Holy Water

Holy Water is a beautiful fragrance created by Francis Kurkdijan. I am surprised by the reviews that say it has poor longevity, because the oil roll-on lasts over 12 hours on my skin. It doesn't have a lot of projection, but that's fine -- my hubby and I are the only people who really have to smell me. Perhaps many people become anosmic to its scent shortly after applying it? I did too, the first time I wore it, so I thought that it had vanished after a few minutes. But then I noticed it later, and my nose seems to have trained itself to smell it now. It starts out sort of incensy, like an old Catholic church... But gradually it changes to a wholly floral scent that's predominantly roses and lilies -- flowers associated with Our Lady, the Virgin Mary. I was born on the day celebrated as Her birthday, so I feel a special affinity for Her... and I think She'd like this scent. It seems perfect for Her. I really enjoy the way the scent changes, and I love the way it presents roses and lilies -- my two favorite flowers -- separately, not as a blend or mish-mash of the two, but each flower appearing in turn, then allowing the other to appear for a moment. There's a touch of magic in this. Mr. Kurkdijan did a fabulous job creating this very special scent that's both gorgeous and also feels very respectful of the Church. Kudos to him!

I'm just going to ignore the fact that this is called holy water. If Francis Kurkdjian goes to a chruch where the holy water smells like this it wouldn't surprise me in the least. In pictures he's always surrounded by beautiful things. This is actually a very quiet fragrance with a lot going on, beautiful woods and subtle florals with an clean, aquatic element that are combined in a sophisticated and modern way. The fragrance doesn't last very long but it's inexpensive. It's an amazing little find when you consider the fact it's sold in Duane Reade. For $15 you can pick up a tiny bottle of heaven. I think the room spray or the diffuser oil is probably the ideal way to go here with this beautiful scent.

Türk var mı burada bilmiyorum ama tütsü dumanlı kokulara bayıldığım için aldım. İlk sıktığınızda yağlı bir koku geliyor sadece. Sonrasında koku tende oturdukça ( yani en azından benim tenimde ) tütsümsü pudramsı beni huzur dolduran bir kokuya dönüştü. Biraz eski kokulara da benziyor ve hafif de ruj kokusunu anımsatıyor bilmiyorum çok hoşuma gitti aklıma geldiği şekilde tarif etmeye çalıştım. Kötü yanlarından da bahsedeyim , kıyafetinizde yağ lekesi bırakıyor ve yayılımı oldukça düşük :( ama yine de 210 TL ye fena değil ve tekrardan alma olasılığım yüksek. Keşke Türkiyede kolayca diğer kokularına da ulaşmak kolay olsa çok merak ettiğim kokuları da var

Holy Water by Demeter. Let's see, there is no note pyramid for this fragrance. I can tell you one thing, the holy water in my church does not smell like this. I wish it did. All I can say is that it smells really nice, like summer freshness in a bottle. I don't like to compare fragrances BUT it smells like a lighter version of Pleasures for men by Estee Lauder. All in all it is a very safe fragrance.

Petrichor tends to smell like cucumber to me, but I have to say that Demeter has a good way of mixing the fragrance so it all works. I don’t get moldy cucumber for this one. It smells like incense and cool water. As a lapsed Catholic this has the scent I was looking for to bring me back to church without going there haha

smells like very old water in a dusty glass bottle. skin scent maybe? not noticable, makes you smell as though you've spent the day in a basement or old church or something. clean in a dirty way. the opposite of fresh, bright etc. dark and quiet. also only lasts like 20 minutes

Since actual holy water doesn't have a smell, this doesn't smell like holy water. It reminds me of the smell of scented candles that go by names like "ocean breeze" or "seaside". Soft and sweet and flowery. It's gone before you can figure out what it smells like.

I polished off my bottle. I would repurchase if it had greater sillage and longevity, I loved the fragrance so much but it just doesn’t last. The scent itself is extremely similar to Cool Water for her

this smells like an old leaky church after a storm in the best way possible. wet, moody, and musky without being overwhelming. my only gripe is the lasting power but it just lives in my purse now.

