Aura Maris

To me, this perfume is a subtle piece of art. It does not have the smell of the sea so don't expect a watery, oceanic scent but it gives me the feeling of sunkissed seaside, that feeling of freedom, freshness and expanded space I get when going to the see and the happiness of watching it glistening in the sun. Aqua Maris is both fresh, warm, light and somehow calm/European so it must be the mediterranean, no? Like a painting it expresses something I cannot put into words, which to me is the definition of art: communication of something otherwise inexpressible. It is more like a sculpture than a symphony: very unified form rather than individual notes jumping out at me. But this doesn't mean it does not change. It behaves as a quality classic perfume, starting with the fresh/flower/citrus notes, fininshing with musky/woody. To me, Aqua maris has almost no sweetness, which I like and which makes it a unisex and almost asexual scent. It is sensual and beautiful in a subtle and classy way. Low to medium projection according to weather, stays on me till the next day (but I almost never have longevity issues plus I have a rather sensitive nose). Update: citrussy, woody/spicy lovelyness kept together by a wonderful dose of narcissus:) I find the scent evaporates very quickly in hot weather which is a waste. So I'd recommend to use in no warmer than scandinavian summer weather for good longevity and beautiful projection. One funny thing: When I wear this I do not get complimented on my perfume but often on my looks! I use it as my fresh formal scent.

I got a decant of this quite by chance, because a member selling a decant of something I really wanted offered this as well and I thought "why not, can't go wrong with citrus". It took me a while to get around to wearing it though, because in the bottle it doesn't smell at all promising: quite ordinary, and what's worse, a bit dirty; not really what I'm usually into at all. So it was a pleasant surprise to find out how nice it actually is when I finally wore it. It's a subtle kind of citrus scent, quite elegant and without any "loud" elements. The musk that makes it smell dirty in the bottle (or at least I'm guessing it's the musk) turns into something quite different on the skin. Like the previous reviewer said it does have something ever so slightly salty and reminiscent of the sea, and the combination of that with the natural citrus notes does make it successful as an evocation of the Mediterranean. But even more than that I get a delicious and very clean powdery quality that I can't stop taking little sniffs from on my wrist, it's so lovely! So this is a surprise love for me, and I'm sure my decant will see a lot of use when the warmer seasons that will really make it bloom come around again.

This fragrance proves my theory that Italians are citrus masters First of all, I am not a big citrus fan, and it's not something usual that I like a citrusy fragrance. Amongst all citrus scents this one caught my attention and really earned my admiration. Actually I love it. Screaming with quality, natural ingredients. Might come off feminine to some noses, but it's totally unisex for me. The florals here are my favorite part, jasmine and narcissus, with fine woods in the background along with patchouli. I have FINALLY found a great scent to wear during the summer days unlike all other generic, boring, you name it!, type of scents for summer. Great longevity. A 10/10 for me.

Very nice bergamot opening with support of orange and fruity notes. Then the narcissus accord shows up, supported by benzoin, a noticeable woody note, spices (unlisted by clearly present) and a hint of musk. In a nutshell: a citrus/floral, with oriental undertones. Moderate performance. Very nicely crafted and indeed quite close to Eau de Rochas pour Femme. Or more remotely a Minotaure flanker for the Summer? A winner for warmer days, with a consistent top quality delivered by Lorenzo Villoresi.

I love how subtle this fragrance is. The citrus is soft and uplifting with gentle woodsy notes. When I first spray it, I sometimes get a little bit of an anise smell that may be part of the green notes. The dry down reminds me of a tamer Chance by Chanel, with the floral, amber, and musk becoming more obvious. I would purchase an entire bottle of Mare Nostrum, but I currently have a bottle of Chance that I love dearly. I think the Mare Nostrum is a bit overpriced.