Aqua

Aqua Media Cologne Forte 2023

Aqua Media Cologne Forte by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
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7.8 / 10 512 Ratings
A popular perfume by Maison Francis Kurkdjian for women and men, released in 2023. The scent is fresh-green. It is being marketed by LVMH.
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Main accords

Fresh
Green
Citrus
Aquatic
Fruity

Fragrance Notes

Calabrian bergamotCalabrian bergamot FennelFennel MatchaMatcha VervainVervain MuskMusk HedioneHedione

Perfumer

Videos
Ratings
Scent
7.8512 Ratings
Longevity
6.8445 Ratings
Sillage
6.5440 Ratings
Bottle
8.4441 Ratings
Value for money
6.1375 Ratings
Submitted by Alchimista, last update on 07/07/2025.
Interesting Facts
The fragrance is part of the "Aqua" collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Green Tea (Eau Parfumée) by Elizabeth Arden
Green Tea Eau Parfumée
Valentino Donna Rosa Verde by Valentino
Valentino Donna Rosa Verde
Green Media Cologne by The Dua Brand / Dua Fragrances
Green Media Cologne
Wūlóng Chá (Extrait de Parfum) by Nishane
Wūlóng Chá Extrait de Parfum
Cristal Zest by Massimo Dutti
Cristal Zest
Imagination by Louis Vuitton
Imagination

Reviews

24 in-depth fragrance descriptions
8
Pricing
10
Bottle
6
Sillage
8
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Omnipotato

274 Reviews
Omnipotato
Omnipotato
Helpful Review 4  
Vegetal fennel and zesty citrus atop white musk
A strange combination of fennel and matcha tea sits atop the familiar musky MFK "Aqua" DNA, along with sharp verbena. I think as other folks have said, this is a love-it-or-hate-it scent. The fennel here is not licorice-like or anise-y, but rather vegetal and green. Other reviews compare it to cilantro/coriander which I think is fair. Aqua Media Cologne Forte is like being in an Italian kitchen during prep, with the scent of fresh vegetables punctured by sharp citrus notes being squeezed atop for added zest. If the imagery of the kitchen turns you off, you might not like this one, but it is a really interesting scent in my opinion, and a worthy addition to the Aqua line. It dries down like the rest of the collection, to a fresh white musk that sits on the skin for hours even after the scent stops projecting.
0 Comments
6
Pricing
7
Bottle
4
Sillage
5
Longevity
7
Scent
NicheOnly

85 Reviews
NicheOnly
NicheOnly
Helpful Review 4  
When there's no need to take risk since you've already made it
Review revised in April 2025 to reflect performance downgrades and a better overview of the tea fragrance market.

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An anecdote of the Maison Francis Kurkdjian experience. Imagine you overnight hit it out the park (Baccarat Rouge). Sure - you're not going to retire "just because", but all of a sudden, risk-seeking behavior is increasingly trending towards absolute risk adversity. BR540 was Francis Kurkdjian's lottery ticket and he won. Grand Soir was his high-growth equity portfolio and he won. Now, when the only thing you need to do is buy risk-free assets to maintain what you have, you get product like this - like Aqua Media Cologne Forte. I hope everybody has become accustomed to the idea that whatever Francis Kurkdjian releases will be "nice" or "okay" and nothing more. No more lottery tickets, no more high-growth equity.

When you first spray on Aqua Media, the lively matcha base note shines. Much like the citruses in some of our favorite fragrances, the experience is short-lived. Up-close, the scent smells of fresh citruses with a mild green verbena note.

From the perspective of synthetic tonalities, the scent's DNA is good - Francis Kurkdjian's fresher fragrances don't smell like the synthetic sludge you get from Kilian (see: Blue Moon Ginger Dash, Vodka on the Rocks). But the problem ties back to the main criticism highlighted in the first paragraph - the DNA is transferred scent-to-scent which is why you can instantly tell it's MFK.

We've smelled this before, just without the verbena & matcha. The difference between this and Aqua Celestia Cologne Forte is the 20-25% of notes swapped from fruitiness to green. The difference between this and any of his white floral product (see: Gentle Fluidity (Silver), 724 Eau de Parfum ) is similarly, 30-35% of notes swapped from clean to green.

Performance on the scent is predictably weak, mildly below the competitors in this genre with around a 5-6 hour longevity. This is targeting a spring-summer use case where it will mostly be on an intimate-to-moderate sillage, with upside potential for hotter weather.

For anybody trying this with the thought that Aqua Media Cologne Forte could mirror any of the well-recognized tea scents in the market today, there is some reason for excitement. After spending years with Wūlóng Chá Extrait de Parfum, I would argue the on-skin blending on that scent is not the smoothest and this flaw was later ironed out with Wūlóng Chá X, a product that I'd place on-par with Aqua Media. For Le Labo and certain underground product like Aesthetic Turbulence, the questions remain outstanding. However, ultimately Aqua Media serves as a competitor in a lane where the discrepancies between products are minimal and therefore, there is nothing to make this stand out. Perhaps you were expecting a risk-seeking product from somebody that has been in the risk-free business for 5+ years now...?
2 Comments
6
Sillage
4
Longevity
7
Scent
Kurai

388 Reviews
Kurai
Kurai
3  
Return of a classic
Come to think of it, a fresh-green scent is exactly what was missing in the Aqua line-up. So this latest iteration actually makes perfect sense from a product range perspective. And just like the others in the Aqua range, this Aqua Media is functional, appealing and would make a lovely summer scent.

