Tony SiricoPhoto: Getty Images
When we arrived at Ecko’s Prohibition-themed Casino Party at Cipriani’s last night for “All in for Tikva,” a charity benefiting Ukrainian orphans, Tony Sirico’s signature gray and white coif caught our eye. The actor who played Paulie Walnuts in The Sopranos sported a Rat Pack–esque suit while holding court at a craps table winning big. It seemed every five minutes a different woman would politely interrupt Sirico and ask for a picture. What is it about this man? our female selves wondered. So we approached to find out and were instantly overwhelmed by the smell of a cologne we couldn’t identify. And you know what it was? Well, just like Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, and Sarah Jessica Parker have their own fragrances, so does Sirico.
He told us it’s called Paolo per Uomo, and was inspired by his Sopranos character (get it? Paulo is Italian for Paulie?). He proudly handed us a flyer with the fragrance’s tagline printed in gold block letters at the top that read, “Make it known you mean business.” It hasn’t officially launched yet so it’s not in stores, but Sirico said Macy’s already has their eye on it. “It’s delicious,” Sirico said emphatically. “This is the real Tony. I’m well groomed. I smell well. And that’s who I am. I’m a ladies’ man. And the ladies love the smell.” He continued, “The bottle is blue, and it’s got a slash of gray like my hair.” While he didn’t design the bottle himself, he did approve the smell after an arduous trial-and-error process. “I got a bottle from them about fifteen times. It took about a year. One day they sent something to my home and bada bing! That did it. Magic … It has a touch of cognac, which I love.” So that’s how the celebrities make fragrances. —Alisa Gould-Simon
