Thread: Acqua di Selva Cologne

I am a bit surprised that I have not read anything about Acqua di Selva (AdS) in this forum so I decided to post something about it in the form of a review. AdS was first introduced by Victor in 1949 and later manufactured by Visconti di Modrone in Italy. This one is, in my opinion, one of the true classics men fragrances ever made.

I was first introduced to AdS by my father, many moons ago (when it was manufactured by Victor), which obviously makes me strongly biased. The opening notes of AdS remind me of Vetiver. After the scent settles in, some Bergamot becomes evident. I find it to be fairly complex with some citrus, herbal and earthy undertones.

The scent is not overpowering and the potency decreases rapidly overtime. Overall, this is a very pleasant cologne that brings me back in time. If people of Clubman as a classic, reminiscent of old barbershops in the US (it always reminds me of Avon's Wild Country, or at lest I associate it with it), AdS is for me the quintessential Italian barbershop fragrance.

It is moderately priced at around $20 for a 6.8 oz. I tested this in the cologne splash format but there are also other presentations including: after shave and spray versions. Victor makes other incarnations of this basic theme in Silvestre, Victor and Club Victor that are harder to find and more expensive, some may be discontinued. I have tried all of these at some point but not recently.

If you are looking for something different yet classy, you may want to give this one a try.

Al raz.

I came to know about this cologne due to my origin being Eritrean and as Eritrea was an Italian colony for very long time ago many old people wore this cologne and I I liked it too...the funny thing is people wore this cologne, men and women. Lately the cologne disappeared from the market, at least in the middle east and africa, so every time I go for a visit my auntie start to talk about Acqua Di Selva non stop..she has got a thing for that cologne I can't explain! I decided to google it and I was glad to find many websites that offered the product! I am just curious though, how can a cologne made in Europe only be found in US webStores???? Is there any chance to buy it here in Europe?as I Live in Sweden. If not is there any trustworthy webstore to trust and buy online???

Thanks again and hopefully will get answers to my questions\\

Thanks for your comments: i think the reason why Acqua di Selva is found in the US and not in Europe has to do with the market more than anything else. I would not know whether the online vendors can ship to Sweden. I have been trying to find Silvestre also created by Victor, very unsuccessful I may add. I believe that this one is more common in Europe. I asked a member here that showed a pic in the SOTD but he could not tell me more than it was available in Spain. If you can find Silvestre, we could probably do a trade. Feel free to send me a PM if you find me and are interested in a trade.

Al raz.

I love this scent--I find it to be very minty, and slightly citrusy at the same time. Acqua di Selva is not so cheap here in Montreal where I live, but it's still worth it.

Jeff