Aquae Nobilis

One of my favorite things about fragrance collecting is how my taste constantly evolves. I enjoy the process of understanding fragrance done well. Sometimes I may not like something initially or it may smell strange, but then the second or third time I am pleasantly surprised. So surprised in fact, it starts to become a kind of affection. It is like you are developing a relationship with yourself through fragrance. This happened to me this evening when I combined Royal Tobacco with Aquae Nobilis. I'm not going to describe Royal Tobacco because at this point, we all know what it is about. I'm not going to bore you with another iteration. What connected for me was the gentle sweetness that introduces itself to you every so often. One of the notes that is never discussed about Aquae Nobilis is also the gentle sweetness accord. At the time, I had Royal Tobacco on for about five hours. I was ready for something new, I knew also it was going to be very hard to cover Royal Tobacco up completely. So I took a chance and combined the fragrances together. I was not expecting something so beautiful. They are like companions rather than competitors. What connects them is their earthy and subtle hint of sweetness that lightens the entire composition. What I really care about is how it made me feel. It almost created a soft breeze within the fragrance as a whole. In my opinion, it brought Royal Tobacco back to center. Royal Tobacco is a great fragrance on its own, but for some reason it's not one of my favorites. I cannot tell you why because I agree with most people that it is an excellent offering. However, I am here to talk about Aquae Nobilis and I can say with certainty that there is something special about this art. It is a feeling more than anything else. Something intuitive. Get your hands on it if you can find it.

Sigh... What to say about this fragrance. Typically, it is not difficult for me to write. Once I smell the notes and read the name and description, I have a general idea of how I feel about the story etc. That's not the case here and I have no idea why! Yes, the fragrance is nice. It's exactly what I thought it was going to be. It's a strong, green, from the depth of the earth, noble, crisp experience. Also, it was extremely difficult to find. I ended up purchasing it from an Edwardian style barbershop deep in the city of Chicago. It was by chance. There was one singular box way up in the back and no one was interested in it. I figured it was not going to be very fresh, but I was having such a hard time finding a bottle that I just went for it. When I opened it, it had a silver cap which then confirmed it was an older version. Perhaps the fragrance itself may be slightly different, maybe some extra zing, but I don't mind. I am happy to have it and I realize I am very fortunate to have it in the first place. Like most fragrances from PR, it is very straightforward. There is no development in its notes. Just like all of their other fragrances, the perfection lies within the simplicity of the notes themselves. It's the same concept as in fine Italian cuisine. Simple food done excellently. Some people think the Italian way is the best way and others think it is boring. You have to decide for yourself

Aquae Nobilis is another high-quality freshie from Profumum Roma. A masculine-leaning green, earthy fougère, it ultimately smells like a bar of fancy soap. It is simple but well-composed, made with good-quality, natural-smelling ingredients. While it isn't anything groundbreaking, it is classic in style, discreet and deeply pleasant. While it is expensive for a scent of its profile, its performance is not bad, and it is a much better scent than almost any mass-market masculine available today. AN is aromatic from initial spray, with dry, woody vetiver forming the backbone of this scent. Wormwood follows, adding a slightly bitter herbal edge. The geranium adds peppery greenness, tempering the bitterness of the wormwood somewhat and giving it a little lift. According to some reviews below, the bitterness overpowers this perfume, but I find it to be very well-balanced and inoffensive in the best way. As it dries down, it becomes slightly mossy thanks to the oakmoss note, adding to the fancy soap quality. It fades to a clean, woody, earthy skin scent. Sillage and longevity are moderate. A top-notch spring/summer masculine-leaning scent, AN plays it fairly safe, but is beautiful throughout. Expensive, but utterly classy. 4/5.

Aquae Nobilis- the quality of the ingredients and the blending here are both absolutely superb. It's soapy, but simultaneously organic, scratchy, and earthy. The contrast between the fresh cleanliness and the slightly dirty earthiness is absolutely memorable. The vetiver is nutty and natural (think Chanel's Sycomore, but slightly cleaner), the wormwood adds a lovely forest green component, and the geranium adds a sweet, mildly citric freshness that gives the opening a borderline camphorous, minty-but-not-quite vibe. It sweetens up in the drydown, but it retains a sort of rooty scratchiness that feels perfectly unisex, and impressively distinctive, I wish I didn't love this so much, because I'm gonna have to pick up a bottle. As much as I enjoy a dirty, salty vetiver It's nice to put my nose on something a little cleaner and more outwardly pleasant. The quality is apparent in the performance, lasting easily over 24 hours and projecting quite a bit. 9.5/10

A very spare naturally beautiful fougere. The perfume opens with a burst of minty geranium. As it starts developing notes of wormwood and rooty vetiver emerge. The perfume settles on a mossy powdery bed of oakmoss and more wormwood. The masculine leaning perfume has moderate to strong projection and excellent longevity. Reminiscent of what a very distinguished nobleman of the past would probably smell like on a romantic night out. Not for everyone but those into green earthy fougeres will find a lot to enjoy here!