You can think what you want of cheapies, but the chance of a super P/L ratio is always subtle.
This candidate here is one such prime example.
100 ml are available for less than 20 €. The ingredients are safe (mostly) from the laboratory, but in such a quality that there is no disturbing synthetics, but simply a well-coordinated fragrance impression.
Monotheme is an Italian brand from Venice, which - as the name already says so beautifully - makes really monothematic fragrances (see "background information"). And I think it's really good. At least I liked the two so far tested (Verde d'Arancia and Aqua Marina) very much. Here's no playful bells and whistles, but basically what's written on the bottle.
In this case: Aqua Marina (seawater)
scent:
The top note starts with a super refreshing mix of citric, aquatic and spicy herbaceous nuances that give you the feeling of diving into the cool sea with a dolphin jump. Wonderfully sparkling and refreshing! This marine impression has not much to do with the natural smell of salt, seaweed or algae, but is also significantly less of a synthetic calone character. He comes across amazingly natural and commutes between them. I prefer it over the two alternatives mentioned.
The citric and aquatic notes disappear quickly and this complex herbaceous, herbaceous, mint-like note remains. In the course of the process, the spiciness increases somewhat, but is never exaggerated in comparison to the ethereal herbaceous components. This complex spice note is wonderfully interwoven and very well balanced. The ethereal components easily occupy the pool position over the entire course of the treatment and provide a permanently cool and fresh feeling.
Green notes of mossy nature are then added to the base, giving the fragrance, which appears very masculine overall due to the tart spices, a beautifully rich, classic sediment. But even here the aetheric still does not run out of breath and even after a long wearing time it still provides the initially built up penetrating freshness.
The overall scent impression makes no doubt associations to a very freshly spicy shower gel, as it sounds like in a statement below. At least that's how I feel. But that doesn't matter at all in this case, because good shower gel smells good and the composition of the different ingredients here create such a beautiful, cuttingly tart fragrance aroma, which really amazes me. I have not yet come across such a thing, which has been constantly maintained throughout its entire course. No Menthe Froide or Erolfa can keep up. It reminds me most of the Blenheim Bouquet in its freshness, although without its medical-sterile orientation.
Of course, you can tell that the fragrance is not a Chanel or Guerlain, but I dare to say that these brands couldn't have done better (much) with the ingredients available here. My previous reporters at least had the impression that there is a lot of scent for little money.
I'm definitely very excited about this perfume that combines so much that I like. And of course the price also has a positive influence. I can't get completely rid of it.
stability and silage:
On my skin the scent lasts surprisingly long, so that after more than 10 hours of movement I still perceive the scent character. The realistic duration, i.e. the time in which it consciously wafts around me, is about 3-4 hours. The sillage is quite clear in the first half hour and then recedes quite quickly to skin level.
Opportunities:
Due to its absolute freshness it is of course ideal for the midsummer, as well as in all warm phases. Moreover, due to his well-groomed, uncompromising manhood, he is easily wearable for men in both casual and more exclusive situations.
I cannot yet judge how it behaves in the cold season.
conclusion:
Aqua Marina is an unembellished, cutting fresh fragrance, masculine and herbaceous-herbal-ethereal, which is reminiscent of a shower gel at the beginning, but in its entire composition and coordination in the end is far beyond that. With this scent I feel the invigorating feeling that comes up when I walk along the coast through the fog of the waves, but without the natural smell of salt and seaweed. For lovers of really fresh fragrances in my opinion an absolute must test candidate! He blows your beet free in a stylish and pleasant way
Background info:
Monotheme is an Italian perfume brand based in Venice, founded in 2003, and has released 66 perfumes to date. As already mentioned above, the fragrances are predominantly monothematic, i.e. dedicated to a certain fragrance.
The parent company is Mavive SpA, which also markets The Merchant of Venice, Pino Silvestre, Replay and Police.
The monotheme fragrances are bundled in the following categories:
Classic Collection, Il Libro degli Agrumi (Book of Citruses), Black Label, Bio Line, Earth Collection and fragrances that do not belong to any of these families.
Aqua Marina comes from the Classic Collection.
Perfumers for Monotheme are Lorenzo Vidal and Pierre-Constantin Gueros, who has developed fragrances for Odin New York, Carolina Herrera and Wiener Blut, among others. There is a cooperation with Symrise, the third largest manufacturer of flavours and fragrances in the world based in Holzminden, where Geza Schön was trained (at that time not yet called Symrise but Haarmann & Riemer; after the merger with Dragoco in 2003 the new name was created).
(Sources: fragrantica.com, mavive.it, yelp.com, parfumo.de)
Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
Goro
