Reviews of Acqua di Giò pour Homme (1996)
by Giorgio Armani

Armani Acqua di Gio pour Homme

Acqua di Gio, the 1996 scent created for Giorgio Armani, is the most popular scent in terms of sales in the world as of 2008. Popularity and sales do not automatically confirm greatness on any artistic endeavor. Conversely those attributes shouldn't be made to seen as detriments, either. Acqua di Gio is popular for a reason and that reason, I think, is Wonder Bread. I love bread of all kinds, a fresh-baked croissant, a crunchy baguette, savory whole grain loaf, you get the idea. If you put down a jar of crunchy peanut butter and grape jelly and ask me what bread I want it on, I'm going to choose Wonder Bread. Wonder Bread just tastes great in that situation. I really like the other breads I mentioned, more, but for a good old PB&J I'm going to choose Wonder Bread. Acqua di Gio falls in the same category. It isn't my favorite fresh scent out there in fact it probably doesn't crack my top 20, although that's probably close. Yet, on a sunny summer day there are just days I want to wear Acqua di Gio for all of the things it does right. The one thing Acqua di Gio gets very right is it is composed in a light style which keeps it from ever becoming cloying or heavy on me. Right from the beginning the lightness of touch is evident as a breeze of jasmine on top of other florals lead this into a fruity heart paired with a very typical aquatic heart. This would be the ideal description of many feminine fruity florals but because Acqua di Gio keeps its composition so muted this works well as a masculine and if someone is getting nervous about wearing a fruity floral the base is full of strong he-man accords. Starting with cedar followed by patchouli and a sheer white musk. Acqua di Gio is that very easy-to-wear scent that owes its popularity to that quality, I think. There is nothing challenging here but there is also nothing to make one want to turn away either. As many scents in this class Acqua di Gio has average longevity and a decent amount of projection. Acqua di Gio is perfect for that sunny day I'm in the mood for a little PB&J on Wonder Bread.

Simply ADG is one of the most popular fragrances, probably because of being fresh and mild. Nothing distinguish. Highly common. But altogether it smells... nice. so it goes nuetral.

I guess if one cologne had to be overdone, this isn't a bad one for it to be... Way too light for me, Lemony, can barely smell anything upon spraying, and after 15 minutes, have to literally inhale my wrists to get anything.... I mean yeah if you don't want to overpower or offend anyone, this is probably the best cologne, but be prepared to respray often if you want to smell it.

What the world needs: Another review of Acqua di Gio.

Glad to oblige. It's still overpriced and overrated. It's still inoffensive/timid.
A fragrance for men who want to wear fragrance but don't want to smell as if they are wearing a fragrance. (Are you taking notes?)

To my nose, it smells like a watered down version of Geir. I think that if Geir Ness had wanted to make a light, fraiche, pseudo acquatic, green colored version of Geir for the summer--and screwed it up by being cheap, it would smell somewhat like this.

Mild stuff. Remember to pronounce it correctly. Gio should sound like Joe. Not Gee-oh.

It's just too bland to give it a thumbs down. Neutered and Neutral.

Great smell.. its only downfall is its popularity. However, its popularity is starting to go down with newer fragrance (but based around this type of smell) so keep your bottle so when the next popular fragrance is worn by all, then its you who could be the different one.

Acqua di Giò pour Homme. Quite good summer fragrance . But it is no more... Such it is a lot of.

My husband bought this at a department store, I didn't care for it ( I wanted him to buy Guerlain Heritage,which I bought for him later on,and yes, he's in his 30s). Of all his fragrances this is the one that I say I don't like, but the funny thing is, when he gets home from work in the early evening and I smell him, I bury my nose on his neck and inhale deeply.It's a joke between us because I always ask him what's he is wearing,maybe hoping it will be something else, but no, it's Acqua di Gio. I love the drydown, but don't care for the initial notes.

It’s not bad but I definitely do not like it as much as many others of these mega-super selling successes.

Smooth fresh scent with interesting, slightly sour watermelon tone. Has very subtle herbaceous tinge to it with oceanic atmosphere.

Basically I’m not that surprised why this is such a hit among ladies.


This is also my little brother’s fragrance. His girlfriend once said (to me) that she thinks it smells absolutely gorgeous.

Best modern mainstream aquatic fragrance, hands down. It's fresh, sensual and masculine. Very nice. It smells like fresh ice tea to me.

I'm unable to wear it, because I smell it all the time around me. Somehow it's offputing to smell something that is supposed to be individual everywhere.

It would be difficult to find a fragrance that polarizes opinion in the way that AdG does. Having tried this with an open mind, and being as objective as possible,it is clear that it does not deserve it's place at either end of the critical spectrum. It is a decent, if unsophisticated aqua fragrance, that seems to have been damned for it's ubiquity. Personally, I take a different view, and am appreciative of it's place at the top of the charts. This makes it so much easier for those of us who favour something else to be elevated above the humdrum.

