You ever seen that Spiderman meme where there are two of them dressed exactly the same pointing at each other? Like “who’s the real Spiderman?” I feel like this is happening a LOT in the fragrance world right now, case-in-point this very fragrance from Acqua Di Gio. I mean, I’m not going to be naïve and say that they would actually get rid of Acqua Di Gio (ADG) Profumo but in one way they really did get rid of it and in another way, it has miraculously returned in just a slightly different form and a different name.
If you’re not familiar, ADG Profumo is hailed as one of the better, if not the best flanker from the original ADG line. Released in 2015 this patchouli fueled monster with the glorious magnetic cap has been a topic of many conversations lately because this fragrance was looking like it was going to be discontinued. A YouTube video from almost two years ago hinted that this fragrance would in fact be getting the axe and many people rushed to grab multiple backup bottles in hopes that they could keep that legacy alive for as long as possible. I myself was actually one of those people.
There’s just something about this fragrance that is so unique that it can’t compare to anything else in my collection. Patchouli and incense are some of my favorite scent profiles next to sandalwood and this fragrance doesn’t shy away from it. So, what was the problem with it if it was so popular?
Well, the way things are heading seems to be the way of the concentrations. What I mean by that is companies are starting to lay their fragrance lines in such a way that starts with the original (typically an EDT concentration) and then follow it up with an Eau de Parfum concentration, then Parfum, and lastly the newest label - Elixir. So, if we look at that pattern and then look back to last year with ADG, we see they released an EDP many many years after the original ’96 released EDT, and now a year later we see the Parfum version. Keep in mind, most of the other houses are doing this as well, so to see Giorgio Armani do this we can only guess what could be coming next. The Elixir.
To keep things into perspective though, let’s look at the new Parfum and see what’s happening here. If we look at the note breakdown we have:
Marine notes, bergamot, rosemary, clary sage, geranium, olibanum (Frankincense or ‘incense’) & patchouli. Hmm…these sound oddly familiar…
ADG Profumo’s notes were: Sea notes, bergamot, rosemary, sage, geranium, incense & patchouli. So, do they actually smell exactly the same? Yes and no.
When I first sprayed the new Parfum version it smelled a bit fresher than Profumo. Perhaps that bergamot note was a different blend than the original Profumo but something about it was just enough to say it wasn’t an exact copy. So far so good.
Then in the mid and dry down though, you’re met with that beautiful incense and patchouli that I so love and is in fact the same as Profumo. I guess Giorgio Armani just couldn’t stand to see their beloved Profumo go away but wanted to re-introduce it with a new name, a fresh-looking bottle, and a refillable cap (non-magnetic btw). So, is this something you should rush out to get?
Final Thoughts
I still have about half a bottle of Profumo left and I intend to use every drop of it until it’s gone. Once it’s gone though, I know I can go to any local retailer or fragrance discounter and pick up a fresh bottle of ADG Parfum and never miss a beat.
Maybe you haven’t smelled it before, or you ran out of Profumo and couldn’t get your hands on a replacement bottle, and you were really bummed. I have news for you friends, you can grab a decant right here from Decant House and try it for yourself. ADG Profumo lives on! Thanks for taking the time to read this review and I’ll catch you guys in the next one!
