Creed Virgin Island Water Decant

Virgin Island Water is unapologetically a holiday fragrance. Lime and ginger hit first, sharp and effervescent, then coconut and white rum arrive and turn the whole thing into a very expensive cocktail. What keeps it from being a novelty is the quality of the coconut — creamy and slightly milky rather than the suntan-lotion note that ruins most tropical fragrances.

Performance is front-loaded. The first hour projects enthusiastically, then it collapses into a soft sugary musk that sits close for another three or four hours. In cold weather it can smell out of place; in July on a patio it is close to unbeatable.

Almost nobody needs 100 ml of this. It is seasonal by nature and most people reach for it a dozen times a summer, which makes it the textbook case for a 5 or 10 ml decant instead of a bottle that will sit in a cupboard for nine months a year.