Aquatic note

The aquatic note: a touch of freshness and water, as if to create transparent flowers!

There was a time when perfumes had no season and people wore the same fragrances in winter and in the height of summer without giving it much thought. In recent years, perfumers, noticing that the summer season led consumers toward lighter eaux de toilette, began creating airier, more summery versions of their original fragrances. As a result, new notes emerged, such as the aquatic note, to bring lightness and a sensation of freshness to summer perfumes.

The aquatic note in perfumery for fresh, light fragrances

Indeed, for several years now, people have not worn perfume in the height of summer the way they do in winter. The great perfume houses have learned to create versions of their fragrances and accords that offer their customers fresher, more delicate scents to wear during intense heat, which would inevitably alter heavier perfumes. Previously, no perfume would be worn at 30 degrees; now one is bought for the occasion! So ultimately, two end up being bought!

Naturally, summer perfumes need to be light, airy, and above all refreshing. This is how the aquatic note was created in the noses' laboratories. It is aquatic without being marine, watery like a flower without being floral. Its scent is very discreet and is mainly meant to enhance the other main notes of the perfume. It is even possible to have never consciously smelled the aquatic note in a fragrance, yet it is indeed present!

A drop of fresh water for an aquatic note in our perfumes

The aquatic note is especially present in floral and citrus perfumes of our summers. It appeared for one of the first times as a top note in Ralph Cool by Ralph Lauren in 2004. Paired with cucumber and kiwi, the aquatic note enhances the bursts of white flowers and vetiver, giving this lovely perfume a beautiful floral freshness. That same year, L'Eau de Ryokuei by Menard also offered a green floral in which the aquatic top note was balanced by floral notes as well as amber and sandalwood bases.

Later on, the aquatic note would even become a heart note, bringing its transparent, clear sweetness and freshness to beautiful citrus fragrances as well as to delicate florals, mainly feminine but also masculine. Today, for women, many florals offer aquatic note accords, such as the recent CK2 by Calvin Klein, Muguet Porcelaine by Hermès, Aqua Vitae Forte by Maison Francis Kurkdjian, and many others…

As for the citrus family, it tends to use the aquatic note as a heart note to enhance the citrus fruits, giving them an aquatic and lighter tonality. On the feminine side, the aquatic note can be found in Aqua Allegoria – Limon Verde by Guerlain, for example. For men, the aquatic note develops around aromatic citrus notes, as in the beautiful Un Jardin Après la Mousson by Hermès or in L'Eau par Kenzo Mirror Edition pour Homme.

The aquatic note therefore brings a fresh, thirst-quenching, transparent tonality to fragrances seeking the shade of hot summers... Particularly associated with florals and citrus fragrances, the aquatic note also develops in other types of olfactory families, such as aromatic woody fragrances like Jangala by Parfumerie Générale, or in a spicy woody fragrance like Black Cedarwood & Juniper by Jo Malone. The aquatic note therefore holds great potential for new developments to offer our fragrances!