Born in the picturesque, stunning city of Naples, Alessandro Dell’Acqua hasn’t had an idle moment in the world of fashion ever since he received his degree in graphic design from the Accademia de Belli Arti. Having designed for several prestigious brands, including Iceberg and Mariella Burani, Dell’Acqua finally conquered the hearts of the Italian public with the launch of his very own prêt-a-porter line in 1996, which instantly made him a household name and an instant success. His first, eponymous fragrance (Alessandro Dell’Acqua), launched in 2001 with ad campaigns fronted by Helena Christensen and shot by photography giant Helmut Newton.Alessandro Dell’Acqua has a rather strict distribution, and as such cannot be found as easily as most department store scents – I have never seen it sold here in the Netherlands for example. I was lucky enough to receive a bottle of this from a wonderful, lovely reader with whom I often exchange perfumed thoughts and sample packets.
I was not familiar with the perfume, so it was the first thing I tested when I opened the packet, and despite its simplicity, I fell in love with it instantly. The official notes are quite deceptive: Geranium, Pelargonium, Sweet Pea and Coriander up top, peony, hibiscus, rose in the heart and incense, sandalwood and musk in the base. If one would only go by the official notes, the best guess would probably be that this is a rather heavy, sweet floral, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth! The official description of the scent however, touting this as a perfume “to be worn like a second skin” is not only faithful to the nature of the scent, but also completely accurate. Alessandro Dell’Acqua is indeed one of those wonderful fragrances that blur the lines between where one’s own skin scent ends and where the perfume begins. It is one of those fragrances that is unlikely to elicit a compliment about how good your fragrance smells, but rather one that will definitely incite others to proclaim that you smell great. It is a fragrance that is unashamedly, all about musk. From beginning to end, this rather linear scent revolves around its heart of beautiful musk, which is extremely evocative of clean, warm, sweet smelling skin. The smell is comforting and sexy at the same time and wears so comfortably it would be easy enough for me to forget I’m wearing perfume at all, if it wasn’t so addictive! I literally can’t resist smelling my arm over and over again just to get closer to the comforting, clean sensation it produces. Stunningly, each and every time I marvel at its ability to smell so human and so realistically like feminine skin, without a single hint of animalic tendencies. Aside from musk, Alessandro Dell’Acqua features the sensual floral scent of Sweet Pea and slight hints of powder, but what really adds to the experience and truly makes this juice complete, is the use of incredibly long-lasting aldehydes. Beautiful and mysteriously vague, slightly metallic and cool, the aldehydes give this perfume an essential lift, rendering the musk quintessentially effeminate and yes, chic. This utterly personal scent has quickly become a firm favorite of mine in the musk family. Beautiful!
