Acqua Universalis Forte Maison Francis Kurkdjian for women and men

Bergamot does smell citrusy and yeah kind of like a cross between sweet orange and tart lemon, but that "kind of" it's just to give a reference! Seriously, I am not a lemon/lime note fan and I love this! I get loads of bergamot which is spiked by the Sicilian lemon, Jasmine like white florals (a lot like Lilly of the valley) with a mellow rose note to give it a slight creaminess and restrain it from getting harsh. Finally there is wood note that ties up the entire concoction together in a wonderfuly balanced work of perfumery art. This is Spring and Summer bottled up and with enough punch to cut through the cold in fall and winter days if desired!

Spring, spring, spring.... true Lily of the Valley smell... amazing!

Smells similar to their Mar perfume, but the notes here are more delicate and girly. The lemon dominates. Price point says, there are so many lemon dominated notes on the market, why spend so much money for perfumes with inexpensive raw materials that dominate. I know the rose and jasmine are expensive, but I can't pull them out of the lemon yet.

I had high hopes for this based on the description and presentation, and I was so looking forward to the travel size - a rolly vial of happiness to sniff surreptitiously during those all day meetings in some musty boardroom. But this awful stuff is likely to get seized at the airport as some new form of pepper spray. But for the grace of the lady at the fragrance counter and her free samples, go I.

The Forte opens with screaming bitter lemon. This lemon is not of zest or juice. It is a jarring and unexpected bite into a lemon seed in your cool summer salad. A bitter divorcee lemon whose ex took him or her to the cleaners. And not your friendly neighborhood cleaners. No 1 hour martinizing, no soft as a kitten folded cashmere, no crisp linens. Not even Jack Lemon disinfecting Walter Matthau’s cigar smoke. No, this is an industrial corrosive – the kind they use to dissolve barnacles off the bottom of cargo ships.

By some miracle, there is one molecule of flower in there. I don’t know how it survived the onslaught. This is one tough little bud, yet shy, sweet, and gentle. It’s a shame it was lost to the bitter side of the custody battle.

Even as it dries down and a single, dainty petal peeks out from its hiding place under the bed, the bitter taint continues to dominate, never developing - a psyche scarred. Perhaps I would rename this one The Bates Motel. Norman, for short.

I Love this fragrance it's so clean and fresh.i don't think it's anything like a Ckone which i wore in high school or anything else I've smelled before it's a great everyday scent and beautiful on all skin types. It stays with you all day and gets me through my day with just a whiff of this great scent definately worth the price and I love that its only sold in the states at Neimans or Bergdorf tre' exclusive.

This is one of just a handful of "light, fresh" scents i really like. Unlike most others in this category, the fragrance stays with you all day (40% concentration). It's definitely sweet and also a tiny bit green. Just out of the shower/clean laundry freshness for hours and hours.

This is like an upgraded to 5 stars version of ck one. Very much in the same vein, and similar in "taste". Like ck one, it is truely unisex. I like the high quality feel of it, but I'm not wooed about a clean, your skin but better scent. Still, with the right person this must be very likable.

I love it, I just got a sample...another great scent by MFK.