New Fragrance - John Varvatos 10th Anniversary Special Edition

Originally Posted by petruccijc

I personally have not found any of the existing Varvatos fragrances to be worth purchasing - and think both Artisan fragrances are quite repulsive. So I will try the new one when I see it, but am not expecting much......

Originally Posted by agml65

What I get is a very muted Kilian Straight to Heaven with blasts of citrus...the best of the Varvatos group..longetvity a little better but of course everyone is different

Originally Posted by ToughCool

Great to hear the review Jock!Haven't seen you in a bit. I'm wearing Man Amber today and love it. Looks like I'll have to check this one out too.

Originally Posted by Jock_With_Scents

I found this at Macys to all who want to test this.

Originally Posted by agml65

What I get is a very muted Kilian Straight to Heaven with blasts of citrus...the best of the Varvatos group..longetvity a little better but of course everyone is different

Originally Posted by ToughCool

You are right on Man Amber. The shot on the top side of my wrist still smells like I just sprayed it this morning. I've been talking about it alot these past weeks.

Originally Posted by gerbick

I'm 3.5 hours deep into it - my bottle arrived today - and so far it's not bad. It's not a blast of citrus I'm getting... more like a warm citrus with patchouli - think almost potpourri with the cinnamon but the rest of the notes carry it far away from a bad house fragrance and more like a rather atypical men's fragrance.

I get the Straight to Heaven parallel, even almost like the part(s) of Straight to Heaven on the dry down but with a few notes swapped for what's listed in the JV 10th Anniversary SE - the leather is probably one of the few leathers that's pushed back quite a bit, but still is there, noticeable and rather smooth. Reminds me of a 20 year old leather jacket I have that was recently re-conditioned. In fact... it's almost JUST like it, but with the JV 10 SE notes on top of it.

The aforesaid citrus isn't the zest, nor the first "splash" of citrus to my nose - not like Artisan, Black or other citrus fragrances I tend to like - but more earthy... in fact, I have a grapefruit, a lemon, a lime and kumquat tree... it smells like the dried branches of those trees once they've been set out in the sun for a while. It's that kind of citrus to me.

In the first hour, it tempered itself down from the initial patchouli "bomb" to what I'd consider one of the manliest scents I possess - not powerhouse manly, but downright leather jacket or wool blazer manly. I'm SO glad I tried this today when the temperature dropped a solid 20 degrees Fahrenheit from yesterday to around 58-60. This will go over well in the winter months...

I've seen mention of cinnamon, but it's just barely there for me on my skin. But it's probably what's giving this some warmth.

And I won't lie... I'm usually not a fan of patchouli on my skin because it may go many directions - not all of them good - but this is the first usage of patchouli that really agrees with my skin and doesn't turn into some odd beast minutes after application.

This is probably get shot down by many as a scent who are niche lovers, but this is definitely not your typical, very clean designer fragrance. It feels, smells, and is complex enough to almost throw you for a loop if I never told you what it is.

Presentation box was nice - it's much bigger than the current Vintage/Artisan/JV boxes - with the silver and black print, the silver bottle - I've got a ton of smudges on it already... and the dog tag (it's gonna end up on something, it clanks too much for my likes when I move the bottle to spray and the lugnut top are all nice; but it won't win awards nor end up on a shelf with lights on it. Still looks nice though and I like JV's bottle shape.

And best part... the woman doesn't sneeze with this one. So it's a keeper. I hope my amateurish take on this bottle - it was a 100% blind buy for me - doesn't offend nor confuse anybody. This is an odd scent by JV - and I'm actually loving it so far.

Originally Posted by gerbick

I'm 3.5 hours deep into it - my bottle arrived today - and so far it's not bad. It's not a blast of citrus I'm getting... more like a warm citrus with patchouli - think almost potpourri with the cinnamon but the rest of the notes carry it far away from a bad house fragrance and more like a rather atypical men's fragrance.

I get the Straight to Heaven parallel, even almost like the part(s) of Straight to Heaven on the dry down but with a few notes swapped for what's listed in the JV 10th Anniversary SE - the leather is probably one of the few leathers that's pushed back quite a bit, but still is there, noticeable and rather smooth. Reminds me of a 20 year old leather jacket I have that was recently re-conditioned. In fact... it's almost JUST like it, but with the JV 10 SE notes on top of it.

The aforesaid citrus isn't the zest, nor the first "splash" of citrus to my nose - not like Artisan, Black or other citrus fragrances I tend to like - but more earthy... in fact, I have a grapefruit, a lemon, a lime and kumquat tree... it smells like the dried branches of those trees once they've been set out in the sun for a while. It's that kind of citrus to me.

