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.

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.

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.

Aqua Motu EDT - I like it. This makes me smile it's perfect for a beach day in the summer. Smells a bit like sunscreen in a good warm. Unisex, I picture sailing. A nice saltiness. Not quite as good as V&R Salty Flower, but still good and similar, same with Mugler Alien Goddess(?). Lancome Idole Aura smells similar, but Aura is way better. I wouldn't buy this or keep it if gifted BC there are better alternatives. Lasts a decent amount of time although it gets faint, about 10 hours.

Good scent! This is definitely for the summer! :) This is the hot sand, seaweed and sea .. is relaxing, although the sillage is soft, longevity takes about 5-6 hours. It's not one of my favorites of the summer, but ... I think that in the future will buy this! Sillage: 5/10 Longevity: 8/10 Scent: 7.5/10 Overall: 7/10

It took me quite a long while to find a marine scent. This is the first I tried and liked. it is definitely a summer scent, and it defintely reminds me of tropical seas. Only defect, is definitely not long lasting. I would not buy again and I am looking for a similar - but longer lasting - scent.

This definitely smells like the ocean! Not in a romanticized, beachy, sunscreen-y way—more like literal seawater, seaweed, and sand. It's salty and tangy, but surprisingly pleasant and wearable. Try a sample first.

Suntan lotion! This is just great, it smells so clean and light and not too perfumey. It would be great in the summer, though I'd wear it all year round.

A marine scent done in the typical CSP way--sweet, gentle, and smile inducing. Sunny day at the ocean with a touch of floral.

It's a tranquil scent I wear just for myself. When I smell it, I hear waves lapping at a lagoon.

@ The Wolf: Immortelle IS helichrysium ;-)

I find this to be an extremely artificial and unconvincing beach scent. Its Calone-kelpy-iodiney salt water accord is very similar to ones I've smelled in many other marine fragrances which aim for realistic ocean notes, but for some reason, this one is far less effective on me than others in the same family have been. While at first I can indeed smell what I suspect was the intended olfactory gestalt ("Oh, hey! It's briney sea water!"), after a second or two that marine accord falls apart on me completely, fragmenting into a constellation of unrelated and not always pleasant scents: celery, hot vinyl car seats, black licorice, modeling clay, the fumes from melting plastic wrap... The overall effect is rather sickening, and while I'm not ordinarily bothered by synthetic marine accords (the much-maligned Calone, for example, causes me no trouble at all), something about this one in particular leaves me feeling nauseated and headachey. Similar fragrances that I've found far more successful at pulling off a realistic salt water effect include CB I Hate Perfume's Mr. Hulot's Holilday and Eternal Return, and Laura Tonatto's Oltre. If money were no object, I would recommend any of them over Aqua Motu. There is, however, no getting around the fact that money IS an object -- and quite an important object, at that! -- for all but a very fortunate few of us, and the three more successful fragrances I just mentioned are all rather more expensive than Aqua Motu is. So I guess there you have it. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

This was another fragrance that smelled like absolutely nothing at all the first time I tried it. This time, it's doing slightly better, with a weak plasticky opening that somehow does manage to convey a tropical scene in spite of itself. Disappointing as this stage is, I would still file it away with Bulgari Aqua for its ability to truly convey seawater, though in a much more temperate way than Bulgari's tempestuous, bracing, winter sea air. After a while, a change brings hope: a mildly spicy, tropical, sun-baked varnished wood vibe appears under the receding spray, almost like a distant waft of Tommy Bahama. I happen to like the idea of TB and some of its notes, but find it too harsh and heavy in its implementation; this vague echo of it within Aqua Motu appeals to me. It allows me to live out my tropcal Margaritaville fantasy vicariously, as if through another man's cologne. It's the one time in my life that a scent has reminded me of root beer, and I've liked it. Just don't expect an aquatic, and don't expect much strength.

Hmm...I am not getting the beach vibe that others are getting. I don't get any saltiness, no aquatic, etc. If this is a beach scent, it must be the scent of the beach boardwalk after having years of melted ice cream, spilled funnel cake, and suntan oil on dirty feet residue caked on it....then baked by the sun for years. I'll give it another shot, but this stuff is awful. If I want a sea scent I will go to the Bvlgari Aqva line, or to the marvelous Epice Marine. EDIT: I did give this another shot, and while it isn't as awful as I first thought, it still isn't my type of fragrance. I still get this vanilla ice cream vibe that makes me think of a dirty beach...like I'm on the beach trying to enjoy the smell, but the kids next to me have dropped their Good Humor bars in the sand an hour ago, and the smell overpowers my enjoyment of the beach.

