58
Top Review
Less is More
When Cool Water Eau de Toilette hit the market in 1988, we were inundated with images of almost naked, tanned, muscular men, leaping from cliffs in cinema ads, splashing into foaming turquoise waves, cutting through bright blue waters, and rising like Aquaman from the cool depths, sparkling water droplets flying everywhere...
That was new and hit like a belly flop (sorry, I couldn't resist).
Olfactorily socialized by a grandmother who loved exclusive floral and leather scents and a mother who at the time mainly wore the popular heavy orientals (but also had a few classic green scents in her cabinet) and who both had no qualms about wearing men's fragrances, I HAD to test the scent...
And of course, I was bitterly disappointed.
It smelled primarily very artificial-chemical (today one would say "synthetic") and somehow piercing.
And it especially did not smell like the sea.
With that, the topic of aquatics was off the table for a very long time for me.
And then came Parfumo... :-)
...
As my collection gradually took shape over the years on Parfumo and increasingly covered my olfactory desires, it became clear to me that the topic of aquatics could not be over. So I started testing. Only:
How does "sea" smell to me?
And do I want to smell like that?
It quickly became clear that I wasn't thinking about sandy beaches and sunscreen, nor cocktails at the beach bar, definitely not fruit salad. The sea does not smell like "Batida de Coco" commercials. There isn't even any salt in that.
Sea salt is, of course, a scent note that must be included in the "smell of the sea"! But how do you simulate this scent note when pure salt has no smell?
That screams for algae...
Algae were the toughest test for me. Not that I wouldn't know this smell, having encountered it in several oceans, I have traveled a bit after all. Particularly unpleasant are washed-up algae with rotten fish, whether at Lake Constance or in Tahiti, in the harbor of Bergen or on a Cycladic island, whether at Malibu Beach or in the swimming pool of *neverhappensanywhere*... oops, that was something else that washed up...
The sea definitely does not smell like a swimming pool, I can say that as a former competitive swimmer who has encountered quite a few swimming pools, including the accompanying scents of competitions. Latex, tight-fitting plastic swim caps, athlete's foot spray, and citrus cleaners don't need to be part of it either; the smell of chlorine is bad enough. The smell of a swimming pool combined with a cocktail bar and Batida is right on the edge of gagging. Or over it.
Better to return to the world oceans and the Mediterranean coasts! Yes, I do like herbs. Very much, in fact. Even in perfume! And also the scent of wonderful trees...
With something like "Pine Forest on the Coast of Tuscany" or "Corsican Maquis on the Rocky Coast" or "Cedar Trees near Taormina," you’ve got me; images of beautiful landscapes unfold before me.
But not of the sea.
It’s similar with flowers. No matter how much they like to spread their scent messages on the wings of a supposed "sea breeze," they remain flowers and just don’t grow in the sea. OK, I’d rather not come back to the algae now... :-)
The idea of a sea breeze, however, is interesting to me. Sea breeze and especially spray and rocks - that brings us closer to the "sea" section in my little self-constructed scent library in my brain...
I bought Eau des Merveilles Bleue blind because I couldn't find a sample for over a year. And it was - maritime speaking - "bullseye."
Now there is a fixed place in my fragrance wardrobe (which really shouldn't get any bigger) for a so-called "aquatic." Eau des Merveilles Bleue almost perfectly hits what I imagine a sea scent to be - in my statement, I wrote "No sunscreen, no tropical fruit nonsense, no exotic floral notes - just sea, spray, and minerals - completely without algae muck. Perfect!" and the longer it stays in my repertoire, the more it grows on me; I am practically in love.
Right under my own nose, it appears almost inconspicuous - but in fact, it is one of the few scents that I have been positively commented on multiple times (which rarely happens to me); it seems to develop a very pleasant aura around you if I can trust the feedback. It lasts forever on textiles...
Anyone who wants the sea and needs more than Eau des Merveilles Bleue can optionally layer a drop of Caipi, Batida, algae, rotten fishing nets, chlorine, herbs, flowers, whatever; I am convinced it works great with this scent.
