Acqua di Scandola Parfum d'Empire 2019

The song of the air spirits in my ear blends with the waves as they whisper my name. There, between the devil and the blue sea, where my heartbeat connects with the rhythm of the ocean. Filtered sunlight drifts away like gently swaying flags in the blue, allowing me to dive deeper until I no longer know which direction leads to the surface in the embrace of the sea. Until I too get lost, dissolve in the roar of silence, until my hair transforms into seaweed.
There is a depth that calls to me.
But here on the beach, the lemon sun kisses salt tears from my skin, leaving white streaks and small crystals that sparkle like the waves in the distance of a memory. On heated stones, the spray dries, bleaching the driftwood, the wreckage of ships that once were. A long, long time ago, until they shimmer silver like the branches of juniper in the bay. Gently whispering, the sea carries tiny sun-golden flowers to my feet, telling of another world somewhere out there, easing my pain, the sea-sickness, the longing for the endlessly blue depth, smoothing my scars. Perhaps I have waited here too long.

(“Underwater love” Smoke City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuLjsW8XhY4)

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Only very, very few aquatic fragrances awaken my mermaid DNA, but Acqua di Scandola does this with ease and brilliance. Furthermore, I believe I am developing a little fondness for Marc-Antoine Corticchiato and Parfum d'Empire, but first things first: Until now, I always thought Heeley's Sel Marin was the philosopher's stone when it comes to authentic, salty, slightly seaweed-like marine scents, but Acqua di Scandola, with its brighter, friendlier Mediterranean nuances, can easily keep up. The idea behind the fragrance is as simple as it is brilliant: Here, sun-sweet lemon meets bitter green juniper in an extremely attractive contrast, along with completely non-fishy seaweed, creating an illusion of salty notes and seawater. The more the lemon evaporates, the deeper the water becomes, and when I close my eyes and take a deep breath, I feel surrounded by blue water - and all without any hint of shower gel associations or whatever else might be in those dreaded blue bottles that I consciously avoid. Here, however, I gladly let myself drift until a distant hint of sun-warmed, slightly caramelized immortelles reminds me that there is a shore somewhere where the sea breaks. I smell the mineral notes of warm stones, hidden moss clumps in the shade, a few hard-to-define flowers, and a skin accord that may not even be an accord in this perfume but simply me - the scent was too precious for me to test on paper.

Thank you very much, dear SebastianM. This blend of carefree vacation feelings and deep intoxication is wonderful and unique.