The Bottom Line: What follows is what I like to think of as “A Tale of Two Acquas:” In 1995 I was 21 years old, finishing college, in love for the first time and totally smitten with a new fragrance from Armani that followed his moderately successful gardenia extravaganza, Gio. The green juice of this new Gio seemed to be perfectly suited to the spirit of fragrance at that time (L’Eau d’Issey. The Vert, CK1) and though it was a woman’s fragrance, my boyfriend and I both agreed that it smelled delicious. Every time I passed an Armani perfume counter I would spritz a little on and revel in this new olfactory delight. At the time, there had been no men’s counterpart yet and who could know that once launched it would become one of the most successful men’s fragrances of the last 10 years or so? Strangely enough, I never actually owned a bottle of the Acqua di Gio for Women, likely because all of my friends quickly acquired bottles. And I must be the only person on the face of the earth who disliked Acqua di Gio for Men from the very start.

Back in 2008, I had heard rumors that a new Acqua di Gio would be launched in a new bottle. Not entirely surprising since Armani has done this a few times; I still have the original, Chaos-inspired Mania (for Women) and much prefer it to the newer launch. Actually, I have kind of lost track of Armani launches recently–there are so many flankers coming and going these days what with Emporio, Armani and Prive lines constantly moving forward–so I missed the initial launch of the new Acqua di Gioia and as it recently launched here in Finland, I’m only getting around to making its acquaintance now. Before I even get started on the scent, I have to ask: Why the same name avec “A”? Why wasn’t this launched as a new scent? Has the older fragrance been discontinued? And will there be a men’s launch as well? Questions abound!

Notes: Lemon blossom, mint, water jasmine, cedar, brown sugar, labdanum

As the fragrance was meant to evoke the scent of “water rooted in earth,” I think it succeeds. The opening makes me think of rain falling from the sky and landing on green tropical plants and brightly colored fruits and flowers–the tart topnote. Those raindrops slide down to the soil, leaves and roots, into the earth–the sweet labdanum and sugar base. If the fragrance were a painting, I would imagine Rothko-like broad strokes of color, yellow and chartreuse at the top, darker greens, purples and browns at the base. Acqua di Gioia is large, sweeping brushstrokes of color.

So why the two Acqua’s? Allergens and hard to source materials heralded the downfall of the original, not to mention the fact that it is just “so 1995.” Why the same name? Why not build off of the success of a scent that is universally known rather than risk the launch of an entirely new concept? Will the fragrance be a hit? Only time will tell, but for now I have decided that although I am not interested in buying a bottle, I wouldn’t mind sitting next to someone who has.

Fragrance Strength: Eau de Parfum

Number of Times Tested: 4, from a tester bottle at a local department store. Development: (Linear / Average / Complex): I wavered between linear and average as the scent doesn’t develop as much as the topnotes fade and the basenotes strengthen.

Longevity: (Short / Average / Long-lasting): 2-3 hours. I was pretty surprised that the EDP disappeared so quickly.

Sillage: (A Little / Average / A Lot): Upon first application, I was a bit overwhelmed–those topnotes strike a high-pitched note. But the sillage quickly dissipated.

And onto the scent…When sniffed from the bottle, the tang of the topnotes is remarkable: a juicy, tropical fruit quite dissimilar from the current releases of soft white florals (CK Beauty, Chloe Love, Guess Seductive). Once on the skin the tang is even greater for the first few minutes hence my reference above to mango and lemonade; others have mentioned smelling grapefruit and mint as well. It’s actually quite unlike anything I’ve experienced before and the fragrance is worth a sniff if only for this olfactory discovery.

The fullness of the composition quickly becomes apparent and the realization that this Gioia is not like her big sister–not a fresh aquatic at all–quickly sinks in. Those topnotes lead to a heart of imperceptible floral notes (jasmine and lemon blossom?) and the base follows with a sugary amber tone (where’s the cedar?). To say that the scent develops is a bit misleading. It softens, and the tang dissipates, but the scent is practically linear in its simplicity. Where the original sparkles in its complexity and transforms into a warm, floral-woody drydown, Acqua di Gioia’s magic seems to disappear once the surprise of the topnotes fade. That being said, it is still a pleasant, warm aroma that is hard to dislike.