Cool Water
There is a reason the opening of Davidoff Cool Water Eau de Parfum 100ml is instantly familiar even to people who have never owned a bottle. Pierre Bourdon's composition from 1988 has been imitated for decades, and this is the eau de parfum version of it.
What makes it work is that the top is cold rather than fresh in the fruity sense. Mint and rosemary give it a herbal snap, lavender a clean soapy sweep, and coriander a dry grainy edge underneath. Nothing sweet happens at all in the first ten minutes, which is a large part of why a fragrance this old still reads as modern.
The middle keeps that restraint. Neroli adds a bitter, green white flower, geranium a green metallic note, jasmine a little sweetness and sandalwood the first hint of warmth. Then the base takes over properly: oakmoss for damp earth, cedarwood for dryness, tobacco for a faint leafy smoke, and musk with ambergris for that salty, skin close finish that makes the drydown better than the opening on most wearers.
The parfum concentration is the point of this bottle. It is heavier and rounder than the toilette, lasts the better part of a working day and leaves a definite trail in the first hour, so a lighter hand is advisable. It is a masculine scent, best in cool and temperate weather, and it works for the office, for travel and for anyone who wants something recognisable rather than obscure.
The Davidoff name dates back to 1911 and a tobacconist's shop in Geneva, which Zino Davidoff turned into one of the best known cigar houses in Europe. The perfumes have always been licensed out, with Cool Water the range that made the name familiar beyond the humidor.
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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