This is the Axe of men's fragrances. It's everywhere, and it's affordable. You father probably has it, your brother, your friend, your enemy. It's a fine fragrance but don't expect to feel unique while wearing it.

I hated this a few years back, then someone gave it as a gift to me, now ill use it once every two weeks or so. Its smells like lemony aluminum. I get a Pledge scent from this. If you like Pledge, then you'll love this. But I do like it somehow. I dont know how.

Very citrusy, cucumbery, and peppery too, very versatile and easy to wear scent

This doesn't work very well with cold weather, according to my nose, and I don't feel like spraying my whole body with it. I want to smell myself and the frag a bit once in a while without having to sniff like a maniac... Like to wear it indoors at home sometimes, in these colder months here... Its fresh and clean. I can also understand reviews here saying it makes them feel sick-ly, for me it doesnt get near that point, tough its not ultra-light to me, it has some character, can make me a bit dizzy but thats because I keep smelling my wrists.

Smells good, but I'll be trying to find something less used untill summer. '''Dont touch it in atleast 5 years'' - yeah thats probably a good advice.

Wow... this smells like every bottle of body wash on the market. I know... it came first so it isn't to blame.

I chuckled when I read that it has a persimmon note. My guess is that they were just hoping few people had encountered a persimmon frequently enough to distinguish it's scent (they are not common in America, I don't know about the rest of the world). It smells like "water," watermelon, and an afterthought of mild soap.

It smells fine. I am certainly not sent into raptures by it's scent, but it is not offensive. This is an extremely light and boring fragrance, with weak longevity and decent sillage (assuming you spray enough so other people recognize that they aren't just smelling body wash).

The scent of generic body wash for 50 times the price.

really not a fan, smelt it today for the 1st time, shock i know, and its just not good in my opinion. too strong and peppery with no appealing qualities. average, if not even that.

very easy fragrance. Nothing important, everything is okey. But just okey. There are lots of better light fragrances much out there. Not a sophisticated fragrance, Longevity is okey for a light scent. As i said everything is just okey. Nothing bad nothing good

Very fresh fragance and what else? Not class here, not original product. Boring in my view.
Not bad, I recommended for summer time.....but I repeat, a lot of fragances smell like Aqua di Gio.
I prefer exclusive stuffs like Terre d Hermes. Nothing more to say.

I am using Acqua di Gio for about six months....Personally I like it a lot....but unfortunately i am usually the only one who smells it......it keeps itself to your skin......low sillage. Longitivity is about 6 hours.....

Another problem with this perfume is that there is nothing special left about this perfume....everyone wears it and everyone knows it.

So for me its an everyday perfume specially for office

I'm a university student, and have to agree that this cologne is wayyyy too common among young guys. I like the scent itself, but when entire hallways reek of it, it gets to be headache-inducing. Also, I found that when applied to my skin, the reaction with my skin's natural chemicals caused the scent to vanish only minutes after it was put on.

Nothing new or special. Sweet clean scent that you always smell passing by in the mall/street/wherever. I will say that it is nice once it has dried down. But be forewarned that this scent has a Very short lasting strength. I can spray 8 or 9 sprays on, and by lunch it has dissapated completely(and yes I asked others around me, it simply doesn't last). For the right person and body chemistry you may get better lasting power, but for the cost it's not quite worth it. Never buy this from Armani, it's not worth over 50$ and ebay usually sells it off for under 30$. Wouldn't buy again, but it at least is nice.

Good for athletic activities and summer days, but nothing special at all.

Even though I am new with fragrances, I can tell that this is a little too generic. I have smelled this before. The hints of the earthier flowers are light on top with the white rose support. Good to just wear when you can't think of anything else to wear or you're going to a boring gathering and want to be nondescript but have a pleasant aroma aura about yourself. Other reviews say it good for summer and I have to agree, it just doesn't go with the colder months.

I love this scent, the problem is so does every other man under 25. Perfect nowadays if your goal is to be like everyone else, especially if you are in high school or college.

On the plus side it is pleasant although very recognizable now. Longevity is great, and this is probably the best aquatic still.

If you have no creativity or imagination, this bad boy if for you!

I like to call it Acqua di Conformity. If your goal is to remind your wife or girlfriend of one of her ex-boyfriends, this is the cologne for you. It's not a bad smelling scent, I used to wear it in college, but so did half of men on campus. I stopped wearing it when a friend told me that every single guy in his frat house owned it. Enough said.

its nice one.i used wear 10 years ago in the collage,one of the oh you smell good scent.its not my taste anymore

There I was with her in a fragrance shop, trying out new fragrances. She told me that this is her favorite and asked me to try this on. So I did.

A nice, refreshing, airy, lively scent was what I had expected, but the experience was more like that of wearing a detergent or a toilet cleaner. Made me wonder why it is so popular. Perhaps the majority of the people like the smell of air fresheners?

On the other hand, it *was* midwinter when I tried it on. So I'll give it the benefit of doubt and, perhaps, try again in the summertime.

Used to like this when I first got into cologne. Now everyone wears it and it just smells like soap to me now.