Soapy, salty, aquatic. Ocean vibes, soft/mild lilies, leather on cold marble. After several mins, smoky incense adds well-balanced complexity. Mellow and mysterious. Not a fan of thick, soapy notes - but the way it plays with smoke is special. Compelling contrast of clean and dark. Perfect for a witch/goth/vampire/etc. Not cheesy or low class, which is rare enough for Demeter to make it one of their better fragrances. Alas, the smoke quickly turns into juniper/moss/dry floral, reducing the experience to high-end hotel soap. Thankfully, never sweet. Medium projection is fine. Worth trying.

Soft, unsweetened flowers with a bit of green in cool, humid air. A mineral-y, musty smell emerges after about an hour. Calone, my perfumery bête noire, is here, but it's well blended and only occasionally gives off generic "blue." This smells like a high-end hotel soap. Perfectly nice as a non-traditional freshie. Longevity is 3 hours or so, sillage minimal after an hour for the spray. I might try this in the shower gel or diffuser oil. EDIT: I LOVE this with a drop or two of mitti attar. It extends the longevity and adds more cool earthiness.

Smells like a clean girl beauty kinda girl eating her cheat meal in the form of McDonalds French fries. It smells a little metallic, like being in an air-conditioned room, and a teeny bit salty and oily? I was hoping for a sort of aquatic, ethereal cologne here and that's not really what I got. Longevity is alright though for a Demeter cologne. Objectively I think it smells nice. Just not what I was expecting. Funny to think this has the same perfumer as *the* Baccarat Rouge.

I guess my decant must have been from an old formulation because it did smell a little aquatic. But it smelled like marble and old wood. It just smelled cool and calm if that makes sense. Cool and secure like an old sanctuary near pretty Italian women with their heads covered in black lace. Quiet, serene, cool. Give it a try. It's a trip. I don't know how the new formulation compares but I really liked how calming mine was :)

Takes the fantasy note route to capture the concept of holy water. It's for the best--holy water is just regular ol' water that's been blessed by a priest. No note pyramid for reference, but here is my take: Subtle herbal/citrus smell, soapy on the dry down. The herbs smell like juniper to me. This reminded me of gin, which is kinda funny, but it's nice and fresh. Fleeting as all Demeters are, but great for layering.

I'd swear I'd smelled this before--sadly, I never have sniffed the genuine article straight from the source, so I cannot comment on its realness-to-life. Ah, it's another Demeter; two, in fact! This is the love child of Thunderstorm and Wet Garden: cool, damp earth, teeming with tiny pale green sprouts, and an inanimate, minereal twang. I think a more accurate name would be "Garden of Eden".

This fragrance is beautiful. The scent is hard to explain; it smells like cold marble, musk and just the word ‘fresh’. The longevity is not good with the spray, reading the other review about the oil roller lasting all day makes me want to try it. This perfume is truly androgynous. If you have smelled Skin or Rain from the brand Clean, Holy Water smells sort of similar to those two.

It smells fine not very churchy but I see the vision I've never smelled real holy water but I can imagine this is what it smells like. Sadly it doesn't last more than 20 minutes on my skin. Overall I like this scent it comes off as slightly aquatic but flowery at the same time I like to layer it with serge lutens- l'orpheline.

Ghostly lillies, cool water and cold marble. The scent takes me back to visiting the mausoleums in Hollywood Forever cemetery. Sprayed this in room while watching a horror film. Atmospheric! Waiting for a hot day to wear this as I think it will be very cooling and calming.

I like it. Was worried because a few reviews said it smelled like bath and body work cucumber melon. It does not. It smells floral, maybe jasmine? Powdery, clean. Smells like the nice old ladies at church in their Sunday best.

i can’t believe this is the work of francis kudijian but also it’s very realistic to holy water it smells like water contaminated by peoples sweaty moisturised hands. there’s also that kind of old person smell on it too

A great friend gave me a bottle of this; she found herself not wearing it because it's a bit oily. I don't know if my nose is off or what, but for me, this fragrance registers as LEATHER, just a great leather scent.

