Aqua Universalis Cologne Forte

*I own this 2.4oz fragrance* As a masculine dude, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this fragrance. I tested it vs. the original and the Forte, and confirmed Cologne Forte is my favorite. There is something utterly beautiful about it. It reminds me of soft blankets in a blossoming meadow. It reminds me of words like pure, angelic, peace, harmony, and wild horses. The white musk base is masculine and dries down wonderfully on a mans skin! UNMATCHED for this genre of fragrance. This fragrance doesn’t scream sexy, but I can confirm it’s INDIRECTLY sexy. A woman will smell this on you and feel safe. She’ll be turned on by how pure you smell. She’ll want you because you smell unlike anything she’s ever smelled and you aren’t bombarding her with some fragrance that was concocted to be sexy. This fragrance is very alluring and not pushy :) I tested this VS. PDM Layton and after a week of testing each, I sided with MFK AUCF. You have to know what you’re looking for before you smell this. I will admit it caught me off guard, cause it didn’t smell like anything I had or what I thought it would. If you’re a fan of 1 Million Parfum (which is also a sunny white floral fragrance), I think this would be good for you. 1MParf is like the adolescent cousin of this fragrance. EDIT**** I discovered this fragrance myself after a long day of In-person testing at Neiman Marcus, Macy’s, and Nordstrom. I thought it was beautiful upon first whiff. So beautiful, that the following week, I traveled back 40miles to my closest Nordstrom solely to smell this without the influence of a day’s worth of fragrance in my nose. I can tell you that the first reunited whiff was exactly how perfect I remembered it the first time. NEVER HAVE I THOUGHT OF FABRIC CLEANER DETERGENT LIKE ALL THESE OTHER REVIEWS WHAT THE HELL. I was shocked by other reviews. I can confirm it may be a bit sharp at first cause the bergamot. But once that creamy white floral chimes in, and the white musk warms up on my manly skin. It is magical. If you don’t like it, you’re nose probably isn’t mature enough and I recommend going back to Invictus Aqua or Bleu De Chanel, no offense. PS. PDM Layton is terrible.

💍 “My first truly secure relationship ever was with Aqua Universalis Cologne Forte...! This smells clean, elegant and wonderfully airy to me. It's my favorite when I don't feel like wearing anything heavy and/or am going somewhere that fragrance is frowned upon. This will be gliding through the room like light on glass, creating the most delicate sparkling aura to enjoy, and best of all, you can't really overspray it. Also a perfect choice for the beach day as the wind will keep flirting with the scent... YUM! To talk a bit about my personal wear experience: AUCF offers a unique experience: it doesn’t land on you, it settles next to you. Like a presence. A companion. A quiet touch that never leaves your side. Emotionally grounding, almost meditative, it calms while making you feel immaculately put together. Linear? Only if you wear it unintentionally: Apply it to pulse points, under your shirt, and behind the neck. Each area develops at its own tempo, and you’ll keep catching glimmers of different stages throughout the day. On bare skin, around hour one, it melts in. You won’t smell perfume. You’ll smell like a better version of yourself. Clean, radiant, gently airbrushed. And then the switch happens: it stops being something you wear, and starts being something that wears you and turns surprisingly sexy! So you see, AUCF isn’t just a fragrance, it’s your cleanest danger. As for longevity: the musks survive sleep and even a hot shower. Far better than most give it credit for. And to those who say it smells like “piss”, perhaps consider not sniffing 13 different test strips in a single afternoon. You can’t judge nuance with a numbed nose like that, just saying...

I'm obsessed with this scent. For months I've been looking for a fragrance that is floral, musky, metallic. I had a vision of white flowers and glass and concrete. I think this is as close as it will get. Aqua universalis cologne forte has a very interesting hot iron on wet laundry effect that I am also addicted to. I had a sample and I'm going for a full bottle. This is for the people that want that discrete hot and cold 'laundry' fragrance, although I would rather describe it as a crisp unisex white floral. It's a little harsh at points, it's synthetic I would say, chemical, but still floral, musky, woody. There's quality here. At times I get gentle fluidity silver aromatic bitterness, which I do not appreciate anymore, but I find this fragrance has many layers and shifts 3 or 4 times throughout a wear. I love it despite it defects. I love.

