Fragrance Reviews by ortho123

I gave this one a try again. And gateful I did. The after shave is smoother, not simply lighter, more balanced. This is still IMO one of those light/heavy scents where moderation is defintely the best policy. Too much of the cologne, especially on the chest, a somewhat cloying depressing effect. But 2 shots of the cologne, at least for me, is not only fine but somewhat refined.

This is indeed an improved reformulation where in the past I never applied EL with a spray but with fingertip drops. This new and improved EL allows for expansion/retention of the citrus (a clean mixture of maybe lemon, some orange blossom) and the woods at some point with olfactory illusions? of a kind of raw mint, flashes here and there, that proverbial "hint of mint" of a long ago promo, with also more room for what appears when passing back and forth between notes, ah yes, brief hits of leather. There are even moments before the citrus fades when things seem slightly lime.

Clean, retro with a drydown much less outdated than many other classics.

A more hallucinigenic version of Aramis 900 with trips along the way into note varieties that rival Halston Z-14 (especially appearing more distinctly)...an oasis floral mirage in the middle...somehow amazingly grounded with traditional note references yet somehow unexpected...in the drydown. Too much Wowfactor to survive, apparently, and I can't say "They don't make them like that anymore" since they seldom ever did...to the extent that you get suprised in the ride by notes like leather and patchouli in the drydown and this gets seldom said...

What does this scent in for me is the rush into the drydown away from any real semblance of brightness...and that's what stays and stays. Gone is the citrus.pine which yes I get and even what I imagine might be vanillic but it's amber and it's really really smoke, like "Incense is best" is it's real motto. I prefer Agua Brava....even after a 1 shot attempt...at breathing.

Another Italian scent attempting green in an 80's kind of way. Mostly an awkward opening more than offputting, clumsy more than harsh. The door cracks and in walks in a kind of dry pine soap, not bright as in Pino Silvestre, more like hazy. And so you're patient somewhat thinking the old world drydown won't be old, but it says in perfect English: "It is." Reaches for class, but ends up somewhere at the end of the film "Cinema Paradiso." Had this one in the after shave and never finished the bottle. The drydown seems to be reaching for a sweeter heart.

Not a muscle car scent but a Smartcar scent. Great for the immature to think they are mature and for a mature wearer who wants to think he's younger (but then he feels older, spare tire, subliminal image). Plays with the sense of the verbotten smoothly but relies on when-in-doubt vanilla. Proves vanilla really ain't that easy even after the fetish stuff. Gets a ticket for being tiresome, bad pun intended.

This is one I may stockpile. Grey Flannel for someone who wants to get some. While Grey Flannel has a nostalgic green, I would describe this green as horny.

After a cologne trip round the counter starting at Diesel Fuel For Life, tell me this green soapy, plan-to-meet someone scent isn't just great...not too much lavander, edged with florals, and yes for the young, the scent of vanilla on someone's lips... vs. Glade...vs. Mommy's Coty...vs. something of out the Allurewerks Factory ...tell me this isn't better than most of what you bump into.

May start a letter writing campaign with foetidus, tvlampboy, Naed_Nitram, odysseusm...and even SirSlanty (quoting only his "Feels more contemporary" comment). Truer words have never been spoken.

Gucci looks at Chanel and some others and says, "I can do that." But let's not be too obvious or underobvious. Tries to be mature in a theoretical way and oddly succeeds, which makes this one an Aurahouse scent, a slightly smoky neutral after doing the now prerequiste slightly weird. Smokes menthol, switches to regular.

I actually come away from this liking something like Diesel Fuel For Life....at least there's some fun in it all...

This citrus with sheet of paper depth of wood and spice does indeed end up powder. Not deep, the edges on this slightly sharp opening can intially give your sinuses a paper cut. It was just a threat. Clean as in slightly sociopathic, feminine clean. Soon gone, except for deligent searches for powder and residue. May actually contain topical antibiotics...in minute quantities...should come with a freezing airconditioned room and bright lights...

Bang for your buck barbershop maybe more modern now because it's sweeter and more defined. Hey, don't most fougeres smell a littte cheap? Go Wild, yet go lightly.

Avon's best scent for men after all these years, not counting any discontinueds...

Indeed a cheapo Kourosesque vibe just 30 minutes or so for the impatient. Overall softer and if lightly applied achieves a level of OK, but don't strive here for any mythic greatness with an increase in dosage. Too easily moves into sensual BO...to complete our theme.

Proof that hell begins on earth. A "presentational" approach to scent for those who like their notes in big print before they go into the blender: clumsy fruit, clumsy vanilla, and clumsy spice at the grave site. For those who believe queasy equals sexy.

