Reviews of Armani Code / Black Code (2004)
by Giorgio Armani

This fragrance and Acqua Di Gio are my two favorites of Armani. I don't wear this one as casually as AgD, but I wouldn't save this one for only formal events like most people suggest. Its a good fragrance to wear almost anytime....probably save it for nights out, etc.

It has a nice spicy, elegant tone that drys down to a somewhat sweet and slightly floral finish. It is sort of an oriental fragrance, but I wouldn't say that it is a typical oriental. Its a hybrid.

This one lasts about 4-6 hours on my skin. Makes a good fragrance to wear to work (if you put a little on), and great to wear out to the club or formal events (put a little more on).

A very long lasting and well blended perfume. The scent is smoky-spicy. Although people around love it, I don't like it!

On paper I should like this, but I not only dislike it but need to wash it off every time I give it a try. I received it as a gift so I have a full 2.5 sitting under my sink. I keep thinking I'll change my mind but alas...

Very powdery, slightly citrus opening that settles down into a powdery pepper/woods. It's at this point I need to wash off. For those who care, the sillage is ok... I can't speak to longevity.

The new Ed Hardy is very similar in opening to Code, but for whatever reason I very much enjoy it. EH develops in a more pleasant, rich, masculine manner into something I enjoy smelling on myself.

This certainly isn't a complex fragrance.

I get the lemon and the woody dry down. It certainly smells a bit sexy, but it doesn't make me gitty. The ladies seem to like it on me. I don't enjoy it as much as them.

I can see a similarity between this and John Varvatos, but it's very minor. On me John Varvatos is all about the date note.

I mean, it's okay, I had it for a while. Tvlampboy said it - better than most mainstream frags released today, but by no means groundbreaking. Especially now that I have Douce Amere, another anisic oriental but far more elegant, to compare this one with, it does feel rough around the edges - like AdG made a half-hearted attempt at becoming an oriental.

A nice fresh and sophisticated scent, but didn't work so well on my skin. At first it reminded me of a Hollister cologne but only slightly. Make sure to try this one out before buying to make sure it works with your body chemistry.

it smells like fruity talk powder and that makes me soothe. i have worn it for approx. 2 years and not a single one of my girlfriends asked about it. i waited for a response like "what's this frag?" "hmm bad" or "hmm nice"... nothing. i dont wear cologne for gaining attention but it's an issue i think. low sillage...

Peppery opening with anise following -- not usually a good combination for me. (Anise notes don't usually do well on my skin.) That said, these die down soon and the warm, slightly spicy and very sweet dry-down begins. Moderate sillage and average longevity.

Better than most mainstream frags today, but by no means a classic in and of itself. Translation: don't knock anyone over to grab a bottle. Safe, pleasant frag for clubs and offices alike.

Notes:
Top: Citron
Middle: Olive Blossom, Aromatic, and Anisey Accents
Base : Tonka Bean, Blonde Tobacco, Gaiac Wood, Smoky

I am revisting Armani Code/Black Code after some time off from Armani fragrances (trust me, its hard to do if you frequent department stores - can't escape the Di Gio), and I have to admit, I am finding more redeeming qualities in this one. While the adverts come off as a bad case of The Matrix trilogy hangover (dark shades, spandex and slo-mo bullet dodging is so played out!), the sleek curvy dark bottle with just the right degree of curvature and heft isn't as embarrassing.

Code opens with a citric blast which is a bit unusual; its hard to describe. It smells citrusy alright, but theres something medicinal and gaseous about it with a floral hint. Its interesting to say the least - the floral note is probably the olive flower, which isn't as sweet or intense in its scent profile as something like tuberose. The heart notes amp up the intrigue factor with a dose of anise, its tangy sweet character continuing from where the olive flower and citrus combo left off. The smooth and suave creaminess of the tonka bean makes its appearance shortly thereafter. And here lies the problem - the transition from top and middle notes to the base takes minutes...5 minutes to be exact. Thats too fast for a Matrix wannabe. Slo-mo, take your time to develop. Thats not to say that the base is bad; its chockfull of tonka bean with a dry woodiness about it (with a light smoky character) thanks to the guaic wood. The end effect is of a light, creamy, slightly woody skin scent, with good longevity but low sillage.

The quality of ingredients is decent, and there are distinct phases of development. Code however is less interesting than its orange blossom laced womens counterpart, and reveals its trump cards too early. With that said, it qualifies as a good discreet/office scent. It has also made Armani a ton of money already, and just having both Code and Aqua di Gio in your wardrobe is a pretty respectable option for a casual fragrance fan. I dont care much for this musky light skin scent, but for some strange reason women like it a lot .. that last statement itself will now entice hordes of teens to stock up on the Matrix love juice. What is the Code ? I dont care because I am happy doing my own thing with Terre D'Hermes and Chanel Allure homme.

Heh......Nothing special.

Quite wearable - but it has never got me any compliments...I just use it as an every day sorta thing - nto sure what fragrance family to group it into, though.

I don't really understand this fragrance - and I have been wearing it for almost 3 years now...Just smells a bit confusing - not sure whether I like it or not!

I really like this scent. It's not anything revolutionary but it manages to project a sort of creamy bergamot that's incredibly pleasant. Unfortunately, it doesn't project well and it doesn't last at all on me. If Armani ever comes out with an extreme version, I'll be the first in line.

Got a sample with my recently bought bottle of Cacharel's (highly underrated) Amor.