In the first hour, it tempered itself down from the initial patchouli "bomb" to what I'd consider one of the manliest scents I possess - not powerhouse manly, but downright leather jacket or wool blazer manly. I'm SO glad I tried this today when the temperature dropped a solid 20 degrees Fahrenheit from yesterday to around 58-60. This will go over well in the winter months...

I've seen mention of cinnamon, but it's just barely there for me on my skin. But it's probably what's giving this some warmth.

And I won't lie... I'm usually not a fan of patchouli on my skin because it may go many directions - not all of them good - but this is the first usage of patchouli that really agrees with my skin and doesn't turn into some odd beast minutes after application.

This is probably get shot down by many as a scent who are niche lovers, but this is definitely not your typical, very clean designer fragrance. It feels, smells, and is complex enough to almost throw you for a loop if I never told you what it is.

Presentation box was nice - it's much bigger than the current Vintage/Artisan/JV boxes - with the silver and black print, the silver bottle - I've got a ton of smudges on it already... and the dog tag (it's gonna end up on something, it clanks too much for my likes when I move the bottle to spray and the lugnut top are all nice; but it won't win awards nor end up on a shelf with lights on it. Still looks nice though and I like JV's bottle shape.

And best part... the woman doesn't sneeze with this one. So it's a keeper. I hope my amateurish take on this bottle - it was a 100% blind buy for me - doesn't offend nor confuse anybody. This is an odd scent by JV - and I'm actually loving it so far.

Originally Posted by ziffy321

I'm always intrigued with the reviews of these type of frags from the more experienced noses. I tried this the other day at Macy's and got patchouli and nothing else. Half hour later, patchouli ... two hours, patchouli. I don't think it's the patchouli "bomb" some described but a nice lite fragrance ... if you like patchouli.

Originally Posted by Jock_With_Scents

Just for the record. I never stated it was a patchouli bomb. I said that others would test and declare it a patchouli bomb, old lady and old man smell....and so on. It has alot of patchouli but it is NOT a bomb by any stretch IMO.

Originally Posted by Ctrussie

Hi guys,

So, what's the verdict on its longevity? Better, same, or worse than the original JV?

Originally Posted by Indie_Guy

Bought this blind today. They didn't have a tester for it. Actually when I asked if I could sample it, the SA picked up a tester of the original John Varvatos and started spraying it on a card. I had to explain to her that it was actually a different scent altogether.

She said rather abrupty, "Well, how about you just buy it then?" (which could maybe considered rude, but I think she was gauging my personality and knew that I could take the attitude)

So I replied, "Let's do it."

I got out in my car and opened the box. Big box too. The bottle is maybe not quite as nice as it looks in the photos. In the pics it looks somewhat like brushed stainless steel-- the actual bottle is (I think) a kind of silver paint colored glass.

I sprayed some on and it's very unusual. Like the other reviews have said, it's really unique compared to other mainstream releases. I get the patchouli and cinnamon immediately. I find this one very hard to peg. It changes a lot over its drydown and it smells different sniffing directly on the arm than it does pulling my collar over my nose and inhaling. Sniffing my arm, it's kind of a dry, yet creamy patchouli scent with very little sweetness. Putting my nose under my collar and inhaling from my chest, I get a very warm leathery scent similar to DK Fuel for Men. As it goes on, I get a dry almost bittersweet dark fruity accord that plays along with a vetiver note. Something about this scent smells like chocolate milk, even though there's no chocolate here. I do think it has hints of oriental womens' perfumes that float through it every now and then, but it remains woody and masculine.

I initially found Vintage to be very hard to get a grasp on at first also, so I think I'm going to grow to really like this one as well, given a few wearings. I've found that the perfumes of Flores-Roux are often very complex compositions that seem muddled and jumbled the first time you try them, but later reveal a lot of harmony.

Originally Posted by Ctrussie

Hi guys,

So, what's the verdict on its longevity? Better, same, or worse than the original JV?

Originally Posted by ziffy321

Count me in as one who thinks patchouli, by itself, has an old man/lady feel to it. I don't mind frags with patchouli as part of a more complex scent. But when it's the dominant note, it's not for me.

Originally Posted by Andrewthecologneguy

Better than any other Varvatos scent concerning longevity and projection. Actual numbers will vary by skin type and weather (humidity, heat, wind) but overall expect 8hrs, and 2 feet max of projection.