Dry orange. Dry dirt. What seems to inhabit this minimal landscape the most is hype and the fertile imagination of the wearer. Proof that less is not simply more but something like a mirage. Just keep saying "Jean Claude Ellena."

Don't fall for the intial aromatics hype about the basil unless you love harsh soaps and detergent... or that this is up there with Polo or Aramis (which is not really an 80's scent anyway). A lot of the talk is livin' for the drydown: fairly stark incense with some hints of brightness. Really walk this one around: the ride is really not that happy, IMO...though it starts with fake sun and lemons...and a few cookies...perfect for a "love" that will never last (3 days left in the vacation).

A scent not better because of the 90's...and I fail to see the "gentleman" in this stuff...and it leads me to believe that "typical 80's scent" is a green light (indeed a very crappy "green" applies here) to saying many crazy things.

High Test Cool Water. The Giorgio For Men of the 90's. "Masterpiece" here equals sillage and longevity. Take a day off (and I mean 24 hrs.) and walk this deal closer (approach to human relationships) around!

Medicinal notes hint at a trip to the ER following an imaginary fistfight in a parking lot. Wood? Because, "Why not?" We're already doing the "fresh thing." And here's a widdle flower...somewhere in the middle.

Only for the most macho of metrosexuals...

Platinum Jerk.

Count me among the not easily hypnotized.

If GIT was created for Bono, this one was made for someone who occasionally sings at an open mike. Hard to get swept away by tea (the stream of tea) and though the sense of going below the surface (Black Currant, the ferric metallic ink) is there it seems only fingertips depth, in an out. It does "get" you, but ever so briefly, IMO, and at a level later that seems less meaningful.

Blame it on my personal exp with its longevity? Or praise is because it exceeds the expectations of others (or even my own) who in some form of mindgane are able to pass through Creedhype, do an about face simultaneously challenging this scent while finding it amazing? Does longing for it to last make this a masterpiece or somehow a perceived yet denied case of overspending? What did I expect or not expect in the first place?

This overpriced juice deserves a pun: it will really tease you.

Don't go looking for pine (esp. a more resinous variety) in this one like I did. There must be with certain note combos (for me this happens with Aspen) the chord played, perceived by me is "mint. I can "think my way" to the lavender, but that's not my true sense just walking this around without trying. Whatever crispness there was in the opening slides by fast into a barely edge minted clean. For myself, I can find no context for this scent or great need for this scent, even when I can get it for 15 bucks.

To the mature audience: don't wait around for the drydown. Or when you do, get ready to pretend. Comes with a fake ID to prove that you're fifteen.

The most accurate reviews here in terms of "smells like" is Mr. T's, Anthony 87, Frederik and Quarry IMO: Strawberry Fields ...Kiddie City...Dietetic Joop Jello...and when you get to the drydown/tonedown, feel free to fool yourself about the patchouli (or to keep things honest, at least "which" patchouli). The strawberriest patchouli? Notice, however, I'm not that fond of this scent or even of attempts to grant it ever more subtle perceptions. But hey, let's not spoil it for the kids...no need to actually hate it.

This scent is marketed with the simple belief that almost anything gourmandish is an automatic winner...

I give it a big neutral like one of those strawberry scent car freshner strawberries or trees...

If you look at notes likes jackfruit, lombock pepper, and pink pepper and say, "I haven't seen those ones around much," there might be a good reason. When this gets grafted onto lime and then that gets grafted onto a traditional sandalwood/vetiver drydown (in an attempt to save this one?)...think less of it as "synthetic smelling" and something more like a horrible molecule. You are walking around wearing a horrible molecule.

The "idea" of this scent is the same as the experience of wearing it. There's points for that, for execution. And bigger points for trying to go "warm." But how much do I like this story?

Yes indeed, grapes, grapes ,grapes (rounder than the odious grapes in CK Eternity) into Vanilla Cole, akind of countdown. In between the imaginary bubbles what many new scents require: a fairly traditional drydown, asserting itself here and there...while some or many might wait...patiently.

What's "current" is the wood, and as you try it out, walk it around, it escapes the more common "pencil shavings" accusation with a leather you're thankful for. Of course, there's level one for quite awhile, that sensual? soda slowly losing its fizz.

In some ways there is a sham sense of "mystery" to this scent with its enduring "level one" as I call it, like some section of shopping mall or even a supermarket you keep returning to before moving toward the apartment, the sofa, the bedroom. A flirty sort of compostion, and I don't associate "flirty" with very masculine...

A nice one to describe, not much of one I would wear or even recommend, for the sake of later moments where level one and drydown balance.

This is not a fragrance that one "sums up" but one that sums things up itself. The best reviews here share at least that common experience of this tour de force casual. formal, seductive scent.

I can remember when this was readily available on most counters for testing...too long ago...Bach and Picasso...a summation!