The best way I can describe this fragrance: it is like a higher quality Vesace Blue Jeans that seems to be made entirely out of natural gourmandish ingresients.
Where Blue jeans is a synthetic vanilla with some undefined marine notes added, Black Code is vanilla and almond macarons ("bitterkoekjes" in Dutch), very eatable.
A high quality fragrance, just not my taste.

I agree that is not very oriental It's like Kenzo Jungle a citric-oriental one.
It's pleasant but if I want to innovate I'd stick on the Kenzo one
;)

Armani Code = Black Code = Clean oriental unisex frag

Very pleasant, could easily be an office scent.

Not sure where the "black" comes from: this scent is not solemn, not sophisticated, just soft and clean. Not overly sweet.

Stay and sillage were average. Not very dimensional, just smells "nice" as per my girlfriend.

I like Burbery Brit, Jaipur, and Lacoste Green PH more and they are within the same class and have more complexity. Not nauseating like Pi. Code is not a bad frag, and would go along with a timid but well meaning demeanor. Just not me :)

A perfectly decent and rather "clean" oriental, but far too tame for me to get worked up about. Yes, it's an oriental you can wear during the daytime and in business settings, but that may only be because it's just a little bland. Harmless, really, and harmless is not something I look for from this kind of scent.

Little sillage on me, and absolutely no development or staying power.

Since this is an Armani, I was expecting it to be like most of the other Armani scents I’ve tried–well made, pleasant but rather boring accords, and incredibly weak and short lived. I was very surprised when I first sniffed this one—I even checked the bottle to make sure it was an Armani. I could smell it, and it smelled great. Its opening aroma is very attractive and its middle notes are also. In performance, the scent stays close to the skin and lacks projection—this can be either good or bad in a scent depending on a wearer’s point of view. The primary problem of the scent is its lack of longevity; it is gone within an hour. This is another scent (like Polo Black) that I’m tempted to praise just because it is halfway decent, but, in the end, I have to rate it on its own merits rather than my desire to say something nice. As pleasant as it is, its atrocious longevity earns it an ‘ehh...'

Wonderful smell, expensive considering how fast that smell is gone...so too mild...

Love the top note and the olive flower but have a beef with a slightly synthetic note in the drydown. Someone has said James Bond would wear this. Codswallop, Moneypenny would say he's lost his style and buy him some Eucris or Dunhill Edition. This is for under 25s who want to impress their gf of this week. Another weak and short lasting offering by Armani.

I like this scent but find it a bit sickly. Don't wear it nearly as often as others i own

This is nothing but a toned downed copy of By Man.
Benb

To me, it had many notes similar to Polo Black. So so, but I like Polo Black a bit better.

Although it smelt like bug spray on me, I've smelt it on others and it smells pretty good. So now I have a change of heart with black code.

Armani Black Code smells strongly powdery with a touch of vanilla and roasted nuts. Not the worst stuff I ever tried, but I think Burberry Brit is similar and works better on me. It’s average, nothing special or new and it has a familiar scent and you can tell its Armani. Like other Armani fragrances, has very short staying power (+/- 20 minutes) and you need to apply it at least six times for good sillage.

Reminds me of Armani clothing...it's nice...but doesnt live up to the legend...

Sweet, a bit spicy, kind of reminiscent of fresh air or somehting...reminds me a bit of a self-styled Gordon Gekko wanabe who has to flash his Rolex, and throw cash around in order to pick up women...

bland juice

I know why I liked it on me. Because it's very similar to the first Emporio for men, just sweeter... the tangier lemony note is missing from Black Code... to be honest, I'll stick to Emporio He. Much more fresh.

I liked it at first, but then realized why: because i love Brit. This is essentially the same frag, with less longevity and fewer notes (less spice, more straight forward). Its good, just not nearly as enchanting as Brit. I suppose, however, that the absence of spices and cinnamon makes it better for warmer weather. A good one to get if you loved Brit through the winter but cant pull it off in heat.

Not bad, smells like creamy soap, nothing really interesting.

Definitely ok compared to much of the junk released by GA. Decent oriental heavy on woods and tonka, not unlike Le Male impressionwise. Lousy longevity though, and definitely too cheap-smeling in the end to accompany a sweet tux.

BREAKING NEWS: Armani does it again with another blockbuster, as Armani Black Code, months after launch, becomes the #2-selling men's fragrance in the US. Film at 11. OK, sales statistics aside, this IS a very good fragrance. It is well crafted and unique, something you might expect from the House of Armani. But, I have to give it a neutral rating since, well, it's starting to get overused. Then again, what else do you expect from Armani?

Walked into a Marshall Fields department store today and was almost assaulted by a sales woman who desperately wanted me to try the "brand new,AMAZING! Black Code cologe from Armani". I had already looked at this stuff on here and other sites and determined it wasnt me but decided to try it anyway. And,well, at first I couldnt think of any reason why people would wear this stuff. It started off as a light citrus scent that wasnt anything special or different. Now, here I am a few hours later and I can now say that this cologne reminds me of something else. Once it has dried down, it smells like a lighter version of The Dreamer by Versace. It appears to be fairly long lasting because it has been 6 hours since I have sprayed it on my wrist and I can still detect it there. The entire dry-down process is light and non offensive, so, I believe that this cologne may have a use for those in a formal setting. One where a cologne must not be so strong that it grabs attention but must also maintain a sophisticated, decent aroma. So, if you fall into the class of people needing a cologne like that this may be well worth looking into, but, if you are a teen like me, you may have very little use for this light scent.