I'd rather prefer Just Me for men by Paris Hilton, smells like this but a lot more mature and all around better.

It is kinda played out, but its still good. i think it gets too sweet on my skin sometimes, so maybe not for daytime use. have a nice day!

Good, fresh, nice scent, but EVERYONE and their little brother owns this scent. I once had a girl correctly guess which scent I was wearing becuase her boyfriend wore the same scent.

something unsettling about this one, sour and salty at the same time and cloying. I don't understand the mass appeal

Fresh and beautiful? Yes. Boring and predictable? Yes. One of the safest fragrances around these days, Acqua is just too popular for its own good. I think it carries a lot of weight in the United States because people like to hear the Armani name associated with their purchase. There is only one person who wears this fragrance anymore, "I'm a middle-class white guy who knows all about luxury and having a good time." Run from the trend, not towards it. Gio at least opens the door for me to smell original with Aramis Surface and Givenchy BL. You can't go wrong buying this one, but that isn't to say a lot is going to go right, either. Safe and unoriginal to the extreme, which is sad considering this actually set the stage for all those aquatic scents that make this so bland. After the current trend dies down, it might not be bad to bring it back out, but until then...

This fragrance has MAJOR longevity problems. I love the initial burst of fresh herbal and marine notes, but it simply does not last long enough on me to make it worthwhile. Great fragrance notes, refreshingly minimalistic frosted glass bottle, but it simply does not last long enough for anyone (including me) to smell it 30 minutes after application.

Forget this smell conjuring images of a fun day by the ocean, all I can associate this scent with is loud frat boys. That being said, it is overall relatively pleasant, but not only can you smell pleasant without feeling like an abnoxious frat boy but you can find scents like this that are flat out better. Bulgari's take on Aqua, for instance, is simply put a better version of this scent. You won't feel like a tool wearing it either.

This is a good cologne. But it is used so often that I have come to hate the scent. I smell it 5-10 times a day on campus. This is a problem: a great cologne should smell different on different people. I myself have worn it, but don't intend to ever again for this reason.

I wanted to say no completely only because its sooo popular..I use to wear it back around 2000 until I was at a mall and I smelled it around a group of teenagers. And that's when I said its time to move on. Bottom line is that its a nice scent but for the younger croud and if you wanna smell like everybody else, hey I bought my 15 year old nephew a bottle this past christmas. And he loves it in fact those girls are going crazy over him in school and aqua plays a part in that...

This cologne is not overrated, it's just overused. It smells ok, the drydown is generic. The cologne in general is generic. I wear it sometimes because my girlfriend likes it. Armani makes way better colognes, I wish stores like wal mart would market these, instead of Drakkar and Acqua. It's good if you like aqua and smelling like 50% of the people in the room.

I'm one of few lucky ones that doesn't encounter the sharp and sour drydown of ADG. The drydown actually smells more like a sweet melon on me. It's a nice scent that everyone I know likes. However, my main complaint is its lack of staying power. I'm not too fond of reapplying and I have to constantly reapply this one. It starts off with a wonderful amount of sillage but then burns itself out too quickly. If this had a higher oil content, I would give it a thumbs up. But this one is literally like 'Acqua'.

My roommate last year was crazy about this stuff, and wore it all the time. I just can't say I find anything I really like about this scent; the mellon-like top notes to me are just putrid, though it does settle down quite quickly. After that, it never really evolved into anything special- it wasn't bad, it's just that it didn't seem very distinctive to me (perhaps because everyone in the world wears it). Some people really seem to like it, but I don't see what all the fuss is about.

very controversial fragarance. when it came out, I adored this one. it was so clean and fresh like nothing else...no I can hardly stand this scent. it reminds me some sort of air freshener if sprayed on my wrist.

Its a ok smell just OVERRATED and OVER used, after trying Creeds "Millesime Imperial" Acqua Di Gio seems like a cheap supermarket aftershave.

New to the scent game, I guess it's no surprise I purchased a bottle of this during one of my first Dillard's cologne shopping experiences. For the first couple of weeks I really liked it. Now, my 1.7oz bottle, which I had initially thought wouldn't last long, has been sitting 3/4 full on a shelf for some time. It does smell good, mind you(though it doesn't last all that long on me), but I now have so many other "better" options available that I only pull this out for nostalghia's sake.

This scent generated $100 million in US sales ALONE last year. And it shows-EVERYBODY wears this stuff. It's a decent scent, but it's so widely used that you might as well try something else. Go into a big city on the train, and you're sure to smell Acqua di Gio. Better yet, go to your local department store. Ask them what the best-selling men's fragrance is at their store, and they're sure to say "Acqua di Gio". After all, look at those sales figures...

i don't mind it so much -- in fact, i tend towards liking it -- but it's possibly the most overdone fragrance in existence. if you're looking to stand out in any way, acqua di gio is *not* the way to do it.

i find the smell is quite weak and i have to put a lot on to make it have a stronger smell. Apart from that i dont mind this but there are better smells, its a poor man Ck1 to me