Acqua Santa / Holy Water by AbdesSalaam Attar Profumo

From Abdes Salam Attar website it is said of Holy Water / Acqua Santa "Made from substances held sacred in Western and Oriental mystics (sandalwood, incense, rose) this is a perfume that opens up the heart to angelical realities and fosters the return to one's own interior dimension. I take this statement to be very genuine and literal. Everything about the fragrance is uplifting and has a spiritual weight about it. The cologne opens and smells in structure like an eau de cologne except for the immediately noticeable lowered tonal register of the frankincense. Frankincense is the dominant character and imparts a hallowed, low chanting, vibrational feel to the scent. The airy uplift of a slight rose is a bit of purity in the opening and I am guessing it to be enhanced with bitter orange blossom and/or orange flower? It is a challenge to guess the ingredients but I do so only to help describe the wonderful nuances of warmth and uplifting quality of this Holy Water. The frankincense smells lemony and mellow and has the slightest touch of grittier wood that I would imagine to be mastic or nutmeg oil in slight measure. The soft finely tuned grains of sandalwood contribute to a wood base that lingers on in refined and mellow tones for a few hours after applying. Lasts about 4 hours mostly as a subtle presence on the skin. Befitting its name, Acqua Santa smells of integrity and purity of intention throughout its brief but passionate performance. I give it a thumbs up recommendation as a balm for he who searches for righteousness and asks for a gentle, innocent presence as a guide and companion.

Notes: sandalwood, incense, rose

On paper, Holy Water smells of strong frankincense right away. The frankincense is resinous and slightly sweet with an almost-but-not-quite lemon quality to it. It definitely smells watery in an abstract way, and after the frankincense settles, I smell orange and a subtle woody base. The orange fades leaving faint wood, but it also has that edge that faded citrus oils get. Thankfully, it is well masked by the woody base note.

On skin, I smell lemony, woody frankincense with hints of tar and soft evergreen. I think there must also be some other citrus in this fragrance, as it smells quite a bit more fruity than I usually notice in pure frankincense essential oil. As the fragrance dries, I smell something like a tropical flower such as ylang ylang, but it is subtle and short lived. The floral component is a bit heady but not overpowering, and it gives some sweetness and softness to the frankincense. As I have stated above, there is a watery quality to this fragrance, but it is not aquatic or ozonic, nor does it smell of sea water. The notes state that rose is in this blend--this does start to come out more as the fragrance develops. It is not the liquor-like rose I am used to from my own rose absolute, but rather is an ethereal, cloud-like tea rose scent, very light and refined. I must admit, I have attempted this same accord with completely different results. Still, I love how rose, frankincense and sandalwood work together, even though at the moment I can't yet detect the sandalwood.

The rose fades in the latter parts of the middle drydown, and I smell a bit of an ammonia note which I often detect in modern, partly synthetic fougeres. I suspect that it is an evergreen note that I am hyperosmic to. Holy Water definitely has an aromatic herbal side to it, so if it contains pine, cypress, or maybe even some lavender, this could be the culprit. The ammonia note is not overly strong, and it eventually dies down. I can eventually smell the sandalwood in the deep drydown--it is faintly woody, sweet, nutty and a little creamy. My (very old) essential oil is quite similar to this. It is easily overpowered by other notes, so it is great when it finally can show itself!