Number 1 for Men (2001)
by Clive Christian

I am no stranger to expensive scents, which I normally use sparingly on special occasions. However, there is no way I could justify spending almost $1,000 on a bottle of cologne. So, for this review I used a tester of the scent. Even if women clung to me like I was covered in flypaper and every business negotiation I ever entered went successfully because I was wearing this scent, I probably would put the money this cologne costs towards a down payment on a Mercedes. And that is exactly why Clive Christian's marketing team is probably paid so well. Come up with a product so exclusive and expensive, that those who enjoy spending money will buy it. Just as some marketing people will market a product as the cheapest on the market and make money on the volume of sales ... Clive Christian's marketing people know you can be just as successful on the opposite end of the rainbow. If you price something so ridiculously high, people will buy it to celebrate or feel good about being able to afford it. In blindfolded taste tests, Dom Perignon and Crystal champagnes test slightly lower than a $40 range bottle of lower end French champagne.

Having vented about $600 - $1,000 per bottle cologne, I realize that someone like the fictional character Thomas Crown would have no problem splurging on such cologne. The dillema I had when I applied the sample of Clive was ... if I was incredibly rich (and semi-foolish) would I still think this scent was worth the cost of what some would pay for a designer suit.

This, to me, smelled like a much more powerful version of a Prada scent. It has a very clean and crisp scent. I detected a little grapefruit and maybe pepper. There was also a slight scent of baby powder. Obviously, this isn't someone with a chemistry set creating a scent and marketing it as the most expensive scent in the world ... these people know what they are doing. There is no question that the experise Clive uses in blending the notes perfectly. It is simple but at the same time complex. It doesn't stand out and slap you in the face the way some of the Creed scents do ... but there is no question that this smells like you'd expect Pierce Brosnan to smell in the part of Thomas Crown. This is the scent of someone who has everything they want and still feels the need to impress.

I tried to put the thought of the cost of the cologne out of my mind to give it a fair test. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't. Maybe it was the fact that every sample I was given was marked 'the world's most expensive cologne'. Marketing works. I literally don't know if I would love this scent as much if I walked by a perfume counter at the mall and smelled it in a bottle marked Armani or Paul Smith. But what I can tell you is ... I do like this cologne a lot. Maybe its the way it makes me feel about myself when I wear it more than the actual scent. But it lasts a long time (longer than Creed's scents last ... maybe it has more juice) and the notes are blended so amazingly well, it is the equivalent of eating a meal at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant as compared to the Olive Garden. No individual note stands out over the others to me ... but they create a perfect blend or harmony together.

Maybe one day I will be so apathetic to the value of money, I will be able to not worry about the cost of a bottle of Clive Christian No. 1. But until I get to that point, I will remain in awe of the scent's simplicity and perfect blending. For all those people who actually hate this scent and happen to have a bottle hanging around that they no longer want ... I'd be happy to take that bottle off their hands. Perhaps you can claim it as a tax write off? ha ha

The 'floriental' one from this line. I actually prefer this to the other two but it's still impossible to justify the high price tag. Its sillage and longevity remain underwhelming...

[Original submission date: 14 April 2008]

Flowers and vetiver. Ugh, this one isn't very good. Not as great as the price tag would make you think. It smells a bit like vegetable oil. What a joke.

its a nice fragrance but never ever worth the price ,it didnt last long enough on me ,there much better frag in the market..FYİ

Almost bought a sample set of Clive Christians three mens fragrances when I was recently in New York. Even though they are very well made and smells lovely I am not really sure if I would cough up 1800 bucks for any of them. None the less. Because they are different and very lovely scents - its a thumbs up from me.
benb

I LOVE IT BUT, its kind of like a By meets DK MEN hybrid, not so origianl that I would bust close to 2 grand on it even if I was Bill Gates! I prefer By and its $80 or even less if you look on Scentiments! Besides who needs a crystal bottle when I could have a Zebra striped one????