I think every perfume lover comes to a similar moment. You try something in the store. You love it. It is what you want to smell like. It is perfect. Until you find out that it is one of those ultra-luxe releases with a price tag to match. The first time this happened to me was with the 2009 release of Brioni perfume. It was exactly tailored to what my taste is in perfume. I swore off buying other things, swallowed hard and paid up because it was so me.
Brioni is an Italian suit maker known for their impeccably tailored made-to-order suits. It seems unlikely I will ever own one of those but the first perfume to carry the name was made-to-order for me. It remains one of my favorites of all-time. Five years later they would release a new version. It was just as interesting as the original in a different way. It also was a celebration of the luxurious elements of an upscale menswear brand. I sometimes must think a little on which one I want to wear when I’m in the mood to wear Brioni fragrance.
Michel Almairac
Which brings us to 2021 and yet another perfume named Brioni. If the previous two perfumes were emblematic of the singular made-to-order aesthetic of the brand this newest is more ready-to-wear. Through both price and the style of perfume it seems as if the brand is looking for a broader based consumer for their fragrances.
Perfumer Michel Almairac is the one asked to tailor this more consumer-friendly perfume suit. While the earlier perfumes weren’t edgy boundary breakers, they carried a sense of luxury appropriate to the brand. This newest version is even less adventurous with less luxury.
It begins with a snappy baie rose and green apple top accord given volume through a fresh air effect. M. Almairac is an expert in these types of top accords. It stays more open as violet and ambroxan hold the floral heart. This is where the new Brioni is at its best. Out in the open air with a woody violet on its lapel. It settles on an Iso E Super base softened with coumarin from tonka bean.
Brioni has 12-14 hour longevity and average sillage.
M. Almairac has been part of so many mass-market best sellers it can be hazardous to try and look for them in another one. If I scrunch up my nose, I can find bits and pieces of previous releases by him. Except taken as a whole this Brioni presents an entirely new profile from head to toe. Which is what you would expect when getting a suit off the rack, or a perfume.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample supplied by Brioni
–Mark Behnke
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