Paco Rabanne Invictus Aqua Reformulation Review – Still Worth Buying? (2018)

Invictus And Invictus Aqua General Response From The Public:

I’ve wanted to buy Paco Rabanne’s Invictus Aqua for some time.

The original Invictus was well received by the general public (and women most importantly).

The fragrance community was not a big fan of it expectedly as it smells pretty synthetic, can be cloying, and just screams mass produced run of the mill men’s fragrance.

P.S. many times these are the ones that women like most, regardless of how many guys in the fragrance community want to hate on it, Invictus was a compliment monster.

How Does Invictus Aqua Smell?

Invictus Aqua shares a lot of the same DNA as the original Invictus.

It opens with grapefruit, yuzu and pink pepper.

Aquatic notes start to become apparent as the fragrance settles and deepens, with violet leaf accompanying it.

At the base of it at are guaiac wood coupled with woody amber and ambergris.

Essentially, it smells like a toned down version of Invictus, with the apparent candy like bubble gum sweetness, with a splash of Aquatic in there.

This makes it far less offensive, and also increases the scope of the audience it pleases.

Who doesn’t like a good aquatic right?

A solid inoffensive aquatic fragrance (or fresh one in general) is a must have for the summer time, gym, errands, school, and everyday activities where something heavier would be overkill.

Invictus Aqua quickly became a lady killer and was a top men’s fragrance for warmer days, and it excelled in the Spring and Summer as a very strong go-to.

If I were to make a list of the top summer-time/fresh fragrance panty droppers, this would be one of them.

However, it was reformulated in 2018.

Invictus Aqua Reformulation In 2018

The reformulation doesn’t smell significantly different, and if you ask for opinions up close on a test strip or your wrist you will likely get great reactions.

The issue with the reformulation isn’t that the scent was drastically changed from the 2016 original; the issue is the performance has been completely neutered.

The projection is decent… for the first hour.

The 2018 Invictus Aqua reformulation becomes a skin scent very quickly, and I would not waste my time with it.

I regret blind buying it.

There are far more strong Aquatic alternatives that are not only far better in performance with just as great ladies’ reactions to the scent, but they are cheaper too.

The Best Men’s Aquatic Fragrance Alternatives To Invictus Aqua:

Some Aquatics I would highly recommend over the Invictus Aqua reformulation are:

Nautica Voyage

This is not only the best cheap Aquatic on the market, it is probably one of the best Aquatics in general regardless of price.

This is a low-risk people pleaser.

Men, women, every one likes Nautica Voyage.

Inoffensive, smells great, performs well, and is insanely cost effective.

Some other amazing Aquatics that I would recommend:

Versace Man Eau Fraiche

The freshest of all the aquatics on this list.

This fragrance smells exactly how women describe an attractive man should smell after coming out of the shower.

Mass pleasing and can’t go wrong with this one.

Versace Dylan Blue

Strong compliment getter.

Great performance, safe for use in almost any situation, and deeper/darker than your standard “freshy” out of the shower smelling Aquatic.

Has vibes of Sauvage and Bleu De Chanel DNA.

It doesn’t feel like a clone though, it opens sweet, citrusy and aquatic, and then deepens with a big hit of Ambroxan. Very masculine and strong lady-killer.

Bvlgari Aqva Amara

This is for the edgy guys out there. This aquatic is STRONG and will be more polarizing.

You love it, or you hate it.

But when you love it, you LOVE it.

This fragrance is in a totally different category than most fresh aquatics. You get a strong hit of orange infused with aquatic notes.

You will typically hear reviewers refer to this fragrance as “ocean like”.

And it definitely is.

It smells like an orange ocean.

Charismatic, summery, fun, fresh, strong and edgy.

Like I said, you either love or hate this one, it definitely isn’t a blind buy, so proceed with caution on this one.

Should You Buy The Old Invictus Aqua Before The Reformulation?

I wouldn’t advise going out of your way to find an old batch of Invictus Aqua.

They are getting harder and harder to find, and they are all absurdly marked up as sellers are well aware that the reformulation isn’t as good as the original.

It isn’t worth the marked up price tag in my opinion.

Differences In Appearance Between Invictus Aqua (2016) and the Invictus Aqua reformulation (2018)

This is easy to identify fortunately, so if you are dead set on getting an old batch of Invictus Aqua, just look at the bottle.

The old batch is in a frosted looking bottle, whereas the reformulation is in a clear bottle.

The difference is quite obvious so there won’t be a hassle having to email sellers asking to cross reference batch numbers with manufacturing dates.