Aqua Motu Eau de Toilette

Bingo! I was so curious to know what this smelled like that I blind-bought a 100ml bottle on eBay. It arrived today. (almost all) The descriptions I've read of it are so true. This a beach monster and I like it very much indeed. I get every single note listed and then some (coconut, salt). The initial opening wasn't too promising for me. I got a very strong Germolene ointment kinda smell, which I wasn't expecting at all. God knows what that is BUT, that smell fades in minutes and the heavenly beach just flows into my skin and through my pores. Seashells full of water. Kelp, coconut, expensive sun-cream, sand and a hint of lily of the valley all emanate from my skin: a fresh, seaside explosion. I can understand how some people might find this sickly but I find this pretty incredible. This REALLY smells like a beach and it doesn't smell synthetic to me. I had two compliments this afternoon when wearing it. Yay!! On me the sillage is great and longevity is astounding. I sprayed my neck and wrists at 3pm this afternoon, it's now 11:30pm and both my wrists still smell beachy. It's definitely a summer scent. I've never experienced anything quite like it and it makes me smile whenever I catch a whiff of it. I smile because I'm genuinely puzzled how someone can make a fragrance that smells exactly like a beach on my skin - clever bar-stewards, lol. I haven't tested anything from this house before but on the strength of this fragrance, I'm definitely interested in what else they have to offer.

I read many reviews trying to understand what this could smell like before I bought it as I could not find decants. Some described it as artistic, marine without obvious marine notes, melted ice cream, unflavored chapstick and warm sand. I think what you get from this is highly dependent on your individual life experiences and scent memories.This is an abstract fragrance that can be perceived many ways. It has an oily density juxtaposed by a sandy dryness. Here is how I perceive it : Hot sand mixed with light sun tan lotion and sea water cooking on your skin in the heat of the sun. That smell when you lay back down on your beach towel in the sun after taking a dip in the ocean, and the sun starts drying you out. You can feel and smell the ocean water evaporating on your skin. If you know that sent, you know this fragrance. It gets points for being realistic, artistic & unique; it smells like nothing I have smelled in perfumery. I search for unique scents, so I'm glad I bought this. This may flash you back to happy (or sad I suppose)memories of a certain time or place. So your mileage may vary. You could love it or be indifferent.Right now I'm in the "like" camp Edit: now that I've tried others I realized many are inspired by this. This is a good introductory fragrance before you dive (pun intended) into other more daring iteration of this DNA. Points to the brand for being a pioneer. ⁝

It's a realistic recreation of beach scents and it will wash you with a wave of sea water complete with its seaweed and salty flavour.Of course,the background smells of sweet floral tones,but more on the wild side:flowers that grow in the salty environment in which you will feel emerged...The wet sand is present with a sturdy,pebble-like tone...It felt like I had a long swim in a deep and clear sea,laid on the sand,covered by the shadow of a sweet smelling blooming tree-The weirdest remark I got when I sprayed myself with this scent:''Did you go for a swim before getting to work?''

Some ppl told me they smell melon in it. Not sure why, because I cannot detect melon in this scent. Got a lot of compliments when I was wearing it. Very aquatic, not offensive. Reminds me of Givenchy Oblique FFwd (sadly discontinued). There is another version of Aqua Motu, a limited edition they released to commemorate fragrance's anniversary. It has vanilla added and it ruins it, makes it sweeter and more mediocre. So I'd recommend the original fragrance.

One of the best and most genuine marine fragrances around, born at the height of that era when such notes were in their ascent. Unlike Marine/Aquatic contemporaries such as Cool Water, Polo Sport and even my beloved L'Eau Disney, there is nothing dated about this truly beachy fragrance. Clean, modern and layers well. I adore Comptoir Sud Pacifique for their highly specialized "vacation" "warm weather" library.

This is a great fragrance and early pioneer of marine genre that inspired many other niche fragrances. One of the best uses of immortelle to create a sand accord, and smell of the seawater is very realistic. It still holds up 32 years later in 2025. I don't understand why fragrantica does not include the helichrysum in their notes. It's literally in the description!!️

This smells more like Sandflowers than Acqua di Sale to me. I adore this, but it lacks longevity. It is the sea perfume 3 of us have been searching for, as soon as I put it on my friends all remarked that we had found it at last. It has the most perfect drydown. We went with Sandflowers because it smells exactly the same but stronger and lasts longer.

I really like this, it's such a clean smelling scent without being soapy or floral or citrus or green or melon. It's smooth. It does have a marine impression. It's beachy without any obvious notes of suntan lotion; coconut; fruit or flowers. Very clever composition. Nice to have in a collection of beach and tropical scents.

Yes! I really love this. I received a generous decant as a gift from a fellow Fragrantican. A beautiful marine scent with salty air, sand and ocean. I also sampled the EDP and ironically, this appear darker. The drydown has a definite bitter-sweet, dry woody base, warm, sandy, savory, to the point of making my mouth water.

