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darganVK – :
This doesn’t smell like lemon, it smells *of* lemon. It’s as if a lemon has been zested directly into the bottle, and as a result it is really refreshing, perfect for hot, dry summer days.
Whilst it does last longer than the majority of citrus based fragrances, unfortunately on my skin it’s lasts 3-4 hours.
All in all, a very nice, fresh, if simple, fragrance. 7/10.
VerieFeraDIFF – :
Holy citrus!
I’ve been finding a fragrance to cheat on my Acqua di Parma Colonia with, and wanted to see how AV would do. I am quite conflicted. Such a strong hit of the freshest, purest citrus. Immediately. It really projects, and is quite bold. But something is off. I don’t know how wearable it is for me…something is missing. It reminds me of old, homemade soaps at my grandfather’s house, used for laundry washing by hand.
For a moment I thought maybe- but then after an hour or so, the drydown disappointed me, and the initial hit wasn’t really true love, so given the price tag, I will have to take a pass.
Isoreoselmhok – :
It is the best lemon fragrance I have used. It is bright fresh, a bit acidic and a little sweet to its point. but we can not really give you more than 4.20 points for being a citrus fragrance and its price
liocha67 – :
Lemon heaven! Love this fragrance.
Mattoni – :
This is beautiful. I love lemon. I love the strength of this fragrance and the sourness and freshness of the top notes and the lightly sweet cedar drydown. I have only the 17 ml travel size, but eventually this will be a full bottle purchase.
sfotich – :
To me this is a masterpiece. To be able to get such huge sillage an longevity out of such an airy and fresh citrus scents is beyond me. One of a kind!
All the notes shine on their own way, but to me this fragrance is a sum of more than it’s parts. Maybe not a fragrance for everyone, but very likeable and a must try for everyone looking for a great citrus fragrance.
I bought this in the winter and I’m really looking forward to using this in the heat this summer.
mitka – :
There is no review of DUA fragrances Acqua Solaris (Acqua Viva clone) on this site, so I hope no one minds if I place this bit of advice about Acqua Solaris here.
A brilliant, zesty Summertime citrus Lemon…..that last for 60 minutes. With no exaggeration, only the faintest traces of this juice can be detected after 1 hour, even on clothes. Sadly, I wanted to love it. I really did. I loved the idea of the same niche quality being offered by a small start up fragrance house. In hindsight, Designer houses with millions in capital behind them have been unable to do this but a small, independent start up is going to do it? Yeah right. After doing more research after my initial disappointment, I read an article that says These companies purchase 1 bottle of the original and find a way stretch over 100 bottles. That would explain their “inspirations” sometimes being released just days after the original has been on the market and their insistence on 30 and 60 ml bottles. I’ve ordered several DUA fragrances and this was the first to arrive. This has served to wake me up to the reality of a clone of a $250 niche fragrance being offered for $60?? (Really $30 because DUA uses the same oils as Alexandria but charges twice the price).
I have yet to receive the other fragrances but at this point my ultimate conclusion is You get what you pay for. No way Around it. Profumum Roma, shut up and take my money.
koshin – :
The opening is old fashioned lemon drop, complete with the light dusting of powder and the crinkle of a cellophane bag.
After about an hour and a few prickles of cypress, I was left with just a breath of something vague and clean. Pleasant. Not soapy.
I was just starting to dig this new cozy whiff when it was suddenly gone.
Charming, quaint, fleeting.
Update: I’ve been wearing my sample three days in a row. In spite of the brevity and low sillage I am still enchanted. Can’t stop applying, can’t stop sniffing.
Update: 3 months later and this has evolved into my signature. Something about it keeps me sniffing and smiling all day. People linger and smile wen they smell it too.
hohotun63 – :
“Master Lemon”
Acqua Viva has incredible interpretation of what a lemon fragrance can be.
It has equal proportions of zesty skin, seeds, ripe lemon, fresh lemon, stalk and root of the plant developing at different stages of evolution on the skin
It combines these elements into a complete, photo-realistic yet deeply charismatic fragrance.
Fragrances from Profumum Roma are known to be discrete and linear in creation, but with beastly performance.
Acqua Vivia maintains the beastly performance, but it is nonlinear in comparison to other fragrances from the house.
