Invictus Aqua (2024)

I spent a lot of time looking for Paco Rabanne's Invictus Aqua 2016. Discounter websites, brick and mortar boutiques, I couldn't find it anywhere. People were selling it on eBay, but for $300+. Not one to be price gouged, I resigned myself to having to deal with the reality of not being able to experience what most people consider the best of the Invictus Aqua line. Just as I had given up hope, favor shined down upon me and PR announced they were bringing back the original formula for Aqua 2024. As soon as it was back in stock I scooped it up. Needless to say I'm very excited for this review. Let's get into it; Scent: Opening is citrusy, aquatic, and sweet. There are only three notes in the official breakdown; grapefruit, sea notes, and amberwood. I can easily pick up the grapefuit and sea notes, but I don't quite get the amberwood. The strongest of the notes are the grapefruit and sea notes. The grapefruit note is not super realistic (ex: D&G Light Blue Forever), it's more of a mass-appealing designer flavor of grapefruit. The sea notes are again very designer and mass-appealing; not overly salty or funky but still giving a solid impression of being around water. I do get a bubble-gummy sweetness that I know 2016 is renowned for, as well as a tinge of aromatics, but I'm not sure where it's coming from. The dry down is sweet, woody, and aquatic. The strongest of the notes are the amberwood and sea notes. In the dry down the amberwood has come through in a big way for a blast of sweet woodiness. This couples with the marine accord of the sea notes for a fresh, sweet, and woody experience. The grapefruit is also still slightly present in the background, but not enough to consider it a main note in the dry down. Performance: Initial projection is nuclear and fills the room when I walk in. Sillage matches that intensity with an unmistakeable scent trail. After a few hours the projection was light and within arms length, while the scent trail was moderately noticeable. At the 8 hour mark the fragrance was essentially a skin scent with just a hint of scent trail. When to wear: This, like the rest of the Aqua's, is a classic spring/summer scent most suitable for daytime wear. This could also work as an office scent, but I think other entries in the Invictus line would be a better choice for the office. This is not what I would consider a date night fragrance. It would be a great pick for a picnic/outdoor date though. Blind buy: If you like the Invictus Aqua line, or just enjoy sweet and woody aquatic fragrances, this is a safe blind buy for you. Final verdict: As stated before I have never tried Aqua 2016, so I can't comment on how close it comes to that DNA. However, I do have 2018 and I can confirm 100% that it is NOT a re-release of 2018. Anyone that says so is either lying, has a broken nose, or doesn't know what 2018 smells like. Aqua 2018 is much more musky and aromatic, whereas Aqua 2024 doubles down on the sweetness; reminiscent of the kind of sweetness I get from my bottle of Valentino Born In Roma Intense. In terms of performance they're pretty much equal. Both will give you about 8 hours before they're completely gone. However, it does seem that Aqua 2018 has a bit more projection within the first few hours. Between the two I prefer Aqua 2024. Aqua 2018 is a great fragrance and was one of my go-to warm weather scents. However, Aqua 2024 will definitely be my Aqua of choice moving forward. The DNA is just sweeter and more appealing to the masses, myself included. I would recommend Aqua 2024 to anyone looking for a solid men's summer fragrance. Get it while you can, because it definitely appears to be a limited run. Scent: 10/10 Longevity: 7/10 Sillage: 6/10

I'm a fan of every Invictus Aqua. I own Aqua (2018). Aqua (2016) was long gone by the time I got into fragrances, but I did get to smell it one time. I wanted to get this new Aqua cuz Rabanne is re-releasing it in the new bottles for 2025, and they'll most certainly water down the formulation. So I got Aqua (2024) in the original trophy bottle from FragranceBuy. This is a fantastic fragrance. It smells ALMOST identical to Aqua (2016). The Yuzu is back with the grapefruit, and no violet from Aqua (2018). Among the minor scent differences, is the difference in performance. Aqua (2016) was a great performer, and this new one is only average on performance. This version gives me 6-7 hours longevity with moderate projection. This fragrance is awesome for summer. It isn't centered around the violet note like Aqua (2018) so it's less bubblegum sweet and it can really shine in high heat. One of the best scents a man can own. If you're interested in getting this new Aqua, I would recommend getting it now before they move it to the new contour bottles and weaken it even further.

I have used a local made dupe of 2016 version and fell in love with it, found the 2024 version on discount and bought it. Using it since the beginning of this summer. It has a synthetic smell if you get really close to it and smell it, the initial spray and opening is energizing, you get juicy grapefruit-ish smell that is not so sweet and calming marine notes are present after the opening, it is a very fresh scent and longevity is great on clothes. The scent will not last all day long and has no nuclear silage, safe for blind buy and daily use if you are looking for a fresh, basic summer scent. However, it gets boring to me after some time. I use it some days that i want to wear a nice shirt that can resemble the fragrance's summer vibe. The bottle design is iconic and icy blue color looks very good, the atomizer is ok, but the atomizer button feels too cheap and makes the whole bottle feel cheap.

Paco Rabanne Invictus Aqua (2024) is pretty darn good. I never got to experience the original 2016 version, but this is very nice. It's not too sweet and actually has some light floral/soapy type notes whispering around. The notes listed are spot on, although I get more a general citrus blast rather than grapefruit oil. It's crisp and enjoyable. Lightly sweet while staying airy and 'crowd pleasing' marine. Perfect for Summer. I'd say you can wear this most of the year despite very cold days. It's shines in the warmer weather. Lasts about 5-6 hours for me with a few hours of projection. I believe this is still only available online and at duty-free locations. It is cleaner and lighter than expected. I'm very happy to have it.

I literally got this fragrance right before it ran out of stock on the USA website. Luck was on my side! And good thing, too! I LOVE this fragrance, it encapsulates everything I want in a warm weather scent. Beautiful sillage, strong projection, and lasts so long that I could even smell it in my car the next day after wearing it. Is it a challenging fragrance? Not at all. But it does its job better than anything else in it's class. I don't think this can be called boring, either. Just my two scents 😂 Don't go to Ebay, you can probably get a good deal on this or even 2016 on r/fragranceswap. Get this if you can, you won't regret it! But sorry, you can't have mine!