Ocean Royale James Bond 007 2013 Eau de Toilette

The James Bond 007 fragrance machine seems to be running smoothly, as otherwise, how can one explain that this obscure brand keeps churning out one scent after another? It's hard to keep up with the writing and nose-wrinkling. While the fourth fragrance with the dismal name "Quantum" is being squeezed onto the market, this seemingly royal blue offshoot must definitely be put to the test.

At the same time, I seriously wonder why I voluntarily put myself through this. There are so many other wonderful fragrances waiting to ignite a grand olfactory experience for me... However, I feel compelled to dig deeper into a brand under the wing of P&G, which so thoroughly tarnishes the holy spirit of James Bond 007 olfactorily. No, I had no high expectations, and I was accordingly not disappointed. Ocean Royale is simply a cheap wannabe summer scent, showing that the budget went into purchasing the licensing rights rather than into the artisanal skills of a perfumer, let alone any quality ingredients.

The stuff starts off relatively fresh with aquatic fruity hints, as if it wanted to compete with Cool Water and Nightflight at first, only to take a turn towards a rubbery monotony. Here and there, you can make out some pleasant notes, but then everything falls apart into a mushy mess that even the chief lab technicians at LR could have been responsible for.

The pyramid is a complete joke, and there's nothing to laugh about. What awaits you here are the cheapest synthetic contents that can hardly withstand an entire James Bond film, including the credits. The drydown is somewhat okay, but it can't save the overall impression. While it is a tad more fitting in terms of the base theme than the predecessor fragrance, it remains uninspired and too weak. This has nothing to do with 007 and is at best on the level of "Clever & Smart."

It should be almost self-evident that the discerning perfume enthusiast will steer clear of this, but I would rather advise all undecided fragrance novices to at least look for a better and more tasteful alternative in drugstores. Do not support this nonsense; otherwise, the sellout of our esteemed agent under the James Bond series will never end.