Reviews of Bulgari Aqua pour Homme (2005)
by Bulgari

It's Acqua Di Gio minus the sweetness. I actually like it better than ADG. Bvlgari Aqua also has a lot more depth to the scent, very nice. Reminds me of a foggy pier on the Oregon coast in late fall or early winter. I also love the bottle, very original.

This is a great fragrance. It's peppery, salty, and aquatic, and blended very well. Its scent really does remind me of smelling dark ocean water. Once the base settles in, a hint of sweetness emerges, which is very nice.

Aqua de Bulgari smells similar to Acqua di Giò, however Acqua di Giò is much louder and incorporates citrus and floral. It's sharper and more in your face. Aqua de Bulgari is subtle, smooth, and isn't your average aquatic. When I think "aquatic," I think "soapy" or typical "synthetic blue" scent. Aqua de Bulgari actually smells like ocean water (in a good way). It doesn't smell synthetic at all.

Highly recommended!

This has to be 1 of the best if not THEE BEST aquatic scents out. It is very uplifting & comforting. It truely does put a smile on my face. The smell is just amazing. I love everything about this frag from the top, middle & base notes! Well done Bvlgari!

I'd like to start off by saying that traditionally I am not a fan of aquatics......until now.
top note is "boom" - citrus in ocean water
middle and later notes - complex - floral and mossy yet very, very, delicate
everytime I wear this a get a compliment...IMO, the best aquatic out there!

Decent fresh aquatic. Nothing special.

another bvlgari scent that i have back up bottles of along with bvg ph and extreme. The lonegevity nemesis of ADG. aqua is clearly much thicker in terms of notes compared to ADG. the latter is almost non exsistent after just barely 3.5 hours.... also aqua has the best marine dry down among all the aqua motivated scent ive sampled. it actually has hints of musk towards the end. well blended and not overly sweet like how elements aqua or cool water can be. The Marine flanker to this is like ADG just with some added citrus notes like many fresh frags. my 100ml ADG should try formulating a more intense version.

Bulgari’s website lists five notes here: mandarin, petitgrain, santolina, posidonia, and mineral amber. The opening is drenchingly oceanic: no beach here. One feels 100 miles from land in all directions and 100 feet below the surface. I find it to be interesting, but not appealing. The oceanic element diminishes, but never departs as an herbal character emerges. It seems rather incongruous to me. Perhaps it will work for others, but it isn’t for me.

I smelled it, and its smells like fragrant sea water with bits of flower notes, its not a very sweet smelling aquatic, nothing special, polo blue is much better,

Last week I smelled this. This week I purchased it. Hands down my favorite aquatic scent. The thing I loved was the drydown. I was expecting a light scent that disappears like others but it was a woodsy, beachlike scent. Spicy. The sillage is great and it lasts quite awhile. This will always be high on my list for spring and summer.

There are just so many "aquas" out there This is as good as any and cheaper than most, but doesn't stand out for me. It gets a thumbs up for the price

I really don't know how to describe this one. It has a quick citrus opening, and quickly goes to the lower notes. The middle and basenotes are slightly floral with a hint of herbal and woody. I find it intoxicating and a soft, delicate fragrance that maintains its masculinity by incorporating amber and tea notes.
Great for casual wear on any day.

I'll admit it...I like fresh aquatics, especially if done well like Aqva is. I'm surprised the similarities between Aqva and Polo Black haven't been further explicated here. I find at least the top notes to be very very similar. Aqva's drydown invokes a salty/spiciness that is rich without being overbearing. The only thing I would change would be to have the top notes last longer and perhaps intermingle with the deeper notes instead of 'turning off' so quickly.

