Ocean Rain for Men Mario Valentino 1990 Cologne

Ocean Rain opens with a very nice herbal green and rose tandem that combines with citrus and lavender to come off as almost banana-like of all things. This banana-like herbal rose accord hangs around through most of the scent's duration, but well into the heart notes a very nice cedar and oakmoss combo appears and takes center stage away from the herbal rose. Finally, well into the base you get a supporting leather accord that blends into the remaining woody late heart notes with the rose now all but gone. Somethings noticeably not present throughout the scent's development of note are any oceanic or watery accords (despite the scent's listed note pyramid and name). Projection and longevity are both average.

I find the name "Ocean Rain" highly unfortunate and misleading here. If there is any calone in here, it is obscured so well that I cannot detect it at all, and I wonder if it really is even there. At best, calone is certainly not the focus of the scent; instead the herbal rose, cedar and oakmoss are the real stars. Poor name choice aside, Ocean Rain really does indeed smell quite good. It uses its rose and herbal greens in a unique way to create what I can only describe as banana, and while it may sound bizarre it really does work here. I find it disappointing that Ocean Rain has long-since been discontinued, as it is quite a distinctive departure from all the "me too" designer scents released present day. If you are seeking it, there still are several 50ml bottles on eBay that can be acquired for relatively silly money as of the date of this review. I blind bought this one, and am quite happy with the purchase. Ocean Rain gets a strong 3.5 to 4 stars out of 5. Just ignore the name and enjoy Roudnitska's final creation for the very good scent that it is.