Special Aqua

Special Aqua takes aim at Byredo's much-loved Gypsy Water and lands its breezy, woody-aromatic spirit for a fraction of the price. It opens fresh and green with juniper, lemon and bergamot lifted by a light peppery kick, then settles into a heart of pine needles, powdery orris and a wisp of incense - that signature put-out-campfire-in-a-forest feeling. The base brings a dry, almost unsweetened vanilla rounded with sandalwood and amber. Gypsy Water itself is famously intimate and soft-projecting, and this version pushes that even further, reading a touch simpler and skin-close with the smoky-incense nuance dialled down. Still, the clean, contemplative woody-vanilla character is well captured, making it a lovely easygoing scent for spring days and crisp autumn evenings.