From an artistic point of view, this may not go down in history. Not again, that is. I mean, you could say that Aqua Media is a re-release of one of Kurkdjian's early successes. This time under his own label. It has a few tweaks left and right. A bit more zest and aromatics at the top, a bit less floral in the base.

Call it commercial exploitation, call it an 'hommage to a classic'. Either way, this shows how Kurkdjian was ahead of his time with Green Tea Eau Parfumée
0 Comments
4
Pricing
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
8
Scent
Nqobie0303

11 Reviews
Nqobie0303
Nqobie0303
4  
Love it or hate it
Aqua Media Cologne Forte Maison Francis Kurkdjian: If you like it, rock on! If you don't like it, don't even waste your breath with negative vibes; move on to your type of stuff and stop ruining some people's hard work with negative comments disguised as free speech. It's tiring, guys. I find this fragrance to be classy, uplifting, and invigorating for summer, spring, and early fall. From the citrusy opening, the fresh cloud of the top notes is captivating if you love green fragrances. I don't know how Kurkdjian did it, but the aquatic and spicy aspects of this complement each other very well.

I can definitely pick up the fennel in this. I clearly remember how I hated fennel as a child since my dad used to make me eat it and say it was good for our stomach, but I must say there's a very artistic side to how it is blended with the rest of the accords in this composition, which I am loving very much. I have worn this in the office and on a casual outing with my wife and gotten so many compliments. She loves it and wears it too, and she did pick up on the similarities between AMCF and AE Green Tea. Since to me fragrance has no gender, I am not bothered by that; I simply love the space and how transported I am when I wear this to a peaceful, clear-thinking space. This one stays in my rotation, and I would definitely purchase another one.
1 Comment
0
Pricing
3
Bottle
3
Sillage
4
Longevity
1
Scent
Shemsmeller

194 Reviews
Shemsmeller
Shemsmeller
2  
Coriandre and nothing else
tested today in the spring store in Lyon bellecour.

this perfume is a disaster, overpriced, we have the impression that it is just to respect a release schedule of the brand which simply plays on its notoriety to promote it at this ultra excessive price for the poverty of the juice

Regarding the smell, it just smells of coriander, nothing interesting, who wants to smell coriander? We are not in the kitchen, we are trying to perfume ourselves.

the sillage is weak, the hold just as much for 1 hour, light and for the summer, luckily it didn't last given the smell.

I advise you not to buy it blind unless you are a cilantro fetishist
0 Comments
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Statements

10 short views on the fragrance
NicheOnlyNicheOnly 2 years ago
7
Bottle
4
Sillage
5
Longevity
7
Scent
Green, citrus-aromatic open. Up-close it's more soapy & white floral, strong overlap with Aqua Celestia's base. Smooth in the air & on-skin.
0 Comments
HoneyBeeGoodHoneyBeeGood 1 year ago
10
Bottle
9
Sillage
8
Longevity
10
Scent
Strong lime zest opening. Dries down a lovely bright green tea scent. Nice and refreshing. Perfect for summer.
0 Comments
ScentToolboxScentToolbox 11 months ago
9
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Sparkling citrus leads the way in an uplifting blend of cooling notes. In the background a calming green tea serves to ground the scent.
0 Comments
PastfuturesPastfutures 5 months ago
8
Scent
Tart, juicy, zesty, intensely green. A unique summer freshie. Fennel adds an edge. Unisex but leans masculine.
0 Comments
JanetbearyJanetbeary 1 month ago
8
Bottle
5
Sillage
6
Longevity
7
Scent
Tea is present, however is mostly overshadowed by the vegetal greens and bitter citrus that accompanies it. It shines a bit more later on.
0 Comments
AustinLAustinL 1 month ago
A fresh orange hand soap. Wouldn't mind selling my bottle
0 Comments
Nqobie0303Nqobie0303 9 months ago
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
8
Scent
I loved the zesty green tea bubble; it kind of reminds me of Green Tea by EA. AMCF is not shy on a sunny day; it surely comes out to play.
0 Comments
GorinGorin 9 months ago
7
Bottle
5
Sillage
5
Longevity
6.5
Scent
Interesting and unique unripe citrus, green tea & fennel dna. Crap performance. Could use more fennel/sweetness/something… Not great
0 Comments
EinfinkenEinfinken 1 year ago
6
Bottle
5
Sillage
6
Longevity
5
Scent
Had a sample of this as I was looking for a good summer freshie. This is not for me. Smells like lemon cleaner and it's quite overwhelming.
0 Comments
Ch03npCh03np 2 years ago
Unique-smelling strong opening that is both astringent, sweet, and green. Not my cup of tea, but it works for others. Try it, maybe?
0 Comments
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