The Beach Eaus – A month of beach and ocean inspired perfumes.
I promise it won’t just be Nateeva fragrances I feature this month, but they made this easy for me by having an entire line inspired by islands. Next stop is Aruba.
Aruba opens with a tangy neroli and a salty mineralness. Out of the Nateeva perfumes that I’ve tried, Aruba is the most citrus-y. It’s lime submerged in bitter neroli water. It’s also the most “aquatic” out of what I’ve tried. It’s also the one that has garnered the most compliments too. No joke, every time I wear it, someone wants to know what I’m wearing.
Compliments aside, let me try to do a proper review of this fragrance. The opening is that lime blossom and neroli water. It’s a refreshing mix of citrus and florals. The heart is interesting in that it comes across like a banana-y jasmine but also a peppery, green floral. It’s like a white floral meets a green floral (which is usually what a “purple floral” like lilac or wisteria are). Aruba has been one of those perfumes that has been driving me crazy because I thought it reminded me of another perfume, something from my childhood. It finally occurred to me that this fragrance does remind me of my childhood, but it’s not a perfume. It’s freesia! It’s a peppery, heady and slightly honeyed freesia. Aruba dries down to something that is like honeysuckle and a towel that has just come out of the dryer. There’s a lot about this musky-floral dry-down that reminds me of Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Universalis Forte. It’s like a fancy bath linen dried in sunshine and salt breeze…but also it’s like a lemon-amber custard. All I know is that it must smell good on me or there is something about it that appeals to people.
Aruba doesn’t really remind me of beaches or functional fragrances associated with holidays. To me, Aruba is a gorgeous spring floral. It’s a heady, honeyed bouquet of yellow, white and purple flowers.
Notes listed include neroli, bergamot blossoms, freesia, rose, Persian lime, wanglo flower, musk, cedar and amber. Launched in 2017. PERFUMER – Laurent Le Guernec
Give Aruba a try if you like freesia or radiant jasmine soliflores. Or perfumes like Floraiku Sleeping on the Roof, L’Artisan La Chases Aux Papillons, Gallivant Tel Aviv, Tom Ford Jasmin Rouge, Chantecaille Wisteria (discontinued) and/or TokyoMilk Waltz (discontinued). I also think Aruba is worth trying if you like “purple flowers” like lilac and wisteria.
Projection and longevity are average. For the Nateeva line, I’d say that longevity is above average because of that musk dry-down.
The 3.4 oz retails for $125 at Nateeva.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Freesia and wisteria. A sunny spring floral. When I wear “spring fresh” florals, I tend to think they aren’t for everyone. Perfume People tend to dismiss anything that is traditionally pretty like this and I often feel like I’m one of the few perfume bloggers that likes stuff like this. But, then I wear something like Aruba and get tons of compliments. My conclusion is that Perfume People may not like stuff like this, but oh, boy, let me tell you that other people do. After wearing this a few times, all I can say is that if I cared about compliments, I should just give in and buy a bottle of this.
*Disclaimer – Sample provided by the brand. I am not financially compensated for my reviews. My opinions are my own. Product pic from the brand. Vikki Dougan pic from fanpix.net.