Reviews of Silver Shadow (2005)
by Davidoff

Top notes: Bitter orange, cinnamon leaves
Heart notes: Cedar, Saffron, Clove
Base: Patchouli, Amber, Benzoin

For Davidoff Perfumes, Silver Shadow (SS) is a happy medium between the every man fresh fougere cash cow that is Cool Water and the dripping with rich and formal cigars-and-tuxedo aroma of Zino Davidoff. Its intended for mature audiences, and thus has the sillage volume turned down but the sophistication meter has been pumped up a few notches.

With SS, Francis Kurkdjian (of Le Male fame) is at his most mellow with no evidence of the raunchy sexual prowess of Le Male in this formula. Rather, this oriental woody comes off as a study in highlighting a key note or accord - specifically of that of a saffron-clove combo. Opening with a light burst of bitter orange highlights and refreshing herbal cinnamon leaves (which are sweeter and more clove like than the traditional cinnamon spice aroma of cinnamon bark), the dry, sweet and hay-like aroma of saffron soon becomes evident, enveloped in the airy freshness of clove (rendered at a level low enough to avoid images of pesky dentists) and discreet woody notes. This is the clear highlight of the fragrance, and shows the deft touch of Kurkdjian in presenting a saffron note in a well blended mixture. The base is low key, with muted sweetness of amber and benzoin, and barely perceptible patchouli. Overall, SS is very L'Artisan like in its light feel, except that its not made for shy people. Longevity is decent (around 5-6 hours), with skin heat bringing out more sillage.

Many will dismiss SS as too light or uninteresting because it requires effort to appreciate its heart notes. Its not instantly gratifying as Le Male nor is it a "chick magnet". Twenty something gals can probably not smell this juice, while mature women (blessed with mucho patience and, hopefully, great deal of life experience) would appreciate this on their men. I would have liked the base to be stronger to provide a more forceful oriental sweetness to counter the attractive (but dry)saffron accord in the heart notes, but I guess thats what the Pure Blend EDT is for. Forget dying your hair grey to attract that divorced but attractive single mom of two who lives down the block - SS will provide an easier path to babysitting appointments!

Rating: 7.75/10.00

nothing to rave about. actually one can royally ignore this offering. smells like a woodier version of Lacoste ph. only much lighter. somethign very plum like sweet in this, which i find vey irritating in scents like Lacoste Ph, Chevignon, John Varvatos...i tried to appreciate this offering, but it failed to impress. will try it one more time during winters to see if it shines then. but as of now, Pass. there are much better offerings that this.

weak again but discintcly different. sweet and kinda earthly smell that is a bit odd. over 40 crowd only . my old man finished the bottle i lended him and got plenty of compliments. he's 60.

Pure charisma. Definitely for 45+ gentleman who developed a nose sophisticated enough to appreciate the fabulous composition. Cedarwood and saffron couldn't be used better.
Longevity is expectedly great from Davidoff (about 10 hours).

Creamy amber cedar wood musk. Very sweet and powdery but not overbearing like, say, Obsession for Men. The cedar is off-putting the sweetness creating a darker overtone upon the cheerful amber.

This one has absolutely nothing to it.. it is totally unremarkable in every way, shape and form. That said, it's not offensive per se, - but it IS offensive to me in the way that it's just so mundane.

I like it very much. It exudes class and refinement, even sexiness, albeit not in a formal or elegant way, but in a more genteel or casual manner. Perfect for the office and the normal day about town; yet, I feel comfortable and assured wearing it on a date with a fine woman. Yes, it is geared for the more mature man (me), but it's high time someone thought of us, too. Thank you, Davidoff.

Tested it at a department store, when I was looking for something for office use, fall and winter seasons. Soft fragrance and classic, but nothing special.

At top notes, felt a soft aromatic note, something like fruit but I couldn't get what kind of fruit was. At middle notes, an oriental aroma, not vanilla-like but something more incensed appeared. As base notes, this fragrance turned to some very traditional, with ambar notes and patchouli.

I believe it could be used at summer or winter seasons, mainly for office use... don't believe it could be a good nocturnal fragrance. Range of age around 30-50 years old. Not my style.

A sweet smelling sophisticated fragrance. Seems directed at the older generation with a classy smell. Quite a long lasting and mysterious fragrance.

One of the worst colognes I've ever bought. The first time I huffed this on a card in a department store, It reminded me of a trip to a dairy queen for some reason...then I obtain a 100ml bottle, and it is the most disappointing, mild, cheaply made(and stored, in a really boring, dollar store bottle! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! Givenchy pi is so much cheaper, and will wow you with more vanilla.

Way too sweet and quite powdery on my skin. Not a horrible fragrance, but not something I would purchase. I'd warn others not to buy this one blind. It simply may not be what you want.

I really like how this smells right out of the bottle-a little sweet, a little floral, and a little like burnt vanilla. But, that fades quickly. The middle is too floral for my taste. The dry down is nice, more of that burnt vanilla, but it also loses a lot of its potency by that point and gains a bit of powderiness.

Sweet and sensual. Not very innovative, but very classy. No man can go wrong with this one.Very long lasting too.

As an admirer of sweet orientals and Francis Kurkdjian I like both versions but the pure blend is more rich and warm.The cinnamon and the benzoin make it more intense and sweet. Love it !

Bought Pure Blend because it seemed special. When I realized it was just the cinnamon and it was too similar to that Diesel in red bottle, what's it's name, it was too late. Poor lasting power and unimaginative drydown. Neither exclusive nor otherwise special. AND ON TOP OF THIS silver foil started peeling off from the bottle neck on the third day! Advice: when you sell a perfume for $65, can you not perhaps try spend a few extra pennies on a bottle? Look to Gucci Pour Homme for inspiration in that area, if you must.

Nice enough and initially smells complex, mysterious and expensive but
after a while the dry down ends with a powdery, cough-inducing cloud,
even with just two small sprays over four hours ago. Don't like the floral ending - too
feminine.

Sweet smelling. Delicious! I'm going to buy this.

I do think Silver Shadow was quite an unremarkable scent, however the Pure Blend EDT is quite different. The extra note of cinnamon really comes through. It's not as bitter, sweet but not overdoing it. However, the price for it is a bit high.

Nothing original in this scent, and i find it too sweet and annoying. It's not one of the scents that would turn heads in a good way.

Imagine a mix between Lacoste pour homme and Boss Bottles, then you'll arrive at Silver Shadow. Not bad for a fragrance and I'd prefer this one over each of the others, but I'd rather go for Chanel Allure for a scent of this type...

This is by far the best fragrance release fromt his house since Cool Water. Nothing original here though, its very like a cross between Lacoste PH (grey bottle) and Boss Bottled. "Feels" much smoother than both of these mind you and is obvioulsy very well blended, quite a sophisticated feel to it. Nice stuff!