Antonia's Flowers Soigne del Mare

Notes: Italian bergamot, cassis buds, wild rhubarb, orange, lotus

When Antonia Bellanca described her newest fragrance, Soigne del Mare, as being “watery” and that the name meant “dreams of the sea,” I thought, “Yuck. Another marine scent.” But I was very pleased that this was not the case.  In fact, when a bottle of the stuff was passed around the Sniffapalooza breakfast at Bergdorf's, I couldn't resist giving myself a healthy spritz.  These dreams of the sea apparently involve fruit and flowers, not seaweed and salt water. Yes, Soigne del Mare is a fruity floral, but one that is so well-crafted and finely blended that it cannot be put in the same category as the surfeit of new fragrances aimed at the youth market. So well-blended, in fact, I have a hard time picking out individual notes. There is orange, and the characteristic dry tingle of bergamot in the opening. There’s also some sweetness of ripe fruit, a little crème de cassis perhaps. The rhubarb lends some tang, but not a lot, and I can’t find the lotus at all. Which is just as well, as I don’t often appreciate that note.  But I do appreciate Soigne del Mare and wasted no time in obtaining some for myself.  Too bad it's not completely appropriate for cold weather wearing....