Aguamadera

Bought a bottle of this at their shop in CDMX (which -- if you get a chance, go go go!! an incredible experience.) Was surprised to see middling reviews here, this is basically my platonic ideal of an everyday, masc-leaning green scent, and after a year no regrets shelling out for it, it's a whole-bottle type for me for sure. So wearable but intriguing. Juicy wet leaves but more grounded and not quite as literal as their Monstera, which I love in theory but could see myself getting weary of over time. I want to say their is a white creamy floral hiding in here as well which just sings with the cedar and lasts well into the day. I wish this house wasn't so hard to get in the US, but it's so worth seeking out their stuff just for how unique they are.

Aquamadera is a fairly simple fragrance, and smells like the listed notes. It leans suprisingly masculine, with a "blue" streak that I can't pin on any one accord. It's not really spicy, incense-y, or aquatic in an obvious way. But it does have a dark, handsome, smoothness. Very smooth! Although a lot of people say it is a freshie, to me, this is a deeper perfume, and reminds me of summer nights. I definitely get a sort of tequila smell. This also shares the peppery and green freshness that is present in all of these Xinu fragrances. I also get a lovely, soft smokiness from the guaiac wood. Reminds me of one of the male-targeted releases from Jo Malone but I can't place my finger on which. Maybe Cypress & Grapevine? Really, really lovely! 4/5

Beautiful unisex (slightly masculine leaning) freshie with a fresh burst of lime and a light woody drydown. Feels like taking a tequila shot (salt, lime, the works) on the beach, followed by a trek home through a tropical forest. Bought this at the Xinu store on Marsella in CDMX- such a lovely space, the staff were so nice! They spritzed the bag with the scent which was so mesmerizing walking out of the store with the scent of Aguamadera wafting around me.

for a heady july night after thunderstorms all afternoon - you grab mezcal on the rocks and sit on the patio with your lover before escaping the heat and humidity by seeing a black and white foreign film. the heat has burned off enough after for an hourlong walk home where you talk about poetry and reality tv.

Extremely beautiful fresh scent with a perfect blend of citrusy and spicy notes. I can feel cardamom and coriander. Also soft, green and powdery notes - violet leaves, maybe? Subtle sweetness and smooth woody base. Amazing! Follow me on IG: scent.guide

A zap of bright lime in the opening, which soon develops into a citrus aquatic. It's an agave accord rather than agave note, if that makes sense. It's a sense of agave without actually smelling exactly like it. A little salty, a little limey, a little blue. There's a very gentle woody note softly at the bottom of the well. Dries down slightly powdery with a hint of artificiality. I'd like it to be a bit more green, but maybe I can layer with Monstera. Quite pleasant, if a bit predictable. Clean, fresh, watery, and inoffensive. It leans a bit masculine, but anything can be unisex if you want it to be. 8/10.

A woody aromatic scent centered around the agave plant. The central agave note is surrounded first by a nice lime note and as the perfume dries by woody notes, prominently guaiac and cedar. The resulting juice is a nice citrusy woody combination but only slightly different from several synthetic variants of this nature that predominate the designer market. Unisex with moderate sillage and good longevity. Many similarities to Fuegeia’s Cactus Azul. A nice natural summer scent. Enjoy!

If anyone misses Dior Homme Sport 2008 version, here's your substitute. Not in the first 60 minutes, but after that, it smells the same to me, despite the note structure having basically no commonality. I get ginger and citrus an hour in. It is nice, but very boring and "been there done that".

This is a broad appealing fresh blue scent geared towards men. Not as original as the other four scents in the line, but it is a pleasing combination of wood and citrus with a warm base that lingers on. Vaguely reminiscent of Elysium to my nose. It lasts but becomes a personal scent quickly.

What a fantastic fragrance! At first I thought I'd want a bottle of this but unfortunately it leans more masculine when I wear it. Might be a great option for my husband. 🙂

This feels like a fairly non-descript freshie. It actually reminds me vaguely of a much cheaper perfume I used to wear (but can't recall), but the longevity is minimal and so is projection/sillage. While I would like to think that this is made using mostly naturals, I suspect that based on the artificial nature of the base notes, that this is fairly high in synthetics. At least that is what it smells like. Not bad at all, but not what I am looking for in perfume at this price point.

