Aqua

Aqua Vitae Forte 2015

Aqua Vitae Forte by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
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7.6 / 10 444 Ratings
A popular perfume by Maison Francis Kurkdjian for women and men, released in 2015. The scent is floral-fresh. It is being marketed by LVMH.
Pronunciation
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Main accords

Floral
Fresh
Citrus
Creamy
Sweet

Fragrance Notes

Sicilian mandarin orangeSicilian mandarin orange Orange blossomOrange blossom Calabrian lemonCalabrian lemon Ylang-ylangYlang-ylang Calabrian bergamotCalabrian bergamot Ceylonese cinnamonCeylonese cinnamon SandalwoodSandalwood Siam benzoinSiam benzoin Gaiac woodGaiac wood Guatemala cardamomGuatemala cardamom Pink pepperPink pepper

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
7.6444 Ratings
Longevity
7.8392 Ratings
Sillage
7.1396 Ratings
Bottle
8.3367 Ratings
Value for money
6.4148 Ratings
Submitted by Michael, last update on 07/08/2025.
Interesting Facts
The fragrance is part of the "Aqua" collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Aqua Vitae Cologne Forte by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
Aqua Vitae Cologne Forte
Aqua Vitae by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
Aqua Vitae
Acqua del Mundo by The Dua Brand / Dua Fragrances
Acqua del Mundo
Cheap and Chic - So Real by Moschino
Cheap and Chic - So Real
Torino23 by Xerjoff
Torino23
Aqua Universalis Forte by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
Aqua Universalis Forte

Reviews

12 in-depth fragrance descriptions
4
Pricing
7
Bottle
6
Sillage
10
Longevity
6
Scent
Dryasiulia

55 Reviews
Dryasiulia
Dryasiulia
1  
I mean, it's okay I guess?
This is a solid "ok". There's a strong high-end hairspray from the late nineties vibe. The orange flower is similar to the one I remember from his Le Parfum's but less sweet and with a more interesting spicy/aromatic base.

It's nice, I don't think I would ever have a strong desire to wear it again. I would buy it as a scented hand soap.
0 Comments
Pepdal

238 Reviews
Pepdal
Pepdal
0  
Forte and Vitae
In this video i review and compare both Aqua Vitae and its flanker, Aqua Vitae Forte. So far I haven't had a lot of luck with Maison Francis Kurkdjian fresher scents, I wonder if my luck is about to change.
0 Comments
8
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
9.5
Scent
Basti87

502 Reviews
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Basti87
Basti87
Top Review 21  
Beautiful summer tangerine-flower-mix
Another comment on a fragrance from MFK's great Aqua range. I have all tested the Aqua fragrances from MFK except Aqua Celestia Forte and I liked all of them. All of them have a beautiful, well-groomed touch and scatter a good mood on warm days with style and elegance. The original Aqua Vitae was the least I liked. I find him very insignificant, pleading and yet not bad. But this Forte is all the more beautiful. This one has that certain something missing from the Vitae. If you want a more subtle and classic fragrance, you should try the Original Vitae.
The originals of the MFK Aquas are rather simple and monotonous, which is not negative. For the Forte versions you pay a surcharge. They appear richer, more striking and more multi-faceted. I like both types of this series, depending on the mood.

