Aqua Mahana

This scent is magical, spicy and sweet at once in a way that to me is completely original. The sea breeze and suncreen are in the air while you bask in the warm glow of tropical flowers and vanilla. A vacation in a bottle. In addition it's long lasting and strong enough for me to enjoy without bothering anyone else. An absolute winner as far as I'm concerned. It's often anyone's guess how much Ellena is really personally involved with these, given that Le Couvent have a whole army of perfumers under his direction. But I'm convinced this particular creation was occupying his mind when he appeared on the France Inter radio show 'Boomerang' on December 11, 2020. The show has a segment called Carte Blanche where musicians, for instance, will cover any song they like. For his Carte Blanche, Ellena composed a made-up perfume he called 'Sous le vent', a perfume meant to provide us with some post-pandemic escapism. I'll try and transcribe what he said in French about this imagined perfume below. « First off let me say I realize the name 'Sous le vent' is borrowed from a 1933 Guerlain perfume. Now, 'Sous le vent' [literally: under the wind, and equally confusing in French] actually means you are sheltered from the wind, otherwise you would be 'au vent' [literally in/at the wind]. » « So anyway, there's this thing when you smell marjoram, sage, lavender, rosemary, any of those will make you go: smells like the Provence! All those odors are different but tied to a similar idea, an olfactory territory if you will, that is the Provence. When you're on a tropical island, the same thing happens. Scents are fused together, and they have common traits. It's that common ground that interests me, for instance the soil, the minerals, the rocks, they'll give you similar scents. » « We'll start with ylang-ylang, frangipani, heliotrope. Exotic, tropical scents, we've traveled far from home! So I'll start composing with those. Heliotrope and vanilla have very sweet vanillic scents that play nice with the skin, so I'll make those my base. The flowers, frangipani and ylang-ylang, contain salicylate: the smell of sand. Why the smell of sand? Actually it's because salicylate also happens to protect the skin from the sun and was therefore once ubiquitous in sunscreen. Consequently, to this day it smells like the sand, the beach, to nearly everyone! » « Then I have molecules that allow me to portray the marine side, like calone [note: and one or two others I couldn't quite catch despite several attempts]. Synthetic compounds, but together with the salicylate that's it: I have my sea. I have my flowers, my sea, my sweetness. I've built my landscape. » So there you have it, I believe when you are smelling Aqua Mahana you are smelling none other than Ellena's 'Sous le vent'. And what a glorious smell it is.

Thank you so much, you guys, for your reviews!!! ❤️ (especially to you 4dri3n, who started the show with your beautiful and insightful, and also splendidly researched review! So happy that you shared from the interview with Ellena :) Without these reviews, I doubt that I would have blind bought this, and then I would never have experienced this treasure of a scent! I've searched for this exact experience in a perfume before, without finding it. I tried Terracotta and Olympea, and though I could appreciate them, they didn't feel "me", they were somehow too "perfumey", too ladylike or something, and also very strong. They didn't feel quite right. Aqua Mahana does! My fiancé was mesmerized by this, and he's quite picky with fragrances: "What are you wearing? This is fantastic, so good, what is this?" he asked me yesterday, when I had received my order and sprayed one spritz per arm. At bedtime he exclaimed what a unique scent this is, and I totally agree! We both like Le Couvent very much, and I'm happy I discovered this house while their fragrances were readily available with testers in the main perfume shops in my neighbourhood. I don't understand what happened, I reckon they didn't have enough ads or people in general prefer designer houses and brands they already know, because last summer the big perfumeries put all the fragrances from Le Couvent on sale, and now you can only buy them online, which means you'll have to blind buy. And I think they're selling out the stock and may not continue to sell Le Couvent when it's gone, which I find so sad. I've bought some back-up bottles of the scents we really love, and will buy back-ups of aqua Mahana today already, as there were only three left. A scent as balanced, rich and original, dreamy and beautiful as this, is rare and precious. With this brand, I also love the aesthetics of the packages and bottles. They feel so luxurious, the tops fit nicely, the atomisers work brilliantly. I don't understand what's not to like about them. Anyway, great longevity and projection on me today, a rainy day, about 20 degrees celcius. Three spritzes at eight in the morning, at 13.30 pm still getting wonderful whiffs of it. I know it's is unisex, but it sure gives me mysterious and exquisitely feminine vibes.

This is a beautiful tropical fragrance, heavy with frangi and ylang, and the scent of the sea. This is not a summer freshie, or despite the name, an aquatic, but a rich full-bodied scent. I really love the smell of frangipani, and this is so heavy in that note that until it is joined by a custard like fruity ylang it almost smells like a soliflore. Then a creamy sandalwood enters the picture, which is beautifully blended with a light vanilla that smells more like the scent of vanilla orchid than a straight heavy vanilla. That's something I appreciate as it doesn't weigh this fragrance down or take away from its transporting airiness. Every time I smell this I am swept away to a tropical locale. If I didn't have so many tropical fragrances, I would buy this in a heartbeat because Ellena did a masterful job of bringing the tropics to life. I'm honestly still mulling it over though, but for now, I'll just continue to enjoy this fragrance until this decant runs dry.

Magic in a bottle. Love it, however not a blind buy. Sweet and strong, yet perfect for summer. Milky and exotic. Smells like summer in Eastern Asia with all the fruits ripe. Not a simple smell and all this sweetness has something dark and mysterious to it. Great value and it lasts nicely, given that some of their smell have longevity issues. This is very unique and summery, making me smile and people around me sniff the air. Love it 9/10

Good affordable quality summer scent. Definitely scratches that tropical beach itch. I was surprised by the quality of the ingredients and of the blend - thank you Mr Elena. The calone doesn't bother and fits well with the overall scent. I blind bought a 10ml bottle for 10€ from their site. If I'll reach a lot for it, I definitely will get a FB.