New Acqua di Parma fragrance celebrates the art of taking your time

In the wonderful world of men's fragrance, few brands hold the heritage and cachet of Acqua di Parma. The Italian stalwarts have been around for over a century, building a case for itself among the upper echelons of scent.

Best known for its Colonia scent – which is as old as the company itself – the brand is characterised by its authentic Italian charm and sprightly, citrus-led profiles.

Now, there's a new face in the pack. Acqua di Parma Gelsomino a Freddo is the latest addition to the brand's fragrance collection, and is designed to celebrate the time required to craft a truly brilliant product.

Here, jasmine flowers are hand-placed onto purified shea butter, where its essence is slowly released over a period of 48 hours. That's repeated multiple times, with fresh flowers replacing spent ones until the butter is fully infused with the essential oil of the flower.

The overall profile here is one of much deeper complexity than you might think. Perfumer, Daphne Bugey, said, "Creating this fragrance presented a double challenge – balancing the contrasting elements while elevating the jasmine was the first, and creating a genderless jasmine fragrance was the second, finding the middle ground between the floral and woody elements of the composition.”

That sits beneath top notes of lemon, pink pepper and artemesia, which offer a zesty opening to proceedings. That should ensure a good portion of the signature Acqua di Parma DNA is present and correct, with a citrussy first hit.

That sits atop a neat blend of woods and floral notes, for what should be a really interesting olfactory experience. I'm personally really excited to try this one. If the brand has balanced the base and middle notes effectively, this could be one of the classiest bottles in the brand's range – and there is stiff competition there!

Available in 12ml, 50ml, 100ml and 180ml EDP bottles, as well as in a candle, a diffuser, a body wash and a body cream, there's a lot of different ways to enjoy this scent.