Hilde Soliani Bell’Antonio Eau de Parfum is a darling duet of tobacco and coffee. The tobacco ranged from sweeter and smoky to darker, smokier, and a little gray without being acrid or ashy. The espresso began more roasted and nutty before transitioning into something caramelized and nutty, though the sweetness never dominated, even into the drydown.
It’s supposed to be like “a light cloud of pipe smoke, sipping on a double espresso.” The notes are listed simply as tobacco and coffee.
Scent Development
It opened with sweet pipe tobacco with a roasted espresso beneath it before turning slightly smokier, less sweet, and nuttier. I was surprised at the lack of caramel sweetness there was in this, which is often a component of coffee notes. This was much earthier and drier, owed primarily to the tobacco. There were very little, if any, shifts in the first two hours.
The third hour saw some caramelization; the coffee pulled more caramel, while still being nutty, while the tobacco seemed slightly sweeter, further contributing to the caramel aroma. It continued in this vein for the remainder of its wear, just sweetening slightly over time but was absolutely a duet of tobacco and espresso and not much else (did exactly as marketed, really!).
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 six hours until it was a skin-scent and about 12 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were light with the projection only a few inches above my skin after four hours.
Personal Thoughts
I can’t believe I’m going to say it, but I kind of wanted vanilla or something to sweeten everything or else had some creaminess to the scent, so… I wanted it to be… oh my goodness, more gourmand! I said it! Nevertheless, I love that it was a more simplistic fragrance and did what it set out to do.
Available Sizes
- 100ml for $160
- 0.7ml sample for $4