Boss Pure (2008)
by Hugo Boss

I have a love hate relationship with Hugo Boss, when it comes to their erratic fragrance releases. On one hand they have under-rated classics like Boss no. 1 and uniquely modern Hugo XY, on the other, they have nonsense like Boss Pure and Hugo Element. This is a lazy effort at making a mass-appealing generic scent. Sure it doesn't stink, but it has ABSOLUTELY NO character or style.

Pure was one my very first fragrance purchases, and even at the time I bought it I didn't like it very much, but I wanted to explore the world of scents and Hugo Boss was one of the very few fragrance manufacturers I knew about, so I went with Pure since I already owned Selection.

On paper Pure smelled fresh, but it's citrus felt clearly too synthetic to my nose, even though I didn't even know the difference between synthetic and organic fragrances at that point. This didn't change when I applied Pure on my skin, but what I wasn't expecting was, that the smell would develop over time, because back then I didn't know that most scents are designed to move through different stages before they settle down to the basenotes.

The synthetic citrus was quite quickly followed by a much milder, but often persistent, smell that I find hard to describe with words, partly because it didn't remind me of anything specific. What I can say, however, is that this later phase didn't smell "pure" like the very beginning. Calling the smell dirty would go a bit too far, but it certainly had an earthy, powderly and "unclean" quality to it. This did give Pure some masculine character, which was probably also the intent.

Pure doesn't usually last very long on my skin, but sometimes the basenotes seem to hang around for quite some time. The citrus at the beginning can be easily smelled, but after it goes away the scent can become very weak in a matter of minutes. I wouldn't try to fix that by going nuts with the spray, however, because this scent can smell really awful when over applied.

Those who are looking for a good "fresh" or citrus scent might be better off with something else. You could try Acqua di Parma's Colonia Assoluta, Chanel's Allure Homme Sport, Giorgio Armani's Acqua di Giò pour Homme, Issey Miyake's L'Eau D'Issey pour Homme, Kenzo's L'Eau par Kenzo pour Homme or Versace's Versace pour Homme just to name a few. I personally find Versace pour Homme to be almost identical with Pure, but everything has been done better in it. Therefore, I would recommend anyone who likes Pure to try Versace pour Homme before buying Pure.

As a final note I'd like to say that Pure's cap is really cheap and the bottle looks awful in my opinion, although you can use the backside of the bottle as a small mirror. Pure shower gel is actually quite good, but I can't recommend the rest of the product range.

Cheap water at a very high price. You could do it much better buy buying an Avon Blue Rush, which is much cheaper and longer lasting. Aren't you all sick of sporty-smelling cologne that promises shower freshness, water scent, ozone? Come on, you wear fragrance to smell like something much better than just clean. This fragrance is very retarded.

i dont understand the reason of fragance houses release this kind of perfume, not bad at all, strong fruity-sharp ozonic aroma but nothing nothing new ...

This one is right in the middle, not bad but sort of boring. Fresh when you first put it on, but doesn't last and dries into a baby powder sort of smell.

Pure is actually a pretty applicable name for this. The slightly synthetic citrusy top notes quickly morph into a pedestian, yet pleasant, soapy clean scent. Almost a poor man's Himalaya, though not nearly as sophisticated or long-lasting. Longevity is the real spoiler here, as it quickly evolves into a barely-there woody, earthy base which fades equally quick into nothingness. From start to finish I never get more than a couple hours out of this.

Not something you would wear out clubbing, but it could work if you're looking for an inoffensive, light fragrance to wear around the office. Your coworkers will think you just got out of the shower, which isn't the worst scent to be associated with. Too bad the stuff only lasts as long as regular soap, so you'll be running to the bathroom to respray during your coffee and lunch breaks.