Aqua Vitae v2

[nursekins]

Unreleased scent, no description given

 

 

In the bottle it is a mix of deep dark wine and brandy.Upon application...this one is interesting.The brandy note is there but it has lightened quite a bit.On me this is a lovely high end drink of the past.Not a trendy new age or overly fruity tropical scent.This is one drank in an elegant setting.I get a very light brandy...I would even go as so far to say a very lightly spiced apricot brandy...It has been blended with something very light and bubbly...On me, it seems to be a very light...not overly dry...champagne not...It prompted me to go sniff the champagne series...nowhere near as strong as the champagne series but for sure a light fresh champagne with this subtle brandy...I really wish I had more than one

[twilighteyes]

Very salty lime and tequila to my nose. Pretty much straight up margaritas.

[edenssixthday]

Aqua Vitae v2 - Wow, this is loaded with champagne! Lots and lots of dry, sparkling champagne. There's also a bright note that reminds me of one of the notes in Spiked Punch and Swank -- it's kind of like lime, kind of like gin, but not fully like either. It's also got a hint of fruit -- not bright and crisp fruits, but something a little more subtle and dry. It's a great boozy scent -- kind of on the overpowering side of things, and I'd have to be careful where I wear this so people don't assume I've been boozing it up! It's a GREAT party scent!

[alicia_stardust]

This is a soft, fuzzy, bubbly champagne... a pale, golden champagne that's dry and a bit sweet. There's possibly another fruit in there which really counterbalances the dry champagne. It adds a cool, watery, brightness. Whatever it is, it's what makes this blend work for me. I've had champagne blends, but whatever is in this is just so uplifting and refreshing and different. Lovely!

[weds]

I recognize the note which acts as champagne in the Champagne And... scents, but here it's functioning as the salt (and some of the tequila) in a margarita. The lime is fairly subdued, and the whole affair sweetens as time passes.

 

There's a wood cask note I recognize from Mad Sweeney, and that's giving me pause -- wood and I aren't friends. This might need a second round of testing before I can say for sure that this is or isn't for me.

 

EDIT: ... nope. The wood ate the lime, and then the skin ate the wood. :/ Skin chemistry fail. Darn it! Margarita!

Edited June 12, 2009 by wednesday white

[angelicruin]

This is great boozy concoction of champagne, lime, and apricot brandy. This prototype may be worth seeking a full bottle of.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Gin & tonic - almost exactly! Very junipery-herbal gin-y. Actually a little Sprite/ lemon-lime soda edge too; overall it's very effervescent. There's a syrupy sweetness to this as well, like simple syrup and maybe a darker liqueur, like a brandy or cognac - oh! GRAPPA. It totally reminds me of Gin & Tonic spiked with Grappa, with some lime and simple syrup. I think I've had that exact cocktail, once.

 

Wet: Whoaaaaaaa BOOZE. If I smelled this on a person, I'd assume he'd been drinking for 10 hours straight, or spilled a bar on himself. I love booze scents, but this is a lot even for me. It's not only boozy, it's VERY VERY high proof. It's not just 'I've been drinking cocktails!' it's 'I've been taking ALOT of shots and making poorly balanced cocktails.' Grappa is definitely dominating, in short, though I can still smell everything else underneath.

 

Dry: Okay, getting more ginny, though not quite evergreen brutality, and now I'm getting a cola smell - sort of woody and rooty and much darker & heavier in feel. Oh! There is a CARAMEL note, just as there is in some cola - sort of a burnt sugar/brown sugar note, that reminds me of Sugar Skull. Alas, not a note I like. The lime is holding nicely and really a very nice, strong, fresh lime - reminds me exactly for the note in Mr. Nancy. Within 15 min, most of the Grappa has evaporated.

 

Later: It's gone sort of spicy and woody, wow - almost like there's a tobacco note in this, or some sort of dark incensey resin - it reminds me quite a bit of Champagne & Cigars in this stage, but the tobacco-y note is distinctly different, not stale as in C&C. I quite enjoy it because it balances the syrupy sweetness of the brown sugar note. It's less fizzy, but holding the sparkle better than most scents that start out strongly effervescent. Also, this totally does smell like a Margarita. I don't like tequila or 'ritas so I didn't think of it myself, but I can absolutely see it. Spot on.

