Aqua Vitae

It was one afternoon on Formentera, in the Balearic Islands, that the idea of Aqua Vitae came to my mind.

Riding an old motorbike, taking it slowly in view of the extreme heat, the air on my face was deliciously cool. The sun intensified the fragrances of the nature around me. Aqua Vitae, the water of life, when life is quite simply beautiful, an extremely sensitive sensuality enveloped with an uncontained freshness. — Francis Kurkdjian

Kurkdjian's gorgeous ode to a summer afternoon opens with a sparkling combination of Calabrian lemon and Sicilian mandarin, evoking the sensual fullness of “uncontained freshness.” Dazzling Hedione adds with the warmth of the sun while waves of tonka bean and vanilla counter with a cooling breeze.

In its final phase, Aqua Vitae softens to a sunkissed, sandy drydown. By no means is it a fresh dab of coppertone - no beachy coconut here, but rather a whisper of vanilla-sweetened guaiac lingering close to the skin. It's a gentle reminder of summer afternoon caught on the skin, still warm from the sun.