4711 Acqua Colonia Blood Orange & Basil by 4711 Eau De Cologne Spray (Unisex) 5.7 oz (Women)

So far, the 4711 Acqua Colonia line can do no wrong (...perhaps I'm jinxing myself there). But seriously, Blood Orange and Basil is yet another solidly satisfying cologne from 4711 that hits above its weight for both creativity and quality. This is an enjoyably bright orange cologne. One with just the right amount and kind of green herbality to make it memorably intriguing, but still fully acceptable. To be clear, in comparison, this is one of the less overtly distinctive 4711 Acqua Colonia colognes that I have sampled, but this relatively anodyne quality does not lead to it being too boring or forgettable. On the contrary, Blood Orange and Basil carries just the right amount of nuance to make it both distinguished and easily appealing.

Being almost entirely citrus, this might be the shortest halflife I've experienced from 4711, but that's not a complaint. This may, in fact, be my favorite. It reveals itself, at least on my skin, independently before harmonizing. I surprisingly caught the basil first before getting wholloped by a big, fat, juicy blood orange. Then, of course, they coalesce and I found myself smelling like the brine I made last time I roasted a duck. I loved the smell of that brine and wanted to smell it all day. So, naturally, I loved this.

On me, it opens up with a very hyper realistic bitter blood orange taste, as if I'm really drinking a carbonated blood orange limo. This opening was too bitter for me (I honestly also find blood orange limos sometimes too bitter). Afterwards, it started getting less bitter and more mellow, and the basil started to show up, but really as a supporting role. It has almost no sweetness, besides the hint of sweetness you would naturally find in a regular blood orange. I'd like it more if it had a more prominent basil, or if it was perhaps a bit sweeter. It can indeed be a great alternative to Guerlain's scent. But the Guerlain has that hint of sweetness that I miss here to balance out the tartness. So, for me personally, Guerlain receives a love, and 4711 receives a like. If it's worth it to pay the price difference, I still need to figure it out…

Blind bought this because some compared it to Clementine California, which is largely unavailable now. Unfortunately I found the scent extremely soapy with an overly savoury basil note, and almost no hint of blood orange or other citrus. I let it macerate/mature and it mellowed out a bit (slightly less soapy) so I use it as a room spray, as it still does not mesh well with my skin chemistry.