The "raw" in this one is pretty much its status as an ingredient, not in terms of strength or character. Sure, there's "something going on here" but the cast of characters that make this one slightly different seem fewer than those listed in the credits. Still, smooth enough to blend in whether solo or layering.

Don't say just "wood" or even "incensy" about this one. Though it starts with an almost hallucigenic blast of fruit flavored chewing gum it moves into a subtle presence of something from a Hindu or Tibetan ritual. It's like the scent of something you really don't quite know about, a very refined form of liquid psychedelia. Linear yes, but trippy stuff.

The opening is simply Givenchy Blue Label and then it changes. Like an olfactory illusion pine grapefruit and what are presumably the water flowers add up to a kind of overripe plush cantelope. I walked this one around and didn't like it. Sure there are certain now stock brief pirecings of wood notes before this. But it blends and I was almost longing for coriander and stock sour notes. It lasts into something like a watered down bad imitation of Xeryus plus the beginnings of B.O....I guess that's the "unique" part.

The opening of this one is Joopy like a calmer knock off that should be sold under the name "Pooj." Things do change. The best you can say is that it's not another aquatic with its clear aspirations to warmth, but these aspirations aren't all that interersting as they emerge. All American? Why not call it "Vaguely Familiar." The Essence of Man? No comparisons to Brut here. This one won't jump start the economy. More like the Essence of Not Badness.

I consider Kouros one of those "presentational" scents in design where notes are clearly arranged around a concept. If A*Men is a "candy store," this one is truly a "public bathroom" albeit a somewhat ancient one connected to a Greek temple. That's the complexity part alright of bodily function and the admixed cultic incense drydown. Does it settle down? Sure, like an argument. That explains in part the love or hate category for such scents, IMO, aside from their components. The barage of aquatics doesn't make this one greater for me really, and like another "masterpiece," Grey Flannel (hypergreengentleman, in this case) I say good for you if you (must) love it but bad for me. If Calvin Klein had marketed this it would have been called "Compulsion." Mythology makes this one a winner and human need to make a statement. For me, ultimately a museum piece.

Aromatherapy? Aromatorture. Not part of the "cult." This is for me gourmand minus much real comfort with a clear option for the presentational. Here's the chocolate, here's the coffee, maybe some mint and the old standby of lavander to lift your spirits? Did you catch the patchouli? Like coming down from a sugar high, ultimately "brooding," depressing.

Only 1 shot in required: to sicken me. A favorite of jerks, teenage boys, and those ready to refer to those who "don't get it." What you do get is a soapy (shampooey) leathery flower after the allegedly (masculine? existent?) petrol note fades. And then a feeble attempt to call the ending "wood."

The kind of "new" that fatigues. Concept scent with a bottle and a name that sells a product. For me, a person in denial about actually being boring and programmatic, their notion of "interesting."

Great scent for those who end declarative statements with the inflection of a question. Sweet fans rejoice. Based on the concept that smelling an actual orange sliced in half is uplifting. The King of Inoffensive or maybe the Prince. Neutral in the Grand Style.

This one makes me think that the gourmand category grants easier access to "instant winner" for many. That's what Givenchy thought when they made this lesser L'Instant. No need to be that original. Pass the chocolate soap.

Looks like a bottle of bootleg absinthe.

Looks like a cellphone. Smell like everything. This one deserves a promo like, "Our plywood is really different." Givenchy Plywood.

No need to talk about fragrance houses selling out or going down hill when this one joins the pack (in its scent effect) of a horizontal trip (as it diffuses ) to the limits of a cheap nowhere.

Good choice with Justin Timberlake, another singer like Brittany Spear whose voice is heavily "processed."

BN Admin: Please change the "Availability" designation to "Being processed."

I generally distrust euphoria in everyday life, preferring actual happiness. Because "Fake Happiness" would never sell, CK found another name for it product. But fake by any other name would still smell (somewhat pleasantly?) fake. No need to spend (only test it if you will) this unclever knock off of irreality. Japanese desert, carbonated rain, sandalwood let down. The opposite of a solid scent: soggy.

If you know a woman who is extremely uptight, look no further than this perfect gift. Not designed to make people happy...more like an attempt at an antidote to actual pleasantness.

Waiting for it to fade to become almost traditional is hardly an endorsement. Not a tragedy at the beach but more like Juicy Fruit, maybe a cough drop and then the sun sets on our lotion. Is this the one Kramer invented on "Seinfeld?" After years of working at a fragrance counter, you could have met some woman near the end of her shift who said this one was her "favorite" Calvin Klein.

