Aqua Sextius Jul et Mad 2014

Some of you may already know me, I am Otto. And I like perfume. In how many comments have I already read that WC stone is used as a comparison to describe a certain kind of freshness? The kind from Klostein, of course. I wrote WC stone in the title because Klostein sounds a bit.......well, you know what I mean. But I say Klostein because where I come from, we also say Klo. But I didn’t want to talk about that now.

So who has something against Klostein? It hangs in all of our bathrooms, and not because it stinks. No, because it smells fresh, like the sea with its salty air or like a fir forest. Man, I’m getting totally sidetracked again. I actually wanted to talk about Aqua Sextius. That means in Latin, oh nonsense, it is Latin and means Aix-en-Provence, which I believe is on the
French Tuscan coast. And that’s exactly the kind of scent I bought, because Tom of Finland wasn’t for me. Now for the summer, I wanted something fresh. But before I experience another disappointment, I read quite a few comments on Parfumo.de about fresh scents. That’s where I got the Klostein reference from. Yes, and besides, I tested quite a few fragrances, Gerlaeng, Diptyque, Davidoff, and I can’t remember the others. But I told myself, Otto, even though they all smell wonderfully fresh, Aqua Sextius is the one you like best. When I smell it, I always think I’m smelling Eau de Guerlain, Philosykos, and Cool Water at the same time, honestly.

Already when spraying, a wonderful Guerlinade hits your nostrils. Well, maybe not quite as sophisticated as the real Guerlinade, but you can still smell a whole basket full of citrus notes. However, they don’t stay alone for long, because after a few minutes, this spicy-aquatic freshness creeps in, which makes you think of Klostein. But not one from the discount bin. No, a very fine one that is present throughout almost the entire scent development. At no time does it push itself to the forefront, but rather supports the respective actors.

Towards the heart note, the citrus fruits are replaced by eucalyptus and mint. This is the point where some may turn away; it’s a concentrated freshness. Just like Vigorsol chewing gum. But you only need to smell attentively and you’ll notice that the eucalyptus and mint also lie on this bed of aquatic freshness, just like the citrus fruits did before. This all sounds very spicy now, but it isn’t. Because the whole spice mixture is softened by the fig. I know that from Philosykos, where it also smells fresh and woody and, towards the end, warm and earthy.

And the beautiful thing is, Aqua Sextius hardly decreases in its intensity over hours, honestly. Just that the scent transforms. I’ll just say it goes from citrus aquatic to minty aquatic. So now comes the kicker.

In the base, the main actors can no longer stand on their own. They all support each other. Now I can’t recognize anything individually anymore; everything merges. My nose no longer filters, it just enjoys a sensation of fresh-spicy warmth. But before it gets too romantic, back to the numbers.

So Aqua Sextius isn’t cheap. I don’t remember exactly how much I paid, but once again, I had to swallow at the checkout. I had to leave far more than a hundred bucks; with that, I could have gotten a whole year’s supply of Pitralon at Woolworth. But I gladly spent it, honestly. Because in summer, I want to smell fresh. And for as long as I want to feel fresh - namely all day or almost. 2 sprays of Aqua Sextius before work and throughout the day, my nose occasionally says Ahh, because it gets such a light fresh caress.

And let’s not make any dumb jokes about Aqua SEXtius. That’s worse than saying Klostein.