Armaf Club de Nuit Intense vs. Aventus

Creed’s Aventus has been so mega-popular over the past decade, it has created its own sub-industry of fragrances trying to mimic or outright match its appealing formula. The most popular of these fragrances is Armaf’s Club de Nuit Intense EDP. But, how do these two scents actually compare? Does Club smell better? Last longer?

Tale of the Tape Club de Nuit Intense vs. Aventus

Creed Aventus 

Notes of Creed Aventus: 

Top: Blackcurrant, Italian bergamot, French apples and pineapple

Middle: Rose, dry birch, Moroccan jasmine, and patchouli

Base Notes: musk, oak moss, ambergris, and vanilla.

Click here to read my original Aventus Review

Click here to get Aventus: Aventus by Creed

Club de Nuit EDP

Notes include: lemon, apple, blackcurrant, birch, jasmine, rose, vanilla, musk, ambergris, patchouli

Click here to try: Club de Nuit Men EDP

Opening

The sharp pineapple note, with the other citrus and woodsy elements of Aventus has never been something I enjoyed. That opening isn’t a favorite of mine, but Armaf is the same as well, so no luck. The pineapple, blackcurrant, and the dryness of birch can be a bit much at first.

However, I do like what it settles into. Fresh and lively, very enjoyable to wear. Next, you get less pineapple, and more of the birch wood and oak moss. This is where Aventus comes into its own. Plus, a little vanilla sweetness and the remaining apple note.

With Club EDP, I find it to be a smoother version of the EDT from Armaf. I get more of the apple note too, from this version.

The differences here are that Club has a fruitier start. Less smokiness and the birch wood doesn’t have the leathery facets, until later on in the wear. At least on my skin.

Which is better? While I don’t personally enjoy either’s opening act all that much. The Creed quality is higher and I do like the birch wood note better in the original.

Edge: Aventus

Projection

Both of these fragrances start off with a good deal of strength and project quite well off of the skin. For the duration of the wear, they are both above average, in this regard.

I’m not sure that Aventus is actually any stronger than Club de Nuit Intense. There may be a slight difference here, but I’m not really getting it.

Edge: Push

Longevity

Club will last for 7-9 hours, on my skin. The more I try it, the more it seems to settle closer to the bottom of that range. Still, very good.

Aventus is a 7-10 hour fragrance. Overlapping with the Armaf. However, I usually get 8-9 hours from the Creed version. It has a higher ceiling and more consistency.

Edge: Aventus

Versatility

There’s no distinction here. One’s mimicking the other, so they cover the same ground.

Edge: Push

Overall Scent

Between these two, I do still think that Creed Aventus is the better fragrance overall. It has a greater depth and more little facets of different aromas than does Club. It’s the original, has higher quality, and slightly better performance.

However, if I were in the market for Aventus and didn’t want to spend $200-300+, Club de Nuit Intense from Armaf would be an option, that I’d probably go with.

It gives you much of what you’d get from the Creed in terms of smell. Really, only some minor details are missing, but you save so much money.

If you’re going based on smell alone, I still like the Creed more. Is it that much better, to justify the price for most people? No, for the vast majority of guys, the cheaper Armaf will do the job just fine. There’s a reason it has become so popular, even in a sea of other Aventus inspirations.

Winner: Aventus

Best Men's Colognes

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.