Bulgari's New Women's Fragrance is Inspired by Greek Goddess Venus

Ancient mythology meets the Mediterranean in Bulgari’s Aqua family of fragrances, which now has its first female scent: Aqua Divina, inspired by Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. 

It’s no surprise that Greek and Roman myths are a rich source of inspiration and fascination. They’re a mishmash of the real and the fantastical, with bizarre, sometimes macabre, stories and dramatic locations. Above all, they glorify all that is beautiful, sensuous and hedonistic. 

Greco-Roman luxury brand, Bulgari (it was founded by a Greek man, Sotirios Voulgaris, in Rome in 1884) looked to mythology for its Aqua line of fragrances. The second inspiration was water – but not in an insipid way. Instead, Bulgari visited the powerful, energetic Mediterranean.

The Aqua line began in 2004 with Aqua Pour Homme (above). The typical aquatic men’s fragrance was on the decline at the time – it had dominated for years, but customers were tired of cool, fresh scents, and were turning towards woody and spicy ones. Bulgari’s goal was to reinvent the aquatic fragrance by adding sun and sensuality. The perfect starting point? Adonis – the Greek god of beauty and desire, and the archetypal symbol of virility and masculinity. 

The resulting fragrance was both a critical and commercial hit. It opens with bright, but warm notes of mandarin and petitgrain (an oil from the leaves and twigs of the bitter orange tree). The heart is where things get interesting. The key note is seaweed, and it’s a strong and undeniable presence – salty and green, a little bit dirty, but in a good way. Finally, there’s amber, which is warm, strong and sensual. 

Other fragrances were launched – marine versions and limited editions. Then, in 2014, came an all-new men’s scent, Aqua Amara (above, Italian for bitter water). It was about the abundance of the Mediterranean, a region full of flowers, plants and metals like copper, as well as the richness of the sea. And it had the bitter tang of oranges, because as Jacques Cavallier, the nose behind the scent, says: “There is always a little bitterness in the sweet.” It had a distinct watery note (but this time, it was fresh, not salty) and a bright patchouli base. The advertising campaign showcased both Aqua Pour Homme and Aqua Amara, and starred model Jon Kortajarena – bronzed, straight out of ancient Greece, diving into the sea to discover a bottle of scent.

With that campaign, the brand made more overt references to Greek myth, creating a stronger image of the athletic, strong and virile Adonis, unabashedly masculine. How do you translate that for a woman? Perfumer Alberto Morillas (of Kenzo Flower fame) went back to the sea and the myths, by way of Renaissance Italy, and created Aqua Divina.

In Roman myth, the goddess Venus was the daughter of Gaia (the earth) and Uranus (the sky). Born of sea foam, she represents love and femininity. The 15th-century Italian painter Botticelli depicted her emerging from the waves, standing on a seashell, surrounded by flowers, the ultimate symbol of beauty.

Morillas interpreted this as a salty flower, emerging from the sea with sun-kissed skin. The fragrance (above) opens with a salty bergamot and pink ginger note, more sweet than spicy, floral and clean. Quickly, it evolves with a fruity note, softened by quince, settling into a warm, sensual floral perfume. One might expect lightness and freshness from a scent named Aqua, but this is substantial, grown-up, and extremely feminine. The bottle continues the Greco-Roman, aquatic theme – flat and white, like the scallop shell from which Botticelli’s Venus emerged.

“She was wearing a white linen dress, through which the outline of her figure could be seen – on a late afternoon on a beach on the Mediterranean. Her skin, warmed by the sun, emanated a scent of sun oil and ripe fruit. She had spent the day doing nothing beyond belonging to herself. This is what I wanted to evoke with Aqua Divina. Something very radiant, very sensual. Not that innocent. A very intimate version of Botticelli’s Venus,” says Morillas.

Aqua Amara, Aqua Pour Homme and Aqua Divina EDTs, available in three sizes, $84-$150

Photography Raymond Lee Art Direction Thomas Cannings

An adapted version of this story first appeared in Female's May issue.