It starts with fresh lemon, but it dries down to a combination of woody and ripe lemony scent.
I don’t really like fresh or aquatic fragrances as they bore me out quickly. That’s not the case with Acqua Viva. First, it is not aquatic. Second, it has to be one of the most awesome citrus fragrances under the sun.
10/10.
msy237InsuffBooni – :
OH WHAT THE ACTUAL £#€& Profumum!?
No!
This kills me a little inside. I have been wanting a fresh, pure, photorealistic lemon perfume for a long time and this hype train rolls through town and I hop on board.
It’s delicious! Perfect lemon! No “cleaning product” scent, no fake candy lemon, just a real, ripe lemmon that has been torn into with your thumbs, through the rind, in a fit of tasty kung-fu pique. Like practicing to gouge your enemies eyes out. And then dusting them with white sugar.
It does have a slightly “lemonade” quality to it but the sweetness is acceptable. Complimentary even.
THE PROBLEM is the performance. %¥ you Profumum Roma! For the house that is hyped to have all beast mode in their lineup, I have had a near 50/50 hit and miss ratio on performance. This is one of the best scents in this category, but the performance sucks.
Sick of your £#*+ Profumum!
Scent: 9/10 this is a damn near masterpiece for a freshie-which I normally don’t care for.
Projection: 7/10 for 15 minutes
gasss – :
If you love lemon you’ll absolutely adore this one. Lemon with cedar on drydown…great sillage and longevity. This is one of my favorites as I love the lemon the longevity is somewhat weak when compared to others from this fragrance house. I’d give this one an A-.
TV74 – :
Oh, liquid citrus heaven on earth. Even before first application the uplifting and bright lemon note was filling my room with all intensity.
The combination of cypress and lemon creates a note similar to neroli, green and a tad spicy.
The name of this perfume is spot on. It’s an allegory to life and happiness. A potion to dispel even the darkest moods.
Of course, I can’t resist citrus scents, especially lemon. But I know some people immediately associate lemon with cleaning products.
So if you are looking for a good citrus ( lemon) perfume, Acqua Viva should be at the top of the list.
Unapologetically simple and gorgeous.
vitalik_999 – :
Opens with a citrus note that’s quite itchy due to the combination with cypress, however it fades into a warmer and sweeter lemon juice when the cedar wood starts to be noticeable. This very slight sweetnees can also be noticed from the opening, it’s just not as strong.
Longevity: 3 hours -/+
Sillage: enormous to moderate
10/10 the perfect perfume for inspiring your summer days with a smell of lemons by the mediterranean sea-side.
cas85 – :
Low duration and short sillage, a plastic feeling overall! Disappointing!
VLADRA – :
I am in love with this perfume. It’s incredibly natural, as if you had just dug into a lemon and torn off the first piece of rind, and that fine mist of juice sprays into the air. It makes me think of the outdoors, groves of citrus fruit and tangy afternoon air.
It may just be a signature. 🙂
HomPeemetarof – :
As the hype has indicated, I agree that Profumum Roma Acqua Viva is among the best fresh lemon scents that I’ve ever smelled, or could smell, apart from perhaps a sweet lemon scent along the lines of Dua Fragrances Vanilla Lemon Gelato or Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche. But as far as a strong lemon presence and not too much mixed in, Acqua Viva takes the cake as the best fresh lemon fragrance I can name.
It involves, overwhelmingly, fresh lemon, both the juice and the peel/rind, blended with the yellow flower laburnum, and woody notes of cedar and one of my favorite woods, cypress. It doesn’t develop much, which is actually nice because the opening is so pleasant and bright.
Performance is solid, more up to the par set by much of the rest of the line, with great projection and longevity.
The only pitfall is that paying the standard $250 for 100ml Profumuma Roma price for a citrus-dominant fragrance seems unpalatable, but considering that this is balanced enough to be a versatile performer in not only the warm weather, but due to its strength, the cold weather, the price could be right. I’ll have to consider splurging for this one—next year, perhaps.
