When I was in college, the Davidoff Cool Water fragrance was pretty ubiquitous. So many of my friends and classmates were wearing this fragrance which happens to be a very identifiable one. Most of the fragrances smell different on different people but one sniff and I could make out that the person was wearing Cool Water. And for that reason, I chose not to buy that perfume for myself. Recently, however, when I saw the Cool Water Sensual Essence, I was intrigued. Cool and Sensual seemed to be quite an oxymoron to me. But how could I not sniff a fragrance that claimed to be sensual? Did I like this version of the cult fragrance? Well, here’s my review of the Davidoff Cool Water Sensual Essence EDP….
About the Davidoff Cool Water Sensual Essence EDP
“Davidoff presents a new edition of the women’s fragrance Cool Water (1996), the warm and shimmering Cool Water Sensual Essence. The fragrance is described as glamorous, alluring and sensual, inspired by golden sunset reflected on ocean surface. The fragrance evokes the flavors of salt and sea on warm skin and the atmosphere of a beach sunset.
Top Notes: Bergamot, Citrus and Red Fruits.
Heart Notes: Vanilla, Orchid and Frangipani flower.
Base Notes: Musk and Driftwoods.”
Sensual is just the perfect word to describe this delightful fragrance from Davidoff. It is quite the opposite of the original Cool Water, which is a cool, aquatic fragrance with some citrusy notes. Sensual Essence is warm, fruity and musky with a hint of spice and, surprisingly, amber. Perhaps it is just my nose that can smell amber in it since that isn’t mentioned in the notes anywhere.
For me, the fragrance evokes images of a hot date night in summer with a hint of the rains in the air. While it isn’t outright sexy like the Armani Code or the YSL Cinema, it is playful, warm and seductive. When you first spray it, it smells like a delicious fruity-vanilla blend. Within minutes, as it settles onto the skin and works with the skin chemistry, it gets a bit muskier / spicier. Somehow, as it fades down to the base notes, it gets slightly sweeter but not cloyingly sweet. It doesn’t last too long however, after around 4 hours, I have to really sniff hard to make out faint notes of the fragrance. Quite surprising since warm fragrances usually last longer. These days, however, I find that fragrances don’t last as long on me as they used to so perhaps there is some change in my body chemistry….
The Davidoff Cool Water Sensual Essence EDP is packaged in the same curvy bottle as the Cool Water with the difference being the colour. This one is a pretty golden bottle reminiscent of the golden sunset on a beach. The bottle isn’t anything spectacular but is simple and elegant.
Fragrance wise, I find no similarities between this one and the original and I feel that the brand should have kept it as an individual fragrance rather than a flanker in the Cool Water range since this is neither a cool fragrance, nor is it aquatic. It is a wonderful fragrance to wear on date nights in this hot, humid weather because though it is sensual, it isn’t heavy and stifling. Of course, I never keep fragrances strictly for day/evening wear; I let my mood decide what to wear when and even when I have worn it during the day, it has got me compliments.
The original price for this fragrance in stores is ₹4,350 for 100ml but saw it on Flipkart at an amazingly discounted price of ₹2,099! Wish I had bought it online….I could have bought two fragrances instead of one!
Do you like Davidoff Cool Water (the original)? Have you tried the Davidoff Cool Water Sensual Essence? Let me know in the comments.