Sail Acqua di Portofino

I have used various maritime means of transport, from inflatable paddle boats to lightning-fast hydrofoils, as well as from the simple chugging Rhine ferry to the luxurious Nile cruiser, but I have not yet sailed. Perhaps this could also be a reason why I, as a landlubber, can make very little of Sail by Acqua di Portofino.

Even before the lines are properly cast off and the anchor is lifted, a synthetic-sounding jumble of eucalyptus and aquatic notes sharply hits my nose. One might think that the guys from Acqua di Portofino wanted to olfactorily recreate the salty spray of the roaring sea, but I rather think of cleaning agents for scrubbing the boat planks.

A few waves later, the scent already fades away, and the aggressive Sail turns into a rather harmless spicy-floral sailing experience. You can hardly set the sails before it flattens out again - although the white thyme seems to be the most interesting and somewhat authentic of all the notes. In any case, the body-close, rather sweet drydown is the most pleasant, albeit uninspired phase.

No, Sail is not a truly attractive scent, but rather a small, salty-stinging challenge. At least it is not yet another iteration of Cool Water, but that is about all the creativity one could attribute to it. I briefly dealt with the allegedly similarly smelling Acqua di Sale by Profumum Roma some time ago, but I wouldn't necessarily speak of parallels.

The fragrance is offered as an Eau de Toilette Intense, but only the exaggerated opening is intense. If the perfumers had adhered more to the course towards naturalness, wearability, and also longevity, Sail might have made the turn or rounded the cliff.