Acqua di parma Blue Mediterraneo - Fico di Amalfi

There are lots of fig scents around. Some are green, some are woody and some, like Fico di Amalfi are sweet and fruity.

For some reason, when I think of this scent I think of a small dog. Not that it smells of dog, absolutely not, the only notes I'm getting are sweet fig and some initial citrus. But this dog, he's sitting there, waiting the whole day, watching the world go by with his little puppy eyes. Cute, loyal and predictable.

So, is that a good or bad thing? Well, if you're looking for adventure, love surprises or is that kind of person who generally thrives on chaos, this might not be the fig scent for you. But if "cute, loyal and predictable" sounds great or you're having one of those days when you needs things to be easy and undemanding, Fico di Amalfi will sit by by our side, have it's little pink tongue out and pant approvingly, helping you get through the day.

Pouring my heart out (negativity warning)

I've had a lousy week here, lots of family issues; grandfather is very ill, I have plane tickets to go see him in a couple of weeks, but he might not hang on for that long. My parents are going through a divorce, which means lots of old dirt is coming up to the surface, so to say. All of this is affecting me a lot, bringing me down. And always, when I don't feel good, I tend to make the worst decisions in all aspects of my life, perfume included.

Two days ago I wanted something that would pick me up so I tried Acqua di Parma Blu Mediterraneos Bergamotto di Calabria. It's lemons and bergamot on a bed of ginger, vetivier and cedar. It did not work. Those lemony notes felt like they were just grating and grating and grating on my brain all day. Unfortunately the scent was pretty weak so I managed to wash it off.

Yesterday I tried Ormonde Jaynes Sampaquita. I thought it would be an undemanding generic floral bouquet type of thing. Maybe not that special, but if nothing else, a nice smelling little thing to wear throughout the day. I felt as wearing a hedgehog inside my clothes. An unlikely scenario, but uncomfortable nonetheless.

But one thing I managed to get right and that was randomly putting on a jacket that was smelling enough of Pradas Infusion d' Iris to block out most of the Sampaquita residues. I didn't know I was craving iris myself but it perfectly hit the spot. Iris is a note I find very difficult to describe. You either know what it smells like or you don't. There is no generic "rooty" term for notes coming from roots (or from synthetics pretending to be roots) like there is "floral" or "fruity".

Iris also happens to be my daughters middle name. I didn't name her primarily after a perfume note, it is a girls name in most of Europe (and in other English speaking countries), isn't it? We have a silly little tradition in my family, starting with me, that girls middle names are flowers. My middle name is Soley, which means buttercup in Icelandic, and my daugther got Iris.

Anyway, today, I'm not taking any chances with how I smell. Scent of the day is SL Iris Silver Mist and things are already feeling a little better.

Acqua Di Parma Blu Mediterraneo Arancia Di Capri

Acqua Di Parma is one of those brands that have been around forever. I sniff them every now and then and keep thinking "Wow, this will be great for summer". Unfortunately summer is not a thing one can take for granted here. Some years it's cold and rain for 3 consecutive months and then it's autumn with just more cold and rain coming. But when genuine summer does show up the whole society gets transformed; everyone eats outdoors trying to soaking up as much sun as possible, nobody gets any work done, there is a smile on every face. Right now we do have summer here. The weather has been near perfect for the past few days, 27 degrees Celsius and sun all the time, so it's time for Acqua Di Parma.

Arancia Di Capri means Orange from Parma and it opens with the nicest, liveliest and most authentic orange note I might ever have encountered in a perfume. It's an orange that has had the benefit of ripening in the Mediterranean sun until it's perfect. There is sweetens, tartness, a hint of bitterness and, above all, juiciness that makes your mouth water.

After 10 minutes or so almost all scent disappears, very odd and a bit sad, but if you hang on for some 10 minutes more it's back again in a new guise. The initial power fruit is gone and what is left is a soft and (to me) very feminine citrus with floral qualities and a classical feeling. It reminds me of orange blossoms without that little funky dirty note they sometimes carry (non-indolic?), softened by caramel. The scent is not very strong but I find that the staying power is great, it lasted all day on me.

The Blu Mediterraneo series consists of 6 scents with aromatherapheutic values. When I think af aromatherapy I think of something sharp and herby that smells refreshing in a spa like setting but maybe not on myself. Aranca di Capri is nothing like that. According to the card that came with my sample it's supposed to be "cool and relaxing".

I'm rating it 5 out of 5. It's my new favourite orange scent for uncomplicated sunny summer days.