Reina Del Mar

Reina del Mar—Queen of the Sea One of the most successful blind buys of my career. I’d say if the notes and nautical theme appeal to you, give it a try... it’s almost a little tough to be disappointed by in my book. That being said, don’t let my or any other hype get your expectations too high, as ultimately few things are how we expect or hope them to be! Although my own expectations for it were probably higher than they should’ve been—this beauty did not disappoint. It’s scents like these that I struggle to give coherent descriptions for... The left side of my brain wants to prioritize giving a technical breakdown, while the right just yearns to let loose and set off into whimsical fancy... What’s more important after all—what a scent’s actually composed of—or what it makes us think of? What it makes us feel? I’ll do my best to balance the real and surreal, as if they were yin and yang... To me, this fragrance is more than a scent. It turns me from just a person up in New England, to Jack Sparrow sailing down in the Caribbean. From Joe Shmoe, to the Percy-Jackson’s-father version of Poseidon—laid back, exuding strong notes of pineapple, lemon and rum, with smoky tobacco, leather, seaweed, oak and gunpowder hiding just beneath... This frag truly makes me feel like a pirate at sea... except probably a bit better smelling. I can see the clear blue water and white shores, palm trees and wooden ships lit by lantern traversing day and night... I can feel the long days cast adrift, with nothing but rum, a pipe, and limes to keep the scurvy at bay to keep me company among the oaken floors and leather-strapped chests and barrels while the tide lulls us to sleep—salty sea air spraying over the side with every stir... The longevity is awesome. The particular fixatives used in this blend are so naturally aromatic, that you’ll be getting whiffs off where you sprayed your skin up to 18 hours later... and on clothes until washing and beyond if you like to lay it on thick. Bottle is super cool. Atomizer is incredible—possibly the best in my collection. It’s ultra smooth with a long draw and steady sprays, making partial sprays easy and even “spray paint” type effects possible. Check out my photo if you’d like! Just capture’s the bottle’s cool vibe, rather than the atomizer’s capability though, sadly. I could say so much more but all in all I think this, like many frags set out to be but ultimately fail at, is exceptional in that it really is more of a story—a feeling—than a fragrance, and I applaud Mr. Fort on his accomplishment here. I’ve also sampled two others from his latest releases, and will give as short of a review I can on Son of a Mint soon, which funnily enough I found to have some similarities with Reina during one of it’s tumultuous phases, but anyway more to come on that later. To try and kill all the hype I’ve created, it’s really just a very nice, boozy, smoky tropical drink, with the pineapple/lemon, cardamom & salt almost giving off some lime facets and margarita vibes in combination with the rum, however it does lean a bit masculine due to the smoky/woody tobacco/leather/oak base. Film associations: Pirates of the Caribbean, The Odyssey (1997), Black Sails, One Piece (debatable) Music associations: Drink Up Me Hearties Yo Ho (Hans Zimmer), Sea Shanty 2 (Old School Runescape), A whole slew of One Piece OSTs (undebatable) Other fragrance associations: When I first got my nose on it, even though I somehow haven’t yet smelled the original Aventus but instead almost all it’s popular dupes, due to the smoky pineapple I couldn’t help but feel this could be considered it’s cooler, more mature older brother or cousin that’s settled down a bit and gotten a house by the beach haha. But alas, the significant differences in bases could easily be said to preclude such relations. Another fragrance that’s tough for me to part with, but I’m glad to offer half mL samples à la Luckyscent upon request. Feel free to check out the rest of my inventory via my profile and the spreadsheet link listed in my bio! Thanks so much for reading. - H

This was no love at first smell... After watching a review video on aquatic fragrances, I ordered a small decant from a perfumery, which got me a bit disappointed. The only thing I thought to smell was rum, to be fair an excellent one. That was the first and last time I tried it for a few weeks. Funnily, what got me back to it was another perfume. In one of my regularly visited stores, the lady let me try Bois Pacifique from Tom Ford. The dominant oaky, woody, slightly musty scent reminded me instantly of Reina del Mar, despite Bois Pacifique having no rum note. At home I immediately compared them and realized, that the sole association with rum was actually caused by several different notes. Reina del Mar suddenly smelled to me like musty, seaweedy oak, which has been swimming for a long time in sea water. And this mixed with a slightly citrusy smell of rum, altogether creating an association with a pirate’s life. My former impression of sole rum was maybe coming from the oak, in which rum is typically aged, an the citrus notes, which are present in some rums. At first try I was not able to differentiate between them. I still do not directly recognize smoke, tobacco or gunpowder. But when the previously described scents carry me into this world again, where I am standing like Jack Sparrow on top of the Black Pearl, I sometimes also get an imagination of those other notes. Today I love this fragrance and have already ordered a larger decant. When I am wearing it, I feel confident and wicked, watching out for Keira Knightley to join me on my cruise. After having tried already many fragrances, only with this one I realized, how important the associations are that one gets when smelling it. As the association changes, also the impression, imagination, and even subjective smell and preference for a scent will change. Concerning compliments I cannot say a lot. I usually don’t get a lot of them anyway here in Germany. When talking about the fragrance once, they liked it. But likely they will not share my associations... Finally, the only negative point for myself is, that I sometimes wonder if Reina del Mar is too boozy for others. I don’t want others to get the impression, that I start my journey into the day with a bottle of rum.

Transfixingelement using fake AI review to market his own business... okay 😁 .