 

Summary: Ahhhh I know what this reminds me of - some of the Tiki scents, especially Te Po & Screeching Parrot, though this has the juniper-gin note as well. But now I definitely feel I get a strong GINGER note, and it reminds me exactly of the note in Screeching Parrot, and the the cola-thing is very much like the note in Te Po. And yet this is more Champagne-fizzy than either, and has that hint of Mr. Nancy lime/tobacco thing that's really nice. I do like how this evolves, but it is not for me. Fantastic throw & longevity.

Edited July 2, 2009 by fairnymph

[Dark Alice]

Whomever said this was champagne....was dead on. Light, fizzy, juniper, champagne. Almost a blue champagne if you will. Lovely, But I think I will find a better home for it.

[zankoku_zen]

Okay this starts with a giant fizzy lime bubble - I smell champagne and salty limes. There is something of a brush of gin, which definitely comes way more predominant as it dries. Every now and then as it dries, I smell something that makes me raisin, definitely if you can get past the limey effervescene, is a woodsy base that grounds this blend ---- kinda like the heavy glass bottom of a whisky glass.

 

Does put in mind, margaritas or gin & tonic. This is a sophisticated drink. Fortunately for me, I am neither a gin or a margarita girl.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Definitely alcoholic. I can't decide if it reminds me most of gin or tequila, and there's a tiny smidgen of something grapey about it too.

 

Wet: Still very alcoholic, with that sharp edge. I t reads a lot like the juniper note in some gins does, but it's more bitter and less evergreen, perhaps more like tequila after all. But it's sweetening even as I write, developing something that's almost woodsy spicy.

 

Hour and a half: This has an odd offbeat note in it, something weird like maybe mastic. I get a dry gum or resin kind of an idea from it, or perhaps something like quinine. The impression of gin or tequila has vanished, and it no longer reads as specifically alcoholic.

 

Three hours: Mostly over now, but there is still that dry gummy, resinous, or perhaps barky quality about it. I'm glad to have tried this one, but I also agree that it wasn't ready for prime time.

 

Four and a half hours: Faint bitterish dryness. My overwhelming impression of this one is the old mixer my parents used to buy in the 1970s that tasted of quinine.

 

[Xymoxed]

My overall impression sniffing this is immediately reminding me of an old shack that this little old man my mother & father looked after lived in when I was just a little kid. It's the wood in the blend I bet.

 

On my skin I get a dry lime flavored alcohol - I'm not prepared to say it reminds me of Gin but definitely not getting Tequilla either. Possibly champagne, in fact a really fizzy, dry semi-sweet champagne with a twist of lime?

 

I'm not sure I'd like to smell like this but overall it's not a bad scent, particularly for people who enjoy that alcoholic smell. The wood note is amped on my skin and just makes this blend suffer.

[Blood onmy hands]

This is too boozy for me. It reminds me of the sour, kinda pukey champagne note in the Champagne And blends, but the drydown is more like the lab's juniper-y gin note. I thought that it smelled a bit more citrussy than usual at first, and reading the other reviews, I guess that I can see the lime. The citrus goes sharp and a bit sour on me. It's an odd mix of fizzy, dry, and sour smelling on me. It almost smells a bit like dryer sheets, but not that soapy, and obviously very boozy. I like a lot of the lab's booze blends (especially the gin ones), but this is too much for me...

[livingdead71]

I mostly just get champagne in the bottle, nice but nothing special. On the skin, it quickly develops into something dark and fruity and gorgeous! I can't exactly pinpoint it, but I might be getting the apricot brandy note that angelicruin mentioned in her review. It seems to be in the same scent family as Sangria Champagne, which I also love. I took a big chance buying this unsniffed on etsy. I'm so glad that I did! I love, love, love this!