8 out of 10
vovan85 – :
When the conditions are just right in Texas, we can grow the most incredible citrus. The Ruby Red Grapefruit, a staple in the Texan diet, is marvellous–you haven’t had grapefruit until you’ve eaten one. Our limes can grow to the size of a fist, and a tart and almost soapy-clean, the opposite of a Key Lime.
But one of the secret wonders of Texas agriculture is the Meyer Lemon. If the weather conditions are right, farmers and gardeners all over the land will produce some of the most sweet, rich lemons you could ever imagine. Their peels are almost orange. When you cut one open, it smells like fresh-squeezed lemonade, or a bag full of old-fashioned lemon drops, or the kind of natural lemon oil you use to finish a piece of wood.
My wife makes a limoncello using this entrancing citrus. Boozy and sweet without being cloying, it is such a powerful and elemental flavour that I subconsciously compare all lemon scents to the drink.
So some might smell Acqua Viva and smell lemon cleaner, or lemon drops, or even a nice fresh lemon, with undertones of cypress. But to me, it is almost precisely the smell of my wife’s Meyer Lemon Limoncello. It’s a gourmand to me, with a sugary crust over a fresh lemon heart (a deeper smell than most lemon fragrances I have encountered), yielding to an aromatic woodiness that really echoes cypress furniture to me.
In other words, it’s a very evocative scent on my skin. One can easily tell the quality of the ingredients (this is Profumum, after all), but all the same, I doubt I will be picking up a bottle of this. It’s a touch too sweet for a summer scent on my skin, and surprisingly, doesn’t last at all in the heat. This might actually be an interesting late summer/early fall juice, and I will try it again then.
Altogether, I find the scent entrancing, but very personal, and although extraordinarily well put-together (if a bit linear), not something I’m terribly excited to share with others.
If your skin can handle sweetness, and you want a lemon fragrance, I think you would be hard-pressed to find a better juice. As for me, I will sit with it a while longer to decide if it is worth the considerable, but reasonable, price tag.
R
serzh1509 – :
Scent – tart lemon.
Season/Time of Day – I prefer to use this in the warmer months, during the day.
Projection – I didn’t get noticed, I didn’t get a compliment.
Longevity – I get 6hrs consistently.
wpaska – :
Layering Acqua Viva and Victrix.
Both compliment each other amazingly well and create a powerful charming aura of amalfi lemons in the midst of earthy Italian herb garden.
Brilliant and super longevity sillage
sm1ga – :
One of the best lemon based scent ever! The niche version of Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior. A citrus bomb!
xa0c – :
this stuff is awesome… need to get a bottle though i have a 50ml decant i need the bottle now.. This will always be in my closet.. 10/10
Edit : gotta bottle and this is a lemon king… amazing..
FriendSydney – :
A raw elemental expression of lemon in it’s natural state. More lemon skin and pith than juice, it’s refinement and sophistication au natural. A serious gentleman’s cologne.
мурат 777 – :
My personal Holy Grail lemon:
Acqua Viva smells like bright, sparkling Lemon Drops candy. It’s a big lemon scent with excellent performance and due to the sweetness of the lemon accord it avoids smelling anything like furniture polish or a kitchen cleaner. This is the best lemon-centric fragrance I’ve smelled to date. It’s sunny and bold and lasts a good while with nice projection. AV concludes in a light woody base though it never comes close to losing its citrus heart. My lemon quest more or less ends here, as Acqua Viva is a more modern and uplifting replacement for the previous lemon King, Monsieur Balmain. This blows Monsieur Balmain out of the water, and somehow makes it smell stuffy and drab. Though I was pretty bored with the citrus genre in general, Acqua Viva delivers a quality and depth that is exciting to behold. As far as citrus is concerned, 10/10.
Side note: Citrus notes are such a common component of fragrances. My review here is not comparing Acqua Viva to all fragrances with significant citrus accords, as many of these fragrances have other equally important facets or developments; it’s in comparison to lemon-specific fragrances, such as Monsieur Balmain and Eau Hadrien. This is where Acqua Viva achieves its crown. While it may not be the perfect fragrance overall, it is certainly the perfect lemon fragrance.
Doctorr – :
★★★★
Bright smell of elegant lemon zests. Cedar emerges at a later stage but the bright lemon note stays until the end! Longevity is amazing (as always with Profumum) and has a good projection as well.