I know some people said this smells like toilet cleaner, but man, I'm in love with this. Didn't love this at first because I oversprayed and the opening felt too strong, but later I tried it again and fell in love with it. Maybe I have a weird body chemistry, but I even got compliments wearing this. I can smell the citrus and floral well and I feel fresh like out of the shower fresh when I wear this. I wore this to the gym and all that and this freshie could last me around 5hours on my skin. But I still can't justify the pricetag.

Ooh! Lovely minimalistic musk bomb. Let it settle on your skin before you judge it. Very short-lived citrus blast in the opening but dries down comforting and fluffy, all kittens and flowers and sunshine. No sharp edges. Over time the bergamot takes a back seat and the photorealistic sweet pea really shines and brings a balancing greenness. Smells like a sunny cottage garden in high summer with laundry drying on the line.

This is my first review here. The reason why i am doing it because i love Aqua Universalis Cologne Forte by MFK. When i was young i used to live with my grandparents. I smell the same at their garden when citrus , orange flowers mixed with sweet peas and honeybees wax. It is a journey back to joy and nature at the countryside . Couple of hours heaven silage . Thanks MFK

How to explain? It smells like like ancient coins and cucumbers in a very attractive way and seems to last longer than the other Aquas in this line. I'm a woman, but it makes me think of Greek gods. I'm going to get my husband to wear it just for me, but I can see it working well, if he is trying to impress people at a business lunch or something similar

This one is WAY better than the original. Maybe its because I’m a younger guy in my mid 20’s but this was an immediaate “Go” for me whereas the original was a big hesitation along the lines of: “I like this but there’s something I can’t agree with” I’m certain now it has to be a maturity thing. To the younger crowd this is a thumbs up!

Smells like being surrounded by bubbles at a child's birthday party, musk, and clean laundry drying in the sun. My partner purchased this by mistake for my birthday (I asked for the OG AU), but I'm very happy with this one. I feel squeaky clean wearing this one. Truly unisex.

it smells super soapy and sexy and clean. it is very linear however but it smells great. ia think its only is low rated because it is expensive for a soapy fragrance but it smells amazing, big hairy balls.

Beautiful clean and smooth. Very soapy. The notes describes the scent perfectly. Bergamot, musk, white flowers. You can easily blindbuy this if you like the notes All the hate it gets is super weird

I love it. I love the opening sharp clean smell that drys down to be warmer - I wear this to the office and generally get a good response - great longevity It’s an easy frag to wear

Citrus musk. Clean, very very unisex and androgynous. It’s a bit boring and expensive for a dumb reach/gym fragrance. It is very nice, refreshing and clean, but that’s it.

Reminds me of a citrus version of Versace Noir

This one's a long ride, but buckle up, Its worth it. So I blind bought this. Bottle arrives, and I'm hyped. It looks incredible, futuristic, minimal, kinda alien. Like something a cyborg perfumer from 2094 would spray before gliding off into the chrome sunset. All glass, all transparent, all shimmer, all sleek. Pure aesthetic win. Then I sprayed it. And what in the holy metallic hell did I just unleash. It smelled like freshly forged railroad tracks with a side of hot steel shavings and existential confusion. Like I tuned into a lovely citrus-and-white-flower show, but the TV signal was busted and all I got was static. That “static”? Heavy, metallic, nose-punching musk. I was crushed. I spiraled. Did I get a bad batch? Was this a cosmic prank? I went through all five stages of grief. Bottle went straight to the back of the shelf, where shame lives. Fast forward two months. Warmer weather hits. I think, “why not,” and give it another shot. And yo... plot twist. It worked. It didn’t attack my nostrils this time. It actually smelled... good? Clean. Very abstract. Kinda rebellious. Still metallic, but now it felt intentional, like it was telling a story I just hadn’t learned the language for yet. Now I get it. It’s futuristic. This is what I imagine characters in 80s sci-fi anime wear, floating through neon cities in chrome suits, ultra-sanitized and stoic. It’s crisp, cold, polished, and somehow calming. The citrus is there, just not how you expect. And that crazy musk? It's not broken, it is the signal! It's crazy Not for everyone. Not for everyday. But if you have it, give it another shot. Don’t write it off after the first WTF moment. Sometimes peace smells like space metal. 🤷🏼♂️ Rating: ???/10 – Too weird to rate, too cool to ignore.

