Davidoff Cool Water - is it really so generic?

Is Cool Water so generic? or bad? I keep hearing how 'bad' it is from more experienced noses. I have smelled my fair share of niche scents and for some reason, Cool Water never seems generic to me. I always get the fresh smell of lemons and its not overwhelming either. In fact, I would say it gives off the perfect amount of odor, not too much, and not too small.

What are your complaints (if any) about this scent (aside from the fact that so many people have it)?

I have a bottle and love it.. Having said that though, my nose is not as 'sophisticated' as most!

It's a fine scent. Just overwhelming popular. At some point, many people just want to break away from a scent that everyone else is wearing.

If you like it, wear it. There is certainly an argument to made that a lot of women will like it cuz they've smelled on lots of men.

It's also annoying there are like lots of Cool Water "flanker" scents trying to capitolize on the established name.

Cool Water Frozen, Cool Water Game, Cool Water Summer Fizz, Cool Water Freeze me, Hot Water, etc, etc, etc.

Creed GIT is similar but less synthetic.

No complaints here! Although I wouldn't buy or wear it myself, it's definitely by no means bad or generic. What matters most is YOU enjoy it.

I disagree that it is more synthetic than Creed's GIT, IMO it's just as good if not better (for a fraction of the price!). I realize it's just one person's perspective but look what Luca Turin said about it: "CW belongs to the category of things done right the first time, like the first Windsurfer, or the Boeing 707. Countless imitations, extensions, variations, and complications failed to improve on it or add a jot of interest to this cheerful, abstract, cheap, and lethally effective formula of crab apple, woody citrus, amber, and musk." ***** Stars (out of five).

So it just goes to show you that even those with more sophisticated noses then many of our own are enjoying this fragrance just as much!

I guess the thing with Cool Water is it's history . . . an '80s frag with a formulation that was recognized pretty quickly as a "clone" of Creed Green Irish Tweed . . . very similar notes, generally the same, but just not as high quality. When Creed made GIT popular in Cary Grant's day, it was considered a fresh, green fragrance - not really a typical "aquatic" - Cool Water was a modern breakthrough in the fougere fragrance world - a fougere being a fern-like, green fragrance with emphasis on lavender and moss. Cool Water expanded on the category by adding mint, spices, and citrus, making the original cologne a very nice, albeit mediocre scent. There was never anything spectacular about it, at least not in my opinion, for what little that's worth

For a while everyone loved Cool Water, it was the no-imagination go-to cologne of the late '80s and for most of the '90s. I remember 1996, when I was a high-school freshman, and half my friends wore it. The rest were into Tommy (including me, but that's another story).

I always got the impression that Cool Water was Davidoff's most earnest offering, and here's why - Davidoff produces cigars and tobacco products, and everyone knows smokers tend to smell like, well, smoke. Cool Water seemed to me to be a great idea as a cologne for a smoker - enough sillage and freshness to project through any stale cigarette smell, with a clean soapiness for close quarters, and just inoffensive all around. After all, lavender is a pretty clean and safe note to have on.

Its popularity was what killed it for so many people, at least the ones I know. And then, sometime in the naughts, Davidoff reformulated Cool Water into something quite a bit less complex. Gone are the hints of mint and the somewhat-woody drydown - now many of the top and middle notes have been fused into one very unusual, synthetic salt-water note. The citrus and lavender that used to pop from the bottle are dulled down, although to my nose the lavender is still pretty dominant. I actually like the new version better than the old - something about the top notes in the original version was too sweet and spicy for me, and that's certainly changed.

The backlash against Cool Water's popularity has fueled the public opinion that the fragrance is "generic" and should therefore be avoided. I think this has had a reverse effect - I have yet to smell it on anybody. It's been phased out around here. So if you wear it now, you're probably in the minority. Which, of course, is counter to what everyone says about its being everywhere and too popular. So if you like it, why not wear it?

I have always liked it but there is a fine line between wearing enough of it and wearing too much of it. Worn conservatively I think it still smells awesome...spray a bit too much and I feel like wretching. Good college memories though!

Featherweight said:

I guess the thing with Cool Water is it's history . . . an '80s frag with a formulation that was recognized pretty quickly as a "clone" of Creed Green Irish Tweed . . . very similar notes, generally the same, but just not as high quality.

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Actually, the perfumer who created Cool Water is the same perfumer that created Green Irish Tweed.

I think Grey Flannel begat GIT which begat Cool Water.

All three in the same neighborhood. I would be one to come down that GIT is the best overall. But all three are nice.

If OP likes the smell of Cool Water, I would also recommend sampling Grey Flannel. It can be had as reasonably as Cool Water and it is still a great frag.

Not to hijack the tread, but what's the deal with GIT and Cary Grant? The last time I was at a Creed counter, they gave me a list of their frags and celebs who used them. I suppose that it's supposed to show the consumer how classy Creed is, but I thought that it was laughable. Basenotes shows GIT being released in 1985, and Cary went to his reward in 1986. Was GIT supposed to be a frag first made for Cary Grant that wasn't made available to the public until later, or did Creed make it so that they could shake some over his casket? Now excuse me while I go splash on some of the EdT that was once mailed to Paul Newman, Kevin Costner and Frank Sinatra's publicists.

Yeah, the dates on the Cary Grant thing seem to be a bit out of sync.

