Best Men's Colognes

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. You can also follow me on: YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok!

Gentlemen Only Casual Chic by Givenchy

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With my recent sample haul, I received my third fragrance from Givenchy’s Gentlemen Only line, Casual Chic. This was released in 2015. My favorite of the previous two was Gentlemen Only Intense, but Casual Chic seemed to be more of an imitation of the original than that particular flanker cologne.

In this review, I’m going to cover what it’s made of, how it smells, performs, when it should be worn, and if I think that it is worth a purchase or not.

What does Gentlemen Only Casual Chic Smell Like?

Notes include: cedar, ambroxan, birch leaf, sandalwood, cardamom, ginger, juniper

Click here to try: Givenchy Gentlemen Only Casual Chic Eau De Toilette Spray, 3.3 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

Here’s how Givenchy describes it: A seductive fragrance for the easygoing gentleman. Fresh and relaxed for a casual chic allure.

The initial spray of Casual Chic seems to have an element of orange for the first 30 seconds or so before the spicy and woody aroma emerges. It has an outdoorsy vibe that is topped by the ginger and juniper notes which creates quite an interesting combination.

Casual Chic is energetic and fresh with an old school feel that never strays into the unisex category like some other scents.

The ginger note provides that characteristic spice throughout the life of the scent and Casual Chic is one of the better uses of this note, that I’ve experienced recently.

I find it to be quite ‘green’ and woodsy, like a walk in the forest on a late spring or summer day, but it doesn’t go full woods as compared to another scent like Azzaro.

The ambroxan note, keeps it warm and smooth without getting overpowered by the cedar.

When compared to the original Gentlemen Only, I do find some similarities in the composition, but the original is much smokier and actually does have that orange not that Casual Chic briefly mimics.

Sillage, Longevity, and When to Wear

It’s projection is pretty moderate but it is better than its predecessor in this regard. It’s not an overwhelming fragrance, but it is noticeable.

It’ not a heavy fragrance, lighter to moderate in terms of sillage. However, it does project rather well. So, you do get some value out of this spring and summer wear.

It does have good longevity on my skin, probably 7 hours of wear. This is when the original fell flat by hour 3…so that’s a good improvement.

Not an elite scent, I’m just glad it outshines the original at least. Surprising, considering what its based on, but Casual Chic worked pretty well for me.

I’d rate this as a casual scent, as the name implies. Good for work, school, or a day spent around town.

It’s a outdoorsy kind of cologne but it seems to be best for warmer weather, when so many other similar scents get stuck in the winter category. This is a nice change of pace from the norm.

It could probably be worn to work or semi-formally. Not really a club scent or something super formal. But, the freshness and easy going nature gives it the ability to be worn fairly extensively in the spring and summer.

Overall Impressions of Casual Chic

Overall, is Casual Chic worth a buy? I enjoy it but it doesn’t really fit me and my style. That said, it is better than the original Gentlemen Only.

So, if you like that or if this composition seems to fit your personal style, it could be a good purchase at the right price. It’s solid all around but it doesn’t particularly blow me away ever, for what it does, it does it well enough.

The juniper and ginger are the highlights for me. Not too big on the ambroxan and birch, but the other woods give it a nice freshness. Nothing about Casual Chic is bad, more of an above average cologne that some guys will really like, while others will mildly enjoy.

Update: While there are still bottles around online, Givenchy discontinued this one some time ago. The one’s I have seen are mostly on eBay and are selling for around $100. Not going to be worth the reach for most people. Unless you’ve already tried it and loved it, you can pass on Casual Chic.

Sahara Noir by Tom Ford

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In this post, I am going to tackle more of a niche type of fragrance by Tom Ford, 2013’s Sahara Noir. It is a scent that is highly influenced by the smells which are common to the Middle East. As usual, I am going to cover how it smells, its ingredients, how it performs, when it should be worn, and if it is worth a buy or not.

What does Sahara Noir Smell Like?

Notes include: frankincense, amber, papyrus, cinnamon, balsam, benzoin, rose, jasmine, oud, bitter orange

Click here to try: Tom Ford Sahara Noir Eau de Parfum Spray, 1.7 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

Just by looking at the ingredients, one can tell that Sahara Noir isn’t going to be your typical woman’s perfume. Right off the bat, I am struck by what an exotic fragrance it is but also how it is going to be completely niche.

