Fragrance Reviews by Justin Case

I finally found it. After over 30 samples bought from various websites, this is the one I can buy with confidence that I will cherish it for as long as I own it. My wife loves it too. Inarguably pleasant and brings happiness to both the wearer and the surrounding people without making a big statement or being confrontational - much like most unisex colognes are.

Too simple in its citrus ways. Not unpleasant, though.

I'm quite close to buying this one. The fruity notes stay on and are very elegant. Can easily be a unisex cologne. Smells like a refreshing, calming morning shower on a weekend.

It smells best at first, but the cool fruity accords fade away into notes that are shared by so many other frags..

Short lasting, has barely any character, and is meant to smell "transparent" but ends up smelling like freshly washed clothes. I could have fallen for it but it needs to offer more, IMHO.

Reminds me of eating grapes when they're still very small, tough, and sour. It's well made and unique - I do not agree that it smells like Gucci PH - but still not for me.

A true classic. Makes a strong statement of seduction so it's not suitable in many occasions. Old fashioned, obviously, but still an important landmark in the history of men's fragrance.

You can think of this as wearing a hint of Lagerfield while smelling lots of incense smoke. If someone else is wearing it, you'd probably not think it's coming from a person, rather from an object somewhere. As it dries down, the smoke element fades and a more welcoming scent emerges, but still not pleasant enough for my taste.

Couldn't smell anything at first but an hour later it smelled almost exactly like sandalwood on my skin. Delivers very little for its price. You'll like it if you want a woody scent that stays very close to your skin.

Very clean and pleasant. Smells like someone just stepped out of a refreshing bath plus a fruity element. Not suitable for a man, IMHO.

Lacks refinement - I want to smell the aroma of the petals of the rose, not the smell of the tissue of crushed plant matter. Overpriced even if it were cheap, which it is not.

My wife liked this one but I picked up the smell of acetone the entire time.. I wish my nose weren't so strange.

Not a thumbs down because my wife liked it. I found it ok, but after 2 hours it smells very much like Hererra 212 for men, only 212 has a stronger twist of originality to it.

I sprayed it on my skin and I can't wait for it to go away. Too overbearing, spicy and powdery at the same time. Nothing "modern" about this one.

Nice, but not original. If you're not acquainted with the many other frags that smell like it, you'll find it exciting, and you'll be right to buy it.

All too familiar. I was hoping for something exciting or at least interesting. This one offered boredom.

Thumbs down because of a complete lack of originality. Very familiar, smells like a hundred other colognes, and I can't stand geranium.

Was very popular in its time, but to my nose it had a strange hint of what smelled like.. human skin?? Whatever that spunk was within Hugo, it always puts me off.

Quite unique and very masculine. I wouldn't wear it because it would be like wearing a billboard with neon lights and I don't want my cologne to draw too much attention to me. However, I wouldn't mind it on someone else. Marginal thumbs up.

Fresh, lemony, sporty. A good buy.

Very nice and opened my eyes to how cool pomegranate can be, but it draws attention to itself just a little too much. Worth trying for sure.

It delivers very good grapefruit, which is why I'm not giving it a thumbs down. It fades down into a soap (Zest comes to mind) and when I tried to mix it with other essences it was almost completely obliterated. That's why I'm not giving it a thumbs up.

My wife loved it. I hated it. It's a fine cologne but it's too 80s, strong, draws attention to itself, not to the wearer.

Sorry for giving this one a thumbs down. I love fresia so much to the point that I was really excited to try this one, but on my skin it has a true foulness to it. It's almost as if they didn't get the essence of the flower, but the entire plant instead. Definitely try it on to see what it smells like on your skin. I'm sad and disappointed.

A very nice fig. I liked it a lot.

Quite nice but quite similar to Do Son. I have both samples with me and neither I nor my wife can tell the difference. Could they have placed the same fragrance in two sample vials by mistake?

What's wrong with tuberose? I love tuberose. I can't grow it easily here in the North so I'm happy to have it in a bottle.

I guess I'll have to be the first thumbs down giver on this one. I see this one as surely feminie. Nice but a little too assertive. Tells you the wearer is a serious businesswoman who you don't want to mess around with. I like a perfume to tell me that the wearer is a nice, pleasant, breezy person.

It promised me of grapefruit, but after a few minutes on my skin all I got was a strange stinging accord with a spunk that was not the least pleasant on me.

Happy and delightful. Available everywhere. Why not try it?

It tries to be like Gucci Envy but pretends that it's the first cologne of its kind. Smell Envy first, then decide.

It follows the aquatic trend that so many people are bored with. Other than that, it smells fantastic. So good that I wanted to spray it on my letterheads to make them smell neat.

Nothing but pepper was left on me after an hour..

I can see where the name comes from. It's so strong that the maker had to come up with a strongly emotional name for it. Too overbearing for me. I just want to smell good. I don't want to make any statements.

Only 31 reviews! This has been around forever and is quite famous. For my wrists now I'd rather slit them than wear it because it's way out of fashion, but I remember when it first came out and I remember how much I loved it. Very masculine, grassy, scratchy, would sound like sandpaper if it could speak.

The photo of the dude on the ad says it best: this is a very "manly" cologne. To me all it says is "old". Too familiar.

