Summer in Portofino...long,lazy days spent by the Azure Mediterranean,sipping cocktails,and watching the beautiful people float by,enjoying their beautiful lives.
I have had this Tom Ford Neroli Portofino Body Moisturizer on high rotation all summer this year...and whilst it has meant that my train of thought has wandered more toward visions of a stunning Italian boy bringing me Limoncello as i gaze out at the ocean at sunset,rather than the studying for my prac exam in cannulation (yes dear reader..THAT is what i SHOULD be doing),this has meant that,for the time i wear it at least,i am forgetting about the oven equivalent heat,and the fact i am at work instead of where my fantasies have taken me.
Describing the scent is easy,as it's a familiar scent,only much more refined...top notes are bergamot, mandarin orange, lemon, lavender, myrtle, rosemary and bitter orange; middle notes are african orange flower, jasmine, neroli and pitosporum; base notes are amber, ambrette (musk mallow) and angelica,so why do i say that this is familiar ? Many reviews have remarked that this is,in many ways,4711 with a huge price tag - and that begs another comparison.Think a bottle of cheap and cheerful wine..available on every street corner and great as an everyday type item,with a bottle of Grange....not so cheap,and certainly NOT an everyday hit of luxury,this is in the same vein (get it ? veins and cannulas...see,i can multitask my thoughts.HAHA).I own both this AND 4711....one i wear often,one i use on days off to give me a "mini European vacay" without needing to see a travel agent,but i digress.
The consistency is satin-y....thanks to the inclusions of Olive-fruit oil, grape-seed oil, and date-seed extracts,with a champagne-colored hue to the cream (see,luxe right there) which disappears into skin quickly,but the spicy, citrusy scent lingers on for hours (Many fragranced moisturizers aren't that heavily scented and leave the skin slick but not actually softer. This one wraps skin in moisture, pampering rough patches, and the scent of bergamot, lemon, and neroli has the staying power of a perfume,so whilst this IS a splurge,you can use this to replace fragrance...for both you AND him (it will last for a good few months with it's 150ml sized tube if used on days off)
Of course,no luxury beauty product is complete without some stunning packaging (because honestly girls,who DOESN'T sometimes base a purchase solely on what it looks like ????),and this doesn't disappoint.... I love the gorgeous colour of the tube,all turquoise blue like the waters of it's namesake and the simple gold embossed label which compliments the shade stunningly.
So,if a trip to Europe this summer is not on the cards,wear this....and fantasize.
TIP:As mentioned,this IS reminiscent of Eau de Cologne in it's citrusy-ness,but overhauled.Why not apply over your less exxy citrus scents to take them to another level,AND make them last waaay past a couple of hours?
Also,due to the nourishing additions of the olive / grape oils in this,HE can use this as an aftershave balm (hello super soft,soothed post - shave skin AND lasting fresh fragrance that he will love ).