A test:
On my left thumb pad: 1 Million
On my right thumb pad: Cool Water, the current version.
I have been sniffing from left to right and back again for almost an hour now.
I can’t help it, but the similarity is astonishing.
I admit, I can’t really say whether it’s a true or just a stylistic kinship. But still: The two scents definitely belong to the same family for me. 1 Million is a bit more almondy, while Cool Water has more minty freshness.
Personally, I have no prejudices regarding the scent. I have never smelled it before, nor do I know any men who fit the stereotype of the user. But the bottle alone has raised different expectations for me.
I would not have expected a - I’m being a bit nasty - Cool Water clone.
Maybe my nose is playing tricks on me. It wouldn’t be the first time. Recently, I’ve come across so many Cool Water imitations (Ferrari Red) that I’m starting to doubt my perception. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if the unimaginative profit optimizers of the big fragrance producers thought that audacity wins: Take the x-th obvious copy of one of the most successful modern fragrances ever and disguise this fact with marketing that doesn’t allow any associative connections to the original.
So: I’m done with Cool Water. The current version even gives me a headache after a while of continued sniffing.
As I said: It’s quite possible that I’m completely off with my perception of 1 Million and someone with a finer nose could enlighten me otherwise.
Nevertheless, while I wouldn’t come up with a million reasons, I could certainly think of a few dozen reasons why I don’t like this scent. In the end, probably especially because I feel, without it being true, that I have smelled it a million times already.