Coming from a former Acqua Di Gio user, I've moved onto Bulgari Aqua, which is a reasonably priced classy aquatic that shares a similar salt water smell. It doesn't smell like the typical aquatic loaded with citrus that feels as if it's intended for high school kids. It's in a league of it's own I'd say. Outside of Kenzo Pour Homme, this is the most authentic marine scent. The tangerine adds a nice refreshing ting to it. Then the darker salty shore, sea aquatic scent comes in. When I wear it, it reminds me of standing at Pier 39 in San Francisco during sunset. The scent stays close to my skin for a good several hours. Depending on my skin that day, it sometimes can be faintly smelled the next morning. The new "Aqua Marine" shouldn't even be "Marine". This was more "Marine" than the newest creation. Then again, if the new "Marine" was released first, it would have been a failed product, IMO. After owning Aqua, I went back to spray on some Acqua Di Gio for old times sake, well, needless to say, the AdG I once loved back in high school and part of college is pretty damn lame nowadays.

ne of the best aquatics available, and right at the top among designer aquatics, as far as I’m concerned. Bvlgari has managed to present the sharp aquatic and sea accords with a minimum of synthetic feel. I find the opening cleanliness – slightly citric, slightly ozonic – captivating and refreshing. The middle sea notes provide more of an echo of, rather than an actual sea air accord; I find it quite relaxing and even contemplative. The drydown is quite Bvlgari — a soft but rich wood and delicate, spicy mineral amber that, as others have mentioned, go quite powdery. As with many other reviewers, aquatics are not my favorite category; I own several of them and, except for Erolfa and Bvlgari Aqua, I just don’t wear them. What I really like about Bvlgari Aqua, and what keeps me coming back to it, is that it forms such a quiet aura of marine cleanliness around me. It is such an easy fragrance to enjoy and to live with and to feel good about.

it smells like misty air of the docks in the morning and maybe a little bit "mossy green and dead waters". in my opinion; slightly but noticeably different and better than the other aquatics in the market. it has a very loud sillage if you spray more than 4-5 times. and the longevity is much more than a usual aquatic... this should be classified as "spicy fresh water/aqua"

After using this, I've found the AdG I usually use to be too sour and boring compared to Bvlgari Aqva.

With AdG you tend to get tired of that strong tangy citrus note but with the Aqva there is a faint mysterious note that is not annoying.

Sorry, this is not for me. I sprayed onto my chest in the morning and it lasted the whole day. Great longevity. One could feel the saltiness sea breeze in Aqva. It opens up with a citric pungent scent. Thank God that the citric pungent scent was diluted by one's sweat in a hot summer noon. It smells great after being diluted. Really great for that summer Sunday picnic by the sea. Overapply will make you sick.

Very disappointing, a boring and common marine scent. It's not unwearable, but there's just nothing special about this fragrance at all.

i have been using it for two months now.i should say it smells very nice.staying power is also very good.go get it jaaan.

Of all the aquatics I've tried, this is by far my favorite, and the most unique. I was raised on a beach, and have always been known as a bit of a beach bum - this fragrance reminds me instantly of a stiff, wet, ocean breeze. Allows me to smell like a beach bum with class all the time. Get many compliments from the ladies, but it's nowhere near as popular with them as my Gucci Envy or Givenchy Rouge.

Well done aquatic.
Not crystal clear tropical blue water.
A dark saltwater bay with lots of greens & seaweed.

Bulgari consistently puts forth relevant and wearable fragrances, and this aquatic charmer is no exception. Historically, Bulgari has also enlisted some of the perfume industry's most gifted "nose's" to create their classy potions, I'd love to know the 'nose' behind this blend! Their website discloses the olfactive notes as:

Top: Mandarin
Petit Grain
Heart: Santolina
Posidonia
Base: Mineral Amber
Clary Sage

I believe the sage infuses the subtle spicy quality here. The amber likens the drydown to it's predecessor - Bulgari pour Homme. My overall impression of this marine is sexy and virile! Forget Aqua Di Gio - this one's got it beat by a mile...after all, you wouldn't send a boy to do a man's job!

