Del Mar Baldessarini by Baldessarini

I bought this fragrance blindly because I saw the commercial when it came out and it caught my attention, and well, also because its creator is the great Alberto Morillas. The olfactive families I like most are aquatic and fougère, and because of the commercial, that its creator has several of the best marine aquatics in his portfolio, the colour of the liquid and its name Del Mar, everything indicated it was a marine aquatic fragrance. But unfortunately this fragrance does not live up to its image: the opening feels very alcoholic and with a very distant citrus touch, barely perceptible, to subsequently enter a phase where the scent is perceived sweet and with a powdery makeup touch, without feeling feminine. The projection is very poor and the longevity is 5 to 6 hours but very faint, almost at skin level. I have had some from this brand and I can say that the presentation is very good with packaging that looks of very good quality, luxurious with the metal caps, heavier than some niche fragrances, but as for the quality of the fragrance itself, which is what matters, well, some have good scent but they always fail in projection. This particular one I don’t know if it has been reformulated, but the scent is not very good. It didn’t cost me much to buy it on clearance for 25 dollars the 50 ml bottle; I will put it up for sale to see if I can recover some of the money 🥴.

DEL MAR BALDESSARINI EDITION SEYCHELLES. A creation by Alberto Morillas, it is fresh, aromatic, and woody, very pleasant and to most people’s taste. The problem is its performance: it projects very weakly. Although it claims to last 8 hours, of those 6 hours you can only smell it close to the skin, and it barely projects for an hour. It is a nice scent, but the price does not justify the poor performance. In general, Baldessarini perfumes are pleasant, but their Achilles’ heel is performance; for example, Zara’s last and project more. The bottle is beautiful and the cap elegant, but beauty should lie in the juice, not the packaging. Scent: 8.5, Projection: 3.0, Longevity: 6-8 hours. Recommended only if you like the smell.

With this fragrance I learned to never buy without testing on the skin. I got it several years ago (maybe 2007 or 2008) after perceiving its very pleasant aroma on the sample strip. When I used it, about 10 minutes later I felt a suffocating smell and a sensation of dizziness. I tried several times, but the sensation was the same. I have no doubt it is a good product, but definitely it wasn’t for my particular skin chemistry, so soon I ended up gifting it away. Over time I have discovered that I have the same problem, although with lesser intensity with other aquatic fragrances, even Aqua di Gio. Surely it generates some allergic reaction to the component used for the ‘aquatic notes’; somewhere I read that an algae extract is used to reproduce the smell of the sea, although I couldn’t be sure. I think the lesson learned is to always go to the perfumerie, test on skin, take a walk, have a coffee… if after an hour you still feel comfortable, go for your new perfume.

It could have been something extraordinary, but it wasn’t. It came into my hands in 2011 as a gift from a friend. I was impressed by two things: the price and the quality. It is very marine, you can feel it despite everything, but also very synthetic, high-quality synthetic at 100%. That’s not so bad; the bad part is the price. Back then it cost 1400 pesos in Mexico, which was very expensive. It is a synthetic perfume with marked aquatic notes that develops well in warm and humid climates, for day and night, summer and autumn, formal or informal, for ages 25 to 50, not for teenagers. Longevity in Mexico City is adequate: 3 hours at its maximum trail potential and several days on clothes. Its performance is good up to 5-6 hours, then it disappears leaving a very generic scent. I believe it is now discontinued; I bought it online for 800 pesos and I still use it because the price dropped, but I will not buy it again because it is time to change it for something of better quality and more defined. I would recommend it only if it were in stores and the price dropped below 800 pesos. Its successors have not improved enough to justify their price.

I agree with Sir Prieth Callas: it is more ‘aquatic’ than ‘woody’. The scent is delicate and exquisite, but its trail and longevity are low. It falls into the same category as Nautica Voyager, and in terms of price-to-quality ratio, I came out losing out to that one. Still, any collector could have it on their shelf.

More than woody-spicy, I feel it as marine-aromatic, very similar to the Caribbean edition but much poorer in every aspect. From the start it smells aquatic and slightly sweet, like Caribbean, with an amber and patchouli sensation, but nothing else. Synthetic notes are noticeable, falling into the generic and cheap, both in price and scent. It lacked everything: sillage, longevity, and quality/originality. With low sillage and longevity, on my skin it lasted about 6 hours always close to the skin, too short in my opinion. For temperate to cool climates and intermediate ages. Undoubtedly, this is the base of the Caribbean Edition, but the latter is of much higher quality in every aspect.

My first aquatic perfume! I absolutely love it because it truly makes the difference between feeling like a man or a boy. It has very clear water notes and a woody base that gives it seriousness and balance. For years, it was my inseparable summer companion.