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The Most Wanted EDP was a very good release from Azzaro, which naturally followed it up with a parfum concentration, The Most Wanted Parfum.
I have tested out and worn both of these men’s fragrances a bunch and wanted to do a comparison between them to help decide which of them is the better buy. Which cologne smells better? Lasts longer?
Tale of the Tape: Most Wanted EDP vs Parfum
The Most Wanted
notes include: caramel, cardamom, amberwood
Click here to try: Azzaro The Most Wanted Eau de Parfum Intense | Cologne for Men 1.7 fl oz
My Full Review: The Most Wanted
The Most Wanted Parfum
Notes include: toffee, Bourbon vanilla, red ginger, and wood
Click here to try: The Most Wanted Parfum
Read my review: Parfum
Opening
The Most Wanted EDP starts with the same cardamom note as the original Wanted. This note has a slightly lemony aroma already, but The Most Wanted doesn’t actually have the citrus note. It’s fresher, spicier, but less of a sharp sweetness.
Though, the Most Wanted is still sweet with the caramel and Bourbon vanilla note.
The Most Wanted Parfum begins with that red ginger spice really coming through. A different take from the cardamom note in the EDP. This one, has a spicier profile akin to Wanted by Night with how it packs a punch early on (just trade the cinnamon for ginger).
You still get the toffee note, what they call incandescent woods, to round things out. It’s a crisp spice with a sweetness and a hot smoldering kind of woods which helps to distinguish it from The Most Wanted.
Further along, the vanilla will mostly take over for the ginger and the spiciness will tone down quite a lot.
Which is better? I’ve gone back and forth on this in my mind. However, I’ve started to have a slight preference for that ginger-led opening of Parfum. Not a major advantage, but for now, I’ll take it.
Edge: Parfum
Projection
Both of these are stronger openers that will settle into being in the upper range of moderate with how each of them projects. Neither feels all that heavier than the other.
However, I think that the EDP projects a bit better, than the Parfum concentration. It seems to be one that I can detect a lot easier if I spray it on a shirt and move across the room.
Neither is a weak cologne, but The Most Wanted EDP is a bit better here.
Edge: Most Wanted
Longevity
The Most Wanted Parfum actually lasts about an hour less than the EDP, at least for me. I get 8-8.5 hours of wear, every time that I’ve tested it out.
They are still pretty close with how long each of these colognes lasts, but the EDP takes this category. 9-9.5 hours seems pretty standard as to what I get with it. It might be capable of a bit more than that too.
Edge: Most Wanted
Versatility
Here these two occupy the same space. Both are better worn in autumn and winter. Neither is a formal fragrance. Both skew younger, without being totally fragrances that only teenagers can wear.
Also, both of them shine in the nightlife. You could wear them daily, just understand that they are sweeter, and not really office fragrances.
With all that said, I don’t really notice much of a distinction here.
Edge: Push
Overall Scent
Overall, which of these two fragrances do I prefer? This is really a contest that is neck and neck, as I really enjoy both of these Azzaro colognes a lot.
With Parfum, I really like that smoldering sort of woodiness that I get in the opening act, along with the spice of the ginger.
It’s got plenty of overlap with The Most Wanted EDP, but that opening highlights enough differences for me to prefer it in that period.
After that? I’m less impressed in comparison to the EDP. Once that opening transitions, I don’t find Parfum to be as interesting nor does it smell as good as what I get from the EDP.
The Most Wanted EDP has a slightly better performance too. I really like the caramel and vanilla notes, still flanked by that warmth and spiciness, just to a lesser extent.
This are very comparable scent obviously, so, you probably won’t have a major preference either. For me, I’ll give the win to the EDP.
Winner: Most Wanted EDP
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Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with the different fragrances that I’ve owned, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, that new hobby grew into a consistent passion, helping millions of readers along the way. I have personally written reviews for well over 800 perfumes and colognes for both men and women. This is along with writing hundreds of other in-depth fragrance guides.