Aquatic Poll. Your age in relation to your like/dislike of Aquatic fragrances.

[maxman]

I see there is not a lot of love for Aquatic fragrances (as a general statement).
This poll is here to see if I can find a correlation between age and opinion.

By no means is it scientific or even a good indicator of anything.
However, here it is. Please vote and take it all with a grain of salt.

I grew up in the 1990's. That is to say that when I was getting into fragrances in University it would have been 1994. When I started to wear fragrances with some regularity Aquatics were the main choice for just about everyone I knew.

If you are not sure what an aquatic fragrance is, read on.

Aquatic fragrances started to appear in the late 1980's inispired by the West Coast of the USA. The primary description of these scents is "fresh" or "crisp". They are reminicsent of the ocean, or the cool air after a thunderstorm. Imagine cliff diving into a cool, clean pool of water.

It is generally accepted that Davidoff Cool Water is the primary Aquatic scent that hit the market in 1988.

The Aquatic scent permeated fragrances in the 1990's and became the mainstay of the "sport" scents and new "summer" scents.
The major names in the 1990's are (this list is by no means complete, there are many more)
Calvin Klein Escape (1991)
Issey Miyake L'Eau D'Issey pour Homme (1994)
CK One (1994)
Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gio pour Homme (1996)

By the end of the 1990's the Aquatic fragrances took backseat to the Oriental and Gourmand fragrances. Florals saw a boom and Woody scents were back in full force.
The number of Aquatic fragrances that hit the market in the 2000's begins to dwindle. The marketing has changed to reflect these scents as "light" or "summer" versions of other fragrance lines. Examples include:
D&G Light Blue pour Homme (2007)

[justinp]

I voted dislike, but that's not really accurate. I'm basically indifferent to aquatic scents; I think they're boring and ubiquitous. But I definitely don't LIKE them, so dislike seemed the better choice.

[DFSDAILY]

The only one that I like is the Polo Sport, which is the blue bottle. Nice for days when you don't want to wear a heavy fragrance.

[KarlMaldensNose]

I can't and don't put fragrances into categories (what's the point?), so I wouldn't be able to make any broad statements about my feelings regarding "aquatics". Some I like, some I don't, just like any other fragrances. I like Issey Miyake L'Eau D'Issey pour Homme, but I don't like Calvin Klein Escape . I like Green Irish Tweed by Creed, but I don't like Cool Water by Davidoff. See what I mean? Also, Cool Water is considered an aquatic and GIT is generally not, even though Cool Water supposedly was created as a discount version of GIT.

I'm serioius about the classification thing -- it's pointless, especially given how subjective the sense of smell is.

[mftoms59]

In my 20's & 30's I liked Nautica and Cool Water, now in my 40's & 50's I'm more for Woody, Spicy & Florals.

[Dennard]

I'm in the 30-45 age range and voted dislike. There are a few good ones, but overall I find them boring and repetitive.

[tehtimmeh]

I'm in the 30-45 age range and voted dislike. There are a few good ones, but overall I find them boring and repetitive.

+1. 99.9% are barely trash can worthy. I'm 33. I must say, though, that I don't really consider GIT, Cool Water, or Polo Sport to be aquatics. More of the bridge between the 80s powerhouses and true acquatics such as Aqua di Gio.

[john parker]

Haven't met an aquatic that I cared for. Hence, I don't sample aquatics, let alone buy any!

[Dave in the basement]

I like Nautica, but not Cool Water. I am not an anti-aquatic, so I voted like, 30-45.

Dave

[DE_Dude]

By the end of the 1990's the Aquatic fragrances took backseat to the Oriental and Gourmand fragrances. Florals saw a boom and Woody scents were back in full force.


Thanks for the info! What are some of these ones?

[MoJoe]

I'm on the fence. I'm 45 and voted like. I don't especially see them as being for me except on a very rare occasion. I can't see myself wearing them day in and day out or as a go to scent. And I'm happy as hell that they are so popular so I can wear what I like and be seen as different.

[maxman]

Thanks for the input. You'll see where I'm going when I get more responses.
As for categorizing the fragrances, I only went with the industry standard systems of categorization.
Yes it really comes down to your own sense of what you like and dislike.
Nonetheless, these categories are accepted as the standards in the perfume world.

[mdole]

I like aquatic's, but not because the scent matters to me...my wife loves it! What else matters?

-Matt-

[scaevola]

Where's 'What, by Castor, are aquatics?'?

They need to bottle the smell of Puget Sound on the pier, I'd get that just because I miss home.

[The Knize]

I like every type of scent--gourmonds maybe snoit so much. Aquatics have been overdone and I have tired of them, but it does not mean I dislike them!

