Acqua Viva
Profumum (2007)

This has been on my wish list for a long time, for the simple reason that I love lemon in fragrance when it's warm out, and this is probably the best out there, but at a price.

It's a very natural lemon in the opening, not a bright, there's the sense of pith in here, that tones down any sharpness, or cleaning product vibes.

After the initial opening, broom and cedar come in and extend the life, I still catch subtle whiffs of the broom and lemon a day after using it.

The use of broom here was really a genius move, as it really makes it feel like the lemon lasts forever, and as a man, find it gives a masculine edge to the scent, though think it would have the opposite effect on a women. Truly unisex in that regard.

Still the overall vibe for me is just a great summer masculine, people talk about 'crisp white shirt' scents all the time, but rarely do they give me that vibe, this does, though it would be equally at home in a T shirt and jeans.

Of course, due to the price, it's not for everyone, I went back and forth on this for a long time before deciding it's one of the few that's actually worth it to me, as a true lemonhead.
TBH I'd tell most people just to get either Mancera Lemon Line, if you value longevity more, or Goutal Eau d'Hadrian if you value naturalness more.

This is part of my collection's Lemon Trifecta, along with:

Perris Monte Carlo - Cedro di Diamonte
This is the most natural pure lemon of them all, again soft, but it's like spraying yourself with lemonade. A real must for lemonheads!

Maria Candida Gentile - Gershwin
This has the brightest, juiciest opening, though short lived, and is followed up by a very natural incense.

There are quite a few out there like this one but hands down this is the nicest with complexity and longevity you don’t normally find in this type of fragrance.

First Profumum fragrance that I've owned, purchased almost blind and at a huge discount, from a friend who was thinning out his collection. I tried not to let my friend's opinion influence my rating for this scent, but I find that he is mostly correct.

The opening is a sweet, sparkling lemon over woods, there's a hint of a light floral underneath, but it's vague and only smooths the lemon and woods over. It's very bright and uplifting at the opening then fades to a fairly generic citrus/cypress. It doesn't project much after the first 10 minutes and is a fair skin scent within 3 hours. I like it, but it is a bit of a disappointment considering the brand and the original retail price. I'll keep it and wear it in hot, humid days, but can't recommend it.

Extremely fresh and realistic lemon, saturating a woody backbone. Very long-lasting citrus. The smell of sunshine in summer.

Very natural mediterranean citrus and crypress scent.it really smells like actual lemons.not sweet lemon cake,not candy lemon lollipops- squeezed lemons.if you are expecting a big bold sex magnet, look elsewhere.this is pure self indulgence. an almost floral feminine feel to it,but lemon kicks in and it gets a bit more unisex.if cypress trees bore golden yellow citrus fruits,this is what a grow of them would smell like.sharp, bracing, woody, zesty and rich,but not heavy.

The opening is sparkling with lemon, cypress.it is bitter and i get more the peal of the citruses than the juice,or it's like the smell of the inside of a fruit after the juice was squeezed.with time,the bitterness tons down and it becomes a little more zesty and,by the end,when it's purely a skin scent, a creamier and sweeter lemonade.this is quite a multifaceted scent on close inspection, with citrus,woody,and herbal accords at different points during the dry down.vere refreshing, spontaneous,crystal fresh lemon scent.very suitable for hot months or humid weather.

Sharp fresh lemon, very similar if not totally identical to Jo Malone's classic, Verbenas of Provence.

Great citrus scent. The cedar and cypress smell more realistic and are enchanting compared to the synthetic smells of many fragrances of this type. In some ways this is one of the best wood smelling fragrances on top of the citrus.