The luxury of this one is not owning it, Even after you might buy it, you smell like a well-crafted *cedary" teststrip that was stuck under someone's armpit. If "the height of passion is restraint," this one is being kept in restaints in a mental hospital with just enough fake citrus to prove that the cleaning staff came through. Let me out of this linear non-masterpiece that simply "passed inspection."

I ultimately agree with Ken Russel on this one. Campy. Along with the list of ingredients. Ultimately, past the mandarin, this is a cinnamonic/patchouli scent, a little churchy for me in its clove and sandalwood. Readily sold as a knock off essential oil on a table in a park. Somewhat overrated despite it obvious cheap, yes I said it, cheap theatrics that eventually settle down.

La Nuit De L'Homme is not the night shift of L'Homme but actually just 2 hours of overtime. Frankly, there are better options in Coty (Stetson Black). People speak about the "unavailability" of YSL scents these days in stores, and this one like the need to bathe in it L'Homme is a scents that flirts with unavailability even while you are wearing it. More like shadows really, the time of day not clear: here comes cedar to the rescue. Really, can't really bash it, Le Neutral De L'Homme...

Cal it Norell or Tabu for men. Fine. This one does work when applied lightly and yes, as an after shave (man up with it). A third place in 2009 in the mass-market category which I agree with. as well as the FIFI.

I neither love it nor hate it, Though at times it can offend. It seems to try too hard in some ways, with the lavender.juniper a sometimes seesaw. It seems to move at two altitudes, high, kind of clean but ultimately an overall sense of washed.

I would ask only to be one more here to say that this is IT! Frankly, why look for the new when this is eternal.

Thank God they're bringing this one back. BTW, wasn't it studied that cinnamon is THE most sexy scent (not musk...not juniper berries)? The fact that it smells similar to a woman's formulation...Old Spice...Aramis...and all you out there who love Oriental fragrances most of all? A good time to also do some teaching: no need to overapply, a light application. This isn't an Axe spray or an aquatic.

This stuff is brilliant not simply in design but in execution and quality...thank you Estee Lauder!

Wow, this one is really inoffensive! And I can spray it all over me! Just keep spraying and paying.

A neutral since a positive results in a stress fracture or even carpal tunnel syndrome. Ginger to go with your sushi.

I wore this one in senior year of high school, later in college, after that, I picked up a bottle in Toronto in 1990 in the middle of one of their worst heat waves and now as I turn a very sexy 50 (trophy husband for my 40 year old wife?) I just picked up another bottle. Not trying to smell "young" these days... simply great.

Why talk so causally about this scent more commonly referrred to as "formal scent?" With light application, this is one of the most natural scents ever created IMO, a peppery leather brightened by a citusy/faint floral fine soap. And patchouli the way it should be. My signature workhorse.

I find it interesting when issues of longevity and originality become deal stoppers for scents that cost 1/7th the price of some far less wearable masterpieces. This one works nicely, a clean green machine that verges on being a wintergreen sport scent. Feel free to put the oakmoss basenote in the middle because the drydown is a tonedown that equals yet another compliment-getting scent that is yes indeed quite simple.

It would be nice for this one to get at least 3rd place in the mass-market category someday since it's one I would bet that the people vote for and actually wear more than just once and awhile or behind closed doors.

As much as I liked this back in the day, I don't know what I would do with it now except negotiate with it. It seems to say "I am kind of classy now and might be even more classy later." But this paradigm of a fragrance both in its opening headiness and development is ultimately a been there, done that experience.

The genius of this one is building on tradition in a hyperclassical way, with not a lot of elements.

While Rive Gauche builds on the barber shop this one builds on the "mystical." Woody/light vanillac smoke that we know can never last yet seems to last and brings us back. Smooth, simple, classic...synaesthesic...almost visual.

The "Higher Energy" in this one, with a name-resonance with "Higher Power" is really a higher price for starting with something horrible (Higher) and then welcoming the "improvement?" The best thing to keep close to your skin with this one is your money...midway you'll think you might have unknowingly showered without soap and partially washed off this allegedly "youthful" mash.

Inexpensive but a class act. Dimensionality in a "white musk" that makes the drydowns of so-called more evolving colognes (even a lot of the "fresh" ones) seem like meltdowms. Not that centerless vapory effect one associates with white musk/unisex scents but a very balanced go to men's fragrance whatever your age, whatever the occasion.

I wore this fairly recently, received several female compliments as they say and even wore it with a light one shot application on a hot day to the beach where it held up with a kind of spicy, lotion effect (before the sunscreen).

I do pick up the slightly sleazy (dandyistic?) vibe of this cologne with a lot of included notes. Is it a kind of cologne for the undecided who want a masculine scent? I had said this in my original review and now repent.

