Thumbs Up
Aqua Vitae Forte by Maison Francis Kurkdjian (2015) is a marked improvement from the original Aqua Vitae by Maison Francis Kurkdjian (2013), but I wouldn’t exactly call it a stronger version of that scent. You see, Kurkdjian based this out more, added additional musks and creaminess, upped the “lemon custard” factor, and removed the Aqua Vitae DNA further away from the barely-there freshness of the original. I say “barely-there” because the original was also much thicker and sweeter than most of the Aqua range, and sticks out a bit for it. Aqua Vitae proper is the worst-selling of the range, and this Forte edition is worse-selling still, so MFK under the heartless overlord of LVMH had to make the “hard” decision to axe it, along with most of the more-unique MFKs like APOM pour Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian (2009) .
Really though, I wouldn’t run out and buy up 15 of these things blind just because fear of missing out haunts you like a ex-lover and you need to have a lifetime supply just in case it ends up being your favoritest-est fragrance ever, especially not at over $300 for 70ml. Things like Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche Eau de Parfum (2011) still exist for much less money, so I’d only go all in for this if you’re a fan of the particulars concerning Aqua Vitae itself. The opening is lemon, bergamot, and mandarin bolstered by cardamom and pink pepper. A smooth musky ylang-ylang takes over the heart, joining orange blossom to form a richer version of Aqua Vitae’s heart. Creamy sandalwood, vetiver, labdanum, and white musk finish this with ample longevity. Best use is spring time by my recollection, in casual settings.
Aqua Vitae Forte is not a projection monster, and veers just slightly more-feminine than the original, although I’d still consider it unisex. My biggest issue with Aqua Vitae is not solved by the Forte edition anyway, although I think its substantial performance and creamy-woody musky body do edge it closer to being worth pulling the trigger on, although I still think other options exist at better prices for such a simple, sunny lemon-custard-pie kind of vibe. MFK knows his market, even if LVMH doesn’t like it when some of his fragrances only move 30 or so bottles a year (his words, not mine), so the more love-letterish fragrances like this get tossed by the wayside of corpo-globalist hegemony when the cold, unfeeling numbers come back that it “only” has a cult following. Why these mammoth companies think everything needs to sell like sliced bread defies all logic and sense to me, but whatever. Thumbs up