Sustainability. Acqua Di Parma Colonia Futura – the subject of today’s review – is the brand’s attempt to create a cologne in a ‘sustainable’ manner, by using a juice composed of “99% natural origin ingredients” (never the most transparent of terms), as well as a “recycled and recyclable” plastic cab and a label made with “scrap dust from marble quarries.” All very commendable, I’m sure. But what does it smell like when it’s released from the bottle?

Well, oddly enough — quite old-fashioned. Eschewing the sweeter citruses that tend to dominate more contemporary releases of this nature, the predominant feature of its personality is an interplay between a lemon note (perhaps too harsh at times?), soapy lavender and, most noticeably, green sage. It’s the latter that’s chiefly responsible for this release’s retro feel, what with those bitter, earthy overtones that are rarely found in today’s perfumery. 

Don’t get me wrong — retro is absolutely fine in my book. Indeed – that lemon note aside – I’ve enjoyed getting to know this somewhat perplexing piece of work, and its curious combination of welcoming brightness and saturnine standoffishness, like a host who wants to be gracious but can’t quite bring himself to watch the best china actually being used. What I wonder is how it’ll be received by the great discerning public. Perhaps Acqua Di Parma enjoys the patronage of people who’ll appreciate this composition’s nod to the past and will be able to make time for its admirable refusal to be pointlessly and inanely ‘nice.’ But I suspect others will be bemused, wondering why a piece of work called Futura reminds them of their granddads. I just hope that those individuals pause for a moment, take their train of thought one step further and remind themselves that, more often than not, their granddads used to smell pretty darn good.

Persolaise

[Acqua Di Parma Colonia Futura review based on a sample of eau de cologne provided by the brand in 2020.] 

—
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please consider supporting my work
by ‘buying me a coffee’ using the panel below.
Thanks very much indeed.

—