Escale à Portofino – citrusy and aromatic and retro-chic

Photo: perfumeniche

This is about the time of year I got the itch to travel. When I check online for flights to Paris, Venice, London, Rome, Madrid – anywhere – daily. I look up restaurants, jazz clubs, and spas in cities, towns and resorts all over Europe. I hunt for hotel deals in places I’ve been to and places I haven’t. I check the weather everywhere.

Somehow, during all this travel trawling, Portofino, that gem of a resort town on the Amalfi Coast, comes up, and so does Escale à Portofino, that fresh, citrusy summer scent for women from Dior. Coincidence or omen? It doesn’t matter; it’s a ticket for a bit of armchair travel. 

Escale à Portofino is one of Les Escales de Dior, the fragrance collection based on Dior’s Couture Cruise Collection. Inspired by the idea of casual cruise travel, François Demachy, Dior’s then in-house perfumer, created a series of fragrances based on specific ports of call or ‘escales’. Launched in 2008, Escale à Portofino was the first fragrance in the series. This edition is still my favourite and the one I’m writing about here.

It opens with a blast of nose-tingling bergamot that’s crisp, refreshing and green. It’s coupled with a note of fresh, green petitgrain. The petitgrain has a woody undertone that adds another dimension to the opening. Citron – that gnarly green-skinned Italian citrus fruit that people mistake for lemon but which is far more fragrant and much less sharp. It rounds out the top notes. Together, these citrus notes create a juicy citrus punch that’s sunny, bright and elegant. As the citrus settles, the floral aspect of petitgrain leads to a note of delicate orange blossom that’s floral, fresh and a little sweet. It adds depth and fullness, which is the perfect counterpoint to the citrus. A note of almond is bitter and creamy and adds to the Italian vibe of the fragrance. As it progresses, juniper shows up. It’s piney, crisp and green and gives Escale à Portofino a little gin and tonic kick. It all sits on a base of fresh, woody, piney-tinged Italian cypress fragrance and rich, warm cedar. A note of fresh, herbaceous galbanum keeps the botanical feeling at the base, as a note of slightly spicy caraway adds warmth. Musk, warm, soft and sensual, completes the fragrance.

The drydown is aromatic and smooth with a retro-chic that gives it more presence than most summer fragrances but still stays light and summery.

I’ve never been on a cruise, but when  I wear Escale à Portofino, I see myself disembarking from a cruise ship docked at Portofino. It’s a hot, sunny summer day, and the skirt of my summer dress billows in the sea breeze. In strappy sandals and with a straw hat, bag and Jackie O sunglasses, I walk up the steep, narrow streets of Portofino, lined with shops and cafes. The citrus-scented air is fresh and invigorating. I visit Santa Maria Assunta and marvel at the dome made of majolica tiles. Wandering through the back streets, I come upon a bar with a small terrace surrounded by lemon and Cyprus trees. It's time for a cocktail. I linger over a gin and tonic, taking in the view of the town, the coast and the sea. As the brightness starts to fade, I head back to the ship.

To me, Escale à Portofino is the essence of summer on the Amalfi Coast.

Check out Escale à Portofino in our Shop.