I feel conflicted by this fragrance as it provides a duality of experience – one for the wearer, and one for people around you. For the wearer: It’s laundry day and you accidentally spill a bottle of concentrated fabric softener all over your clothes pre-wash. The smell isn’t bad per se, but it is incredibly synthetic and chemical like, almost to the point you feel you might get a headache. For others: Said clothes, doused in fabric softener, have now been freshly washed and are hanging to dry in the summer sun. You catch irresistible wafts of zesty clean freshness which you can’t help but want to smell more of.

This is a musky twist on the original without orange blossom and the musk turned up. But it's not turned up to the piercing volume of 724. Suprisingly leans a smidge (55/45) masculine imo. Well polished like most MFK, no rough edges, very refined Conjures images of crisp white linens and white soaps. Lacking distinction and wow factor to seperate itself from the pack of MFK fresh fragrances in my opinion. However, if found for a major discount (Around 100-125 tops) I'd consider it. Solid choice overall. -------------------------------------------------- Scent 75/100 Performance 75/100

I had this before about a year ago? I decided to sell it after I had owned it for 2 months now I regret of letting it go hahaha tested it today under the hot and humid weather in Hong Kong... it performs super good as a freshie~ I was a fan of mfk but seeing him keep on repackaging different scents from the brand I stopped buying mfk last year, this smells like 724/754 IMO but less musky, 724/754 was a musky bomb on my skin skipped all the top and middles notes, AUCF is very soapy and clean on me... thinking should I get this in 35ml again :(

Like this fragrance, but find the dry down to be less successful that the more clarified Aqua Celestia Forte, which I find similar. Dry down is rather soapy and one dimensional, although I should say that the top notes and middle notes are rather long lasting. Overall longevity is good for a lighter citrus fragrance. If I had to choose one I would probably buy celestia first, and find these two too similar for both to be neccessary for myself, or the line. One of those fragrances that is perfectly down the line unisex

Of all the colognes and aquas that I smelled, this one is the closest to what I imagine that pure water would smell if it had smell (yes I know that pure water has no smell, taste or color). It's like cold water with a little bit of floral infusion on a warm day in spring, and the smell stays for quite a while. Probably my favorite of all of MKS's Aquas, but even so it's far from being worth the price. I will however keep it on my 'maybe someday' list. Get a samples, test it out. It might surprise you.

Nice soft citrus floral opening with a musky background. Very nice, but a bit too floral for my taste. Leans neutral or slightly feminine. A tiny bit of a sweet gourmand vibe that reminds me a tiny bit of Baccarat Rouge 540's cotton candy accord in texture and vibe, if not scent. Wearing it next to Celestia Cologne Forte which sharper, not sweet, and not floral. Universalis is nice but less my speed. Celestia is definitely my preference. Scent: 7 / Sillage: 7 / Longevity: 7

Received a generous sample from MFK directly with my Amyris order. My experience: Fresh, 100% unisex. Linens from an outside line dry on a day with a cool breeze. Ever so slightly sweet, yet very fresh. A ripe, tangy, but not an overly tart lime is prominent, keeping it from becoming a too sweet or dryer sheet-ish. Doesn’t disappear, as often happens with scents in this style. Musk is very clean. Reminds me of clean skin after a shower with unscented soap.

The soapy opening seems to annoy a lot of reviewers I believe it was bad on paper and skin but the opening on clothes were actually bearable Definitely the dry down is the star of the show with such brightness and freshness very good quality Performance is actually average sometimes less than average the bottomline is it’s very expensive and overpriced I personally won’t waste my money on it

Fine all the eastern europeans can think i smell like their public restrooms. Quite frankly i think they must smell pretty damn good over there. This imo is the rather pricey queen of clean girl fragrances. I feel like wearing this you should be wearing all white drapey clothes and walking around a church in the moonlight. Mwah i love smelling like a toilet 😘😍🥰

It's a shame all the hate this fragrance gets. I'll Keep it simple. If you like Musk, you will like this. It smells like fresh clean clothes. It lasts all day on my skin and the sillage is nice. I know everyone is different, but for me this works well. I mix this with Bleu De Chanel or Silver Mountain Water sometimes. I like clean fresh scents.