Most of CSP's fragrances that I've tested are very linear and straightforward. They all have their time and place, but I respect Aqua Motu for bringing some more complexity to their line. I love the way this opens, it is very refreshing and lovely. Almost a fruity, aquatic vibe. As it wears on my skin, the salty seaweed starts creeping out and dominates the fresher aquatic notes. This is a "like" for me. The saltiness/bitterness of the seaweed gets to be too much for me, so I wish it would just stay as it is upon first spray! It would definitely be a "love" in that case.

I like other fragrances from this line but this one wasn't for me. I was hoping I would after I read all the reviews of the "beachy" sea water notes people talk about it. But I can't seem to find many aquatics that I like so far. I'm not even sure what notes I am getting but it doesn't seem to be what everyone else is getting. It smelled better on my skin than it did sniffing the atomizer. When I first got a whiff when I removed the lid it smelled awful, but I sprayed on my wrist and I liked it better, but not enough to wear it for a day.

A calone bomb. I've always struggled with this one. I don't hate calone, nor do I hate marine notes. But I find it quite hard to balance them and manage to make an enjoyable perfume around them. It does smell like the ocean though; so if that's your thing Aqua Motu might be your heart's desire. Edit 03/18/23: I have a 50ml bottle of this EDT, sprayed once, up for sale or swap. Message me if you're interested :)

This is absolutely awful. It's kind of impressive in that it does capture the scent of a day at the beach: sweaty, sun warmed skin, sun tan lotion, wet sand, kelp, sea water. But why? Who would want to smell like this? Just because you can make something that smells like the beach doesn't mean it's a good idea!

Wore this again today and oh my gosh. It’s practically intolerable for me. So much seaweed, and it smells horrible on me. What a shame! Edit: I am giving seaweed all the flack, which isn’t totally fair. The sand is also extremely prominent, and also smells extremely bad on me.

was excited to try this one but i fear it was a flop on me :/ weak projection (maybe the eau de parfum performs better?) and it dried down to something kinda woody/smoky/leathery on me. i did also get the licorice notes someone else mentioned, which i’m not a fan of. oh well

It smells like a bitter herbal tea. Very different and intriguing, but not something I would wear. I don’t find anything sweet about it, in my opinion it is dry and masculine.

I don't know what it is about this perfume that I can't stand. The notes sound wonderful to me, but it doesn't remind me of the beach. Maybe it's my own body chemistry.

Smells like at the sea. Reminds me of trips to the sea with that kind of salty smell.

Sorrynooffensepersonalopinionyouareamazing BUT Y'ALL. This is not good. I wasted at least 2 tablespoons of precious rubbing alcohol scrubbing this off my skin, and we're in a global pandemic. I really need to be conservative with my rubbing alcohol. I do not recommend this, and literally, I truly want to smell like a pier. This does not smell like the sea *to me* it smells like skunked beer and expired chapstick. Pop my balloons, I don't care. No one is more disappointed than me.

Oh my gosh, incredibly spicy and terrible headache type smell. Please don't buy this, I could puke it's so bad.

This must be quite a popular fragrance from the house of Comptoir Sud Pacifique as it has been released in three different concentrations; an EDT, an EDP and an Intense flanker released only recently in 2015. This is an oceanic fragrance which would pair well with a trip to the beach during the heat of Summer. Aqua Motu EDT is salty and somewhat sweet, a less synthetic-smelling aquatic that appeals to me more than most from this 'tricky to wear' genre. The most dominant notes to my nose include dusty immortelle, beach sand, seaweed, and delicate lily of the valley. In lots of ways, Aqua Motu reminds me of the now discontinued L'Artisan Parfumeur Cote d'Amour, another immortelle heavy aquatic that I wore quite a bit during my early 20's. Perhaps the only downside to this fragrance is its somewhat weak projection and below average longevity. On a hot Summer's day, you would want this fragrance to last for as long as possible on the skin. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to last as long as some other aquatics I have tested this season. I had thought up until today that Comptoir Sud Pacifique made sweet, vanillic scents with a summery twist. Pleased to discover that this brand is a little more diverse than I thought.