I would never pay that much for a citrus fragrance though, I did only pay that amount for Acqua Di Sale which is more of a statement.
This is the only fragrance that switched the classic and classy Eau Sauvage second to my lemon scents list!
Beautiful and up lifting.
Peregudov – :
beautiful! natural smelling lemons, not aquatic, more warm, sunny kind of feeling…for a citrus fragrance it lasts a long time…yesterday when I woke up it was still there, and that happens not too often with my skin chemistry.First half hour is loud, then settles down, gets a little woody, but with lemons still very persistant..I’m in love with it right now…the only downfall is price…I’m big citrus lover and this one’s the best 1 I found so far!
vladnad – :
I bought a 15 ml decant of this a year ago and have worn this 7- 8 times, and no disrespect to people who like this but, this is lemon cleaner.Maybe 95% concentrated lemon with a bit of immortelle (which this fragrance needs much more of imo). It just is. Thats what I smell, thats what the people around me smell, I don’t find wearing this to be a “special” experience, or find this nuanced or luxurious or interesting in any way (At least in the first couple hours, the far dry-down gets better when the lemon finally chills out a bit but who wears a fragrance just to wait for the 3 hour mark to come). Just my opinion.
tantin1 – :
There are 4 types of lemons or lemon-like fragrances in this concoction. There is something very oily and slick about the the way the fragrances exude.
A very linear perfume till its end.
When unpacked and kept next to Annick Goutal’s Hadrien Absolu, both are identical in every way (95%) but the Roma stays on your skin a tad longer. A great summer fragrance but not worthy for USD 220 + 80 for shipping. A summer perfume which does not stay on my skin for more than 2 hours.
In tropical Sri Lanka its such a a waste of good $$$.
ionmen – :
Addictive!! Going to wear this all summer!! 🙂
флора – :
Lemony Fruit Loops
fantom741 – :
If you miss the old version of Eau d’Hadrien, this is pretty darn close to that — at more than twice the price, of course. It possesses the same clear, bright lemon note so realistic you’d think someone was cutting one at close proximity. It also has a touch of sweet white floral up top and some conifer-foresty notes that add a touch of the great outdoors to something that might otherwise smell like a kitchen. As with Hadrien, you either like smelling like this or you don’t. There’s nothing to “get.”
The quality of Profumum can’t be overstated — this house makes very good, very simple perfumes and it is immediately apparent when you smell them. The price point suggests special occasion fragrance, but it would be all too easy to go through a whole bottle of this in a summer.
lixliaccike – :
Lemons!
Lemonade!
Limoncello….
….lemon fresh disinfectant…
Sniffing the paper test for “Acqua Viva” will have you running through every association your brain has for lemon, before inevitably admitting that you’ve smelled toilet fresheners similar to this, and move on.
ronin911 – :
One of the best citrus perfumes i’ve ever tried. Exellent quality, long lasting and gets better after a few hours. A bit too strong citrus note ,but generally great. Bravo to the Italian people.
Neodlenny – :
You will struggle to find a finer citrus than Acqua Viva. Many of the reviews here are absolutely spot on, especially @Estebanz.
A real journey of an opening with citrus from sharp lemon/grapefruit settling to zesty peel which smells super real, natural and accurate. A citrus smell which is complex within itself and even changes slightly over the first few minutes.
At this point I’ll just say I’m not typically one to get excited about citrus but this is really worth the gushing praise.
Now then, I was expecting the waxy nature of white florals like neroli to develop at this point because that is my experience of ‘high end’ niche citrus fragrances bases and heart notes. I think they use them a) because they do compliment fruits and citrus and b) because they turbo charge the longevity.
To my utter surprise nothing developed except a gorgeous woody accord and even the tiniest hint of smoke.
It’s very subtle fresh incense type vibe like olibanum, maybe coming from the cypress or cedar? but it’s of the highest quality and a welcome addition to a fresh summer fragrance.
This is a masterful citrus aromatic a truly awesome piece of work with good longevity.
