• About
  • Login to comment
    • Bluesky
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Archives
Browsing by tag: aquatic

Ozonic, crisp, and slightly fruity

Posted by Robin on 6 March 2025 Leave a Comment

There’s a good chance that aquatic perfumes as we know them would not exist today if not for Calone. With an ozonic, crisp, and slightly fruity scent reminiscent of freshly-cut watermelon, this aromachemical became a darling of perfumers around the world in the 1990s, which is when the aquatic fragrance category was born.

[...] Perhaps unsurprisingly, you’ll also often find Ambroxan in aquatic fragrances—this aromachemical is a vegan alternative to ambergris, a whale-derived ingredient used in perfume—as well as Aquazone, a note that’s similar to Calone but with a saltier, more iodine-like aroma.

— Read more in The Best Aquatic Fragrances Are Like a Getaway In a Bottle at Vogue.

Fragrance could be so alluring it might cause a shipwreck

Posted by Robin on 11 July 2017 7 Comments

Since the time of the ancient Greeks, people have wanted to smell like the ocean. Archaeologists have found archaic perfume vessels from around 550 B.C. that are shaped like the mythological sirens of the sea, the idea being that fragrance could be so alluring it might cause a shipwreck.

— The New York Times looks at aquatics; read more at 5 Ways to Smell Like the Beach. Hat tip to Holly!

Hermes Eau des Merveilles Bleue ~ fragrance review

Posted by Robin on 11 April 2017 49 Comments

Hermès Eau des Merveilles Bleue, brand image, sliced

It would appear that Hermès is doing a flanker to 2004’s Eau des Merveilles every so often, but waiting at least two years, sometimes more, between iterations. In addition to the original, we’ve now got Elixir des Merveilles (candied orange peel + vanilla biscuit) from 2006, Eau Claire des Merveilles (citrus soda + cosmetic powder) from 2010, and L’Ambre des Merveilles (amber + more amber) from 2012. Eau des Merveilles Bleue is the latest, and the first from house perfumer Christine Nagel. I was only middling excited about it, because it’s blue. I like the color, but in fragrance, blue implies a particular smell-meaning, and in this case the description followed the color-coding: “the magic of the ocean and the colour of the sky”, plus “washed in sea spray” and “the taste of water on pebbles”. That sounds suspiciously like many other blue fresh, sporty, aquatic / ozonic fragrances, which are not generally my cup of tea.

And so it turns out…

Read the rest of this article »

BeauFort London Fathom V ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 8 February 2017 16 Comments

Sailing by Moonlight by Albert Pinkham Ryder

There’s nothing like smelling pungent, spicy, late-winter flowers in a cool and damp atmosphere. Right now, the inside of my poorly insulated house (here’s to fresh air, wool sweaters and good health!) smells of the sweet box blossoms growing outside, and my front porch has a fragrance powerhouse in bloom — Edgeworthia. Plum blossoms are starting to open along the lake road I take into work each day…talk about flower-power, visual and scent-ual. Though it’s officially still winter, I’m smelling “green” all around me.

My first experience with the BeauFort London Come Hell or High Water collection was not a success, but by chance, Fathom V (another member of the Come Hell or High Water quintet) found me, and I’m glad it did — it’s a perfect cologne for the chilled, wet and perfumed springs we enjoy in Seattle…

Read the rest of this article »

Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 17 June 2016 26 Comments

Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey

Last week I reviewed Room 1015’s Power Ballad, a fragrance inspired by memories of teenage love and rock clubs in the 1990s. I didn’t think it succeeded as an evocation of that decade, and many of you agreed with me. Ironically, although you (we) might have been listening to grunge or wearing Doc Martens and oversized flannel shirts in those days, there’s a good chance you were wearing a clean- and fresh-smelling fragrance. It might have been a body spray picked up at Bath & Body Works, or it might have been a splurge from a department store. (I personally went through several bottles of Kenzo Parfum d’Été.) It might have been Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey.

In 1992, Issey Miyake was already known for his sculptural-minimal designs, which reinterpreted traditional Japanese techniques of fabric-wrapping and origami in state-of-the-art synthetics and other unexpected materials…

Read the rest of this article »

Older articles »

Advertisement

Search

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

3 July ~ damage poll
12 July ~ summer reading poll

Back to Top

Home
Archives
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Books

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2025 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.