Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue (2001)
by Dolce & Gabbana

This was a complete shock! I expected something light and bright, citrusy or apple-y, a crowd pleaser. But to me, it smells like Lemon Pledge sprayed onto pastry dough. It's actually kind of gross, and I'm afraid I found it rather nauseating. I only made it through about 90 minutes before scrubbing.

I get no apple or cedar out of this at all. I get a fakey, citrusy mix wrapped around a core of what smells to me like saffron. I'm all for the avant-garde, but this combination just strikes me as ill-advised.

I do acknowledge the brilliance of the name, though. Light blue is exactly the color of this fragrance! Milky, pale, passive-aggressive.

Very hard to scrub off, as it turns out.

In a nutshell:

(1) Great, fresh and light citrus scent - with a hint of complexity.
(2) Has very good staying power for a scent of this type.
(3) This is a popular scent, so you will find many others wearing it, which is a negative if you want to wear something unique.

I love Granny Smiths even as a kid, I eat them all the time. So I'm quite pleased to smell some off the top notes. Unfortunately after that vibrant opening, LIGHT BLUE goes downhill. Cedar, cedar and then more cedar. OK, I do get some musky and floral accents but these are ambient, the overall character remaining sharply woodsy even incensey. Sorry ladies but I wouldn't want to smell this on you - it's a little too butch for comfort yet feels a little too lightweight and synthetic to be taken seriously as a men's fragrance.

When I first got this one, I was looking for something to replace my favorite scent because I didn't think it was in production anymore. When I first tried this, I thought it was lovely, and didn't realize how many people were wearing it.

It takes a while to drop down to the base notes on it, and it has a very sharp top note. If you're looking for sillage, this has it, and if you're looking for longevity, this one is definitely for you. However, much like other strong fragrances, this must be used very, VERY lightly, or it's overpowering, and you get tired of it after a while and want to wash it off to try on something different. I would much have preferred that it have come in something other than a spray bottle, as it's difficult to control a spray. If worn sparingly, it can be very nice.

Instant headache potion.
I owned and loved this for a few months when I was 13 or 14, back when it was fashionable. I'm not sure what happened, but overnight I couldn't wear it anymore. I think it is the cloyingly sweet woodsy note that burns itself into my brain and attempts to fry it. Sadly, I now am at the point where I can get physically ill even smelling the *cloud* emanating from someone else wearing it on the street or (god forbid) in a closed space like a train.

Count me as another in the long line of men who prefer the original Light Blue to the relatively uninspiring pour Homme interpretation. The opening is quite sharp and actually downright masculine to my nose, though it softens significantly with all those florals in the mid notes. And those florals, by the way, are quite lovely, especially combined with the apple note which to my nose sticks around for a good while. Like walking through a fragrant garden while munching on a Granny Smith. This is a fun and completely unpretentious fragrance, something I find appropriate for a relaxing day out with friends or simply lounging around by yourself. A contemporary classic for good reason.