Introducing the two newest members of the Acqua di Parma Colonia Ingredient Collection

Natalie Hanson   |   19-03-2017

The Acqua di Parma Colonia Ingredient Collection is a travel diary of aromas, always open to new discoveries and fascinating combinations.

It encapsulates the pleasure of travelling, of taking the necessary time to savour the spirit of a place. Like all great travellers, Colonia deeply explores other worlds and traditions. Each new departure is a discovery. A sensory journey in search of the most rare and original essences, of ingredients that tell the story of an atmosphere, a vision of beauty, a way of life. It is upon return from each stop on the voyage that the real adventure starts. To make that rare and precious ingredient one’s own in a spirit of renewal, to imagine brand new compositions where Colonia retains its distinct identity, but is enriched with unexpected facets. The result is a collection of sophisticated and evocative fragrances.

The first addition to the collection explores Milan and its most hidden corners; the secret cabinet-making workshops and the smell of the most precious wood is from which Colonia Ebano is inspired.

ACQUA DI PARMA COLONIA THE INGREDIENT COLLECTION EBANO

Then through deserts and mountains, Colonia meets the intoxicating intensity of an ancient ingredient which creates the second addition, Colonia Mirra.

ACQUA DI PARMA COLONIA THE INGREDIENT COLLECTION MIRRA

COLONIA EBANO

Encounter an ancient art, recognise it by its scent

Metropolitan rhythms, speed, lights and sounds. But wandering among the narrow streets of the old quarter, everything becomes more calm and collected. Travelling to Milan one happens to encounter secluded and quiet spaces. Laboratories where for centuries the art of cabinetmaking has been cultivated at its highest levels. You first notice it in the scent of beeswax with which the cabinetmaker caresses the wood until it gleams. In the subtle and penetrating aromas of ebony and other precious woods that are skilfully inlaid with each other. Sensory atmospheres that tell the stories of masterpieces of Italian art and craftsmanship.

ACQUA DI PARMA COLONIA THE INGREDIENT COLLECTION EBANO

Ebony: exotic, perfumed wood of great value. Hard, compact, with a fine grain, it lends itself to a perfect polishing that exalts the dark tones up to the deepest black. It is used to make precious objects such as chessboards and piano keys. It becomes ductile material in the hands of the cabinetmakers who, in their inlays, place it alongside other precious woods such as mahogany, rosewood, and walnut. A visual, tactile and olfactory richness that resurfaces in Colonia Ebano. The solar spirit of Colonia encounters the natural warmth of the most precious wood essences and the enveloping notes of honey, to evoke the beeswax that completes and refines the surfaces of the inlays.

ACQUA DI PARMA COLONIA THE INGREDIENT COLLECTION EBANO

Colonia Ebano: faceted, sumptuous fragrance, but at the same time fresh and luminous. The sparking citrusy opening notes of bergamot and petitgrain clearly bring to mind the personality of Colonia. In the heart, the sophisticated intensity of elemi essential oil binds to the spicy accents of pink pepper, perfect prelude to the pleasures of the ebony accord, with its warm and creamy notes. The balance of the fragrance finds its impeccable conclusion in the base notes. With the rewarding and soft notes of honey, in an engaging contrast with the aromatic accents of vetiver and the balsamic notes of patchouli.

COLONIA MIRRA

Along the Via Sacra of perfumes

Muscat. At the hour of sunset, the streets and windows are dotted with small coloured lanterns where incense and myrrh unleash their vibrant aromas. From the capital of ancient Oman, since the third century before Christ, long caravans carried, through steep mountains, lowlands and endless deserts, their cargo of spices, fragrances and rare essences. A slow and tireless crossing, until the kingdom of Saba, to Jordan and the mythical road of the Wise Men. To then reach the Mediterranean until arriving in Rome, where the highly prized Oriental resins were in great demand, burnt during religious ceremonies. A long journey on the Via Sacra of perfumes. An adventure on the trails of the Orient from which Colonia Mirra was born.

ACQUA DI PARMA COLONIA THE INGREDIENT COLLECTION MIRRA

Among the most sought-after essences of antiquity, often exchanged for its weight in gold, myrrh has a history thousands of years old. The Egyptians used it for Kyphi, the perfume of the pharaohs. The Greeks mixed it with wine to flavour it. Eastern women still use it today in cosmetics with revitalising powers. Even the Bible mentions it several times and the Wise Men brought it to the Baby Jesus as a gift. Used in Chinese medicine, it brings together healing qualities and sanctity.

Even today myrrh is collected by hand from commiphora, a delicate spiny shrub which grows in the warmest climes. Dense, perfumed drops are gathered from the trunk and from these the essential oil and the resin are obtained. The laborious production of myrrh has made it an especially sought-after and precious ingredient from the very dawn of perfumery. Its balsamic and embracing aroma gives an appealing complexity to the luminous transparency of Colonia which emerges little by little, like the slow advance of a caravan in the desert.

ACQUA DI PARMA COLONIA THE INGREDIENT COLLECTION MIRRA

The Italian style of Colonia is all in the transparent and citrusy opening note of mandarin orange, lemon and petitgrain, that acts as a counterpoint to a single heart where the delicate aromas of orange blossom and the spicy accents of nutmeg merge with the warm scent of the oil of myrrh. It is in the heart of this magnetic olfactory composition that the myrrh unveils its first facets. In a magnificent evolution, the base combines the enveloping notes of patchouli to the balsamic and amber notes of myrrh resin, revealing the sophisticated soul of this new Eau de Cologne Concentrée.

To see all the members of the Ingredient Collection, visit www.acquadiparma.com