Cool Water Davidoff 1988 Eau de Toilette

Oh, what a beautiful classic has found its way to me?

This fragrance was part of my older brother's sparse collection back then, shortly after its release, which I shamelessly made my own whenever he was away for a few days... hehe!

COOL WATER was, like many fragrances of the era, a milestone. Nothing I had known up to that point smelled so fresh and wonderfully alive. Fragrance wanderers, remember: we came from the Powerhouse era! In Douglas, there were things like Azzaro, Antaeus, Lagerfeld, Kouros, and other muscle-bound scents with mustaches and blow-dried waves. The lightness of life was not really represented, at least for the very young males.

Thus, CW opened a new direction in fragrance fashion with its aquatic freshness (in the perception of the general public), which was soon more or less expanded by other lively and summery scents. Therefore, for me, it is one of the pioneering fragrances and has also - cleverly - sustainably defined the term aquatic.

The current COOL WATER, which is now unexpectedly in my possession, is both green and lavender-soft and smells more like cats than peppermint. A hint of jasmine plays along, followed by a cautious rose geranium and a light musk note.
The amazing thing is that, as @Axiomatic mentioned, it actually smells like a swimming pool in the further course - more precisely, like a damp swim cap after a visit to the pool. I hadn't really thought of that before.

How great the current differences to the original are, I can no longer say after so many years; I briefly tested the Caline recommended by my friend @Yatagan and would say: just as beautiful. However, during the paper test, no difference was noticeable, which will certainly look different during a thorough and directly comparative skin test.

I wouldn't have bought COOL WATER for myself now, but I gladly accepted it as a gift and am surprised by the joy it brings me. And to be honest, it comes in very handy for me in this sense!
The days are getting longer, the new year 2026 promises much good, and the motivation and thus energy level is steadily rising. Spring will come again this year - I swear, bro - and COOL WATER cheerfully supports the anticipation!

And one more thing stands out to me: the feedback on this fragrance is remarkably large and positive, even unsolicited - what more can you wish for for 20€? Take this, niche junkies! :D