This is disappointing especially in light of its very promising beginning.
First 15 minutes is a spicy citrusy lemony fresh masculine smell. A very classy all season wear anywhere fragrance.
Very quickly it dries down to a generic damp grass with a component reminiscent of vetiver. Wishy washy. Perhaps it is the reaction this has with my skin type as a lot of the reviews praise this and it was recommended to me by one of our fellow senior basenoters as the archetypal citrusy fragrance.
By far the best of this type of fragrance is Guerlain's L'eau Boissee.
It is not only much better in every sense but also cheaper. I almost bought a bottle but that wishy washy component is still there as well.

If Profumum was not so expensive it would be a neutral . Considering the price thumbs down, don't waste your time and money.

Photorealistic lemon, followed by a lot more lemon, followed by woods. The lemon is rich, zesty, two-dimensional and very tenacious. It does have a green 'feel', maybe simply because of the lemon and woods? It does smell high quality throughout, despite being a little synthetic in the base.

This maybe for you if you are looking for a concentrated citrus. It's not for me because I find this style of fragrances to be boring after a while, and it's also rather overpriced given what it is. It does have some similarities with Eau d'Hadrien and also Hadrien Absolu. Clearly among the best in its style, but not something for me.

3/5

I love lemons, as a child I used to eat them, and I've always yearned for a fresh lemon perfume - in my teenage years (and 20's and 30's if truth be told) I fondly imagined that finding such a fragrance would make me leaner, tanned, and possessed of that French 'put together effortlessly' ease.

I think Acqua Viva is the closest I've ever found to my dream of real lemons, and it lasts better than other colognes. I love the fresh burst of lemon when I spray, and the other notes complement it nicely. It really feels like the zest as well as the pulp, that lovely back of the nose hit, and the flavour through the bitterness - AV is not very bitter but doesn't have the cloying sweetness I sometimes get from lemony colognes, for which I blame verbena!

I bought a bottle (at full price!) and thought I'd reached citrus Nirvana. And it is nice to spray on a summer day or even in winter for a bit of olfactory fantasy (olfantasy?). It is also somehow deeper than most citrussy scents, and has some heft - it feels oily when splashed.

However, it is more of a scent photo than a perfume, and, after investing in it, I amazed myself by not wearing it every day. I spent years looking for this zenith of citrus sharpness, and in the process have somehow come to appreciate other ingredients and more complex, richer perfumes.

But it is gorgeous to spray mid-afternoon for an instant pick me up!

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

Edit:
I was incorrect about the atomizer. (You have to take the foam inside the box that the fragrance nests in out, and underneath there is indeed an atomizer and a small funnel to help in decanting from the larger bottle into the roll on bottle). I was grateful to see the sprayer in there. I've now screwed on both sprayers and I've had no problems and no leaks so far. So glad the sprayers were included! I got a lot better longevity when I sprayed this fragrance on this time over just dabbing it on. I was struck once again by how enjoyable the fresh lemon scent of this frag was...beautiful



As everyone else has said, this is an absolutely beautiful fresh lemon fragrance that has a brilliant opening! I love the freshness and it makes me feel happy when that blast of lemon hits my senses. I must admit however that I expected a bit better longevity based on the reviews I've read on this one. I moisturized my skin before applying, to give this the best chance at longevity, and I just had to re-apply because it had disappeared completely after lasting about 5 hours total, and the last hour of that was such a close skin sent that it was pretty much non existent. I was hoping for the 8 to 10 hours I've heard some have gotten, especially for the price. This stuff isn't cheap, in fact it's overpriced if I'm going to have to keep re-applying throughout the day. I was also disappointed to see that the bottle is a splash, with no atomizer included. They do have a cool little roll on bottle tucked down inside the box that you can put some of the fragrance in to carry around for travel, but it's empty. :( For the price of this fragrance, I would have a appreciated that little roll on bottle being full of juice as well. Having said all of that, this really is a special scent, and I'm enjoying it immensely. It is far and away the best lemon fragrance I've ever smelled, and it brings positive feelings when worn. Because of the beauty, the smile factor, and the obvious overall quality of the product, I still give Aqua Viva a thumbs up.