макси – :
A lemon-lover’s delight. Acqua Viva opens with a incredibly authentic blast of fresh, tart and juicy lemon. Nothing synthetic-smelling about this one, it is fresh and delicious. The longevity is impressive, especially for a citrus-based fragrance. I’m getting 8-10 hours on my skin with this one, although in the final two hours it is more about the cedar than the fresh and bright lemon scent that dominates the rest of the dry down.
I love this stuff. I’ve been looking for a long-lasting citrus scent for a while now, and am delighted to have found Acqua Viva. If you enjoy the smell of real, fresh cut lemons, then this fragrance is definitely for you. The outstanding longevity is a bonus.
I most strongly recommend this one. Outstanding summer fragrance.
kemGeombmoche – :
Before you splurge on a bottle of Acqua Viva . . .
I’ve never smelled a more beautiful, intense, delicious lemon than in Annick Goutal’s Hadrien Absolu. It’s an over-the-top lemony EDP that’ll knock your socks off. And I’m not much of a citrus guy. You really need to try it before spending twice the money on a bottle of Acqua Viva. Note: As of today (10/29/13) Hadrien Absolu is not yet listed in the Fragrantica database. I hope this addition is forthcoming.
777solo – :
Acqua viva is a nice lemon fragrance.
At first is more green, like a lemon blossom. It becomes slightly tart after a couple of minutes. Then I detect something just a little bit sweet, just barely sweet, transforming the lemon scent into a light version of a lemon meringue pie.
The cypress and cedar stay in the background (far back) from the lemon.
For the price…I’m not sure. But it all depends, if I really like a fragrance I will probably buy it anyway.
I used to have Monsieur Balmain, though they are not exact copies, the have a similar vibe. Balmain is more sharp and masculine, still, the lemon is there (and at a more affordable price too).
temtat – :
One of the few long lasting lemon scent. the only one remember me lemon,true lemon.
very nice!
OOOOOVERPRICED!!!
zhakan – :
I have a small vial sample of this, which I’m finding doesn’t always represent the fragrance properly. Some vials just are missing something. Maybe the bottle should be shaken before the sample is taken out. I’m not sure.
Anyway, I wanted to find something I loved in this fragrance and to be excited about a manly, modern citrus cologne with a woody base. Instead I smell a very lemony fragrance that lasts about 3 hours. There’s a touch of wood and some other things (hardly) underneath. If you love lemon, this is the one for you. If you don’t want to spend $240 to smell like you just dusted your house and cleaned the kitchen with lemon-scented cleansers, just get a sample and try it out.
Deroxmppcb – :
It actually reminds me of an upscale Aqua Velva- much more potent, higher quality. Like another reviewer said, I agree: I like it, but I don’t find it original enough to warrant the $.
inculpneirurn – :
The best quality of italian lemons in a scent…!
export – :
I’m a bit careworn when it comes to this fragrance. On the first topnote, it is, as everyone has said, a lemon-citrus fragrance. And it is indeed that. The lemon topnote stands out to everything else (so far as I can tell). While this does not seem to be a problem for most people it was a bit of a hangup for me. Some have mentioned household cleaner or something – how the topnotes don’t smell like that, etc. And in one sense I agree, but in another I disagree. I agree that AV doesn’t smell like, for example, Lemon Pledge, other than that they have a lemon scent in common. But in a way, I still feel like I’ve just cleaned the house with Lemon Pledge when I am wearing AV (when it comes to the topnotes, anyway). So, it’s not that it smells like a household cleaner, it’s just that I get the sense that I’ve been cleaning the kitchen or dusting or something.
Once the topnotes dry down, the smell is still great. The strong lemon smell dies down and the cedarwood takes a stronger note. This is the best part of AV IMO. The sillage seems to be average and the longevity is decent (several hours).
The big downside to this fragrance is the price. It’s around 240$ or so for 100ml. And I just find that to be much too expensive for a citrus fragrance that you can get at a cheaper price (Acqua Classica, while the scent isn’t as great as AV, is a 30$, 100Ml citrus fragrance). So, overall I would rather have something much cheaper and not quite as great. But that’s just me.
3bg – :
An incredibly realistc, natural and sparkling lemon note with woody undertones (cedarwood). Simple yet really well executed and refined, long lasting, kinda energizing. Not my cup of tea but surely among the best lemon based fragrances around.
Rating: 7/10