Salvatore Ferragamo- Attimo Pour Homme

The first few minutes of wearing Salvatore Ferragamo Attimo Pour Homme are so magnificently ridiculous that I almost laughed. It has that citrusy sharp accord that has become a trademark of department store's masculine fragrances, and then turns into an equally familiar and annoying typical "cologne" with a designer name slapped on it. It's just a logo on a modern-looking bottle filled with juice that smells like hundreds of similar others and is as nonthreatening as they come.

It gets better, though not to the level of a nice pair of Salvatore Ferragamo shoes. We're not that lucky.

Behind the synthetic citrus, synthetic pepper and synthetic herbs there is a pretty nice spicy heart. Cardamom and saffron with an incense vibe are always welcome in my book, and not just on a man's skin. If  Salvatore Ferragamo's Attimo was truly composed to showcase this accord (preferably with better ingredients) I would have added it to my wardrobe in an instant. It's such a waste that instead of taking this stylish and beautiful idea and making Attimo a perfume worthy of our attention, the powers-that-be wanted to first drown it in generic citrus and then allowed it to fade into a watery nothing. They call it vetiver and white musk, but it's just that synthetic woody musky whatever that plagues designer perfumes nowadays (the husband doesn't smell a thing once the sharpness fades).

Notes: marjoram, cardamom, mandarin, saffron, pimento, patchouli, vetiver, labdanum and white musk.

Salvatore Ferragamo- Attimo Pour Homme ($79, 3.4 oz EDT) is available at  Ferragamo boutiques and most department stores, soon it will probably make an appearance at the discounters, where it belongs.

Attimo Pour Homme ad starring actor Alessandro Gassman from a pres release.