Acqua Di Parma is building up momentum, and don’t we know it! The Italian maestro, long known for delivering luxurious scents that take you right back to every sensory aspect of Italy (Italian rose gardens? Check! Christmas in Tuscany? Light this candle!) are having their moment in the sun, and are infusing my bathroom with a touch of luxury and a splash of Italian va-va-voom. The brand’s love for Italy, the Mediterranean, it’s people and it’s natural riches is apparent in all they do, and truely is the core of what they are all about.

Hot off the press is their renewed Italian Resort body and skincare collection, inspired by the luscious Mediterranean vegetation. Silky smooth textures, enclosed in extra-pure glass bottles, where the deep blue shades and bright transparencies recall the colours and reflections of the sea. Sounds too good to be true? Let’s put it to the test, shall we? Avanti!

The latest newcomer in my morning routine is the Acqua Di Parma Italian Resort Revitalising Face Serum*, promising to be a flash of energy and radiance, with “age-defying and deep skin revitalisation benefits”. Truth be told, the age-defying and revitalisation bit sounds like what the doctor ordered, I sometimes tend to forget that I am not in my twenties anymore, and my skin is starting to show for it. Kids and a full time job aren’t exactly helping either, so shock horror, I’m discovering fine lines and shadows in my face that certainly weren’t there a year ago.

Star ingredient is the double-concentration Mediterranean Re-Activating Complex, a double jolt of antioxidant, energising and powerfully soothing properties that you can just feel sinking into the epidermis.  Derived from the Sicilian Maritime Pine, this concentrate taps from the tree’s bark and it’s wonderous capability to restore and heal itself when damaged or ageing, and will boost your epidermis back into life . ADP cleverly combines this pine bark extract with the anti-ageing properties of the Mediterranean Maquis, that will restructure and smooth out your skin. Fine lines be gone, plump, lush, even and radiant skin be mine!

Silky smooth to the touch, Acqua Di Parma Italian Resort Revitalising Face Serum* has this somewhat refreshing effect when applying it, which makes it a delight to use it every morning. Gently zapping away whatever traces of sleep and tiredness might have remained after that first morning coffee or tea, the consistency of the serum is neither too water-y nor too silicon-based gel-like, and easily permeates the skin. I’ve been testing it faithfully for a month now, and while I cannot vouch for it’s replumping and redensifying effects yet (maybe my skin isn’t in such a bad shape yet where it is needed? Fingers crossed!), I can see a visible improvement to my skin’s sensitivity, endurance and strenght levels. Somehow in this last month, the constant redness subsides and became rare and easy to fix, my skin stopped reacting so quickly to outside and emotional triggers, the coarseness faded and it just seems to bounce back way quicker. And the scent, oh the scent! Transporting me back to the Italian Riviery with faint hints of citrus and pine, I just close my eyes when I apply it, and instantly I imagine waking up in an Italian villa in the Roman countryside, opening up the terrace doors and looking out over the rolling hills, all the way to where the sea hits the shore. Acqua Di Parma, per favore, take me there!

Curious about the rest of the collection or want to see how the Acqua Di Parma Resort Collection works for a combined-skin gal or a male grooming master, head on over to Katia or Phil to check out their reviews!

Acqua Di Parma Italian Resort Revitalising Face Serum – €101.30 / £73