Yes, it makes me remember the old Ted Lapidus (red plasic/ amber bottle) yes, a stronger more linear scent in the drydown. And yes, to the choir of comparisons to Santos I add fleeting moments of Eau Savage (when the dirty citrus thing is happening near the opening) and I say with an even more emphatic thumbs up that this stuff is great.

Probably the best 90's scent for the money (with the exception of Gilette Cool Wave after shave which also has some share in the early 80's) that at least me for me remains more masculine than Jovan's White Musk (which is also a fine value).

And this stuff lasts, yet doesn't try to "ground itself" in something like coriander...

May I join the ranks of Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez and give this one an excellent 4 stars? Refs to KL Homme, the drydown of Bois du Portugal and yes a cool opening reminscent of the old Old Spice, this is one scent that brings home an incredibly wearable Oriental, with a balanced sandalwood patchouli finish...

I may have to retreat from my making Pierre Cardin Pour Homme the best bang for your buck with this $10 wonder taking first place.

Sure, the box is complete with 70'sesque promotion and instructions...but do not let this dissuade you from this 1-2 shot max winner...

I have to say that the backup singer in my college band wore this one...loved it then on a woman...and love the smell of Calandre now.

This is what I wish I would bump into while out shopping or walking around more than what I call NJ Gucci Envy.

From start to finish this one's a winner and have to say has elicited more female compliments than almost anything I have ever worn. Shocking.

Way to go on this one for those looking for "barbershop" minus the trip into vanilla sweetness. This is less about being macho, but simply a decent man. There is in the the drydown close to the skin a kind of much later quality of sexiness...that's right... I said it.

I like this scent and have no hesitation giving it a thumbs up. If it invites ridicule for those who cannot shake associations (musical included, synesthesia maybe?) what can I say. The longer you live there will always be something connected to something else.

If Cool Water sold and still sells, it is because Cool Water is still very much connected to the notion that clean is connected to attractiveness and sexiness like the Japanese word for "clean" and "attractive." Is this too young for some? Maybe? But not really. The drydown is close to the skin, sufficiently mossy.

Rather than "think this one out" try it. It really is a classic and deserves that designation.

A.Grape juice.
B.Phosphate laden detergent.
C.Green (as in money making) bug spray.
D.None of the above.
E.All of the above.

The answer is E, which stands for Eternity.

It's not that this stuff was everywhere for awhile. It is an intrinsically bad disjointed composition if even only one person wore it.

Wear this if you want to feel weird and foolish.

Let me compare this to another mass market womder and say I like it better than Aqua di Gio. Why? This scent is about every day but not as forced in its clean approach without any need for status (no prolonger citrus/floral here). Better for me than Chrome? Probably. Closer to the skin and much less headache provoking.

Linear not bad here but good.

I wore this when I was in my early twenties and had no problems with the ladies. Let the petulant drones in their 20's these days stick with what works for them (ubiquitous aquatics, candy store concoctions)... That's fine.

Azarro manages to be real without being raw, masculine not boorish, grounded yet clean.

It seems esp. absurd to call it "dated" since such a categorization implies that the scent spectrum concept of the last 12 plus years has not already exhausted itself.

Put this one up against the prom night favorites later worn 7 years later over martinis.

Azarro Pour Homme equals Timeless. There is such a thing as that.

Along with initial clean sense of grooming with this one there's a smokiness I like which is balanced by the fact that it doesn't blast all day (I won't say "last" here) that stays close for who you care about. Yes, old-fashioned Spanish, which for me isn't bad at all. To stir controversy, I prefer this one to Pino Silvestre...

With the after shave used only once (a different weird creature) the cologne worked for me for quite awhile! This is the one I may look for again the next time my wife and I make it to Union, NJ. There is in the scent a masculine dryness that makes it Puig but not over the top or an emotional downer. Casual, yes, but not out of line when applied carefully for the office. In some ways a broader-spectrum Aramis without the need to say, "I make a lot of money" more like "I make a living. We can live a happy life."

Again, another scent like English Leather that I mostly recommend in the after shave (available at Shop Rite these days) and say, "Not bad, but not for me." Like foetidus, I do remember the one back in the day being sharper, but the one available today in the after shave is clean, floral but not out of hand, with a fade into powdery soap.

While not wearing this one again I want to ask, "What was this one all about?" since I clearly remember that woman with long hair on a horseback presenting the man with British Sterling on a silver platter. I believe at that time I went with Zizanie for awhile...something a little more boozy...

I wore this cologne while "getting to know" a woman on the rebound after ending a 2 plus year relationship. She was introduced to me through a friend, and she herself was on the rebound.

In some ways, my particular sense of Grey Flannel corresponds to that brief dating relationship that seemed to last longer than than it should have. Along with its sillage, the deliberate romantic sense of Grey Flannel is ultimately unsexy, not a turn on, at best nostalgic. Sure, it's "clean," but the development in this one is already a rainy day, or even just after the rain ends, but the sun still hasn't come out.

