'Gioia' is 'joy'. In Italian. And actually, want to introduce you to Acqua di Gioia ('joyous water', we guess), which we’ve just seen unveiled at The Soho Hotel. There is a trend for gorgeous 'green' fragrances (we also love Martin Margiela's new scent, which fits this category): beautiful, ungimmicky, wearable. And this is definitely so light and pretty, with a tingly little Mojito-esque topnote of crushed mint leaves, hints of pink pepper and jasmine Sambac in the heart, layered on a sweetly delectable base of soft cedarwood and caramel-y brown sugar. It was worked on by no less than three of the leading names in perfumery: Dominique Ropion (think Ysatis/Amarige), Anne Flipo (L'Artisan Parfumeur's Fleurs d'Oranger) and Loc Dong (Calvin Klein Euphoria) - so we shouldn't be surprised it's a masterpiece. We admit: somehow, we hadn’t quite realised that Armani fragrances are the second biggest fragrance brand in the UK and that Acqua di Gio is the No. 1 men’s fragrance here. But we do know this: they've got another classic on their hands, which you'll be able to spritz to your heart's summery content, from the beginning of July. (Here's our shot of the sultry visual, too, from a commercial directed by graphic design genius Fabien Baron in Hawaii.)