All the below reveiws are very accurate and indeed for once I have nothing to add I have simply liked all the below reveiws :) Like many of the demeter range I find the staying power of this scent fleeting :)

I blind bought this as a 9ml decant and all I can say is that... it smells like shrink wrap / leather at the beginning with the synthetic aquatic notes at the beginning. I daresay this is a more... modern, backrooms version of church rather than the classic churches I go to (fresh flowers, incense)... I really don't like the top notes for being very synthetic, but the drydown is pleasant, sanitised. I agree with the reviews that say it's a room spray. It smells a bit icky on my skin but on paper quite pleasant after the drydown. I have mixed feelings about this being a perfume. After getting Thunderstorm as a decant and loving the scent even on my skin, I had quite high hopes for this one. But I guess this one is a bit off-putting. Glad I didn't get a full bottle, sold the decant to my colleague who apparently likes it.

Strangly reminds me of pearl earrings and opal covered caves. This is aquatic in a way that is not screaming fresh, it's soft and melancholic quite fitting to its name does smell like the cold walls of an ancient church, but not a strong fragrance it's very intimate and just changes the way your skin normally smells, reduces that saltiness of heaving summer skin and exchanges it with a soft muddiness, making you feel like as if your only nourishment was fruits and water. I get hints of lilies, sage, gardenia and myrrh, if I was looking for a "not-a-perfume" perfume would purchase a new bottle, but I'm not.

I bought this purely because of the name, thought it would be a personal achievemnt to own a perfume called holy water. Its not like I expected female christ or something, but i cannot say im pleased either. I really wanted it to be good. Its okay, but if i could go back in time i probably wouldnt buy it. Its giving melony, cucumber-y. Damp. Its very wierd. Like grandmas dentures and dried fruit and cut grass after rain but your inside and the ac is on. Synthetic. Its giving Ethel Cain... So, mission succeeded ig!

Smells like metal & concrete soaked rain to me... Very alcohol-y in the first few seconds you put it on but then it almost smells sweet before going to the vague rain smell.... I didn’t grow up religious so I never went to Catholic churches but when I had my boyfriend smell it it almost immediately blasted him back to being at church as a kid when the priest would put holy water on the people’s heads... he said it was a mix of the water, the church, and the smell of the priest himself.

I have this perfume, and it definitely does smell like a cucumber, at first which is really awkward to say for a perfume called Holywater, but it does transform into something fresh something you would wear during spring. While you are in the woods. Exploring with your best friend. It smells fresh and kind of nostalgic. I really like it at first. I didn’t, but smelling it while writing this review, it’s growing on me

Smells like very dusty marble and some lemony soap on a dirty skin. Makes you smell like you spent a long time in a dusty attic

At least there should be a hint of frankincense but there isn't--this is ocean water

When I smell Holy Water, I picture crushed lilies strewn across a wet marble floor, like the aftermath of a baptism ceremony held for a particularly fussy baby. It's a cool aquatic floral scent, but not fresh and bright in the way that most aquatic fragrances are. Instead, it's distinctly cold in a way that's distant and removed- like an empty, overly air-conditioned church filled with Easter lilies. Additionally, the synthetic aquatic note almost reads as leathery to me, which makes me think of the smell of a Bible. Not an aged, dusty Bible though- a brand new leather-bound Bible still in its plastic shrink-wrap packaging. This fragrance isn't unpleasant, but I think it's better suited as a room spray rather than a body scent.

I loved the original Brosius formulation of this fragrance. Yes, it was ephemeral and aquatic (before aquatics were en vogue), but it had an almost subliminal effect of cool marble, soft lilies, fresh water and faint myrrh incense. It was very good for warm weather. The current formulation smells nasty, heavy, and not a bit fresh. With all of the notes amped up to 11, presumably to enhance longevity, the freshness has gone and all of the harsh synthetic qualities are laid bare, especially the prominent synthetic lily. Even with light application, I no longer find this frag wearable. Maybe I will try cutting it with diluent before I toss the remainder of my 4 oz. bottles.

Very weak longevity, thank god I bought a sample because this smell is so weak i almost thought i was anosmic to it. Regardless of me realizing the scent has not changed my opinion at all, the scent is very aquatic, cold, wet and faint greenish-(fir type)-metallic-concrete. Also someone said it in the former comments before that it smelt something closer to a "cucumber water" they did not lie yall, i could literally imagine a big soaked wet dangling curvey cucumber smelling this, definitely wasn't expecting mfk to be the creator of this diddy scent with little to no silage.