This is my only aquatic. It is to my nose the only aquatic. I know others exist with potentially finer ingredients (perhaps from Creed but even Creed I believe lacks the conviction to truly pull off an aquatic like this) but this is aquatic like no other. I coudn't dissagree more with the comparison to Armani's offering. This is FAR FAR FAR more sophisticated because the entire composition is a balancing act, and an exquisitely executed one at that. One senses from the first inhale (spray from about 6-8 inches in a wide mist so as not to overpower) an immediate bow to the salt air of the sea, countered by to my nose a fleeting white petal note. This aspect, whether or not the composition contains any flowers at all, is what sets this FAR ABOVE the other aquatics offered. This balancing act of clean/fresh, versus rich sophistication. It's got a real weight to it.

This fragrance simply smells masterfully composed. It is fresh, it does conjur the salt air of the sea, it is NOT overly sweet, and the balance of spice, sweet, and fresh is so exquisite I can't imagine a better aquatic blend. I simply can not.

This is a fragrance about which one can wax poetic. Other aquatics simply do not have the complexity, balance, nor elegance to come close to Bulgari Aqua. And not that this ever matters to me but it always always ALWAYS garners sensually groaning compliments without fail.

I will be very blunt:

Other than Kenzo PH, this is the most authentic smelling marine fragrace on the market in this price category. If you like very oceanic, bitter, authentic marines, get it. If not, aviod it. Simple as that.

more than a a simple Aqua version, this is fragance is very oceanic and deep than others...

awesome ..

Aqua de Bulgari = Aquatic male fresh fragrance. Light.

Less character than the Acua de Gio and Polo's Black.

Better stay than Polo Black, much less A de G on me.

Not a bad try for the aquatic fan. Personally, don't like aquatics. Tried it wanting to see if it had another dimension to it, and it failed: it was very predictable, aquatic.

Reminiscent of Givenchy Blue Label, but with less of the spicy/woody qualities that make Blue Label so great. More Marine than it is Aquatic, a very watery Marine. I agree with a previous review, should have been called Bvlgari Marine.

this is one of the fragrance that i have..not too bad (actually i'd never say the fragrance that i had is the BAD one, hihihi) but, i don't recommend you to have this stuff, trust me...all BVLGARi always came back to their classic fragrance..so does it!!

A very aquatic aquatic, reminds me of fresh sea weed and sea breeze after the initial citrus fleets. A very watery scent that can get synthetic if too much used. The posidonia gets a light spicy lift from a cedar-like note which last pretty much thru the end. A nice clean aquatic but nothing worth raving about.

I agree with some of those who compared this to Acqua Di Gio. The dry down is very similar, but, it is a bad knockoff of Acqua Di Gio. It also has this "weird" note that is similar to SWM. Either way, not the best in the acquatic category.

Not my type, but I must recognize that for an aquatic this is more than excellent. Anyway even if this is aquatic, it works only for elegant,elegant to casual, or high fashion sportswear, as it is very reffined.

I guess aquatics are just not my thing, I've compared the Bulgari Aqua with the original Bulgari PH (and the extreme version) I like the PH and extreme, but probably wouldn't buy them because they seem far too subtle on me. Same goes for the Aqua de Bulgari. All aquatics eventually lead me back to L'eau D'Issey, which I own, but am no longer very fond of. I will give Bulgari Aqua points for capturing the "seaside" salty note to a T, but if I want to smell like the ocean, I'll go to the beach and swim in it.

I dont find it marine or even aquatic at all. It´s nice yet heavy and very herbal and slightly flowery, and there´s a powdery note on the drydown that will put some men around off, i think is more unisex.
Still nice buy not my stuff:(

LiveJazz is right in his assessment of this scent -- it IS the spiciest of all the "aquatics." And MonkeyManMatt's right, too, in that this scent's drydown is very reminiscent of Fahrenheit. Still, I'll save for another bottle of another frag. Will give this one a thumbs up, but only because it breaks the mold and doesn't reek.

I bovght this jvst for a vacation on Captiva Island. With all of the great food, drink and intimacy, it's hard not to like. Very nice and fresh, but the powder is a bit heavy on the dry down.

