Agua Lavanda by Antonio Puig

I removed my previous review because after a year of testing it, it deserved more respect. As MarcusRs says, I found a dry lavender version in a chewed box, but I have the emerald glass bottle. It doesn’t smell like my father or grandfather, perhaps my great-grandfather, but it smells wonderful in the right context. It lives up to its name: it is lavender, lavender and more lavender, of the old school, a proper fougère, very masculine. It allows you to explore the lavender note easily if you don’t know what it smells like, paired with a rough, rugged, old-growth oakmoss that suggests a natural product due to its antiquity (the kind that would blow the IFRA apart) and that strange sensation in the throat suggesting some unhealthy component. They say it was another of Sinatra’s favourite fragrances, although they usually only mention the Creed one, and I find more sense in that: for the creation date of Eau de Lavande, Sinatra would have been 25, whereas for Bois de Portugal he would have been around 72. So, what would Frank Sinatra have smelled like in his youth? Basically an old book sprayed with old hair lacquer, hidden in the depths of a dense, humid, mossy forest. Usage context: fresh but not too cold weather, casual but with a certain flair, never in extreme summer, never sporty. As for performance? On my skin it lasts about 2-3 hours; but on clothes with 5-6 sprays, I get bursts of the scent all day.

Another one to remember a decade that was the best, for me, of course! A gift from my godmother for my first communion with which I drowned the rowdy arguments I had once a week with an ignorant nun. So fresh (the cologne) that I used to shower with it and so I ended up with the bottle in two TV news programmes before having to make do with smelling the cap because there was no paste left. Pity it didn’t last long; it’s like those mint gums that freeze to the bell after two chews and in 30 seconds it seems you’re chewing the sole of a shoe because it tastes for nothing.

Categorised for men? I wore it when I was under 10 years old when I was a girl. It’s a very linear natural lavender scent, but why must that flower be masculine?

Wonderful lavender fragrance, simple but with spices… Sinatra used it all his life. In Spain you can hardly find the glass version you used to have in all sizes in its green bottle. This house has lost all its essence it had with the people and traditional fragrance consumers. Sad.

This review is for the Puig Lavender Water in the plastic bottle, sold all over Spain. It’s a cheap cologne but of high quality, a pleasure for the senses. The longevity is typical of a cologne, perhaps an hour, but given the price, you can apply it at any moment as it costs almost nothing. It smells of natural lavender; at first, it feels creamy, like a lavender body cream, then that creaminess gradually transforms into a blend of lavender and rosemary, very natural and pleasant, to finish with a scent that mixes the first two with a touch of lemon. In total, a simple yet exquisite blend of beauty. I like it a lot after a shower or whenever I want to feel fresh, or to calm my nerves when I’m feeling overwhelmed after work or after sports.

Puig Lavender Water is that freshness that spills out of its green bottle: a country aroma of lavender and rosemary, sun and hillside, mixed with rougher notes of geranium, cedar, moss, and musk that give it strength. It’s a cologne that smells of childhood, morning showers and afternoon baths, that familiar scent we all love. It brings back memories of holidays in the village, the most beautiful time of my youth, alongside scents like Joya de Myrurgia, Varón Dandy, Pravia Hay soap tablets, and Sundays at church with Brummel, Maja, English Lavender, Oriental Woods, and Farala. These were the only colognes available at the village supermarket and the only scents the neighbours knew. It’s the group of children we spent our summers with, attending remedial classes with Miss Pili, a young teacher with short hair, a round face, and a lively spirit, who instead of giving boring lessons took us on excursions with bread and chocolate: we gathered reeds to make boats or rock tea with long sticks. In the valley, I learned to distinguish notes not found in the city: apple, plum, pear, grape, peach, cherry, quince, blackberry, raspberry, fig, melon, and watermelon. In the hills, I discovered peppermint, chamomile, rosemary, mint, thyme, broom, and juniper. We also got used to the smell of sheep, chickens, pigs, mules, donkeys, barbs, trout, sparrows, and goldfinches. But what excited us most was gathering lavender stalks. Jumping through the hills, with our legs scratched by gorse, we cut the green stems of the lavender to make aromatic bottles. Sitting in the shade of the patio, we made bouquets of ten twisted stalks tied with coloured ribbons to protect the purple flowers. Our fingers turned black and sticky with an incredible lavender scent. We finished the bottle with tin foil and a ribbon. They were kept in the cupboards and lasted for months smelling of village and countryside. I always made a bottle with a gold ribbon for Miss Pili, our very own Mary Poppins, who told us jokes, sang with her guitar, and whom we were all a little in love with.

