Acqua Viva (2007)
by Profumum

Begins with a beautifully sharp and bright lemon blast, but very quickly something putrid and woody appears underneath. It was quite unbearable and I did feel a little nauseous. Each following five minutes I cautiously took a sniff and found that after 30 minutes the smell was gone leaving only the pleasant lemon and a little dry wood.

I’m not a big fan of Lemon fragrances, GFT is enough for me and Acqua Viva isn’t about to take it’s place.

The brightest, juiciest lemon fragrance that I know. Nothing sweet, just lemon, supported by woods, primarily cedar, in the background. Fairly long lasting, but stays close to the skin. I perceive just a touch of dirtiness as well. While I think this is a super fragrance, it is not one I will buy for myself. It is too pricey in my opinion and I think I like a touch of sweet with my lemon as well. But if you are a serious lemon lover, you owe it to yourself to try Acqua Viva.

One additional comment: after writing this review, I tried Goutal's Eau d'Hadrien. To me, these are very different, particularly in the lemon note. Simply put, Acqua Viva is much brighter.
(Original review: 23 April 09).

Acqua Viva smells VERY similar to Annick Goutal's Eau d'Hadrien but, at the same time, is more tolerable to wear. The same Beecham’s Honey and Lemon accord runs through this as in Eau d'Hadrien (which is something that fails to appeal to me – saccharine lemon and crushed paracetamol). Although it’s not too sweet, I found the lemon too dense, with a dirtiness becoming more evident during the drydown. Longevity is pretty good (six hours easily) but it tends to develop close to the skin as the hours pass.

If you’re looking for a refreshing lemon or citrus fragrance, this is most certainly not it. However, if the parallels drawn to Eau d'Hadrien appeals, this may be worth investigating.

The use of Sicilian Lemon has proven successful in other colognes, since it tends to be long-lasting. This one is pure Sicilian Lemon and was still present after twelve hours.

Mind you, this is not the lemon scent of domestic lemon oil, but a dry, tart lemon - as if you let a domestic lemon grow soft with rot - it is still lemony but pungent and bracing. Perfect for Autumn.

Both thumbs up for this little gem

Lemon lemming. (Sorry, I just had to say that.) This is the same type of juicy, non-sweet, just-squeezed lemon that launched Eau D'Hadrien into popularity. Its a little more herbal and less woody due to the broom flower. Profumum Aqua Viva is a must-try for fans of the Annick Goutal fragrance.

Pure, intense lemon. This is comparable to Eau D'Hadrien, only without the cypress. In addition, it is much stronger and has fantastic silliage. It's just lemony lemons with a bit of sweetness (vanilla) but mostly tart lemon. You have to really like lemon to wear this one. The unusual thing about it is, you don't get any harsh cleaning fluid, furniture polish, or alcohol notes at all. And there is no overkill in the sweetness category either. It really does put one in mind of a lemon grove & a freshly made batch of lemonade. So refreshing & glorious!