Colonia Pura is the clear reading François Demachy gave in 2017 of the 1916 Colonia. Bergamot, orange and petitgrain open wide, sambac jasmine and narcissus hold a clean heart lifted by coriander, and a base of cedar, patchouli and musk closes without weighing it down. A daytime cologne, claimed as simple.
A review signed states the cologne is well made but safe, and finds in it the white musks and cedar that Demachy would reuse elsewhere.
Olfastory’s review
The Scented Devil
Varanis Ridari places Colonia Pura on the side of functional colognes rather than striking creations: a smooth white musk, a discreet cedar, a construction he finds again in the 2023 revision of Dior Homme Cologne, signed by the same perfumer. He does grant it, however, an opening closer to the heritage of Italian colognes, and settles on a neutral verdict: correctly made, without surprise.