Fruity at first, yet not bubbly or teenage-like because the flowery components keep things in check. Definitely worth smelling at your next trip to the mall.

Went to Macy's particularly to check this one out. Wasn't too impressed, mainly because of how powdery it was.

Fruit and smiles in a bottle. Absolutely love it.

Lovely. Not mature enough or "lady like", but lovely. Somehow reminds me of cactus pears. I'm very likely to buy this for my wife soon..

I don't know how they pulled this one off without citrus notes. My only problem with it is that it has become so common that it does not feel special any more. I bet it would drive me crazy if I were a perfumer to try to come up with something so good, yet retain its uniqueness. Nevertheless, it's a great frag. Worth owning.

The coriander is too strong for me. Most herbs are not my friends in cologne. I guess you'll have to try it for yourself..

Very nice but way too familiar. There are so many other frags like it out there. Chrome by Azzaro will give you a similar effect with a cleaner finish.

Too confrontational and unforgiving. I'd like to think of myself as a nice person. This doesn't say "nice".

Not surprising that this one got almost as much negative reviews as it did positive. I got it as a gift from a friend. It's a bit confusing because there's nothing really "black" about it.. no darkness here. A fruity mango opening with a chaulky sensation that reminds me of the candy called Piz. The dry out is a little greener, a little more masculine but still a bit too soft for me. I'm willing to exchange it. I'm only giving it a thumbs up because women seem to like it and I don't mind it that much.

One of my wife's favorites on me. Quite unusual and boldly designed, walking right on the edge of femininity but not quite there. The fig is there all along and although I never imagined that fig could smell so good to my nose, I found it very endearing. Its softness gives a welcoming feeling to others and women seem to like it.. a lot!

No matter what we think of it today, this was a major hit in the 80s and early 90s and remains one of the best selling male fragrances of all time. Don't get me wrong - I would never wear it these days unless I only spray a tiny whiff because it is considered a bit overbearing in today's world, but I sure do remember how much I loved this cologne growing up. It is quite rough and somber, lacking almost completely in softness and smoothness - no vanilla here, no tobacco, no fresia.. nothing cozy. Nevertheless, there has been nothing like it. It truly stands alone as a classic.

Definitely a classic, though not an "instant" one. I bought it in 99 but it took a while to get noticed and only recently has it taken such a prominent spot. Quite sophisticated and always feels new. Radiates seriousness and strength with a mysterious depth. I always think of myself as embarking on a dangerous mission when I have it on. Every woman I ask about it says she likes it. Make sure to dress well when you wear it.

I'm stuck with this one. My cousin bought it for me and I only used about a tenth of it (hint hint.. exchange possible!). It's good if you like rough green notes, but it's not as "fresh" as its name implies. It's edgy and quite youthful, definitely masculine yet not "manly". Something about it is immature..

My mom's favorite. She used to always have one functioning bottle and another stand-by reserve one. All about refreshing. You can use it in leu of hand sanitizer or tonic. Bound to wake up an unconscious person to the smell of lemon and strong ethanol. I will never buy it, though, because it is grossly overpriced. It was never thought of as a "scent", so it should never be as expensive as cologne. When I was growing up (in the 80s) the largest bottle would be around 4-5 bucks, not more. Today it's making a comeback as if it's a hot thing and the smallest bottle is $18.. I don't like feeling hosed.. I'd rather get John Varvatos Artisan which gives a similar effect, lasts much longer, and is a much better investment if I'm paying anyways..

A deep, yet awake scent (and my wife likes it, which made my decision to buy it a lot easier). The fruity/grassy giddiness is well controlled by the depth of vanilla and leather. Gives a simlar feeling to Gucci Envy for Men even though it's not quite similar to it. You have to try it to know what I mean.

Underrated cologne.. almost forgotten now, which is too bad. I used to have a bottle but it mysteriously disappeared - I think it was stolen! Quite refreshing at first, then mellows out into a rather serious grassy masculinity. Try it next time you're at Perfumania because Macy's and Nordstrom don't seem to carry it any more.

I went to Nordstrom today specifically to try this one on since I saw that it won the best men's fragrance award. Since the start, I could smell nothing but the geranium and a hint of orange. I was hoping for a burst of citrus like John Varvatos' Artisan or D&G's Masculine. I don't know if my nose is hypersensitive to geranium but I've had it on my wrist for over 3 hours so far and I still smell almost nothing but geranium. My mom loves geranium. I should introduce her to this one.

Started off a little powdery. Dried out quite unisex if not even feminine. Not sure what it reminds me of but if I smell this on a guy it would not give me a good impression of him.

Got this one from my wife when we were engaged. Best thing about it: the name fits it perfectly. It's truly a passionate scent. I don't know what makes it smell that way but it smells like true, strong feelings..

My wife and I smelled this one at Nordstrom lately. Opens very much like an old cologne called 4711 (fourty seven eleven). If you don't know how that smells, it's sharply citrus to the point where it smells like those refreshing napkins they give you on airplanes or like the first skin tonic/aftershave ever invented. After a few minutes on my wrist, however, the sharpness gave way to a surprising scent. It's surprising because it's familiar, yet new. Definitely pleasant, fresh, cheery, and bursting with all the pleasures of flowery citrus. That said, I will wait till the smaller size comes out because no matter how much I like a cologne, I do not want it to spend forever sitting on my dresser.