Perfume makes the best Valentine’s Day gift. Actually, perfume makes the best gift for any occasion, but I would say that now, wouldn’t I? It’s such a joy to receive something beautifully scented and Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to spoil the one you love wholly and completely rotten. Flowers and chocolates are OK, I guess, but for a truly meaningful gift that feels special and that is laced with emotion and memory, perfume is your best bet. But what perfume do you buy? A top up of the signature scent? Something new and exciting? Or maybe something ridiculously expensive? Well, I think all of those ideas are fab but my advice is to go for something that has a high olfactory and visual impact, and I have just the thing…
When it comes to making things that are beautiful nobody does it better than Italian perfumery Acqua di Parma. Right from the most classic of colognes to the most modern of ouds, Acqua di Parma carefully craft every fragrance so that they not only smell tremendous, they are presented beautifully too. One of the nicest gifts anyone can give is an Acqua di Parma travel spray. These luxurious leather-bound sprays are the finest of things, pairing the finest of Italian craftsmanship with the pinnacle of Italian perfumery.
Right in time for this Valentine’s Day, Acqua di Parma have bestowed us with a beautiful jewel in the form of the Peonia Nobile Purse Spray. Now Peonia Nobile was a highlight from last year, adding the sharp rosiness of the peony flower to Acqua di Parma’s noble collection of floral showcasing scents. Now housed within a leather purse spray in the most scandalous shade of shocking pink, Peonia Nobile is more beautiful than ever!
The Scent
If you planted your nose smack bang in a bouquet of peonies you’d get a hint of the smell of Peonia Nobile. This fragrance takes all that makes the peony good and great; the sweet berries, the symphonic rosiness and the sharp, biting greenery, but somehow makes it ‘more’ than the flower itself. Jewel-like raspberries shimmer and glisten in the top notes, providing a fruit, jammy accent to the glorious warmth of the rosy pink peonies in the heart. Underneath this, a tussle between the sharpness of vetiver and the soft sweetness of amber creates a sumptuous and complex base that lasts and lasts.
In my review last year, I had this to say about this stunning ode to peonies: “Peonia Nobile is impossibly pretty, like a floral print from Liberty or a bed of bashfully pink peonies. It’s a simple fragrance in a sense, presenting a polaroid picture of its namesake flowers in full bloom, but there is a masterful amount of complexity involved to create such a vivid and multifaceted image. Acqua di Parma have an innate ability to present complex beauty in an effortless and classic manner, and Peonia Nobile is no exception. This is a fragrance that wears like a silk scarf – it slips on as a subtle accessory and a pop of colour that enhances one’s style rather than dominates it. Let’s just say that this is one perfect peony and if you’re on the hunt for a gorgeous floral for summer then Peonia Nobile is pretty much all you will need.” Yes, I think that sums it up rather nicely indeed!
The Spray
So is the purse spray as beautiful as the scent itself? Just look at it!! Isn’t that the most perfect shade of pink you’ve ever seen?! The answer to that question is yes! Designed to ensure that Peonia Nobile is with you wherever you go because, let’s face it you are going to want to spray that beautiful peony scent all day long, this purse spray is entirely wrapped in leather shaded in shocking pink and stamped with the brand’s iconic insignia. It’s as much a beautiful object as it is a functional one and it makes the perfect gift for that fragrance lover in your life. If you can bear to give it away, that is. I know I couldn’t…
Discover more
See my full review of Acqua di Parma Peonia Nobile here