[DE_Dude]

I like every type of scent--gourmonds maybe snoit so much. Aquatics have been overdone and I have tired of them, but it does not mean I dislike them!

I don't even know what a gourmond is...

[Wendy]

Maybe it is my age but I like aquatics. : )

[professorchaos]

For the 35-45 category, you need an "I abhor aquatics."


+1. 99.9% are barely trash can worthy. I'm 33. I must say, though, that I don't really consider GIT, Cool Water, or Polo Sport to be aquatics. More of the bridge between the 80s powerhouses and true acquatics such as Aqua di Gio.

I wouldn't rinse a trashcan with 99% of them.

[Dennard]

I don't even know what a gourmond is...

It's a fragrance with food-type notes- things like vanilla, chocolate and coffee.

[StylinLA]

I still like L'eau de Issey every so often. Women certainly seem to like it on me.

But other than that, I pretty much eschew them. A lot of them seem to go nowhere fast on me. Issey has a bit of oomph to it for me.

I don't think Cool Water (no calone) is a true aquatic, but I think it certainly set the stage for them.

[maxman]

Maybe it is my age but I like aquatics. : )

This is where I'm going. I'm saying that a certain age person might like them more than others.

[Featherweight]

I don't much like aquatics. To me they're overused and boring. That fresh clean fruity smell is what soap is for. But I wouldn't blanket statement disown all aquatics without trying them. You never know what might have surprising appeal.

I definitely prefer green fragrances. They're not in vogue, but I would choose something like Chevrefeuille Original or Grey Flannel over L'eau de Issey and Acqua di Gio any day of the week.

side note: Cool Water is one that I consider to be green, and not an aquatic.




...

[StylinLA]

This is where I'm going. I'm saying that a certain age person might like them more than others.

No doubt about it. Anyone who started wearing scents in mid to late 90s, these had become the "go to" scents. One of the primary ingredients in aquatics is calone. It had been around for years as an aroma chemical developed by Pfizer I believe, but no one knew what to do with. A scent called New West was maybe the first to use it. Then Issey used it and it exploded. Next came AdG. For whatever reason- maybe because it was new and fresh? - women loved it on men. Drove a lot of them I knew bonkers. Dated a woman who only wore the women's version, and had me wear the men's.

It's very understandable that anyone starting with frags in the 90s would like these.

Some of us into scents just find them a tad light and gimmicky, lacking in artistry. I would not knock any young guys who love and use these. Women tend to like them. Though I do so detest AdG. A nothing scent on me.

I have a guess the under 30 crowd probably like gourmands more than other age groups.

Add side note: Basenotes directory considers Cool Water a "fresh fougere"

[maxman]

No doubt about it. Anyone who started wearing scents in mid to late 90s, these had become the "go to" scents. One of the primary ingredients in aquatics is calone. It had been around for years as an aroma chemical developed by Pfizer I believe, but no one knew what to do with. A scent called New West was maybe the first to use it. Then Issey used it and it exploded. Next came AdG. For whatever reason- maybe because it was new and fresh? - women loved it on men. Drove a lot of them I knew bonkers. Dated a woman who only wore the women's version, and had me wear the men's.

It's very understandable that anyone starting with frags in the 90s would like these.

Some of us into scents just find them a tad light and gimmicky, lacking in artistry. I would not knock any young guys who love and use these. Women tend to like them. Though I do so detest AdG. A nothing scent on me.

Add side note: Basenotes directory considers Cool Water a "fresh fougere"

Yes, that's where we'll end up with this little experiment.
it's 2011. 1995 was 16 years ago. So, if you are 35 now, you would have been 19 in 1995. I'm guessing that after Highschool and around the College/University years most people start to come into their own and develop style among which is their choice in fragrance.
The Aquatic craze boomed around that time (give or take a few years).
So I'm hoping that people my age + or - 5 years would have been cultured to aquatics and expressed a like for them.

I think that the numbers support that hypothesis.

Oh, and I didn't use basenotes for any of my research.

[kingfisher]

I think it's sad that pretty much every new cologne smells alike. That's what bothers me. Not that the scent is bad, but that it is so freaking tired.

But I really like 1805, and I really like Antonio Banderas's Blue Seduction (essentially a cheaper carbon copy of 1805). And I'm 52. My first frags were Drakkar Noir and then Aspen.

[OldSchoolYoungin]

I voted dislike, but that's not really accurate. I'm basically indifferent to aquatic scents; I think they're boring and ubiquitous. But I definitely don't LIKE them, so dislike seemed the better choice.

