8 Best Smelling Acqua di Parma Fragrances for Men

Acqua di Parma has been around for a long long time now. They have a wide range of scents that bring forth the smells of the Mediterranean, particularly citrus notes native to the region. In this post, I want to break down their catalog into 8 colognes for guys, that I consider to be the best of the bunch.

Now, I have included some unisex entries on the list, as Acqua di Parma has plenty of those and they do indeed rank among their best.

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What Are the Best Acqua di Parma Perfumes?

Best Overall Acqua di Parma Scent and Summer

Acqua Di Parma Blue Mediterraneo Fico Di Amalfi Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 5 Ounce– This one gives you that familiar Blu Mediterraneo burst of citrus notes, including grapefruit and bergamot. Then, the outstanding fig note comes along as the dominant force, to create a sweet and unique experience.

The grapefruit and lemon are strongest at the top, but it leans more grapefruit, than the other perfumes on this list. Once the citrus settles down, it plays very well off of the fig, and light cedar base.

I don’t always like fig in fragrances, but this has to be one of the best examples, of how to do it right. Fico di Amalfi is a fragrance which can be worn by absolutely everyone, very unisex, and a magnificent summer perfume.

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Best Winter Fragrance

Acqua Di Parma Blue Mediterraneo Mandorlo Di Sicilia Eau de Toilette Spray, 5 Ounce– One of the unisex entries on the list and while it does sit slightly more toward the feminine side, it is still a very nice scent for the cold weather.

Almond and vanilla are paired to create a warm and lightly enveloping aroma, that has a sweet candy-like quality.

This one reminds me of these little root beer candies, that I ate sometimes, as a child. Orange, almond, and the vanilla come together to give it a sweet, somewhat nutty, fizziness.

Akin to carbonation. Mandorlo is fresh and dries down, mostly as vanilla, with a powdered sugar quality. The sillage is fairly light, but it can last for 6-7 hours, on my skin.  My Full Review is Here

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Most Popular Men’s Cologne

Acqua Di Parma Essenza Eau De Cologne Spray for Men, 3.4 Ounce–  A shockingly clean and refined composition of citrus and herbal/floral notes. Essenza screams class.

With it’s fantastic performance, this is one to reach for during the warmer months of the year, and shares a lot of similarities with Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino Forte.

In this one, you get plenty of orange, grapefruit, and bergamot. Naturally, this is put together with neroli, as is so common in summertime scents. The citrus at opening is juicy and somewhat sharp, then, it dries down more into a soapy sort of scent.

Especially later in the wear, you can pick up rosemary and oakmoss, but Essenza is very well-blended and can be difficult to decipher. Nonetheless, you get yourself a classically styled unisex perfume, that is highly attractive though not heavy-handed.

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Classic Fragrance for Him

Acqua Di Parma Cologne Spray for Men, 3.4 Ounce– The original which traces its roots back to 1916. Features citrus with notes of rosemary and lavender. A classic clean with woodsy undertones, Colonia is sharp and well put together.

Colonia can be pretty strong with the lemon at first, but it needs a few minutes to settle, and have the lavender note come out fully. This has that old school barbershop type of character, with light musk in the dry down, and the rosemary peaking through at times.

This isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea; however, Colonia can still bring a pleasant experience after all of these decades. This is going to be for guys, who want a change of pace from the more modern or unisex fragrances on the market.

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Most Underrated Acqua di Parma Perfume

Acqua Di Parma Blue Mediterraneo Arancia Di Capri Eau De Toilette Spray for Men, 5 Ounce– A super citrus blend of oranges, grapefruit, and bergamot. Arancia di Capri, is a breath of fresh air and energy when applied, and enjoys such a naturalistic feel.

Clean, upbeat, and vibrant. It opens up, with those juicy citrus notes at the top of the composition.

These are the dominant notes for the first 20 minutes and are paired with, a light musk. Then, a sweet caramel note begins to emerge and join the mandarin orange note, as the main attractions. The other citrus notes fade quite a bit.

The fragrance smells absolutely wonderful. However, while the sillage starts off pretty powerful, it becomes a skin scent shortly thereafter. Not the best performing (on my skin, anyway), but definitely one of the best smelling Acqua fragrances.   My full review of Arancia di Capri

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Best Masculine/ Intense Cologne

Acqua Di Parma Colonia Intensa 3.4 oz Eau de Cologne Spray– A woody and slightly spicy flanker of the original Colonia. This also shares the citrus notes but has a blend of leather, cardamom, and ginger which gives it that bit of kick.

It opens up with that same familiar blend of citrus notes, plenty of lemon, with lime coming through.

This is joined by that warm spice of cardamom and the fresh/cool spice of ginger. As it moves along, the leather and woody notes, take on a more prominent role while the citrus falls back.

It’s fresh, rich, dark, and full of a spicy edge. Leather, woody, spice, with an amber tone, and the citrus still hanging around somewhat.

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Fizzy Clean

Chinotto di Liguria– Just reading the notes, before trying this out, I was afraid that this would be similar to Versace Eros Flame. Since that also features an opening of mandarin orange and chinotto notes.

But, this is actually quite different and has none of that overwhelming amber note, which drives me nuts with Flame.

The opening has a nice burst of orange, but that’s overshadowed by the rosemary and chinotto. It’s kind of fizzy, fresh, and has an herbal aroma. Which, usually plays very nicely off of a citrus note.

Less of a sweet fragrance, having more bitter highlights throughout. The base is a soapy clean musk, with the fresh greenish ingredients giving this one life. Not the best performance, but a really nice fragrance for the right guy.

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Leather Goods

Leather by Acqua di Parma– Leather is a release that came out much more recently than others on the list. If you want a rich and quite realistic smelling leather note, from your fragrance, you can give this one a go.

Like Tuscan Leather by Tom Ford, you get a raspberry note up top. But, in this one, it is flanked by two citrus notes. It’s also much woodier and floral than the Tom Ford offering.

While rose and citrus play roles here, this isn’t always a clean leather scent. It can be dark, rough, and even has an earthy/dirtiness/smoky aroma as you get to the middle of the wear.

Not an option that will appeal to everyone, but this could be the top pick of the bunch, for some of you.