Aqua Celestia by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Well, I finally caught a bit of a break (you aren’t of course, I’m going to milk the redecorating follies for all they’re worth..) The weather has turned for the moment, with the Santa Ana winds coming back in raising temps into the 70’s. The level of the pool has dropped out of the “danger, danger Will Robinson!” zone and the last time the painters left the garage door open to the rag, tag and bobtail of the ‘hood overnight at least they managed to forget to hang the “come in and browse” sign. I know that this is March and even in Los Angeles we get “false spring” like this and it should turn back to chilly and rainy by the end of the week (and according to Action McNews, will), but make hay while the sun shines, right? So this week I played hookey- stealing out with the top down, music on and wearing Aqua Celestia.

So one of the samples I picked up at ScentBar recently was Aqua Celestia by Maison Francis Kurkdijian. Now this is a house that I really like, but mostly for the darker stuff they put out. Now Luckyscent uses terms like “ultra-fresh” and “air and sea freshness” which had I read them before trying I might have said, naaaaahhh. But that would have been a mistake.

Because this is one of the few “cool, fresh” aquatics that I not only can stand, but really like. The minty citrus keeps the watery bits down to a dull roar, sort of like the scent of the sea in the background as you sip a G&T under the brolly at some tropical resort.

Notes (From Luckyscent): Lime, cool mint mitcham (whatever the hell that is), blackcurrant bud absolute, mimosa absolute, musk accord

In a way it reminds me of me of my long-gone Yoof and a scent that I briefly wore: Canoe. Canoe was (even then) an inexpensive scent that you could score at the drug store, which I wore because I had a mad crush on someone who liked it. So for one summer I would drop the top on my FIAT Spider spritzed with Canoe and the music blaring hoping against hope that A) I wouldn’t throw a rod or something and B) I would run into my desired inamorato who of course would immediately fall madly and inexorably in love with me.

Of course, like most summer flings, I lost interest in the inamorato (who never returned my interest), started to find Canoe kind of boring. The FIAT I continued to love.

Not that I think I would find Aqua Celestia boring mind you. There are enough twists and turns in the dance between the mint and the musk and the fruit and the fizz that I could see myself reaching for it quite often over the summer, and even on those days in winter when it’s dreary as all get-out and you need a lift. staying power is good for what it is- the opening dance will last a few hours leaving the musk to keep you company but nothing in this sort of scent is renown for it’s staying power, sooo.

As for my recent escape from Camp Redecorate, it was short-lived. I forgot the guy who sold me the car was nice enough to put in a new radio that plays Spotify, Pandora, DVD-R, Everything Else-R and all of those things I do not care about. But he did set up my iPhone to play via bluetooth. So in the middle of “Something for the Cat” the phone rang through: Painters were having a crises and needed me back right then with keys to the storage room and encouraging, soothing words. Luckily I was able to provide the former..

Available for $205 for 70ML or $375 for 200ML (which puts it way out of my range) at the usual suspects. I asked for and received my sample at ScentBar.

Link (hopefully working) via YouTube to FX Channel Feud: Bette & Joan (preview includes the song I was listening to as background. I’m really looking forward to seeing this..)

  • Great story and Aqua Celestia sounds super. R

  • HeidiC says:

    I’m dying to see Feud!!! I got to try Aqua Celestia at Arielle Shoshana’s in DC a few weeks back — I thought it was refreshing, but I wasn’t so crazy about the minty bits. Glad it gave you a nice break from the remodeling, though. And I loved the Canoe story.

  • Portia says:

    When that reno is done I’m coming to railroad you from San Francisco to NYC. Please join me. It will be wonderful.
    Portia xx

  • Musette says:

    I love the Canoe story! I also love the idea of ‘minty bits’ – there are quite a few scents I love because of ‘minty bits’!

    Gah! You need a break! Hope the reno is done soon!

    xoxoxoA

  • MMKinPA says:

    I don’t have an olfactory memory of Canoe but I did buy a bottle for an older boy that I dated for a few months in high school, since obviously an older boy would want a gift of fragrance (I think my brother had started wearing cologne so it made sense at the time.). I’m not sure I have ever smelled it… I’m sure it was chosen because it was available in the drug store in my small Iowa town.

  • Kathryn says:

    Oh my, Canoe! When I was a teenager oh so many years ago it was often mentioned in Seventeen Magazine as a man’s perfume that smelled good on women, too. (I don’t think that unisex was a word back then.) Feeling quite daring, I bought some. It didn’t help my love life much either, but I did like the perfume. I’ll have to sniff Aqua Celestia if only to remember that I was young once.