+1

26 years old, BTW.

[Alraz]

I like a few of them, especially cool water which I believe was one of the first ones. I will also put Azzaro Chrome in the list of those I like. My "problem" with the so-called "aquatics" or "sports", as others have said, is that they "all smell the same". Plus, they do not remind me of water at all:confused1

Al raz.

[Snargle]

I'm 64 and not a fan of aquatics...the few I've sampled were pretty vile, at least on my skin. I was gifted a bottle of Nautica many moons ago, but I either gave it away or trashed it.

[dmachine]

I'm 33 and I like aquatics. With as much disdain as aquatics have, I'm considering founding a new group AUA (Aquatic Users Anonymous).

[JoshuaNY]

Im 29 and I like em. Depends on which one though obviously. I dont love them all, but thats with any fragrance genre.

[DE_Dude]

Old Spice Whitewater is a big favorite for this 27 year old dude...so I guess I like them!

[Featherweight]

I'm 33 and I like aquatics. With as much disdain as aquatics have, I'm considering founding a new group AUA (Aquatic Users Anonymous).


NICE! You would definitely get a following.



...

[packersfan117]

I hate them. I'm 22 years old, a university student, and I positively detest them. They remind me of the inserts in the magazines my girlfriend reads. I don't typically wear a fragrance at all, but on the odd occasion I do, I typically wear a tiny touch of Stetson.

[DFrancis]

Mark me for dislike at 32. I'm more for musk/spice.

[KarlMaldensNose]

I don't think Cool Water (no calone) is a true aquatic, but I think it certainly set the stage for them.


side note: Cool Water is one that I consider to be green, and not an aquatic.


Add side note: Basenotes directory considers Cool Water a "fresh fougere"

This is kind of my point. Cool Water could be classified as fresh fidoo and that shouldn't affect whether one likes it or not.


I think it's sad that pretty much every new cologne smells alike. That's what bothers me. Not that the scent is bad, but that it is so freaking tired.

That's a very broad statement. Wouldn't it be more fair to say that pretty much all new "aquatic" colognes smells alike (which I don't think they do)? Or pretty much all new spicey orientals smell alike? Or pretty much all new fresh fougeres smell alike? Because if you can categorize a cologne, then, by definition, it smells like other colognes in that category.




I wouldn't blanket statement disown all aquatics without trying them. You never know what might have surprising appeal.

+1 This makes all kinds of sense.

[Masterkova]

I am not a fan. I'll make carve-outs for (i) Ineke's Derring-Do which has a nice metallic/petrichor slant and (ii) Eau d'Italie's Magnolia Romana which is not really an aquatic, but the closest to one that I own.

[fsatsil]

I'm 32 and I like some aquatics. I don't really care whether a frag is an aquatic, aromatic, oriental...etc as long as it smells good.

[ChiefWahoo]

I graduated HS in 1991 and began buying my own colognes around this time. Polo was still popular in HS and Drakkar was huge then if I recall. I think I did Drakkar and then Obsession the first two times I hit a duty-free shop on trips to Canada. So I've always preferred the earthy tones. I didn't know what "aquatics" were until just now, but most of the ones I see referred here aren't to my liking. They all started smelling the same to me and were never my favorites. That said, I just tried Cool Water for the first time this weekend about bought some yesterday. I like it way more than the other stuff I think are referred to. It's a rare "lighter" scent that I don't think smells like someone dumped a chemistry experiment on some fake fruit air fresheners. It's going to be my choice for the rest of the summer, I think. So I'm going with "30-45" and "dislike".

[p.m.a.]

I am 40, and after having many times choked on aquatics worn by overenthusiastic young men back in the 90s, I abhor those scents to this day. Never wore them never will.

[maxman]

Ahhh, the numbers are turning on me!
Well, that's the way the game is played :laugh:

[tehtimmeh]

Ahhh, the numbers are turning on me!
Well, that's the way the game is played :laugh:

Looks like we have quite a few closet case lovers of the openly despised aquatic genre around here. Maybe we haters should back off a bit in case there is some fear or intimidation of discussing them openly among the lovers. I'd hate that to be the case as we should welcome all tastes regardless of our own personal opinions.

[rajagra]

Thanks for explaining what aquatic fragrances are. Since aquatic simply means watery, I had assumed they were some kind of homeopathic fragrance, where the more times they diluted it with pure water the more they charged for it. :001_smile

[bonzos_beard]

i find them really boring + they always smell of egg white (as in raw egg white from a freshly cracked egg), after 15 minutes, on me.

[T-Dog]

I am 47 and I can take them or leave them. Personally, I think the term is over-used.