Brioni is a brand known for effortless Roman chic and elegant tailoring. It has a certain ease to it. You know, that simple, stylish quality that Italian men just have? That’s Brioni. The brand has had a number of fragrances over the years (all discontinued) and for 2021 they are launching a new signature fragrance: Brioni Eau de Parfum. To create this new signature, Brioni partnered with the Lalique group and worked with Robertet perfumer Michel Almairac (who has his own brand Parle Moi de Parfum), who pieced together a perfume with “few raw materials“. The result is a simple and elegant perfume that feels perfectly on brand.
I’m going to start this review by telling you that Brioni Eau de Parfum, had absolutely no right being this good. Yes, I know that’s a massive spoiler for how this review is going to go, but hey, I can’t always keep you hooked on suspense can I? So often, mainstream masculine fragrances are cheap, dull, derivative, or all of the above, which leads one to approach something like Brioni without much excitement, but let’s just say now that it is absolutely none of those things – in fact, I’d say it was luxurious, satisfying and stylish, and definitely a cut above its contemporaries.
The Notes
Top: Ozonic Accord, Pink Peppercorn, and Green Apple
Heart: Violet and Ambroxan
Base: Cedar and Tonka Bean
The Perfumer
Michel Almairac (Robertet)
How Does it Smell?
Brioni Eau de Parfum opens up crisp and fresh, with a muted, soft quality. I imagine it as that moment when you first step out onto a quiet, Italian backstreet on a summer’s day – you’re engulfed by a feeling of being surrounded by warm air and the freshness of summer. The initial impression is dewy and airy, but it also has a mineral facet to it too, with the dominant signature coming from a spiced violet leaf, evoking the scent of rain soaked flowers and concrete. In fact, it’s so dominant that I’d sum Brioni Eau de Parfum up as a violet leaf fragrance with accents of ozone and spice.
Whilst Brioni Eau de Parfum may be sharply-tailored, there is not a single rough-edge to be found. It’s a perfectly smooth fabric of a scent, tinted in elegant navy and grey. With time, it seems to melt away, blurring into a gauzy blend of white musks and warm tonka bean. It feels ageless and timeless – neither modern or classic – resting on the skin in a haze that would be fitting for any man of any age (provided he is elegant and stylish, of course).
Perhaps one criticism of Brioni Eau de Parfum is the fact that it is a distinctly linear fragrance. What you smell at first spritz is pretty much you’re left with after a few hours, and it is a few hours, because the longevity is average, as is the sillage, which is moderate and unimposing. Those things could be viewed as negatives, but they just seem to fit Brioni Eau de Parfum. This is not a statement fragrance – it’s an elegant, easy fragrance created to accent the inherently handsome quality of the man that wears it. Norbert Stumpfl, Brioni’s Executive Design Director calls it “nonchalant and understated”, and I think that sums it up perfectly.
Brioni Eau de Parfum perfectly represents the effortless, Italian style portrayed in the brand’s clothing. It’s an easy thing to wear that works in both casual and more formal settings. Sure, it’s not wild or weird, but it smells so wonderful, all of that can be forgiven. I entered into my Brioni Eau de Parfum experience with no expectations whatsoever (I didn’t know the brand because stylish Italian chic I am not) but I’ll admit that it has left me feeling pleasantly surprised and I’ve been wearing it almost daily since it arrived. Sometimes you just want to smell good, right? And Brioni Eau de Parfum most certainly smells good.
Availability
Brioni Eau de Parfum is available in 60ml (£70) and 100ml (£95) EDP.
Disclaimer
Images via Brioni. Sample (full bottle) provided by Brioni for review. I was not paid by the brand for this post.
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