Creed backers would say the scent was developed privately for Cary long before he was knocking at death's door. As you may know, they develop private scents for people based on having $30K and Oliver's approval that you're "scent worthy." I have my doubts about the Cary Grant thing. I find GIT too similar to Grey Flannel overall, and think it was their attempt at an improvement on GF. Until GIT, I'm not sure how much of a frag presence they really had. They may have been around, but that one really put them on the map.

As you know Nid, that kind of name dropping has long been a part of Creeds MO. How involved Creed itself has been in the fostering of it is unclear to me. I'm sure they're aware of it and it has certainly been embraced by SAs anyplace that sells Creed.

The Creed websites seem to be backing off it a bit.

I have no problem with coolwater.

It is a great scent....I just put it into the same category as aqua di gio.

These are great scents and serve the purpose (smelling good). However, due to their popularity, they become "common" scents.

The plus side to having a common scent is you never have to worry about someone carrying it, or that it may be discontinued. The negative side is that if you want to think of your cologne as a means of expression yourself, then "common" is something that must be factored in to the equation when you pick up a popular fragrance.

toddsmith7378 said:

The plus side to having a common scent is you never have to worry about someone carrying it, or that it may be discontinued. The negative side is that if you want to think of your cologne as a means of expression yourself, then "common" is something that must be factored in to the equation when you pick up a popular fragrance.

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Well put todd. Kind of how I operate.

StylinLA said:

As you know Nid, that kind of name dropping has long been a part of Creeds MO. How involved Creed itself has been in the fostering of it is unclear to me. I'm sure they're aware of it and it has certainly been embraced by SAs anyplace that sells Creed.

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This was going to be my response. I always find name dropping to be at once amusing and insulting. I mean, who cares what various people wore/wear, and do the sales people really think I'll be persuaded by the reference? OK, it's interesting, yes. Possibly even historical. (Le Vainqueur and Josephine by Rance were both originally comissioned by Napoleon, and were kept in the vaults, unavailable to the public, from the time of his death until the last decade. Now there's some name dropping for you.) But that doesn't mean I'll actually like the scent better as a result. I once went to a boutique, and the sales lady there told me that the soap she was selling was a favorite of Brad Pitt's. My lady friend responded, "I thought he doesn't bathe." And that was that.

As for Cool Water, I just don't like it. My opinon has got nothing to do with its popularity. I just find it to be synthetic, harsh and overbearing. That so many people do wear it only makes a bad situation worse.

I'll have to make a confession here--I've never actually tried Cool Water. I've seen the bottle on a million department store counters but never ventured to try it on myself. I like Grey Flannel and I don't particularly care for GIT, so now I'm a little curious. Maybe I'll check it out when I take my kids on a running shoe buying expedition today.

I used to wear it when I was in law school in the early-mid 90s. Say what you want about it, but it's one of the few colognes I've used that has gotten me unsolicited compliments.

I think its great

The Nid Hog said:

I'll have to make a confession here--I've never actually tried Cool Water. I've seen the bottle on a million department store counters but never ventured to try it on myself. I like Grey Flannel and I don't particularly care for GIT, so now I'm a little curious. Maybe I'll check it out when I take my kids on a running shoe buying expedition today.

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I like Grey Flannel (wearing it today, in fact) and don't particularly care for GIT, and I don't think much of Coolwater. My guess is that you won't like it much, if at all.

The Nid Hog said:

I'll have to make a confession here--I've never actually tried Cool Water. I've seen the bottle on a million department store counters but never ventured to try it on myself. I like Grey Flannel and I don't particularly care for GIT, so now I'm a little curious. Maybe I'll check it out when I take my kids on a running shoe buying expedition today.

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Give it a shot. You've got a great nose, would love to hear your thoughts.

It's one of those odd designer scents that still sells, so retail stores ask regular prices, but perfume "carts" and online retailers sell at a deep discount.

Turin raves about it and for some reason advocates it should now be worn by women.

The Nid Hog said:

I've seen the bottle on a million department store counters

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There's your answer.

HoratioCaine said:

This was going to be my response. I always find name dropping to be at once amusing and insulting. I mean, who cares what various people wore/wear, and do the sales people really think I'll be persuaded by the reference? OK, it's interesting, yes. Possibly even historical.

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Once you embrace scents the way many in here and Basenotes have, those sorts of prods are of minor interest and while I don't quite find them insulting, they're borderline annoying. I've reached the point where my nose will make the decision.

I'm guessing Creed has had a number of celeb users and word of mouth spread. Up until they opened their boutique in New York last fall, it seems like very few actual Creed employees were involved at the point of sale here in US. How/when all the name dropping got started is what I'm curious about.

But, to the great unwashed and poorly shaven masses, I can see where those claims can catch someone's interest and perhaps prod the purchase of a pricey frag. SAs love to have a hook to help sell juice.

A fellow I work with is particularly grooming challenged. He was "lathering up" with Lever 2000 and wondering why his face was too raw to shave everyday. I got him to invest in a brush and a soap puck, and had him watch mantic's videos. I mentioned to him that Floris 89 was possibly the scent James Bond wore per the books. He blind bought it online 20 minutes later.

As a testament to how unfocused some can be with scents, he told me Floris sent him two little tiny vials of 89 along with the bottle. He brought them in and they were of course, samples of other Floris scents. He made no distinction that they were something different because it had FLORIS in big letters above the name of the scent samples (one of which was Elite and the other a feminine scent). He would have slapped on the samples they sent him one day and been baffled as to why he smelled nasty one day and girly the next.