Joseph Abboud (1993)
by Joseph Abboud

There's a woody/vetiver and amber "backbone" to this fragrance, along with the moderately sharp citrus (the orange is obvious), pepper, and herbs. I don't get much in the way of any other spice note here. Also, it's a bit musky, but not a heavy musk. Mostly, the overall impression I get is a basket of leaves from citrus trees. It's reasonably natural smelling, with decent projection/"sillage" and longevity. If you want something more floral and animalic, go for M. de Morabito. If you want more diversity and dynamism, go for Coriolan (which has a clearer spice not in the base as well as a dry leathery quality). Not sure where the "root beer" impression comes from, because I don't get that at all. This is rather linear, so if you don't like the idea you will not like this fragrance. There is no "waiting for it to get better" with this one. Over time, it seems to just get more mellow. There's nothing "wrong" with it, but if you have a similar fragrance (Greenergy is another one), then you might not be happy if you blind buy it and find that it's not really going to improve your rotation much.

10th May, 2011.

Didn't seem too bad right out of the bottle, but then it became an aggressively strong, terribly cheap scent. Basically, it's root beer (Dr. Pepper? regular cola?) which means it's not for me. If I could get the top off my mini bottle again without nearly breaking a finger, I might smell it again and write more, but it's evidently not worth it.

16th May, 2010.

Got hold of some of this last week as I thought it would be my kind of fragrance.Can smell the ginger and bergamot but not overly impressed.Lasting power only moderate.I have many more fragrances in my collection that I prefer.A little similar to Gianfranco Ferre for men but not as spicey.Will use tis in the Autumn/winter for maybe daytime use

11th October, 2009.

subtle spice done nice.longevity is good and this is very distingushed. very unmodern which could be a good or bad thing depending on your taste.

20th July, 2009.

This is very spicy. But not extremely spicy. It's gentle but there's a lot of it. But it is also not strong. Spices, woods and a bit of a sticky ambery drydown. I find it unique but lacking a good punch.

19th July, 2009.

This was a favorite of mine back in the early 90's and at one point I thought it was out of production, so it was pleasing to know EuroItalia is still producing this gem.
The warm citrus topnotes are quickly enveloped by warm spices, settling in with the woods, vetiver and musk to give a very pleasant alluring base scent. The longevity is decent, about 4-6 hours, excellent for evening and winter wear.

24th February, 2009.