I wanted to wait to write a review until after I had tried the fragrance it was inspired from. Can say without a doubt that Smooth Sailing is absolutely better than 40 Knots. While I’m not a floral/powdery fan, I will put up with it for the short time before it evolves into a killer “deep blue” scent.
While they both start out similarly — very light, airy, floral — they diverge slightly after the first 15-20 minutes. I find Smooth Sailing to have a much “cleaner” feel between the 30-60 minute mark. 40 Knots has something in it that I can’t quite place that is just a bit off-putting in comparison during this phase.
Between 1-4 hours, Smooth Sailing just evolves continuously into a deeper and deeper blue. Maybe a strange analogy, but wearing Smooth Sailing I feel like I start above the water, and am just slowly sinking into deeper and darker waters — and it’s absolutely fantastic. It becomes a skin scent on me between 6-10 hours before I lose it entirely at about 10-12 hours. However, during this time I’m constantly smelling my wrist.
I will say 40 Knots does have a similar base, but it takes a long time to get to the dark blue that I really love. It stays in this weird transition between floral/powder and blue for about two hours. To my nose, there is that similar “weird” note that I can’t place that lingers in the base of it as well, but it’s not quite as strong.
Overall, this is a really unique summer fragrance that I would definitely recommend. Absolutely can ignore 40 Knots with Smooth Sailing in existence because it’s better in every way.