Aqua Motu was a re-issue for the Eaux de Voyage line and was originally called MOTU when it was first released in 1992. Here are the notes from CSP: ozone, iodine, rosemary, algae, moss, ylang ylang, pepper, patchouli, orange and cedarwood.

I bought it just to try, but it did surprise me. I like to wear it for the days since it reminds of fresh water. The only problem I saw is that it ́s not too strong, so, you can ́t smell unless it toooo close.

its the perfect summer smell, shame it lasts only for minutes!!! Exactly the same but with longer life on the skin is Etoile de Rem.

I love Aqua Motu!!! :) It smells like sunlotion and sand!!It travels me to beautiful islands!!!

Comptoir Sud Pacifique AQUA MOTU is a rather odd fragrance. Yes, it smells somewhat like seawater at the beach, mingling with sand. But it also smells like the plants that wash up on the shore, the green vines and leaves of underwater foliage. The opening seems to have an extra note, similar in some ways to...well, to be honest, it smells not unlike masculine sweat, with just a touch of sourness. Fortunately, the opening fades fast, and the drydown is entirely inoffensive and even agreeable. In fact, it reminds me just a bit of BOIS FARINE. I think that, all and all, AQUA MOTU is just okay. I bought a 50ml bottle blind, and I'll use it now and then, sitting on my deck on days like today with the wind swirling about. I'll look at all of the trees and listen to the birds and imagine that I'm in Jamaica or Barbados or Puerto Rico or Trinidad or Cozumel or somewhere else where sea and salt and sweat all mingle together peacefully under the sun.

This is more of a transportive scent than one you wear to 'smell good'. It's something you wear when you no-kidding want to smell like you're at the beach, or have been at the beach all day. It doesn't smell particularly wonderful in the traditional sense, but it is effective at making you smell like the beach -- both the good and bad smells that come with that. The way this stuff mimics the smell of sand is crazy to me. It really does remind me of that. There's a raw earthy/dirtiness to it. At the same time the sea notes add an ozonic/breezy effect. It's gritty. It's earthy. It's salty. It puts you right there on the beach on a hazy summer day with the sun warming your skin, and a cool ocean breeze blowing over you as you watch and listen to the surf nearby. As far as aquatic/oceanic/marine fragrances go, this is my favorite, with Sel Marin second. Definitely worth trying!

Aqua Motu EDT is an unusual aquatic perfume, and I like that about it. It doesn't have the typical "wet" fresh-water scent that aquatics often have; rather, I find this smells salty and oceanic. I get the impression of hot, dry sand in contrast to the more vibrant, green, and fresh "sea" notes. This scent reminds me quite a lot of Womanity Taste of Fragrance. It has a sweet and comforting spice underlying it, intermingling with the saltiness, woodiness and fresh-air accords. Looking at the notes now, I'm not surprised that I find a similarity. Both fragrances have distinctive sea water and immortelle notes which contribute to the dusty and salty-fresh quality shared by both. Aqua Motu however, is much lighter than Womanity ToF, and I would suspect more easy to like and wear for most.

Salty water in a bottle. And in a good way. It smells exactly like how salt water smells like, if you removed the fish, the sand, the weed, the plants and just left the water. It's salty water on a plate, so salty it makes my mouth water. If you were searching for a perfume where a salt note was prominent, this is exactly it. It doesn't have anything else: no freshness to light it up or woodiness to ground it, - but that's what layering is for! I cannot imagine wearing it on its own; but for its price and the fact that it does exactly as promised, I cannot help but love it for its directness and honesty.

I find this scent to be quite pleasant, but I was looking for a scent with this type of scent profile. I wanted a beachy scent that didn't include a bunch of citrus, and so this one hits that mark. A realistic oceanic beachy scent, I could picture this smelling quite good if you wear this while actually going to the beach and suntanning or doing other beach activities. The scent fits summer quite well. No sweetness here, just sun, sand, and surf. Though I quite enjoy it, it seems as though many other reviewers do not, so for that reason, I'd say test it before buying it.

First spray is an instant sharp aquatic with a spicy mint, almost peppery, mimicking the surprise of a wave breaking in your face and the spray scattering around you in close proximity. I It immediately softens into the shore into a crisp burnt woody scent, like the weather-beaten, sun-dried posts protecting the dunes. It's a sharp, warm woody skin smell on me -- I like it a lot. Surprisingly realistic beach scent. Edit: didn't realize seawood was a note but that's exactly it -- the crispy, salty scent of damp seaweed washed up on the beach as you walk along the shore.

This reminds me so much of Profumum's Acqua di Sale. Or should it be the other way around? I don't know which was released first! It's cool, salty, watery, sandy, and the aroma of seaweed adds an organic touch to the fragrance, making it feel somehow more "alive" than the other aromatic aquatic fragrances I've tested. Even though it's a "cool" type of fragrance, the notes seem to bind well with the warmth of skin, and rather than creating a sillage monster that floats in a cloud around me, it becomes an intimate skin scent that reminds me of walking along salty shores.