Smells like dirty water, jellybeans, and my grandma during easter sunday. I'm a little disappointed because I was going by other's reviews on it on here as my reason of buying it but it's not quite as expected. I was expecting more like an aquatic, incense, and church like smells. I guess it kind of does in that sense of a cheap church that your jellybean hoarding grandma might go to and take you with since you were visiting on a sunday but not a beautiful cathedral.

I wanted to like this simply for the name alone! It was just way too cloyingly floral for me, though, and gave me a banger of a headache.

It is water indeed. It smells like nothing, literally nothing, not even a faint impression. No - thing.

The original of this scent was made by Christopher Brosius, whose skill in crafting damp scents is unmatched in perfumery. It smelled like cool, damp stone dappled with bits of green moss in an ancient building with ancient wooden doors. Faint hints of incense, tiny bits of floating dust, and fresh growing flowers waft gently through the background, and lightly fragrant water is held in a heavy font just inside. If you can imagine stepping into an ancient stone chapel in remote countryside on a cool day, it smelled like that. The new version is a shadow of this memory. It is still clean, damp, slightly incensey, and cool. I prefer it sprayed on fabric, as it becomes strange on my skin. I continue to search for something as evocative as the original.

This is less a review than a question that other reviewers may be able to help with: I'm getting suspicious that something is wrong with my sense of smell and this perfume is an example. Just got a brand new authentic bottle. The first nose was sharp alcohol and a strong melon note--the effect was much like Midori Liqueur if you've ever had that. It has now settled into a definite coolish aquatic with what may be a lily note. I'm not getting any wax, any incense or any wood. Is this just a different (mildly disappointed) take on the scent or am I losing my ability to smell accurately? (6 months ago I could distinguish between cherry and almond so this is/was a well-trained nose.)

All the perfumes I have from “the Library of fragrance” have unfortunately been blind buys and I use the word unfortunately as 75% of them have been a waste of money.This one however is a bright exception,it’s aquatic and botanical in the softest way possible,even the fact that its longetivity is so poor matches its theme of transparency.It’s almost like it’s a light breath of scent and not a full on fragrance.Perfect for days when you don’t really feel like wearing perfume.If it’s your first time buying from the brand I’d suggest you give this one a try,you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Such a delicate, beautiful fragrance. I love layering it with Demeter's dragonfly, D'annam White Rice, and many others to add an aquatic layer. Smells like walking past the font while going back to your church pew after washing your hands with barely scented soap in an old, damp church. I always used to take long bathroom breaks as a kid in our old, humid church. Thinking about getting the diffuser version for my office. It's very clean, aquatic, and gentle. For those who were hoping for a bit more complex of a fragrance, I highly recommend Demeter's Transfixed.

I’ve been to many a European cathedral, and this does not capture it. There’s no incense or smoke, no stone, no mustiness. I get light flowers and a whiff of my grandmother’s washroom in the ‘70s. The review that describes this as hotel soap is right on target. It’s fine and completely inoffensive for $24, if you don’t expect it to smell like the name on the bottle.

I'm here for the comments, because what on earth could "holy water" possibly smell like? Then again, I'm not Catholic, so there might be a fragrance to it. Idk. Have you read the comments on 'Funeral Home'? Okay, that makes sence. I'd like to imagine the conversation wearing this: Public: "Oh hey, what are you wearing"? Wearer: "holy water".

Perfumed myrrh and a watery sense of maybe lilies, like a floral incense. It's okay, though doesn't resemble holy water in any way. Rather a nice light fragrance for day wear, with the usual caveat that the Demeter scents seldom last long or have much sillage.

The only note in this perfume is holy water and the icon is from Genshin Impact. In that game, a character sells this bottle as holy water but he gets it from a normal water source just next to him! It's a scam. Hopefully this perfume is not.

OMG I love this! I think it's smells like Rome, like cold stone and like leather - all at once and so fresh! (and maybe a bit of wood?) I will definately purchase this unusual scent, and I love the quirky name. Well done Demeter.

It was done NOT by Francis Kurkdjian but by Christopher Brosius. I asked Mark Crames, the CEO of Demeter Fragrance Library myself (he was visiting Moscow).

Wait I just realized the holy water picture is from genshin impact lollll

It just smells like generic pear-scented baby wipes