Tom Ford
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The initial spray is a bracing slap of maritime air cut with bitter juniper berries and sharp cypress needles, so crisp it almost stings. Myrtle adds a eucalyptus-like medicinal edge whilst the "sea breeze" accord reads as ozonic salinity rather than the synthetic melon of cheaper aquatics. Within minutes, lemon oil surfaces—bright, tart, and unmistakably natural.
As the volatility settles, pine needle and pine cone emerge as the true protagonists, creating an effect rather like crushing evergreen between your fingers whilst standing on warm Mediterranean rock. The aquatic elements recede but never disappear, instead forming a shimmering backdrop against which the coniferous notes play. The citrus persists longer than expected, interweaving with the green aromatics in a way that feels remarkably unpolished and alive.
The cistus absolute finally makes its presence felt, wrapping the remaining pine and mastic in a gently ambered, almost leathery warmth that smells of sun-heated rock and dried herbs. It's subtle to the point of near-transparency, sitting close to skin as a whisper of balsamic resin and faded greenery. The aquatic fantasy has evaporated entirely, leaving only the ghost of a coastal walk in its wake.
Costa Azzurra Acqua strips away the amber warmth of its predecessor and plunges headfirst into the garrigue-covered cliffs of the Mediterranean coast. This is Yann Vasnier's meditation on the moment sea spray meets sun-baked scrubland—that precise collision where maritime ozone tangles with resinous herbs clinging to limestone. The opening delivers an almost saline juniper sharpness, the kind that makes you taste salt on your lips, whilst cypress and myrtle provide an aromatic green framework that feels simultaneously cool and sun-scorched. What distinguishes this from typical aquatics is the persistent presence of pine—not the generic "fresh" variety, but actual sticky pine needles and waxy cones that anchor the composition to terra firma even as lemon zest adds a citric brightness that feels squeezed rather than synthetic. The base reveals Vasnier's technical prowess: cistus absolute, also known as labdanum, brings a leathery, balsamic sweetness that shouldn't work with all that ozonic freshness, yet somehow bridges the aquatic top and woody heart. Mastic adds a subtle Mediterranean resin quality, like chewing gum made from tree sap. This wears best on those who appreciate transparent, unsweetened fragrances—the type who holiday in Sardinia rather than Saint-Tropez, who prefer morning swims to evening aperitifs. It's resolutely casual, best suited to linen shirts and bare skin, though it lacks the tenacity for long days.
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3.6/5 (481)