Virgin Island Water 2007

One of my favourites out of nearly 500 in my collection. I bought one bottle in summer this year and loved it, and hence I bought another two on the back of that scent, still the same version, not the 2025 label. When those two arrived, they smelled fresher and more citrussy, although I still get the same notes in both, the first one was just more spicy, a bit peppery even, slightly darker juice and better to my nose as it added this spicy note that makes it more intriguing (it is definitely more ginger amped up) while still maintaining the objective of being that tropical beach fragrance. It may have been that the first one was just a bit older and we are only talking a few months but I like them so much I bought another five bottles as I received a great deal from the place I bought them. I hope these change to become more like the original that I bought, but either way I love this fragrance. I live in a hot country so I can wear this year round and it only lasts 2 hours on my skin so I do 40 sprays all over and it gets the job done before reapplying 2 hours later. Everyone seems to notice it up close and I just can't stop sniffing my sleeve every few minutes. Stunning Creed, weak juice, but still in my top 5. Edit: I just checked the batch code on the underside of the first bottle I bought with checkfresh (I normally do check them all but clearly not on that occasion) and it checks out at over 4 years old. Comparing that to the other ones I bought recently - which are all between 4 and 6 months - That may explain the difference. At the rate I'm using this stuff I'll buy another few more and let them sit and they should hopefully develop further. Like I said before, I love them and the years clearly make a big difference.

The go-to men's beach fragrance. You great fresh coconut, lime, orange, rum, but it somehow avoids all the pitfalls of that tropical beach accord: it contains a touch of woods so it is still masculine and classy smelling, it isn't too sweet, the performance is as good as you can get given the fact that the heart of the fragrance is mostly top notes. It's the only men's fragrance I like with a prominent coconut note, so if you don't like coconut fragrances, I wouldn't write it off just yet, maybe go to your closest Saks Fifth and try it on a tester strip. It's very easy for this type of fragrance to fall into smelling like a piña colada body feminine spray from Bath and Body Works, but it isn't that at all. One spray and you are instantly transported to a high-end, Caribbean beach bar cooling off with wicker ceiling fans; flooded with the sounds of cocktail shakers and crashing waves. It takes its biggest hit with price and versatility. $377 is a a high price to pay for a scent that only really works at a beach. Some people think that Tommy Bahama St. Barts is a clone of this, but the two don't smell like each other at all. Simone Andreoli Malibu Party in the Bay does smell pretty close, but has less coconut and is also expensive. Best best is to get a 5ml decant of this and stick it in your luggage whenever you go to the beach.

I am so easily swayed by the romanticization of everything Caribbean, so when I heard that "this is Piña Colada in a bottle" - I opened my wallet and my Creed virginity was deflowered. And man is this delicious. If I close my eyes I can actually feel the warm sand between my toes. I feel like a fragrance like this could easily become a bit tacky and cliché (and smell cheap). But not this one. This one is done just right. The coconut is so light and fresh, just out of its shell. Not a trace of suntanlotion or baked cookies at all. The lime is crisp and green, freshly squeezed and aromatic. It just feels so... Luxurious (well, for that pricetag it ought to be, lol) I just imagine myself on a boat, wearing a nautical themed pashmina afghan that billows in the Caribbean breeze. And smelling like this. (There is also something in here that makes me think of the scent of warm wood inside of a sauna, perhaps combined with a lemongrass aromaoil? Lol)

❤️🤔 Love this scent, First I got a sample of VIW from another site and used it on and off for a year and still liked it. So I told my wife, so she got a bottle from a known site that advertises Retail but sent us a tester bottle. The opening smelled chemical some people say nail polish remover and nothing from what I was used to. So she ordered from a luxury department store and this is the smell I was used to. I sprayed them both at the exact same time and the initial smell couldn't be more different. Observed them hours later the tester bottle the scent was less and less chemical and very mildly similar to the scent I'm used to, while the luxury store bought one held strong. 20 hrs later the VIW from the luxury store still smelled sweet and present while the tester bottle smelled as if it were watered down and very faint. So when people say Testers are the same, I don't trust it in this case. Unless you have them both to test against.

As far as summer perfumes go, this is about the best you can get your hands on. I've tried the imitators but none of them match up to it's quality. VIW is a summer holiday in a bottle! This is one of those perfumes that I sometimes just use for therapeutic reasons. Just one spray on my hand makes me go "Ahhhhh!" - It really does take you away from the humdrum of life and your situation, to a sunny beach in the tropics with palm trees and a Pina Colada in your hand. I think therapists should add this to their list of treatments! As for the people who say it disappears after 5 minutes or so - it doesn't. You've just gone none blind to it temporarily, others can smell it on you believe me, especially with extra sprays. However, I do admit that longevity on this one isn't as good as it used to be. Easy fix though - just top up and you're good!