So today I had the pleasure of using the first of my two items from Chatillion Lux. Colonia Balsamica is the Spring 2016 limited edition scent, and I purchased it in the toner variety.
The scent was excellent. To me Colonia Balsamica is clearly a spring/summer fragrance, so I will prefer using it on these hot days. At the top, I get strong and nearly astringent citruses. While I enjoy this blast of citrus, my favorite part of this scent is the herbaceous elements that pop up after the first 30 seconds. I don't get a distinct clear clary sage or lavender, but it smells like a mix of these two and some florals. The slightly heavier base is a nice vetiver/amber. Someone mentioned that this was inspired by Colonia Assoluta. Whether or not that's true, I don't get much of Assoluta in this fragrance. To me Assoluta is much heavier on the florals, especially ylang. In any case, I really enjoy Colonia Balsamica. I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity and quality of this fragrance, and I'm curious to try the other ones from the brand.
Now, the performance. The scent was lovely, but it was the performance that blew me away. Unfortunately I suffer from extremely sensitive skin that is prone to irritation, swelling, and redness. Consequently it is hard for me to use many alcohol splashes comfortably as they tend to irritate my skin. This one does not. And not only does it not irritate my skin, but it feels like a mix between a splash and a hydrating balm. While retaining all of the moisturizing, healing, and treating properties of a balm, Chatillon Lux's toner manages to somehow avoid being too viscous, and retains the refreshing feel of a splash. The alcohol content is very low compared to other splash products, so I imagine that's why this toner is so comfortable. I was also pleased to see aloe high on the ingredients list, along with various plant extracts that are anti-redness and anti-irritation.
Overall, if I were to assign a rating to this product, I could give it no less than 10/10. This sits proudly alongside Derby City Chop Shop Small Batch Aftershave as one of my two favorite aftershave products of all time. Between the two, this is definitely more moisturizing, though both have great healing properties.
Tomorrow I'll be trying the lavender scent in the aftershave format, which I believe has higher alcohol. I'm curious to see if I can still use this product comfortably despite the increased alcohol content.
hawns,
Freddy,
Marko and
4 others like this post