Cool Water
Buying the parfum strength of a classic is always a small gamble, and Davidoff Cool Water Eau de Parfum 100ml is the richer reading of a composition that dates from 1988 and was the work of Pierre Bourdon.
The opening is cool and sharp. Mint and rosemary hit first, aromatic and almost medicinal, with lavender giving the whole top a clean, barbershop quality and coriander adding a dry seedy bite behind it. This is the part everybody recognises, and the reason the scent reads as water rather than fruit or flower is that nothing in the first ten minutes is sweet. In the middle it softens without warming up much. Geranium keeps a green, slightly metallic edge, neroli brings a bitter, green white flower, jasmine adds a trace of sweetness and sandalwood starts to round the bottom of it. The base is the interesting part and is where this concentration earns its place: musk and ambergris give a skin close saltiness, oakmoss supplies the damp, earthy bitterness that dates the formula in the best sense, and cedarwood and tobacco add dryness and a faint leafy smokiness.
Thirteen materials, properly tiered, and the eau de parfum carries more oil than the version most people grew up with, which translates into a heavier, slightly sweeter wear and a good eight hours. Two sprays is plenty. It suits cool weather and daytime particularly, reads unambiguously masculine, and is a sensible place to start for anyone curious about why a scent from the eighties still sells. The house itself began as a Geneva tobacconist in 1911 and grew into a cigar name under Zino Davidoff. Perfume has always been made by a licensee rather than in house.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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