But less is more.
I think.
And that is what Eau des Merveilles Bleue can do.
That was new and hit like a belly flop (sorry, I couldn't resist).
Olfactorily socialized by a grandmother who loved exclusive floral and leather scents and a mother who at the time mainly wore the popular heavy orientals (but also had a few classic green scents in her cabinet) and who both had no qualms about wearing men's fragrances, I HAD to test the scent...
And of course, I was bitterly disappointed.
It smelled primarily very artificial-chemical (today one would say "synthetic") and somehow piercing.
And it especially did not smell like the sea.
With that, the topic of aquatics was off the table for a very long time for me.
And then came Parfumo... :-)
...
As my collection gradually took shape over the years on Parfumo and increasingly covered my olfactory desires, it became clear to me that the topic of aquatics could not be over. So I started testing. Only:
How does "sea" smell to me?
And do I want to smell like that?
It quickly became clear that I wasn't thinking about sandy beaches and sunscreen, nor cocktails at the beach bar, definitely not fruit salad. The sea does not smell like "Batida de Coco" commercials. There isn't even any salt in that.
Sea salt is, of course, a scent note that must be included in the "smell of the sea"! But how do you simulate this scent note when pure salt has no smell?
That screams for algae...
Algae were the toughest test for me. Not that I wouldn't know this smell, having encountered it in several oceans, I have traveled a bit after all. Particularly unpleasant are washed-up algae with rotten fish, whether at Lake Constance or in Tahiti, in the harbor of Bergen or on a Cycladic island, whether at Malibu Beach or in the swimming pool of *neverhappensanywhere*... oops, that was something else that washed up...
The sea definitely does not smell like a swimming pool, I can say that as a former competitive swimmer who has encountered quite a few swimming pools, including the accompanying scents of competitions. Latex, tight-fitting plastic swim caps, athlete's foot spray, and citrus cleaners don't need to be part of it either; the smell of chlorine is bad enough. The smell of a swimming pool combined with a cocktail bar and Batida is right on the edge of gagging. Or over it.
Better to return to the world oceans and the Mediterranean coasts! Yes, I do like herbs. Very much, in fact. Even in perfume! And also the scent of wonderful trees...
With something like "Pine Forest on the Coast of Tuscany" or "Corsican Maquis on the Rocky Coast" or "Cedar Trees near Taormina," you’ve got me; images of beautiful landscapes unfold before me.
But not of the sea.
It’s similar with flowers. No matter how much they like to spread their scent messages on the wings of a supposed "sea breeze," they remain flowers and just don’t grow in the sea. OK, I’d rather not come back to the algae now... :-)
The idea of a sea breeze, however, is interesting to me. Sea breeze and especially spray and rocks - that brings us closer to the "sea" section in my little self-constructed scent library in my brain...
I bought Eau des Merveilles Bleue blind because I couldn't find a sample for over a year. And it was - maritime speaking - "bullseye."
Now there is a fixed place in my fragrance wardrobe (which really shouldn't get any bigger) for a so-called "aquatic." Eau des Merveilles Bleue almost perfectly hits what I imagine a sea scent to be - in my statement, I wrote "No sunscreen, no tropical fruit nonsense, no exotic floral notes - just sea, spray, and minerals - completely without algae muck. Perfect!" and the longer it stays in my repertoire, the more it grows on me; I am practically in love.
Right under my own nose, it appears almost inconspicuous - but in fact, it is one of the few scents that I have been positively commented on multiple times (which rarely happens to me); it seems to develop a very pleasant aura around you if I can trust the feedback. It lasts forever on textiles...
Anyone who wants the sea and needs more than Eau des Merveilles Bleue can optionally layer a drop of Caipi, Batida, algae, rotten fishing nets, chlorine, herbs, flowers, whatever; I am convinced it works great with this scent.
But less is more.
I think.
And that is what Eau des Merveilles Bleue can do.
Translated · Show original
9 Comments
In my opinion, the scent is actually quite wearable for both men and women.
Thanks for the positive feedback!