Just a little update. This was one of the first frags in my collection from about 3 years ago. Bobbi Brown "Beach" was too expensive and upon further investigation....... Well Aqua Motu- here we are. Lying on the beach hand in hand-- in the afternoon sun on a turquoise colored beach towel as the sun begins to fade into that Indian Summer color..... Our swimsuits are drying out and we just take a deep breath.......... Not a care in the world. Ahhhhhhhhh............. Aqua Motu hits all the correct "beach" notes : salt air, sun dried wood, coconut, salt water, etc. This is done in a subtle way. Nothing overpowers. (I have had to dump other beach frags because that "calone" note smelled like cucumber frogs from a dissection class in junior high school) . Nothing here smells cheap or chemical-y . Affordable? YES! Unisex? YES! Longevity? OK- not great but not bad. Believe me; I went through MANY MANY Beach scents over the past few years. This one beats them all. (This one beats out Aqua Di Gio too!) P.S. as a bonus - when this finally dries down and begins to fade-- give your hand a sniff: it REALLY smells like you just got home from the beach ! Incredible!

This is THE beach scent I was looking for! Contrary to most aquatics (Cool Water family) that have a very dominant cucumber-watermelon vibe to stand for freshness, Aqua Motu is all about sand that's close to a real sea! It opens with a slight botanical-herbal tea like smell, that thankfully subsides quickly and gives way to the most amazing sand accord I have ever smelled. I swear I can almost feel the hot sand scalding my soles as I'm heading for a swim in the blue sea. I don't know whether I would wear this everyday or alone, but it's definitely a valuable addition to my perfume wardrobe. I only wish it lasted longer, maybe try the EDP next? Edit: after I happily worn Aqua Motu on a few instances, I went to my local department store to try Womanity. Please note I hadn't heard about a resemblance between the two beforehand. It is safe to say Womanity completely ruined my love for Aqua Motu. I simply cannot wear it any more, everytime I smell it I remember the rotting seaweed mixed with female genitalia I got from Womanity. Already got rid of it, so sad:(

I am addicted to Aqua Motu and the way it makes me feel every season of the year. Keep on buying it for some years now. On my skin it immediately opens with all notes and it boosts me with mental sharpness and feeling in the here and now. After 5 to 10 minutes it changes completely into something pleasantly warm, something very natural and ancient, when the aquatic note seems to blend in downwards and disappears. Right after this happens I do not recognize a single note anymore, it becomes Motu to me. And that to me is brilliant! It is funny but I really do not get any beach vibes from this. Nothing. I have also smelled this on others, male and female and for quite a few it did not do the tric. My conclusion is that magic happens for warmblooded bodies with a normal skintype.

At first, I thought "Aqua Motu" would be soft and weak on my skin. Gosh, what a surprise! By the way, it isn't as aquatic as its name may imply. Instead, it's marine... can you understand the difference (if there's any)? I believe there's a really strong floral note that shines on my skin. I thought it would be frangipani, but it seems to be the immortelle. It's almost nauseating! I can also feel a "sandy" vibe coming from "Aqua Motu" that doesn't necessarily reminds of beaches and sun lotions, but hot days instead. "Aqua Motu" is interesting but I think it's way too strong for some hot days that we have in Brazil. I guess I'll use it on cold days like today to remind me of my days on the sun...

Hummm....,Yeah It's has an image of summer and sea breeze in it,Fresh clean and watery,I don't know why but some notes make me thinking of watermelon!The scent is so natural(maybe too natural),somehow,I didn't feel that I wearing any fragrance,but feel like the scent come directly from my skin.I have some conflict opinion,I feel that this one has no sillage but it's long lasting, sound weird?but it's true.I think this is what its was designed for.Very skin scent,very discreet.Would be perfect for someone,who want to smell clean&natural,but not for anyone who love a strong sillage.For me? I love the scent but want a stronger one.

(EDT version) Blind swapped for this: it really is similar to Acqua di Sale (from memory); herbal super-salty greenness and a dusty, dry quality that = sand. Too salty for me, not my 1st choice for a 'beach' scent as I find that I prefer the sunscreen-type scents to remind me of those days. This one's cool salty, dry, and dusty. I really don't get anything aquatic. This should've been called 'Desert at Night' in my opinion. If there was a salt lake deposit nearby in said desert. Not bad, it just makes me thirsty! Not quite what I want to smell like. I think I'd prefer it on a man. [10.27.14]

Smells approximately the same as Montale Sandflowers; but Sandflowers has better longevity; both are perfume as art - & you won't find a better "marine scent." When this reaches far dry down, the sand accord is extremely realistic. Like this v much, love the Montale version. Not for everybody, probably, although ppl mostly seem to like these 2 perfumes. Both are perfect for armchair travel, during the pandemic; hopefully one day, when this rubbish pandemic is over, we will all get to experience real, overseas travel - here's hoping (& praying)