Marc Jacobs Splash Cucumber (2007)
by Marc Jacobs

Notes:
Top: Watery cucumber accord, lotus leaf, cactus flower
Middle: Linden blossom, blue tiger lilies and Dutch freesia
Base: Frosted musk and blonde woods

Cucumber is a limited-edition fragrance from the Marc Jacobs 'Splash' series...ethereal/edc-like, pleasant fragrances which eschew avant grande over-the-top 'trying to0 hard to please' perfume design, and come in massive bottles for your splash-on pleasure. Quite a bit like the recent Marc Jacobs heavily stream-lined and conservative military garbs.

Cucumber starts with a pleasant herbal/aquatic cucumber note melded with a (highly diluted) pink lotus note which creates an ethereal earthy floral watery accord. The heart notes introduce a watery floral lily and a cotton wool-like linden before drying down to a musk base 3-4 hours later. Cucumber had the potential to be a chemical mess, what with the cucumber, linden and note featuring prominently in its pyramid. But due to its light concentration, use of decent materials and a blend which coherently links cucumber-lotus & lily by recognizing their shared watery-aquatic profile, Cucumber actually becomes a very viable hot summer splash candidate. I still prefer Bond no. 9 Wall Streets more complex composition (+ its still my go-to for a top shelf cucumber note) but Marc Jacobs Cucumber is certainly a good option for those not willing to splash out $200 a bottle for a little energizing green.

Rating: 7.75/10.0