It’s not unheard of for a flanker to outsell the original pillar fragrance, and I have a feeling that’s the case with Bvlgari’s Omnia. Bvlgari did not include Omnia in their Bvlgari Charms collection (adorable 25 ml travel bottles of most of Bvlgari’s feminine line; see image below far right), although Omnia Green Jade, Omnia Améthyste and Omnia Crystalline all made the cut. The advertising for the latest in the series, Omnia Coral, also includes nods to Omnia Améthyste and Omnia Crystalline, so I’m going to assume those two are the biggest sellers of the bunch, and that Green Jade is perhaps next
I’d also guess that the original Omnia is the perfumista favorite.1 It’s certainly mine, although I do like Crystalline as well. Green Jade and Améthyste are pleasant enough but I can live without them, and the same is true of the new Coral. Coral is the first fruity floral in the group, and the first fruity floral for Bvlgari. They’re late to the category, of course. By way of apology, perhaps, perfumer Alberto Morillas (he did all of the Omnia series, including the original) noted that it was fruity, “but in a very Bvlgari way”.2
The opening is sweet and tart nonspecific “red fruits” (listed notes include bergamot, goji berry, hibiscus, water lily, pomegranate, cedar and musk); it’s cheerful but somewhat warmer and fuller than the usual fruity floral sort of thing, and the dry down — nonspecific flowers that reasonably call up the coral coloring and the tropical inspiration— is likewise warm, and not overly fruity (or sweet) at all. It’s not a heavy fragrance, but it’s fuller-bodied, and less clean and pale, than the prior Omnia flankers. If I was classifying Omnia Coral, I would have pegged it as a floral and not a fruity floral at all,3 and it isn’t as summer-y as the advertising might suggest. I would think it would wear nicely in nearly any weather.
Omnia Coral is likable and pleasant; if you’d like something fruity, but not too fruity or sweet or young, it is very much worth a try. It doesn’t smell like anything else in particular, but nor did I find it especially memorable, and in that sense, it’s a good fit with the rest of the Omnia flankers: not groundbreaking, but quite nicely done and perfectly wearable. I know many of you will see that as damning with faint praise, but I will say that it’s a far sight better than the average, no? Bvlgari, in general, doesn’t do stupid fragrances, and that’s more than you can say for many brands.4
Bvlgari Omnia Coral range
Bvlgari Omnia Coral is available in 25, 40 and 65 ml Eau de Toilette and in matching bath & body products.
1. Although I should point out here that many people are anosmic to the musk(s) used in Omnia and can’t smell it at all. I should also mention that I don’t even know if Omnia is still in production. If it’s been axed, don’t even tell me.
2. quote via Women’s Wear Daily, 2/23/2012. And if you missed it, see the video I posted recently in which Alberto Morillas talks about fruity fragrances, and how they all smell the same.
3. And of course, brand classifications don’t always end up matching Michael Edwards’ classifications. There really isn’t any such thing as an “official” classification, but in general I always assume Michael Edwards is right. You can read more about fragrance family classifications here.
4. And Bvlgari did make brief forays into “interesting” with Omnia and Bvlgari Black, and they created a whole genre with Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert — if au Thé Vert no longer seems interesting, it’s only because it’s been so widely copied. If Bvlgari has axed Omnia, Black and au Thé Vert, I seriously don’t want to know about it.
