Bvlgari Aqva Pour Homme Marine

...personal favourite is the original Bvlgari Pour Homme and it has been a mainstay in my sizeable collection of aftershaves for the last 9 years however when new products have been released by Bvlgari I have always found the fragrances to be both unique, sophisticated and well suited to my own skin type. Bvlgari launched Aqva in 2005 to much acclaim and following on from this success Aqva Marine Pour Homme EDT was released in 2008.

...
...assumed that this launch was Bvlgari running out of ideas.

The notes to Bvlgari Aqva Marine are:

Head: Neroli bigarade, grapefruit and mandarin.

Heart: Posidonia, santolina and petit grain.

Base: White cedar wood, clary sage and mineral amber.

Although the ingredients are notably different from Aqva, I anticipated a very light and fresh fragrance that would start off with ... more

Bvlgari, the fashion house well known for their unique and very expensive jewellery have over the last ten years expanded their business base to include the production of some of the finest perfumes and aftershaves available for purchase by the general public. My personal favourite is the original Bvlgari Pour Homme and it has been a mainstay in my sizeable collection of aftershaves for the last 9 years however when new products have been released by Bvlgari I have always found the fragrances to be both unique, sophisticated and well suited to my own skin type. Bvlgari launched Aqva in 2005 to much acclaim and following on from this success Aqva Marine Pour Homme EDT was released in 2008.

Aqva Pour Homme Marine is available from a large number of high street retailers with prices for a 30ml bottle ranging £30 to £40, however online stores offer fantastic deals which see the price more reasonable and in the £18-£25 price bracket. I will be assessing the product in terms of value for money based on the more expensive high street retailer prices as this is where I personally bought my own bottle. Despite being a new product, the styling and marketing for Aqva Pour Homme Marine has been nearly identical to that for Aqva, and the similarities don't stop there. The bottle is identical to that of Aqva. While I found the bottle styling to be unique the first time around I now find it confusing when reaching for an aftershave first thing in the morning as I have both products. The only distinguishing feature between Aqva and Aqva Pour Homme Marine is the wording 'Marine' in incredibly small text at the bottom underneath the company branding. I have attached photographs of the bottle for reference but care should be taken when making the decision to purchase as you could well end up with just Aqva rather than Marine.

Marketed as a vibrant and luminous exploration of the aquatic realm, the decision to keep everything as similar to the plain Aqva was taken as this is to be seen as a fresher, more vibrant continuation of the theme that commenced in 2005. With the tag line that Marine is designed to evoke the natural freshness and vitality of the ocean you kind of get the feeling that more was spent on trying to flog the product rather than making it stand out as something new and fresh. Being a regular user of Aqva I honestly expected the product to have the exact fragrance, and being sceptical assumed that this launch was Bvlgari running out of ideas.

The notes to Bvlgari Aqva Marine are:

Head: Neroli bigarade, grapefruit and mandarin.

Heart: Posidonia, santolina and petit grain.

Base: White cedar wood, clary sage and mineral amber.

Although the ingredients are notably different from Aqva, I anticipated a very light and fresh fragrance that would start off with something of a citrus zest before fading into a warm and somewhat sensual fragrance that would make it ideal for day and evening wear. The reality was to be somewhat different as I also expected the Posidonia (an extract from the aquatic plant) to feature predominantly once the fragrance had blended down to the base notes.

The first thing to say about the application is that very little is needed to cover the face and neck. Two squirts from the atomiser is in my opinion more than enough and any more would probably overpower the wearer as immediately after the fragrance leaves the atomiser the aroma of slightly 'old' grapefruit slaps you around the face subduing the other head notes completely and this remains for around 5 minutes before hint of mandarin start to become apparent. When blended, the grapefruit and mandarin gives something of a fresh watermelon aroma. The theme of water does come out as the grapefruit blends with the heart notes. Although overpowering at first, after 10 minutes the fragrance became very light on the nose and had the usual Bvlgari citrus zest that I had expected came through.

After 10 minutes I really had to strain to make out any of the notes at it had blended perfectly with my skin. Throughout the entire day I could only make out three of the main notes. The first two from the head notes and after around an hour the cedar wood base. After an hour of wearing the fresh and light citrus fragrance had disappeared completely and Marine had changed to more of a warm, spicy fragrance influenced predominantly by the base notes of sage and amber. At no time could I make out the heart note of Posidonia which I found very strange as this is what gave Aqva it's main thrust as a fragrance to evoke images of the ocean so really there was nothing in the fragrance that would suggest that this was specifically made to follow on and give a feeling of wandering down a sandy beach taking in the fresh sea air.

The closest this fragrance comes to evoking images of being anywhere near water or the ocean is the faint hint of watermelon that lasts for around 5 minutes shortly after application. I am a big fan of the Aqva but Aqva Pour Homme Marine is an instant disappointment in my eyes. I'm not suggesting that the fragrance is repellent, it's not, but it is nothing like the fragrance it is marketed to be. When spending in excess of £30 for an aftershave, especially from a fashion house associated with quality like Bvlgari I don't expect to be let down but I have in this instance and it is a shame.

With exceptional lasting power well in excess of 12 hours those two squirts would if it smelt how it is marketed make this fantastic value for money. Personally I now use this on a daily basis for office wear and couldn't see it being suitable for any other use as it has nothing that will either turn heads or make people comment on such a unique fragrance.

If you are looking for a nice fresh fragrance that will make you imagine you are back on the beach looking out over the ocean then don't go anywhere near Bvlgari Aqva Pour Homme Marine, instead you should seriously look at buying the original Aqva. If you just want a nice fragrance that will be fresh and light before turning into a lovely warm, sensual yet masculine aroma you can find better than this. My personal recommendation would be to look at Bvlgari Pour Homme, or Bvlgari Pour Homme Soir which retail for exactly the same price and fulfil ever aspect of the marketing blurb.

NOT RECOMMENDED 

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