While noting all the thumbs up on this award winner, also note the many provisos of those who think it's so great but would hardly ever use it.

I give it the basenotes equivalent of maybe I'd better not... which is exactly the thought process for many of even the positive fans of Grey Flannel the moment they decide to reach for something else that day. Ahead of its time, yes, with the emphasis on "its" not necessarily yours or mine.

This is perhaps the only Chanel I would wear. Smoothe, subtle, mature, but not too mature since I pulled off wearing this in my early twenties and NOT in the most formal or semi-formal settings. The calm clean quality slightly edged with spice make this work.

Best vetiver for the money, for my money, the best vetiver.

I have to say that this particular scent should be an assignment for every Basenote member to review since one's take on it in my opinion is something like a projective psychologcal exam. It is a scent that reveals the bottom line about one's basic likes and dislikes, not simply about vetivers but about scents in general and the perceived role of certain notes in particular. One assumption (or belief) is that citrus is somehow easy to include, somehow better, aside from being necessary. In a way this less citrusy vetiver understands things differently, and I actually prefer this vetiver by Puig which succeeds by being most confidently yet smoothly vetiver.

This is the real deal! As someone who wore the original Paco Rabanne Pour Homme for awhile till it became for me a cologne I would give years later a neutral rating, this is without hesitation a thumbs up for clean, fresh and MASCULINE, which BTW is not less sophisticated in my book but more so, especially in a neochypresque scent (minus the oakmoss, vs. a fougere).

The name of the forum is not Creednotes but Basenotes, For me versatile is better. That's something a lot of people don't "get" (money can't buy it), Fine. We have our allegiances. The versatility of this fragrance does not make it "ordinary." This is extraordinary and one should not let the date of release be a source of prejudice. Try it!

I think XS challenges the notion that a scent that is less specific to occasion is somehow a lesser fragrance. Sometimes it's a better one.

Opening notes and the actual color of this product aside, this is nice stuff. I do agree with the occasional sense (for me floral) of dissonance like a slight lilac maybe. But the overall efffect is one of soap and powder in the drydown. This is the best non-musk musk out there for the money. While I recommend it, it is also a scent that make me want to go back and write a less off-handed review of Brut, believe it or not, another Basenotes winner, believe it or not.

Easily the most overrated fragance on the planet. Speaking of this as a man who has triend it a few times, you must be kidding. What's interesting is that shortly after application I find nothing here refreshing...haven't tried the fridge...but I guess almost anything out of the fridge can be refreshing...

I don't care about the history. What concerns me is the present feeling that I'm in the room not simply with an elderly woman or nun but an actual ghost. I was happy to not see this even in the Basenotes finalists last year...

This stuff isn't simply old-fashioned. It's a synthetic attempt at the afterlife...

In my first reviews for Basenotes I have been more concerned with so-called everyday scents. Old Spice IMO is perhaps THE everyday scent for men. It is also IMO much less age specific than most scents and may I say, that while noting from memory differences in the reformulation, these differences do not detract, and as at least one reviewer stated, may for some be preffered. Interestingly I have noted, the use of the new High Endurance deodorant actually brings back more of the deeper spice of the original formula. In fact it was wearing ONLY the deodorant on my way out the house that my wife without prompting or being questioned "responded positively" and why I picked up yet another bottle of the after shave the same night at the local supermarket.

Yes, things that sound "pedestrian." I too have known people with money who wore Old Spice! One was the owner of a number of medical clinics in Asia. And I have also walked down the street and smelled Fahrenheit and Dolce Gabbana on teens and Polo on the unemployed.

If the notion of a worthy scent did not include the proviso "go easy on the application" how many scents would be in the database on this website?

Here you have the intial freshness, before "fresh" was a category, of a citrus/faint soapiness that is very soon a floral, and the spice which I agree is not the "Old" clove depth of memory but enough casual smokiness in the drydown, more in the cologne than the after shave, and remarkably in the High Endurance deodorant. The vanilla does come through (even on a used and closed bottle). I have no major complaints about the new plastic bottle.

Yes, in defiance of the overpriced, hyped and the "trying too hard" that many young men and yes even "less younger" men seem to manifest, especially those of the last two generations, and yes, in defiance of the aquatics, mostly indistingushable and TRULY generic with only 1 or 2 exceptions, and if in search of a mass market scent as different as you are (don't care about the cliche), and I will say this also, if you are looking for a somewhat complex scent that evolves even in the reformulation (could we have at least a one week moratorium on this word!)... I recommend Old Spice in the same way that I would recommend the more recent affordable and yes, worthy vodkas.