The bergamot anchored by musk creates fresh but warm scent. It's quite intense but not in an artificial or chemical way. I like it more than I would expect to like a bergamot perfume but can't see myself buying a full bottle, for the same effect I would definitely prefer MFK's Petit Matin as it's smoother.

This makes me feel like I'm wearing a light linen t-shirt and relaxing alone on an empty beach, on a chilly and overcast day, lazily and almost melancholically looking in the distance, not really thinking of anything, occasionally feeling a light breeze that brings with it the scent of the sea.

A nice evenly balanced fragrance. Burst of Citrus that happily lasts! and a musky dry down. Clean white shirt, crisp dark straight leg jeans, Birken bag and Jackie O sunglasses kind of vibe. Completely appropriate for anywhere. Nice longevity and close to the skin sillage.

This is mainly white florals with a dash white musk that is present in all of the universalis line. It smells like bed sheets and comfort. This is very homey and almost like laundry. I prefer the other one, Aqua Universalis, more. Bu the sweet pea note is still nice

It's a musky, clean and beautiful fragrance . Musk and citrus notes are dominant . It smells like bathing with luxury bath and body products . Aqua series are good for people with a gentle feeling, elegance and fan of unisex fragrances . 💦

G&T opening. To me it smells clean but not like a cleaning product. Fairly linear but long lasting. An easy reach for hotter months. Not as bad as many here are making it seem!

This is ok but I much prefer Aqua Vitae Gold cologne. Clean fabric softeners; yeah I get that.

Smells like a more watery version of Aqua Universalis Forte. Where the original AU is a watery citrus muted by gentle white florals, and AUF smells like a more strongly orange version of that, AUCF is a weird tweener. It smells like AUF with a strange marine-like "heavy water" undertone, perhaps an overdose of calone, a misguided attempt to combine the scent profile of the Forte with the freshness of the original. However, AUF is already a fairly light scent. It doesn't have the thick aromatic accords that Celestia Forte and Vitae Forte have compared to their originals. Forte already retains most of the original's freshness, so I'm not sure what the point of this Cologne Forte is. For me, this misses the mark. I do get better performance from this one over its siblings, though, with moderate projection that begins to fade through 3-4hr, longevity 12hr+.

Hmmm, I don’t know. I got a sample with an order. It’s a collection of the three cologne forte which is confusing because there’s three Aqua scents - Vitae, Universalis, and Celestia. Each comes in edt and in forte which is edp and in cologne forte edp. So I have a little box of the cologne forte edps and thus far, I’m not loving them. I also have a Celestia Forte edp and that was better but longevity was trash (like 2 hours) and very disappointing for an edp. This one has some power and I get the clean laundry vibes and a bit of floral and bit of citrus up top. However I also get a metallic note I’m not loving. Feels like I kind of smell like a cleaning product, but it’s not unpleasant. Again, not great. Going to try this as the regular Universalis Forte EDP and see what happens.

I recieved a small bottle of this as a free gift with an order. This perfume smells as if fabric softener and all purpose cleaner had a baby. It's very fresh and clean, with just a hint of sweat pea, but I can't detect any musk at all. After an initial burst of citrus, it remains quite linear and doesn't evolve any further. It reminds me of any scent labeled "fresh linen". It's a very nice scent...for a detergent, but not for a perfume. I love perfumes that make me feel confident, sexy and feminine. This one just makes me want to do the laundry and organize my sock drawer.