This is a lovely scent, but the projection and longevity are pretty awful. It’s also not groundbreaking. The aloe gives a unique touch, but it’s such a mild note that unless you’re really looking for it, you won’t find it. I’ll enjoy this sample while I have it (or maybe pass it on to a friend), but I won’t be purchasing a full bottle. Still, I’m very much looking forward to trying more from this house.

this is super aquatic to me, and unfortunately aquatics just smell like baby wipe/air freshener to my nose 95% of the time. this is specifically like a leaky febreeze plug-in air freshener (as opposed to spray air freshener which is more light/airy), like how the liquid inside is sticky and smells sharp and concentrated and a little cologne-y.

I wanted to love this, but I'm neutral about it. It leans more on the masculine side with the Guaiac wood, but I do enjoy how smooth the dry-down is and how it becomes a complementary skin scent. It reminds me of an upscale hotel shampoo/lotion–pretty inoffensive and pleasant, but more generic than I had hoped for.

A fresh, aqua scent that reminds me of mainstream, designer stuff. A slight bit of gingery-pepper. Not a fan of this stuff most of the time, so it normally wouldn't appeal to me anyway...

described by my friend as: that one boy cousin at the quinceañera adored by all the tias for his handsome sporty masculinity

Although Xinu promises bespoke scents peddled in a luxury setting, quality control is *VERY* poor, so BUYER BEWARE. In June 2024, I bought a $240(!) USD full-size bottle of their Aguamadera perfume at their Polanco location while on a vacation to Mexico City. I was drawn in by their promise of a reusable bottle that was both aesthetically pleasing and functional as a bud vase or incense holder after the perfume runs out, as well as their claim to use local botanicals. My experience in-store was delightful; however, that's where the positives end. Due to the high cost of the bottle of perfume, and in acknowledgement of its fragile state, I carried it back to my hotel, put it in my carry-on luggage, and gingerly cared for the package all the way back to Washington State. When I opened the pristine-condition box, I not only found some inconsistencies with the inner packaging (e.g., the ingredients listed for Aguamadera were accompanied by the botanical names and images of ingredients from their Monstera perfume), but TWO *cracks* in the bottle, one smallish and one so large that it nearly reached the liquid contents. I emailed their customer service team with photos and videos to see whether I could mail back the damaged bottle and receive a new one, and was told that I would need to *FLY BACK TO MEXICO CITY* with the bottle and packaging in hand and visit the Polanco store to determine whether or not my product qualified for an exchange. I sent them an email explaining that to do so, I would need to fly there from Seattle, but they rigidly stuck to their demands. It cost me over $800 round trip to fly from Seattle to Mexico City and back the first time around--do you honestly think I'm going to spend another $800 to see if the damaged product they sold me was worthy of exchange? I kept reaching out to their team, but received only radio silence in response. It's only a matter of time until the crack expands and the bottle breaks for good. I'd caution anyone against purchasing anything from Xinu online, and if you do happen to make it to one of their physical locations, open your product before you buy it and inspect it VERY carefully. It's strange...one would expect so much better from a luxury brand that claims--but fails miserably--to put so much effort into the customer experience, but I'm afraid all you'll get when you shop at Xinu is shoddy, poor-quality product.

I bought a sample of this because I'm interested in the line. Opens with a blast of lime. Just pure lime. Then settles into a cedar base with lime still present, in the background, and a greenness (with just a tiny hint of sweetness), which is most likely attributed to agave. This is interesting and nice. More on the masculine end because of the cedar base. Would love it on the right guy. I think I'll try this again in the fall or spring, when the weather is more temperate.

Very soapy, but that receded somewhat. Such a great idea behind this perfume. But for me the overpowering scent molecules are just on steroids and drown out the promised notes that I salivated over and bought it for. It reminds of a public beach lavatory by the sea. Needs smoke maybe. Fire?

Fresh, pleasant and probably the crowd pleaser from the whole range. I love green frags and while this was very nice, I don't find it remarkable and not worth the price.

I love the lime and agave - super fresh and juicy - but the woods in the drydown make it too masculine of a scent for me to want to wear