You can "age it" or wear it straight from the supermarket, still one of the best places to meet women (for the unmarried).

This is an an incredible scent which, thanks to even more recent introuctions such as Pi IMO achieves a status that might be called meta-everyday. Why? Though now a budget scent, in its intentions, especially as a cologne that quickly becomes a base of tonka/heliotrope powder, it achieves an admirable linearity. That's right, linear is not a bad thing and maybe a better alternative to one of the many generic aquatics (except for Blue Label and Bulgari Aqua).

Yes, my wife just picked me up a 9.95 set on the way to the check out, not because she's cheap, but after some time this is the kind of scent (with these intentions as well) which we both like very much.

Wearing and loving the classic Canoes proves this journey is indeed somewhat spiritual. Interesting that someone of foetidus' stature began their own journey with the still remarkable Canoe.

Got this for a gift over over 20 years ago and then picked up it (the cologne) in 2006. There is a Japanese after shave that is a direct ripoff of this scent.

For me, too much of this isn't clean at all but cloying. Put it on kind of light and this is really nice stuff, beyond simply "inoffensive" but a classic.

I have to say though, that while initially a clean scent the overall effect for me can sometimes push the sense of calming/nostalgia into a kind of sadness. I do not wear it myself anymore but recommend it. Maybe like others have said it is better for cooler weather, and I do notice that it is the after shave that gets most frequent mention.... not only on this forum but on on others.

Another well after shave made by Gilette! Not too easily found at least in my area... except at Pathmark.

Yes, after comparing Burberry in its engineering to not simply a scent a carsalesman would wear (or a youthful thug) but intrnsically a kind of carsalesman, intrinsically "queasy" and teetering, a review inspired by Storm Force, believe it or not... a review of Storm Force itself.

There is an initial fruit smell which for lack of a better reference is like melon/banana which gave me a brief but intense olfactory memory of Alain Delon. That first blunt force of Storm Force does not persist. There is a glimpse of mint freshness, not overwhelming, less teetering and some vanilla surrounded in wood.

The first 20 minutes of this long lasting scent are not the best for me. Thoughts of wanting just Pi by Givenchy

But it's worth the wait. For me, this is a more wearable scent than Burberry, with even better hints of incense, perhaps the occasional calculus of this $6 after shave.

Yes, I could smell this everywhere for awhile and frankly, in some ways, I find it more nauseating than a sweet fragrance like Pi (which I very much admire). What Aqua di Gio is to floral/citrus, this scent is to oriental, a kind of teetering between sincere wood/spice and yes annoying fruit/mint notes, just like a car salesman, who also, when the moment is right, turns on the charm and tries to be somewhat "seductive."

For those who would like to try a cheaper alternative, go to Pathmark and check out Storm Force, a $6 after shave definitely inspired by Burberry. Some may like it better.

2 reviews in one? No, I would never do that.

With M7 (and Rive Gauche) a dialectic is established with the industry and deservedly do. BUT do I need or particularly enjoy this dialiectic? I have to also laugh at highly bankrolled advertising campaigns in the name of so-called bravery.

Bottom line, I am beginning to become a reviewer (part of my spiritual journey?) more in the school of Sir Slanty of Basenotes...

M7 for me is not the "medicine" for today's market that is alternately praised (with provisos) by even its admirers. Special occasions? For me, that would be once.

Someone who's working is not automatically a millionaire for being in the same room with the unemployed.

There is something more emasculating about this cologne than even so-called sweet scents. It remains for me ungrounded... like so much of what is now called "culture." But it is not so much masculine or femine here. I consider AdG an insincere scent, ergo it's popularity? One I don't have to think about? After all, there's that close-up black and white photograph...

No. It is not "overrrated." It is overpurchased.

I too do not consider it an "aquatic" but more like the floral vapor state bees or birds experience on a hot day after the rain.

If this is popular especially with young ladies, it enables them to have sex while maintainiing the delusion on some level that they have never known a man or perhaps, on another level, that they have been with a close female friend.

Shame on you Aqua di Gio!

Moderation, yeah, yeah, yeah and a cologne I have personally witnessed women notice and love on the right man passing by, leaving me, yes, feeling suprisingly too old to benefit from this classic? Maybe not.

I had the opportunity to sample the Classiic (now discontinued) but perhaps it had not been properly stored. Less of the sparkle and richness I remembered from 1979, the year I was given a gift set? The mediterranean adjective applied to that lotion, not to the new more linear barbershopish at times green plastic bottle cologne. But let me say this: still deserving of praise, the new Brut still capable of getting the job done and worthy of at least one more first place award in the Basenotes mass market category. And yes, an ever-so-careful application, a smeared dime-drop for the sake of new magic.

