Italy / Elba
Island Wear

You can wear this island. Its locally made perfume, that is. We ran across the shop, Profuma dell' Elba, along the streets of Porto Azzuro (52 Via d' Alarcon). We sampled various perfumes, as shopkeeper Flavia explained their essences. Our favorite was the newest, "Acqua del Elba." An easy fragrance to wear. Not heavy. Not too sweet.

Made right on Elba, this homegrown business is growing in stylish proportions. A little of their new scent has reached foreign shores. A limited supply was quickly bought out in NY City & Las Vegas. With its really fresh aroma, we weren't surprised to hear it's sold in Italy as unisex. It's based on island ingredients, lemon & orange. Seaweed & musky wood are secondary to the mixture.

The small company makes "Acqua del Elba" in limited quantities. Ingredients are collected from the mountainsides as needed. If you drive along Elba's country roads, you might get a hint of the perfume from just smelling the Spring air. But according to Flavia, the seaweed sets the fragrance & ultimately makes it what it is.

This island enterprise has packaged a very salable product. It smells good. And the packaging looks good. "Acqua del Elba" is an islandstyle product worth bringing home with you. Something from a little Tuscan Isle, far away.