I always find it interesting when people compare the same two fragrances en masse, especially when there's a huge price disparity between them. There is presently a $219 difference between Francis Kurkdjian's Green Tea (Elizabeth Arden), and his recent niche creation, Aqua Media Cologne Forte, yet when I smell the latter, I find myself thinking of the former, just as the other hundred some-odd people on Fragrantica do.
Interestingly, AMCF has the same basic structure as Arden's cheapo, but with added herbal-green flourishes of fennel and cilantro, which distort the sleek citrus-tea profile for the first two hours of wear, and disguise all traces of Kurkdjian's 1999 hit. Yesterday my girlfriend and I were musing over it, and I mentioned that I usually enjoy when perfumes accurately replicate things found in nature, only here I resemble a guacamole bowl, which truly challenges my resolve. The cilantro note is perfectly rendered, nearly identical to sticking my nose in the real stuff, but who wants to spend their days emanating cilantro? The fennel is also pitch-perfect, albeit a bit subtler. With a hint of lime juice sloshing in the periphery, these herbs shout, "I'm a walking dip recipe!"
Fortunately this effect only endures for the first two hours (maybe a bit less with modest application), and the citrusy green tea accord, labeled "matcha" on the official notes list, finally comes forward. The fragrance relaxes and sweetens a bit, channeling the same vague florals that are found in Arden's scent, allowing the wearer to enter a new phase of clean-green that is far less suggestive of Mexican takeout. It's a bright and sunny experience, an olfactory interpretation of dawn peering through clouds while a barista whisks a mug of Japanese brew. AMCF's tea note is far better realized than Arden's ever was, and for the remaining five hours of the day, all I smell is papery green tea, a hint of lemon-like citrus, and some floral sweetness, which is probably Hedione. It smells rather luxurious in its unremitting freshness, and I like it.
Kurkdjian is often criticized for leaning too heavily on nondescript "fresh" and "clean" compositions, with his many Aquas being labeled "boring" and "more of the same" from critics, but I suspect that he's deliberately aiming for "boring." My guess is that he's trying to appeal to a younger audience, knowing that they'll be buying for far longer than Gen-Xers and Millennials. I think it's a wise strategy, and judging by the quality of Aqua Media Cologne Forte, I'd say his brand will remain popular for many years to come.