Eros Flame (2018)
by Versace

A lot of hate, but it's really good. It takes all the bad with Eros and diminishes it, it gets rid of the cloying, thick, syrupy, sweetness that borders on juvenile, and replaces it with a great spicy note with smells like pink pepper to me. The spice isn't just gone and past, it sticks around through most of the life of the scent. The dry down is about the same as Eros, which is awesome, cause it's mass appealing.

Smells cheap to me like it could be Axe or something like that. Boyfriend and I both did not like it. Smells like too much of everything and kind of a mish mash that comes off as very generic. Musky, heavy, and overtly masculine in a cheap, aggressive sort of way.

Upon open, the tangerine note is quite obvious, softened with some vanilla and tonka. And that's about all the fragrance is. When the tangerine disappears, it's all vanilla and tonka. It smells cheap throughout the entire progression. At first I didn't mind the tangerine despite the cheap quality, but it's Dollar Store compared to something like Zegna's Sicilian Mandarin.

The downside of getting into the Rojas and Zegnas and Tom Fords and Creeds and Xerjoffs and Spirit of Dubais is it becomes very hard to smell these cheap mass-appeal fragrances, clearly intended for younger people who can feel special saying "It's Versace." I don't mean that in a snobby way, after all most of us started there. But that doesn't make it untrue. Smelling things like this and L'homme de la Nuit Eau Electrique now give me a headache as if I'm smelling public washroom hand soap.

Have you ever wished Xeryus Rouge had a Vanilla Edition? Neither have I. Eros Flame serves as a sort of poster child for the lack of available or fashionable base notes and what has filled the vacuum in the absence of anything of substance. It seems like most designer scents are relegated now to vanilla, tonka, Iso E Super, treemoss, fake vetiver, and 'woods.' As a result tonka is very big right now, but it's very limiting, in this case yawn-inducing, and this iteration of the Eros line adds nothing new to the discourse of scent, except that instead of just being 'safe' it pushes into 'offensive' territory with its cloying abuse of awful bases. To newcomers and club-goers and carefree teens I am sure this is an easy grab but scents like this are precisely why I own so many old ones. The kids may think I smell old but I think this just smells gross.

Really really like this scent. I find it such a wonderful balance of components. I admit I loved the original Eros as it was the fragrance that reeled me into perfumes and such. Yet, I really do think I prefer Eros Flame for more uses than the original Eros. The warm spicier opening with that hint of citrus is so gorgeous to me. I honestly think the blend works so well with the beautiful woody Vanilla sweetness of Eros that comes in the dry-down. Yet, I can definitely see that as a negative since the original Eros can be bought for a really good discounted price (Just don't buy on eBay). For the longevity, I find its on par with the original, usually lasting for around 8-10 hours. As an EDP, I probably would've thought it would outperform the OG.

Still, I've really enjoyed this frag during the past couple weeks in the cool winter days at work or going out. This was surprisingly one of the most well-received scents I've gotten from my co-workers at the office.

Scent: 9/10 (Nothing crazy or groundbreaking, super solid)
Longevity: 8.5/10
Projection: 8/10
Versatility: 7.5/10

Overall: 8.25/10

Recommend? Yes. I think it suits the cooler nights even better than Eros. But, it is not a must-buy, especially since you can't go wrong with a cheaper price for Eros in my humble opinion.