:( Nothing but the cool bottle. Nothing but like millions familiar scenes out the. Nothing but poor longervity.

I just don't get it: at first sniff, it smells nice enough, but later becomes almost plastic-like (yes, I tried it on my skin). I wanted to like it, but I just can't see spending money on it... I'm sure there are "drugstore" fragrances that are better.

As others have already mentioned, this one isnt a groundbreaking scent. In a sea of aquatic fragrance releases (no pun intended), this one stands out because of its use of a Posidonia note (a sea plant found in the mediterranean sea) note. The top notes are innocuous, but when the posidonia note kicks in, Aqua suddenly transforms into one of the more interesting mediterranean / aquatic fragrances around. Its certainly different from my favorite aquatic scent Erolfa. The sillage is low, but the longevity is there. Its not an instant classic like Bulgari Black, but if an aquatic scent is what you are looking for, you can do a lot worse than Aqua. Oh, and the bottle rocks !

Captures the salty sea scent better than any frag I've come across. Imagine the beach, not just any beach, but a beach off the coast of some Meditarean seaport where ships are pulling in their latest catch. Maybe Italy, maybe Greece. A slim, tall and dark-skinned woman saunters by in a white bikini with a cursive smile pursed on her lips and says in her best foreign voice, "You smell like heaven. What are you wearing?" You reply, "I'm not wearing anything, it's the sea you smell." She sighs and says, "They should bottle that and sell it like hotcakes." Then and only then will you understand Aqua de Bulgari pour Homme.

yes it has lots of similarities to other fresh aquatic fragrances, but so do many, many others. that's the risk in creating an aquatic fragrance.
i'm definitely not a fan of this type of fragrance (i'm a sucker for spicy-woody-oriental crap), but this is my very first fresh fragrance! and i love it. u won't find uniqueness here, although it does stand out of a crowd without a question, the crowd being a lot of misguided aqua di gio users...
the staying power isn't remarkable, but it's ok.
the slightly bitter notes of marine algae do the whole trick. check out kenzo pour homme to see what i'm talking about.

Whenever I miss the ocean, I just spray some of this perfume on, and voila, an instant dive into the peaceful marine. The Poseidon note generates the sense of depth and vastness of the sea, while the crispy-sweet-warm Madrain and ultra-fresh Ozone notes made this a very friendly body of water to play in. This very well crafted perfume last about 8-12 hours on me, and sometimes has a gentle and pleasant leather smell toward the end to wrap things up.

I was at the Prada store and a man walked by. He had a very nice "light, masculine" scent. I asked him what he was wearing....incidentally, he's from southern Italy. He told me he was wearing "Bulgari Acqua". I bought it the following day. I like the spicy, masculine drydown of this scent. Very unique from other
acua/marine scents.

Aside from the fact that it has horrid staying power, this scent is a huge let down from a house that I hold in VERY high regard. Another fresh marine AdG knockoff that leaves the wearer wanting more. It's nice, but uncreative. I expect more from a house that has put out gems like Pour Homme and amazing Black. Too bad, I hope this isn't a sign of times to come. C'mon Bvlgari, you're better than this.

Admittedly, this is far from groundbreaking but to me it just smells too good not to like. It makes me want to frollick down a beach with a loved one. But hold up! Not the prissy, white sand sunny day type of beach for men who get sand stuck in their hoo-hoos, but a beach with darker sand on a slightly overcast day with sizeable waves that unleash a salty mist as they crash against the sand. Despite the clouds, me and my gal are happy in the end and that's what counts! Then I steal one of her sandals and heave it into the ocean, never to be seen again... and then I have to carry her over broken glass on the way home. Still happy...

Aqva is a nice fragrance, nothing spectacular though. It should have been called Bvlgari Marine.
Initially fresh, with a proeminent note of something that reminds Cumin and gives it a spicy smell. This note also reminds me of Fendi Uomo! Yes, Fendi Uomo!For me It's the same note that contrasts with the leathery background of that fragrance. However, after some minutes this note vanishes and gives place to a marine smell, maybe due to the seaweed. At this time, It starts to smell like a light Creed Erolfa and remains like that until it disappears.
The longevity is allright. If you like the salty marine smell, this scent is perfect for you.

