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In this edition of the cologne comparisons, that I have posted on the site, we have a competition between two of the best selling scents on the market right now. Those being, Sauvage by Christian Dior and Versace Eros. I will be talking about both of the original EDT releases of each cologne.
Which of these two men’s fragrances smells the best? Which is the top performer? Which one has more versatile of use? Please continue below for my full take and comparison.
Tale of the Tape: Sauvage EDT vs. Eros
Versace Eros
Notes of Eros: mint, green apple, tonka bean, madagascar vanilla, vetiver, Italian lemon
Click here to try: Versace Eros Men Eau De Toilette Spray, 6.7 Fluid Ounce
My original Versace Eros Review
Sauvage
Notes of Sauvage: bergamot, ambroxan, lavender, pepper, wood notes
Click here to try: Christian Dior Sauvage for Men Eau De Toilette Spray, 3.4 Fluid Ounce
Opening
The opening of Sauvage EDT gives off an aroma of amber, pepper, and the sharp bergamot note. There is a bit of spice to it but I do get a lot of the ambroxan. It’s nice and dries down to a clean/soapy scent with some slightly spice wood notes and the ever present bergamot.
Eros, is an absolute beast from the start. The main players at the beginning are the mint, tonka bean, and vanilla. The green apple and lemon provide support and give Eros that juicy/gourmand quality.
I think the mint is done very well and doesn’t overpower the composition, for my nose, at least.
Updated view: I’m going to edit throughout this post, 3 years after initially publishing. Eros seems to have changed slightly in smell and more so in performance. This happens a lot with fragrances. Now, the opening seems to have a stronger lemon than before.
Eros is a very sweet kind of scent, while Sauvage lacks all of that. I think that Eros is much more interesting and has a better scent.
Edge: Eros
Projection
Versace Eros is quite a heavy scent and loud as all hell. This of course, could scare some folks off from wanting to wear it, and that’s completely understandable.
Update: The latest batches of Eros EDT don’t seem to be nearly as strong, as the original. When compared with Eros Flame, they seem quite weak…unfortunately, Flame is a worse fragrance. Still a little bit stronger than Sauvage.
It’s one that I can enjoy and while I never wore it on a daily basis, I would limit it to one spray, if wearing it to work. Eros is just that kind of bold cologne.
Sauvage, upon further use, is a lot stronger than I had initially remembered. No, it’s not on the same level as Eros, but it is on the strong side of things.
Edit: After years, Sauvage is still a strong, but not massive cologne. It has not as of yet experienced any reformulation that’s noticeable.
Edge: Eros
Longevity
Eros wins here, it’s an all day and into the night kind of cologne. Edit: Nowadays, it is much more mortal. Somewhere in the 8-10 hour range it seems. Still great, but not like it once was.
However, Sauvage isn’t bad. The first time I reviewed this scent, I would get 6-7 hours of wear. Now, with a different bottle, I seem to get around 8. I don’t know, it could just be my body chemistry, but that is the range I get from Sauvage.
I will note that, other people do get a bit more wear out of Sauvage. So, in your own experience this may now be an equal comparison. For me, it’s still Eros.
Edge: Eros
Versatility
Sauvage isn’t a winter scent, in my opinion (The EDP is better for this). Though, it wouldn’t perform badly, just kind of seem out of place.
Meanwhile, Eros is very much a cold weather scent and becomes messy in the high heat. I think that this is where Sauvage has the edge, as a year round kind of cologne.
Both of these scents could work for many occasions. Just go lightly in the office or at school. As a club scent, I’d pick Eros, but I think Sauvage wins this category.
Neither of these is really a formal kind of fragrance. Eros also has a tendency to lean younger. Sauvage isn’t necessarily a mature scent, but it is more wearable for older guys, as well as younger ones.
Sauvage really kind of nails being an all-around scent, which is a lot of the reason why it became so popular in the first place.
Edge: Sauvage
Overall Scent
These are both highly popular colognes. Neither one is bad in my opinion and they are actually quite different from one another. If you want something bold and sweet, go with Eros.
If that’s not your thing, Sauvage might be a good choice. It’s a bright/fresh kind of cologne versus Eros’ gourmand sexiness. Edit: My opinion on the original Sauvage EDT has definitely gone down, over the years. I really don’t care to wear it.
It’s funny how many other scents have started to have Sauvage-like qualities, as this Dior release has grown in popularity (like Dylan Blue).
However, I think that Sauvage is still better than all of its ‘clone’ fragrances (update: Luna Rossa Carbon is better if you’re in the market for Sauvage EDT).
In the battle between these two, I think Versace Eros has the edge. I enjoy wearing it more than Sauvage, any day of the week, it has better performance, is more unique, and just plain smells better. Again, that’s not to say that Sauvage isn’t a good choice for some guys, it just wouldn’t be mine.
2020 Update: Nowadays, I still have Eros ahead of Sauvage EDT. However, Sauvage EDP and Parfum are better than either in their current form. As such, go with those, unless you’re dead set on Eros…which is still good.
2024 Update: Coming back to this once more. I guess I’d still choose Eros, when considering the EDT editions. My ranking of the other top variants would be something like:
- Sauvage EDP
- Sauvage Elixir
- Sauvage Parfum
- Eros Parfum
- Eros EDT
I have lost a lot of my enjoyment from the Eros series. That being said, the original Sauvage EDT doesn’t do much for me either. I think it has the worst blend of any of the editions released thus far. EDP and Elixir are really great, in contrast.
The rest of the Eros line, is about the same as the original, as far as I like them. Parfum is the best of that series.
Winner: Eros
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Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.