Cool Water (1988)
by Davidoff

Cool and self-assured, personified. Imitation as a form of flattery rarely works in favour of the original. But I feel Creed should thank Davidoff's COOL WATER for introducing a new, youthful market segment to its own line. Just don't be dismayed if a young person smelling Green Irish Tweed for the first time were to go 'OMG, this is a Cool Water rip off!" Heh.

This was the frag I would alway leave in my car, considered it cheap but still smells great. Probably like it less the more frags I try, but worth buying since its such a classic....

no matter how common this one is nowadays, it still is and always will be a constant in my frag collection, Though it feels nothing like A marine scent, it has left a legacy that many labels have tried to emulate after. This was the breakthrough from the heavily musky classics when it first came out and i got a taste of it. it broke the barrier with its willingness to go really sweet, yet maintain a very strong gender specific direction. this was certainly the beginning of an era of synthetically appealing scents. this along with ck eternity, were a revelation from a leathery,musky dominated frag industry. very sweet from start to end and has one of the better on-skin life spans... easily one of the top scents of the 80s

I purchases this because I was curious about all the comparisons to Creed Green Irish Tweed. Well, here I am wearing it now . . . and I have to say Davidoff did a remarkably good job in making a cheap GIT knockoff.

This is not a bad thing, seeing as how pricey real GIT is. So here's my review/comparison.

The opening is remarkably similar to GIT with that round tangy note. Not sure how to identify it. CW is much more in-your-face with ALL its notes up front, with little or no development over the first few minutes. GIT envelopes the wearer in a sort of heady aura that CW somehow doesn't reach. Which is odd, since smelling them side by side, one might think, sure, they're almost alike.

In any case, bottom line is that they are similar, but CW is just trying to approach what GIT accomplishes with ease. I will keep CW around for casual occasions when I don't want to spray the pure gold that is GIT on myself. CW approximates the effect well enough for when it doesn't really matter as much.

What can I say!- Fresh, Clean, Timeless- Every man should own this!!!

Davidoff Cool Water

If Helen of Troy was said to have the face that launched a 1,000 ships then certainly Davidoff Cool Water can be called the fragrance that has been responsible for the launch of a 1,000 fresh and clean scents. Although I imagine that when Pierre Bourdon was creating this in 1988 he had no idea how slavishly this formula would be copied for the next 20-plus years. That shouldn’t keep one from admiring it now just because the number of imitators has mushroomed beyond belief. Cool Water was the beginning of the signal change from the powerhouse style of scent of the 80’s and it was the very fresh and clean nature of it that made it stand out when it was first released. Back then as the first aquatic scent, it stood out. Now it can be seen as being so straight-forward aquatic as to be considered pedestrian. I still find it to be one of the best in this class. One of the reasons that I think this is that Cool Water still has one of the best openings in the aquatic class for me. The mix of lavender, coriander, mint and orange always make me wonder why I don’t wear this more, for the first fifteen minutes. The mix of light floral and aromatic herbal with citrus always makes for an eye-opening start. In the heart is where M. Bourdon tries the same trick of light floral plus a green note plus a woody note that Cool Water starts to take on a different character. The floral is jasmine but it never gets too sweet as oakmoss and sandalwood are there to keep it a restrained floral sweetness. It is in the heart where Cool Water turns from refreshing to clean as the lines become more sharply drawn. The base of this takes those lines and makes them bolder and thicker as cedar makes its first appearance adding in the cleanliness that will be repeated many times after this in many scents in this class. Along with the cedar a very light mix of amber and musk are present. Neither of those notes rise to a level to muss up Cool Water’s hair and mostly are present to add a little needed depth to the base. As with many of the scents in this class the sillage is modest along with the longevity. Even now when there are probably hundreds of fresh and clean scents to choose from M. Bourdon’s creation still holds its own and shows that while originals can oft be imitated, rarely are they bettered.