Sea Masters by Constança BCN

This is my second Constança BCN fragrance. Sea Masters is blue, true to the brand’s style: it opens with aromatic lavender that lingers throughout, with a hint of pepper. As it settles, you get ozonic and woody notes, yet always under that lavender control. It smells very much like Versace Pour Homme but lasts longer and has better quality. Ideal for hot summer and spring days; very pleasant to wear, sporty and informal.

They gave it to me, but these made-in-Spain proposals from independent brands just don’t convince me. I prefer the ones from abroad, like the French. It doesn’t matter if it’s Spanish; please, never make perfume again, leave it to the French who know better.

Lasting power and projection are dreadful. After 30 minutes, there’s no scent left at all, even with many sprays. The smell is generic, nothing original. Don’t let YouTubers fool you with this. I gifted it to a relative.

Definitely, we must stop following the hype of reviewers, as we don’t know if there are ulterior motives involved. Let’s analyse everything, starting with the box: it feels like a Chinese fragrance, flimsy and uninteresting. Being ‘niche’ perfumery, that detail doesn’t influence the scent but does affect the experience. It opens with an alcohol explosion that melts your nose, with an aroma that lacks purpose despite the expectation of ‘adventure’. There are better blues: LE REM, MARE NOSTRUM… It projects nothing and the longevity is very meagre. I definitely won’t buy anything else from this brand.

Classic, blue and versatile. It doesn’t invent anything; it’s a well-known classic and somewhat generic, not just in perfumes but in deodorants or aftershaves too. Crystalline opening of bergamot, pepper and lavender; although they don’t list it, I swear it has ginger, an unmistakable sharp and green touch. It evolves in minutes into something woody, salty, perhaps musky and ambered. It ends on a damp wood with a balsamic, resinous and musky base. All of this lasts six hours on skin, maybe a bit longer on clothes if you sniff well at the neck. It’s something we’ve all smelled: the typical €20 kit with aftershave and cologne in a little bag. I’m sure Mercadona sells this or its twin. At €35 on Amazon, I think it’s excellent. It’s the ‘all-rounder’, a bit more distinguished than the Fresh Drops, but with better longevity. Now, don’t pay €70 struck-through or €49.95 on their website. I read they are niche. Yes, of course, because they only make perfumes. But not all niche brands hand-blend bottles in Romanian forests with notes of blood and oud. There is affordable niche; the scent can be good, very good or bad, but the box is cheap recycled cardboard to cut costs. In summary: is it good? Yes, certainly. But if you give it to me cheaply, even better. Don’t get worked up about it.

I bought it on Amazon for €35 blind. The quality is very good, in line with the house, and the longevity on my skin easily exceeds seven hours. People complain about the simple packaging, but for €30 you can’t ask for more. It’s a fragrance that many of the French we idolise so much wouldn’t even come close to.

Perfume with an absolutely brutal quality-to-price ratio. The scent is top-notch, an olfactory experience that normal brands simply can’t match.