Armani Code / Black Code (2004)
by Giorgio Armani

My Antaeus can beat up your Armani.

As mod as it is bland, it's the kind of gift the boss would pass out at the Christmas party to all the male clerks.

Not bad, just nothing to write home about. An inoffensive scent which blends with the crowd, and is guaranteed not to offend anyone.

Howard Roark would laugh. Bond would use it for target practice with his Walther PPK

This could be seen as my first "major purchase" bottle. In 2004 when this first came out it was still pretty expensive being about £45 GBP for a 50ml bottle. I was in a store and was asked if I'd like to try the new Giorgio Armani scent called Black Code. I had been a fan of all 3 Emporio Armani fragrances released up to this time (He, He White and He Night) and had invested serious money in them over the years having owned at least 2 FB's of each one. My only experience with Giorgio Armani fragrances was Acqua Di Gio which I didnt like much as it reminded me of 18 year old boys with too much testosterone hitting on any female with a pulse. However I had been sold on the "this is a much darker fragrance" thing. I tried some on a tester and went for a walk for a while.

I really loved this scent so went and bought a bottle............. my first major schoolboy error. I got home and put some on and I liked it for a bit then it just went rancid on my skin. I persisted for a few weeks with it and nothing. It just kept disagreeing with me. I ended up giving it to my brother who has since gone on to buy his own bottles of this and still to this day wears what is now simply called Code.

I like the smell of it on him but we have totally differing skin types and as much as it smells nice on him, its not for me. Another case of try before you buy.

ive owned and used this and have always been influenced by the positive hype. yet with poor longevity, worse sillage, poor interpretation of "oriental" im not sure what made me like this in the first place. my interest for this has decreased rapidly.

Other than the nice tarragon/anise middle note, Armani Code is rather ordinary. There is an attempt a peppery opening but it is very synthetic feeling. The middle notes are fleeting, barely minutes, when tonka, tonka, and more tonka take over as the base, saved from being single-dimensional by the woodiness of guaic.

Bought 100ml of this and loved it. Then got 50ml for a birthday present. Very sexy fragrance the women love. Always kept the 50ml in my car to re-apply, the smell never went bad even after 3 months in my centre console.
Just got 100ml of By by Dolce Gabbana, smells very similar, must be the guiac wood note. Because By is a classic fragrance and very expensive, i'm definately buying Black code when my By runs out. This is Great Shtuff!

Fresh, warm, seductive—there is just something special about Armani Code; so special, in fact, that this became my second signature fragrance (the first one being Joop! Homme). Elegant and classy (and not just the smell; the bottle is very stylish too), this is, in my opinion, the best Armani men's fragrance ever and a masterpiece among men's fragrances in general.

Although I have had reservations about paying the high price any Giorgio Armani fragrance attracts, not so Code; it is worth every cent.