Flowers and lemon in a bottle. More for summer, hot days. Not so original, overpriced for me... More a cleaning scent for me, sorry... more masculin. 4/10 In this brand, for fall and winter, I prefer Gentle Fluidity (9/10) = Oud Satin (9/10) > Baccarat Rouge 540 Ext (7/10) = Baccarat Rouge 540 (7/10) > Oud Silk (5/10) In this brand, for summer: I prefer L'eau à la rose (8/10) > Aqua Vitae Cologne forte (7/10) > Aqua Celestia Cologne forte (6/10) > A la rose (6/10) > Aqua Universalis Cologne forte (4/10)

As others have mentioned it is extremely reminiscent of cleaning products or other fresh cheap perfumes, but maybe that's your thing so. The actual scent is clean, fresh and bright, but by no means is it innovative or exciting. For a rating I give it 4/10, needs refining to bring something new to fragrance especially at the asking price.

This is a simple, sharp and refreshing citrus with a mild floral presence that blends well but doesn’t add much personality. The scent is short lasting and you have to work to notice it. I got a sampler from this perfumer and hope to like other scents more. This is certainly safe but I would not buy more.

I like the dirtier "citrus - floral" scents, but not this one. Imagine a thorn bush + a bitter lemon + sweaty musky armpit = AU Cologne Forte. It's sharp and acrid and missing something .. mellow, both in the opening and dry down. I have a travel size of this from a set, PM me if interested.

Unfortunately this smells like ivory soap and cilantro on me. I could see enjoying this scent on someone else "Wow they smell so clean and herbal!" but I do not enjoy it on myself. I'm thinking I might gift my bottle to my Father in Law.

Damn, this is SOAPY. I see how this could read to someone as aquatic, it's just not what it is. This is the Plato's cave of aquatics. I wouldn't be so bothered if this wasn't so extortionately expensive.

In the first few wears didn’t think much of it. Revisited many months later and really like this a lot. Musky clean like Dior Homme Cologne 2022 but maybe sharper and heavier. I like both fragrances.

One of the freshest scents I've ever smelt! Very clean and citrus scent. Sprayed yesterday on my clothes and lasted all day. Very much unisex.

Lemon Pledge (UK wood polish product) smell which dries down to a base very reminiscent of Green Irish Tweed. Pointless.

Blast of gin and tonic followed by something a little too sharply clean feeling

I had high hopes for Aqua Universalis Cologne Forte because I enjoyed the original Aqua Universalis. However, it seems that in the Cologne Forte version, the dewy freshness that gave Aqua Universalis its vibrancy was swapped out in favour of an incredibly long-lasting plasticky white floral/muguet note. The whole composition, while insanely persistent for a floral fragrance - I could catch whiffs of it from my arm over 12 hours later - ultimately smells linear, uninspired, perfunctory and is strongly reminiscent of functional cleaning products. Sure, it smells pleasant - in an expensive hotel washroom sort of way - but it completely misses the mark when it comes to the collection's promised luminosity and embodiment of light.

This was the scent that turned me off from "White Musk" notes for a very long time. It was nauseating and synthetic on that first spray and the first couple hours.. It dried down to a nice fresh laundry remnants kind of smell. But I really really wanted to wash it off in the beginning and regretted spraying. I was surprised at the longevity. It also intensifies and changes significantly as it ages on the skin. So if you like this white laundry musk thing, I would say it's worth the spend.

Echoing what other users have mentioned below, this flanker of Aqua Universalis is highly reminiscent of powder detergent to my nose. I wish I could sing high praises for this particular bottle, but alas it won't be on my list of to-gets. However, the other 2 in the Cologne Forte line are beautiful renditions of their original/forte forms. I highly recommend giving the other 2 a whiff and maybe you might just be entranced by its alluring composition.

Not for me, I think it's not unisex at all, it's very screechy and strong at the start and it gave me a headache. The drydown is okay but boy, oh boy, it does smell like a cleaning product. My boyfriend however, did like it, but agrees that there are way better scents on the market. Not worth the money and pretty disappointed since I do like sweet pea and white musk.

Ill just echo what most reviews says about this fragrance. This really smells like laundry detergent/citrus bleach toilet cleaner. Does not smell niche ( or at the very least, at the spectrum of a very bad niche perfume) Does not merit its current price. So bad, if this was given as a gift ill ask for the receipt and ill have this exchanged with something different