This stuff has very rich, spicy, fresh and dark ingredients that are expressed deeply with this great long lasting aquatic fresh and a bit romantic scent. Like any Bvlgari fragrance, this one has this one special note that is just right. It's strong when compared against other “Acquas” and have a nice smelling. Very versatile and it can be worn at the office or for more formal occasions. This is the type of fragrance that Bvlgari`s Collection needed to be complete.

I would put this in the well-crafted but not particularly interesting file. The only strong negative is a hyper-melon note which I don't really like.

Fresh and clean I agree. Some marine notes to me. Doesn't last long on me at all. What a PITA it is to keep this bottle among the others, it takes up the space of 4 bottles since it has to lay flat like a skipping stone! :)

Nothing awesome here, stands in the middle of a large crowd of others that are similar.

Smells ALOT like all other sharp FRESH scents, did not like this at all, very boring and typical.

"Aqua" is for sea, not for fresh. Starts with a bergamot citric note that fades into some sort of wood that smells exactly like salty sea... maybe a seaweed. The lasting power is good enought.

I could understand why some people wouldnt like this scent, but I personally think it's right on...it starts out as your typical aquatic scent, you dive in, just like you would any other Aqua, but just below the surface, you soon realize that you're swimming in uncharted waters...a slightly different almost turpentine like scent peeks through the freshness, adding a different dimension, but as it lingers longer, the scent becomes more green, almost piney...an ever changing scent with alot more complexity than it is given credit for...still waters run deep...

this is a very fresh and clean scent.. it last fairly long and is very different among the aquatic scents ive smelled.. these is a must buy for those who love aquatic scents.. i turns a lot of heads also.. great for day/office wear

A very good cologne. It's high quality, and the smell is great and long lasting. This is my personal favorite and i have gotten many compliments on it. The bottle design is very appealing as well.

This is a little bit better than some other recent aquatic releases, and it has a very interesting bottle to boot. Other than that, this fragrance isn’t much to write home about. It’s a ‘me-too’ aquatic fragrance without a soul.

The "aqua" character of the scent quickly fades to a very woody scent on my skin. All Bulgari scents are well crafted and this is no exception.

Really not impressed. Reminds me too much of other department store scents. Doesn't bring out enough of the acqua for me to really feel any excitement. Think I'll give it a miss.

I have loved all the Bulgari scents, so I rushed out and bought Aqva. Sadly, like many other mens scents on the market, it has an ingredient that turns into cat piss on me. Chanel Allure does the same thing but much worse. I don't know what the ingredient is, but someone please tell me so I don't have to suffer this again. I hate giving Bvlgari a bad review, as they have done such an excellent job up to this point, but I simply can't tolerate this scent.

As is to be expected from this company, this fragrance explores new and intriguing ingredients, pushing the envelope while still remaining balanced and understated. A pungeant grass from the mediterranean sea called posidonea (sp?) is used here to stunning effect. Captures the saltiness of the sea in a scent. Actually I would describe the fragrance as "salty"- while also being inviting and sophisticated. Could totally see a tuna in a tux wearing this one with aplomb.

This is the "anti-Acqua di Gio" marine scent. It's more complex, "waterier", and simply a far better fragrance. Love the bottle, too...like a bubble in the sea...

If you positively need another Aqua-scent in your warddrobe, then I guess this is one of the best choices. Extremely nice bottle but the scent does leave some to be desired, maybe cause I'm not a big fan of this genre and because of my strong feelings for other offerings from this house. Nevertheless it is much better than 90%of its peers. The drydown is actually very reminiscent of Fahrenheit.
Matt/Sweden

to me smelt so simliar to Acqua Di Gio... maybe slightly heavier?

Much more refined than Acqua di Gio Pour Homme. One of the better new fragrances.