L’Eau Tres Mer

Rubini’s latest release - once again collaborating with perfumer Cristiano Canali - is the brand’s seventh perfume and its first tentative toe in the ocean of a genre that seems to be a necessity for every brand; aquatics. The ocean has long offered perfumers a rich source of inspiration resulting in a genre that tacks through familiar old tropes, where sparkling hesperidic citruses paint ultramarine-blue vistas, clichéd crashing waves, salty air, and iodine seaweed. Rubini to their eternal credit has never been remotely interested in the predictable, and with Andrea’s creative direction, his work with Canali consistently demonstrates a willingness to look past the familiar and be inspired by the strange, overlooked truth inside it. L'Eau Très Mer (LTM) is no exception. A clever play on the French word Outremer, LTM is not your typical aquatic inspired by the briny depths. Coming about, this latest release takes its inspiration from one Jacques Cousteau (1910–1997) - pioneering French oceanographer, filmmaker, and devoted advocate for ocean conservation - who brought the underwater world to millions through Oscar-winning documentaries. Cousteau transformed a former British minesweeper into an oceanographic research vessel named the Calypso, from which he led expeditions across the world, mapping coral reefs and discovering uncharted waters. It is aboard the Calypso that LTM whisks us, to witness our hero the moment he surfaces from one of his dives. You feel the Caribbean breeze as Jacques climbs out of the ocean and the salty wetsuit as it glistens in the sun. There’s a hot puff of tabac as he takes a well-earned drag on his pipe and a glug of restorative rum. As he stares out across the horizon, the ocean depths still in his eyes, you sense the sun-bleached wood of the decking beneath his feet, the wet nautical ropes, and tropical fruits, all painted in the over-saturated colours of a Wes Anderson movie. With that familiar French chanson, La Mer, playing in the background, this is not a postcard perfume. It’s a portrait of a man, his life aquatic. A man who has seen things in the deep that most of us never will. Canali and Rubini have charted their own waters here, and the course they’ve set is one worth following. @thescentiest

Aquatic fragrances are usually hit-or-miss with me. The OG Megamare is and always will be a favorite of mine, and what I often stack other aquatics against. This fragrance is brilliant. You definitely get the tropical salty marine notes - no surprise there. What caught my curiosity was the rubber, rum, and tobacco notes, which eventually dry down into a really unique nautical woody scent. The best way I can describe it is like walking on a pier or boardwalk by the ocean. It’s different, complex, and definitely worth adding to your collection.

L’Eau Très Mer opens with a fleeting, almost deceptive whiff of calone, only to immediately pull the beach towel out from under you. What follows is a rugged, evocative ensemble of sundried exotic fruits and sharp, salty iodine. There are brief, brushes with seaweed, wet rubber, and sun-bleached driftwood, creating a scent profile that feels like a coastal shipwreck. Where many marine fragrances drift into soapy monotony, Canali's work finds its integrity in a dark foundation. Bitter tobacco and ashy, slightly smoky vetiver serve as a contrasting backbone, grounding the ethereal saltiness in something tangible. It possesses a certain maturity that avoids the trite aquatic pitfalls, opting for a scent that feels gritty and weathered. If you want a reference map for its aesthetics, imagine the dense iodine density of Xerjoff’s 40 Knots reimagined through the often scenic and quirky lens of Zoologist. True to the Rubini form, it flickers between the fruit-forward top and the darker, ashy base. It is a rugged piece of work that in my opinion is absolutely not relegated to the warmer season and it implies a marine connection, rather than featuring the typical 'blue' fragrance profile.

It reminds me of the smell of freshly cut oak with a chainsaw!