Everyone knows it and almost everyone has used it at least once. It’s a simple, popular, and unpretentious cologne, but it remains good and a worthy product. Other equally good fragrances were considered more popular simply because they were more expensive and due to marketing (stories like ‘created by so-and-so when a jar fell…’ or ‘tradition since the year of Maricastaña…’). The fact that it’s now sold mainly in large plastic bottles discredits it, but it remains the good cologne it always was. It was never missing in our house; my father and I used it on demand, often after shaving. It’s still sold in glass splash format (at least here in A Coruña at perfumeries ‘Arenal’), and at home we used to refill it with the contents of the plastic bottle. I still have a 200 ml bottle.

Everyone knows it and almost everyone has used it at least once. It’s a simple, popular, and unpretentious cologne, but it remains good and a worthy product. Other equally good fragrances were considered more popular simply because they were more expensive and due to marketing (stories like ‘this fragrance was created by so-and-so when a jar of essence of this fell into another of that…’; ‘Tradition since the year of Maricastaña…’ etc). The fact that it is now sold mainly in large plastic bottles discredits it, but it doesn’t stop being the good cologne it always was. At home it was never missing, my father and I used it on demand, many times after shaving. It is still sold in glass splash bottles (at least here in A Coruña it is sold in ‘Arenal’ perfumeries), and at home we used to resort to the system of refilling it with the contents of the plastic bottle. I still keep a 200 ml bottle.

It smells like my childhood. My mother used to style her hair with this cologne and I remember it perfectly. I use it nowadays when I go jogging and sport. It’s such a particular scent that it varies on the skin and no one guesses what it is. They tell you you smell clean, but beware, not everything that smells clean is good, sometimes it’s bleach. It’s a 1940s classic, but it doesn’t seem old, it’s very wearable. The best thing is that they are natural essences, which is why it changes on every skin. It starts strong with citrus and quickly passes to an incredible fresh lavender. The trail lasts an hour intensely and then drops almost to the skin. Natural citrus never lasts long, they are volatile and only shine at the beginning. You can notice the soft but lasting lavender with cedar and tonka. I see it as unisex, although the cedar inclines it more towards the masculine side. It serves for all year and any place, except for a date. It’s not sensual. By the way, the hand soaps of this fragrance are a luxury and very cheap.

The scent of my childhood. My mother used to style our hair with this cologne, and I remember its smell perfectly. I still wear it today, delighted, when I’m in tracksuit or doing sports. It’s a scent that’s unknown to many because it varies so much on the skin that no one knows exactly what it is; people say you smell ‘clean’ (be careful, because bleach also smells clean, and some fragrances are a disaster). It’s vintage, from 1940, but it doesn’t look old; it’s very wearable. What I like most is that it has natural essences, which is why it varies on every skin. It has an explosive citrus opening that evolves quickly into a wonderful fresh lavender. The trail is intense for an hour, then drops almost to the skin. Natural citrus never has good longevity; they’re volatile and only stand out at the beginning. A soft but lasting lavender is highlighted, accompanied by cedar and tonka. I see it as unisex, but the cedar leans it more towards the masculine side. Suitable for all year round and any occasion, except for a romantic date, as it’s not sensual. By the way, the hand soaps of this fragrance are excellent and cheap.

Eterna. A classic that evokes freshness and cleanliness. My mother couldn’t stand any other cologne or perfume except the Puig Lavender Water. It always reminds me of her. My brother, every time he came to visit her and brought a bottle, reminded her that it was Frank Sinatra’s favourite cologne.

Good morning. They say Agua Lavanda is for men, but I see it as unisex. It smells fundamentally of lavender. It has an opening with lavender and lemon, but the lemon disappears quickly and the lavender remains, very prominent. The rest of the ingredients simply add more longevity, which is perfect for me because I only want to smell that note. If you’ve ever pinched a lavender flower to extract its oil, you’ve been intoxicated by that scent; that’s what this cologne smells like. I discovered it years ago and now it’s back in fashion; before it was hard to find. I love it, although it’s an eau de cologne, it has magnificent projection and longevity. The lavender helps to relax before sleep; that’s why I have a spray (even though the bottle doesn’t come with one, I use it this way) and mist it over the pillow and sheets for a good night’s sleep. I just love it! It doesn’t remind me of Agua Brava, another classic I also adore. The bottle is exquisite. It’s worth far more than its cost. By the way, the large plastic bottle is worthless; better not to buy it unless you add essential lavender oil to it.

Absolutely gorgeous and ephemeral; just saying it sounds like it’s fleeting, but what beauty it possesses.