In my opinion this Forte is a pure sun scent. In beautiful summer or spring weather it unfolds its beautiful vibes best. It is also very balanced and of high quality. That this is a high-priced fragrance can be guessed. It simply has more complexity than its original.
This fragrance is a multi-faceted citrus-fruity fragrance with many floral, spicy and slightly creamy notes. These properties are well balanced. Above all I must say about this fragrance: It smells of summer and good mood. This is due to summery mandarins and other citrus fruits, which make for a great refreshing and cheerful opening. In addition a mild stylish spice. Light cinnamon note is perceptible and fits super pure. The floral notes follow quickly, of course. Orange blossom and very bright summery ylang-ylang blossoms. Very pleasant but also strong with good sillage perceptible. Two extremely conspicuous notes, which are added to the Mandarine/Zitrik. Last but not least, there is soft, light wood in the base, which fades away sensuously and gently.
All in all a striking scent for warm to hot days, scattering the good mood and which also does justice to the price. Very unique. Especially suitable for the summer leisure time but also for many other occasions, because he really has style.
As with all Aquas of this brand, it drifts more into the feminine due to the floral notes, which is also the reason why I have not yet struck on one of these fragrances. I'm modern and not at all conservative, but I'm unsure whether I wouldn't rather smell these scents on a lady. Nevertheless: Unisex is absolutely justified, however one should urgently test extensively before a purchase. After all, it would be a pity if such an expensive fragrance would dust into the collection.
Performance is top. In the statements I read criticism as far as this is concerned, but I see it completely differently. He lasts many hours and that with good Sillage. Even when I test it on my arm, there's a lot that gets in my nose. Thumbs up for it, especially because it's a fresh scent.

All in all a great release, which I especially recommend to the ladies. But he could also stand for modern, well-groomed gentlemen. One thing is clear: this fragrance radiates summery good mood vibes.
2 Comments
6
Pricing
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
10
Longevity
9
Scent
Ischgelroi

224 Reviews
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Ischgelroi
Ischgelroi
Top Review 15  
If Aqua Vitae, then only the Forte
I and Maison Francis Kurkdijan is such a thing, most I do not like because of rose or saffron and the fresh just have no shelf life with me. Aqua Vitae Forte was together with Amyris Extrait a blind purchase, yes there some will rightly ask themselves gehts yet?!!! I have to admit that this was a risky purchase, but I knew I liked Amyris Homme and Aqua Vitae, if only they would last longer on me. Aqua Vitae was even surpassed by 4711 on me.

But now for Aqua Vitae Forte: I'm really excited about Aqua Vitae Forte, it really smells like its little brother Aqua Vitae and the best thing is that even the vanilla is dosed more gently and the great fresh notes come into their own better. I will write here also not so much about the fragrance, because I have already recorded my impressions of the fragrance itself in my review of Aqua Vitae and also Aqua Vitae Forte smells very similar but more delicate and better.

I definitely do not regret buying Aqua Vitae Forte. Aqua Vitae Forte is really a very nice summer fragrance with perfect durability and silage, it just fits everything here. The biggest drawback here is of course the price, but unfortunately Aqua Vitae Forte this is really worth it for me.

I can Aqua Vitae Forte circa 8-9 hours on my skin smell, which is really very very good for a fragrance of this category.

My recommendation is: if you want Aqua Vitae, then definitely buy the Forte. The normal Aqua Vitae is really underground in terms of durability.
3 Comments
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
8
Scent
DonJuanDeCat

670 Reviews
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DonJuanDeCat
DonJuanDeCat
Top Review 12  
First summer freshness with tea and lemons, then autumn sweetness with flowers
*sigh*
You know, I don't dare to say anymore that with a scent where I expect a tea note, I can hardly wait to test the scent. Yeah, I like tea. Yeah, I've got you bored with it by now. Yes, maybe some are even annoyed and are already rolling their eyes...
... but on the other hand ... I don't care about that, especially if the fragrance smells as great as this one, he he he :DD

Maison Francis Kurkdijan is often a nice fragrance label anyway, so I have higher expectations for certain fragrances. Of course, a fragrance doesn't always have to be great just because you like a brand, but luckily you don't get disappointed very often either, at least that's what I've been doing so far.

Anyway, this scent sounds fresh, and maybe it's the last days where you can try fresh scents before the weather finally gets cooler. Then,... then everyone will complain that summer is missing, and for sure those who still complained about the too hot weather because of the previous heat wave will complain the most :D

But I don't! Because I'm more looking forward to Halloween and later to Christmas :D And autumn in general, when the leaves of the trees become redder and look beautiful, the streets are illuminated in the evening and this creates a great atmosphere, the cat comes back home extremely dirty and wipes off his dirt everywhere, ... and ... I digress again, don't I? So back to the scent!