Hands down the best cologne value available today! This is one I would wear if I were in my 20's again with a total disregard for current fashion dictates. One shot!

Ditto for all the positive reviews including those which challenge reviewers who heap derision on Quorum.

This cologne is really a kind of Latin Polo (green). Less complex, more raw to be sure, A lesser cologne than Polo? Sure, I'll agree to that since Polo becomes a kind of oriental But this Latin Polo is no pollo (chicken) and will not compensate for one's own personal lack of confidence. Though basically a fan and aware of the freshness becoming spiciness (on the verge of athetic spice?) of this juice, the drydown leads me to use it less these days simply because my own tastes are changing and feel less a need to make a statement.

Let me say: I recommend it one or two shots, especially for expressing an already present sense of attitude.

With more than one spray, yes 1, this classic yields not only one of the most over the top openings but a cologne with a drydown that is for me a nauseating, depressing meltdown. Blame it on the rosemary? Remorse following pleasure seeking? This cologne easily boasts before the fact.

Sure, like so many other men, I have worn this cologne and felt "great" at certain points while wearing it, but the overall sensation was not that pleasing.

Trying it again just the other day with my lady at my side, I realized that while I could like it, even wear it again, it would require a one spray proviso and even then, in the back of my mind that sense that maybe things would turn bad.

Believe me, I "get it" when it comes to this classic and I have puchased it more than once, even in recent years, a kind of default purchase each time. But the last time I owned it, I thought maybe I had left it in my car too long in the heat or maybe the store was selling old stock.

What I like about Blue Label is precisely how easy it is to wear, the "nothing spectacular" quality, which, at the same time, manages to "distinguish itself." I too declared war on aquatics even in my review of Agua Lavanda. For me, at least, I zeroed in on piercing qualities of allegedly fresh scents as well as indirectly cloying possibilities of "light scents."

On my skin. Blue Label is truly a scent I would wear casually or even on my wedding day (I'm not joking), not simply because it "does not offend," but because, and someone said this in a review of another cologne I can't remember, "that's just what you were looking for." The scent for me is like an evolving tea, very balanced, somewhat sexy, very real. It's is a young scent with undeniable elements of maturity, the kind of being in the here and now variety of being a man.

Yes, this review abounds with quotes (Basenotes standrards) the way Blue Label selectively quotes and balances some of the notes from Givenchy's Red Label and yes, the way the way the fresh scent designation invites plagiarism. May I also say I'm not looking these days for powerhouse sillage to feel like a man or longevity that would survive 7 hours of sleep and the laundrymat. Most of life including people is "comparable." Has that stopped anyone here from speaking about vetivers, powdery scents, bay rums... or from falling in love? Yes, no more television until the next Shakespeare! No more love!

Don't be too quick not to fall in love with this light yet grounded scent just because, like life itself, most days are like many others. That was not the fault of time.

Somehow this ordinary day of Blue Label is quite beautiful.

I first received a small bottle of Agua Lavanda as part of a boxed set of other small bottles of cologne when I was around 12 years old. Years later, in college years I would rediscover Agua Lavanda in many of the Hispanic cologne/perfume shops in New Jersey. While in Madrid in 1990, this is what I wore after I showered and left the hostel residencial on the Gran Via to meet Elaine, a young woman from Southern France, in the afternoon or early evening.

Agua Lavanda tells its story calmly: not an easy clean scent of deodorized brightness or athletic spice nor the story of the now stock, ubiquitous fruity sharpness of the "younger scents" of the last 10 to 15 years, scents often more acrid and disomforting, especially to one's eyes, than might be admitted by their wearers and admirers. These so called "lighter scents" are effectively heavy scents in my opinion often overly reliant at first on synthetic even girlish notes which seem to finally emerge as a piercing abiding generic wood note. Agua Lavanda is instead "the best soap," the body clean and alive and ready, less leaving the barber shop than the intimate waters of bathing and grooming. What is remarkanle to me about this cologne is the return of middle and even top notes that never really vanished but are again seemingly renewed. This accounts for the "suprising longevity" of this cologne, a longevity that is subtle not the blast and ever popular sustained slow meltdown into sometimes nauseating medleys for those who really have no time. Agua Lavanda: top notes which include bergamont's ultimate fullness, a sense of an ordinary man's luxury and middle notes which seem to compliment and contrast both top and base notes, not simply compete with or make their appearance like dullards when the top notes have nearly faded, nor due to the base notes endure as overly gentlemanly.

In a world of often interchangeable younger scents which yield their truth on scatch and sniff inserts, Agua Lavanda requires only one's hands and body for its best marketing. It remains for me the scent of starting the day and leaving the house, meeting the woman I love, and yes, conversation, laughter, embracing, making love, the intimate waters.