Colonia Pura Eau de Cologne

If you find most citrus colognes interchangeable, Acqua di Parma Colonia Pura Eau de Cologne is the one with something odd in it, and the oddity is the reason to try it. That oddity is daffodil. It is green, cool and faintly waxy, with a stem bitterness that very little commercial perfumery uses, and here it is set against sambac jasmine, a fuller and more animal white flower than the ordinary kind, so the middle of the scent is pulled in two directions at once. Coriander sits between them, dry and gently seasoned, giving the heart a savoury quality rather than a sweet one.

The opening is more conventional and does its job well. Bergamot and orange are bright and juicy for the first few minutes, petitgrain adds a bitter green edge from the start, and the citrus gives way faster than you expect. What remains is cedarwood, patchouli and musk, all of them kept low, dry and unshowy so the flowers stay in charge for as long as the format allows.

Francois Demachy is credited with the composition, which appeared in 2017. Worn at eau de cologne strength it is a light, close thing, good for three or four hours before it becomes a whisper, and generosity with the atomiser is expected rather than discouraged. It reads unisex, works in offices and warm weather, and suits someone who wants a cologne that is recognisably a perfume rather than a toiletry.

The house opened in Parma in 1916 under Baron Carlo Magnani, who found the perfumery of his day too heavy and set out to make the opposite. Acqua di Parma sits within LVMH now, produces candles and home fragrance alongside the bottles, and is as well known for its round hat box cases as for what goes inside them.