#FragranceDupes A Clone in Designer Clothing

On the left is an Acqua di Gio Profondo, created by Alberto Morillas. On the right, a Profondo made by somebody else. Profondo released in 2020 and Chrome Extreme released... slightly later in 2020. It is a conspicuous departure from the normal Chrome formula.

After years of experience with these two I can summarize the difference in these two aquatics as "depth." Morillas had a strong vision when he created Profondo. The potent citrus quickly gives way to a rich herbal and mineral fragrance. There is a sharp, crisp smell in the interaction of rosemary and cypress. The musk and lavender gives this a lift that prevents the perfume from becoming too dense (Profondo Parfum) and syrupy. The mineral note is partially Aquazone/Calone, but I've always identified the smell as magnesium sulfate. It is balanced, walking the line between an aquatic amber and a citrus aromatic.

And Chrome Extreme does not. Extreme is a more direct path to the scent. There are noticeably fewer ingredients at play. The fresh lavender and rosemary is accomplished with juniper. The bergamot and mandarin is represented with a potent green mandarin. The most apparent difference is the almost-choking volume of cashmeran musk to supplant the white musk of Profondo. It certainly gives it a boost to projection but at the cost of nuance. The gestalt of Extreme still gets remarkably close to Profondo, to the extent that layering both creates variations instead of contrasts in the smell. It's close enough that people argue over which one they enjoy more. It also deletes calone, making this wearable for people that register the compound as dried egg.

Despite these similarities I have never considered these bottles to be redundant. They almost belong together. Layering them covers up a few of the inadequacies they have. Chrome Extreme came in at half the cost of Profondo. As an additional bonus to having fewer ingredients, Chrome Extreme also is not going to suffer from the eventual reformulation aimed at Profondo. L'Oreal is now responsible for both brands. It has been very difficult to modify the original Morillas in a significant way. Profondo Lights added a few things, Parfum deleted a few. I don't think either change pulled off Profondo as well as the Azzaro.

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