Reviews of Desire Blue (2002)
by Alfred Dunhill

I literally compared it to Febreze, which I sprayed in the air, and I literally compared it to my toilet bowl cleaner. Actually, in all honesty, I much prefer the smell of my toilet bowl cleaner over both of them. The initial spray of Desire Blue is an overdose of aldehyde, which poorly covers up the alcohol feel to it, and then it gets even worse. A burning-plastic scent couples with lemons to intensify the synthetic feel, and the backdrop is a very stale bathroom-cleaning product. I regret buying a sample of this, but at the same time, I'm also glad I didn't order a bottle of it. I absolutely despise this fragrance.

Well then, I can't just pick and choose how I review each scent, can I? I guess I have to mention that there "could be" some thought put into this scent. There are subtle notes of orange, and a hint of lotus, followed by a rather soft heart of rosewood, and a base of musk and a transparent tonka bean. I think the biggest letdown is that Dunhill has this beautiful idea, but falls flat on his face in the execution. Everything is lacking something; he tries too hard to tie the notes together and have "one" smell to his cologne. This could have worked extremely well, had some balls been put into this scent. The point of making colognes is not to please a majority; it is to fulfill your deepest desires, and manifest them into a liquid. The notes have potential; the bergamot can propel the aquatic tangerine with a zing, while the lotus aims to control the top and drive it to the heart of rosewood, orange flower water, and sea breeze accord. Those are very soft hearts; so the tangerine-opening has a chance to stain the woody-heart with its own tropical-citrus note, which then in turn, is sweetened by a soft tonka bean, and dried down properly by a hint of rich musk, and amber crystals.

Unfortunately, while the notes have potential in the hands of a skilled magician, this particular cologne does not.

Desire Blue is proof that mass-marketed fragrances are alluring in description, but cheap in execution. This is by far the worst fragrance I have *ever* sampled -- and I've raped every cologne store (short of Essenza and Barney's, where the clerks prevent me from doing so) three or four times, hungering for scents over and over and over, regardless of how much I liked them or not. I really like to keep an open mind, and make mental notes as to what I like and what I don't; that way, when I come back, I can ask myself "how has my opinion changed on this particular fragrance, which last time I didn't like because of ___ and ____?"

This, though, I will never sample again.

Comes on strong with some of the purest synthetic notes I’ve ever experienced—Move over Liz, Hugo, and Calvin, you apparently have a real competitor here. Bergamot, tangerine, marine?—no way: It’s pure plastic, synthetic, and headache. The middle notes are more interesting than the top, but they are almost as synthetic. The base is almost non-existent to my nose. I get a little musk, even less amber with, with some tonka—but at least it is mercifully short lived. All in all this is a headache inducing scent. It is hard to believe that Desire Blue is made by the same company that created Dunhill Edition.

Desire Blue has a bright fresh opening and then fades into a sweet alcohol-rub kind of thing. Perfect for NFL linebackers or anyone else with a single eyebrow.

This is yet another ‘me too’ aquatic. Did we really need this? With all the aquatic fragrances that have come out in the last couple of years, there is NOTHING unique or different about this fragrance. It’s awful. How can designers keep pumping these out?