The fragrance:
The fragrance begins super refreshing but also bitter with lemons, black tea, cardamom (which doesn't even smell bad here!) and especially mandarins. Well, the mandarins are actually only quite intense and juicy tasty at the beginning, but are then quickly overtaken by the tea and the other fragrances bit by bit.
In the heart note, the fragrance gets a slightly spicy note (especially pink pepper, which also appears sweet), but still smells mainly bitter through the tea and also slightly citric, since now also the orange blossoms begin. Which keeps the fragrance a little fresh.
Also later I smell bitter tea notes, light spicy-sweet smells and some Neroli. Flowery notes I feel even less strong, the ylang-ylang for example I can't smell yet (but this changes in the base!).
Anyway, even a few hours after spraying, I smell mostly bitter, herbaceous, spicy scents with a nice pinch of flavoured black tea.
Soo, a little while later the Ylang-Ylang seems to really beat. This makes the fragrance really heavy flowery and almost overwhelmingly stuffy and sultry. But this isn't as bad as with some other scents, because once again a little bit later the ylang-ylang can be smelled strongly, but the scent gets softer and softer, so that it still smells nice for the most part, only that it doesn't have any tea or citric notes anymore. This later base is quite sweetish-floral and slightly woody. Only much later you can see some harsh notes again (but more in the background, but if you sniff exactly at the sprayed spot, you might smell a light tea/bergamot note again), but even then the end of the fragrance remains mostly flowery, but also soft.

The Sillage and the shelf life:
The vibe's okay. After a lively start, the Sillage initially goes down a bit, but then becomes slightly more intense again as the spicier and tart scents build up. In the base, the fragrance finally reaches a quite nice Sillage and also decays rather slowly, so that one already has a lot of the fragrance.
Accordingly, the durability is also very good with over twelve hours, and I think there is even something more in it.

The bottle:
The rectangular bottle is of very high quality, has bevelled edges and goes up to the neck at an angle at the top. The lid looks gilded and has a rectangular upper part and a cylindrical lower part. The label on the front is square and has a golden edge, so it goes well with the rest of the bottle. On the back you can see the logo of the brand. A high quality and solid looking bottle!

Soo!
Well, what can I say? Even though I liked the scent, especially at the beginning because of the tea notes, unfortunately it didn't become anything for me. Because, as you may know, I don't like Ylang-Ylang or generally sultry flowery scents so much, which radiate strongly here especially in the base. Although the fragrance later becomes gentler and less overwhelming and then has some bitter notes again, and it also smells quite good, but these floral-sweet notes also take the fragrance in my opinion its unisex status, because the basis for me extremely feminine fragrance, which is also the real reason why this fragrance is nothing for me.

The fragrance is somehow an all-rounder. The beginning is as mentioned fresh summery, but because of the base, which is rather autumnal again, I wouldn't use the scent on very hot days. Therefore I recommend spring and late summer/autumn most of all. By the way, you can use the scent as an evening scent or a night scent, even if it shouldn't smell like that at first!

Yes, a pity in itself, but you ladies could like the scent well and would be worth a test! Unless you don't like the beginning because you don't like tea... but then you would have to be abandoned by all good spirits not to like the great scent of tea, argh, how can you? DD
0 Comments
More reviews

Statements

4 short views on the fragrance
RisingChaosRisingChaos 3 years ago
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
8
Scent
Significantly fuller, more aromatic version of the original, which itself smells like a lemon meringue with citrus + white florals accents.
0 Comments
MiniGBICMiniGBIC 4 years ago
10
Bottle
8
Longevity
9
Scent
In the beginning refreshing blend of citrus & spices
continued with super nice creamy drydown
35 ml version would be very appreciated :)
0 Comments
BoBoChampBoBoChamp 5 years ago
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
8
Scent
After a bright spicy-citric opening, this pronounced, yet fresh creamy-floral Spring fragrance settles to a gentle creamy-woody base.
0 Comments
JoaoMartinsJoaoMartins 7 years ago
10
Bottle
7
Sillage
9
Longevity
9.5
Scent
For me, this MFK is one of the best fresh/citrus perfumes ever created!
0 Comments

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