Costa Mediterranea Il Profumi di Firenze for women and men

Holy Neroli!!! Costa Mediterranea is one of those fragrances you can smell THROUGH the bottle, even if you haven't spilled any of it on the outside.

You must have a STRONG STOMACH for this fragrance! It has otherworldly projection and longevity. It's like the Pink Sugar of masculine citrus frags. It goes on, and on and on... so you better LOVE it if you decide to wear it!

Costa Mediterranea starts off with potent, sinus-tingling bergamot, lemon, and herbal elements. They radiate in a way that is sharp, dry and not true to life. It employs high quality materials which definitely don't scream lemon floor cleaner, but they are also entirely lacking the freshness of say, L'Occitane's Verbena. Though aquatic notes are not listed, it has a very strong aquatic feel to it.

Costa Mediterranea reminds me of something that would fall into the "men's sport" category of fragrances. Though I am not sure what to compare this to in that genre, I could envision its equivalent composition appearing in an offering from Tommy Hilfiger or Adidas, though this unquestionably has 10 times the potency. Spray it in only ONCE in the air and then walk through it, if you dare.

I made the mistake of wearing this in an office, and I could tell people were trying very hard not to look at me. I'll never forget it. This would be an okay selection for clubbing (if you wanted everyone in the place to know you had arrived), but a terrible thing to smell while hungover the following morning. If you are sweating while wearing it, I think it projects something like 15 ft. I think this would also be appropriate for a cool, windy day spent mostly outdoors. Perhaps at the ocean, but not inside or in extreme heat. Costa Mediterranea is not a friend of the blazing Sun.

Once the razor sharp top notes have long dissipated, and it enters the dry down stage, I can detect faint florals (primarily rose), and the earthy vetiver finally emerges to join with the bergamot and lemon.

However, this is largely a citrus herbal fragrance. Don't let the honeysuckle listed in the notes mislead you. This is a sporty citrus MONSTER. You've been warned. Okay gotta go wash it off now because it's starting to give me indigestion...Guess I just don't have the stomach.

On second thought, this is very similar to Santa Maria Novella's "Zagara". On paper, they are nearly identical, but my body chemistry does completely different things with them. I find it much less sweet in the drydown than Zagara, and that "Costa" has a more earthy feel to it. I also find the orange fruitiness pops out a bit more.

A classic mediterrean citrus, this one falls, in particular in the space between Goutal's "Eau d'Hadrien" and "Ninfeo Mio." It is less sweet than Santa Maria Novella's "Zagara" and without the "je ne sais quoi" that SMN's signature scent has, and it is minus the tea note that is present in Carthusia's "Mediterraneo" Altogether satisfying for citrus scent lovers, and hopefully this description well help you determine whether this is the best possible citrus for you or not.