Profumum Acqua e Zucchero Perfume Review

Profumum Roma Acqua e Zucchero Eau de Parfum is a sweet affair of sticky, syrupy red fruits and caramel-vanilla that took awhile to decide which direction it wanted to dry down in. There was a whisper of citrus florals, but they came and went, sometimes sweeter and airier, and other times, almost bitter behind the fruit and vanilla.

• top notes: orange blossom
• heart notes: red fruits
• base notes: vanilla

Juicy, sugared fruit cocktail swirled and spilled over, so intense that it seemed syrupy, before getting lighter and airier as the orange blossom added another layer of dimension instead of sweetness. Soon, it was like a dollop of fresh whipped cream was folded into the fruits, which made the fruit smell more like strawberries and cream.

Within 10 minutes, lightly spiced, boozy vanilla emerged from the fresh cream and strawberries and gave it some bite from the spice and chewiness from it seeming to caramelize around the fruits. It vacillated between syrupy-sweet, fruit cocktail juice with a muddled floral quality to caramelized vanilla sugar with a hint of spice. Caramelized sugar with lightly spiced vanilla won in the end, as it made up the majority of the drydown, which arrived after four hours of wear.

Application

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise. 

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime , so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Longevity

It lasted for five hours until it was a skin-scent and about eight hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate with the sillage dropping faster than the projection within the first hour of wear.

Personal Thoughts

A lot of people who had this and reviewed it on various retailer websites suggested it was very similar (too similar for the price) to Aquolina Pink Sugar, which I have not tried, but I figured it was worth mentioning for those who have experienced that scent (whether in a pleasant or off-putting way!). The way the berries sweetened seemed overly syrupy and synthetic, and I like my fruits more photorealistic in their scents, otherwise they seem cloying to me.

Available Sizes

• 100ml for $275
• 18ml for $93 (harder to find size in the US)
• 0.7ml sample for $6

Where to Buy

• Jovoy Paris
• LuckyScent
• Twisted Lily