I doubt that most non-enthusiast people would want to wear or even enjoy this scent, but there has to be a crowd who would find this delightful.

It’s oriental qualities does remind me of Opium Pour Homme, especially in it’s spicy/medicinal aspects. However, Sahara Noir continues down the smoky and warm path whereas Opium, begins to take on much more of a vanilla aroma.

I would actually dare to say that this Tom Ford perfume is even darker and more masculine than that YSL cologne for men. Again, this stuff is probably not for the majority of women.

I really pick up on the frankincense, amber, and oud notes initially. I am not a big fan of oud, unlike a lot of niche fragrance lovers. It’s use is sort of hit or miss for me. Sahara Noir is very dry and warm and feels to me quite ancient.

Update: Coming back to this again, I get more cypress on my skin. Particularly after the opening 30 minutes or so. Then, that fades away into a mass of other dry woods.

I do appreciate what Tom Ford did with this scent, it really does transport you mentally to distant lands. It’s exactly a desert landscape kind of perfume. Lots of wood, resin, and incense.

Kind of waxy at times, not much floral influence from the rose note. Dry, smoky, and warm.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Performance wise, it’s a fairly strong perfume. It isn’t the strongest and most overpowering scent ever, but it is definitely well above average. The sillage is worthy of the price.

Longevity wise, Sahara Noir is an absolute beast. I’d say it easily surpasses 12+ hour of wear. Scents with these kinds of notes always seem to deliver, but Sahara goes above and beyond.

This Tom Ford is worth the price, based on the performance for sure. If you like the smell, Sahara Noir isn’t going to quit on you.

I guess this would be for casual wear? It seems like such a niche fragrance, that I cannot really even classify it. It’ll fit for someone with a certain personal style.

I’d say it’s best for the colder months of the year, for sure. Stick to late autumn and the depths of winter, as a change of pace.

It’s not sexy at all to me or even something that most people want to smell on someone else. This perfume has to be something that you absolutely enjoy. Casual or lightly sprayed semi-formal.

Overall Impressions of Sahara Noir

Overall is Sahara Noir, worth a buy? If you really love incense, want to smell like them, and can handle wearing a quite masculine fragrance; then this one might be right up your alley.

Update: Personally, I’d pick Encens Satin or Velvet Incenso before this one. I think those are better uses of incense and the various resinous amber notes. This Tom Ford perfume is now discontinued and has been for some time. So, I guess I wasn’t the only one not very impressed.

Coming back to this many years later, it’s a lot less ‘challenging’ to me, but I still don’t find it to be great. The performance is amazing, but the rest…meh. Those other incense based perfumes are better and still available.

Anyone else, I can’t really see the mass public wearing this one, and since it’s been discontinued that’s probably a spot on assessment.

I don’t particularly dig it. Though, I don’t think it’s horrendous. I just don’t particularly enjoy this type of scent, most of the time. This isn’t one of the exceptions.

Only the Brave Wild by Diesel

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Another sample that I received recently is from the Only the Brave line by Diesel, named, Wild. Flanker fragrances to original scents that have enjoyed popularity can be hit and miss. Sometimes, you get an improvement over the original, and many other times you get a complete dud. How does Only the Brave Wild stack up? Please continue reading below for my full take.

What does Only the Brave Wild Smell Like?

Notes include: citronella, lavender, nutmeg, black pepper, coconut wood, cedar

Click here to try: Diesel Eau De Toilette Spray for Men, Only The Brave Wild, 4.2 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

The opening of Only the Brave Wild, is a mix of woodsy green notes and spice provided by the black pepper and nutmeg notes. It took me a few minutes to figure out what the nutmeg note was reminding me of and I finally placed it to Polo’s Double Black.

No, these two scents aren’t clones of one another, it was just that singular note which was drawing my attention. But with the citronella note in this one instead of the mango in Double Black, there is a vague resemblance lurking between the two scents.

Anyways, there is a fresh spiciness and warmth to this cologne from the outset. The grapefruit-like aroma (citronella) gives Only the Brave Wild an understated citrus aroma that blends rather nicely but ultimately weakens after about a half an hour.

There is also coconut wood as a note and not the coconut itself, which is interesting because it isn’t an intense coconut smell like found in Virgin Island Water.

However, you do pick up on that sort of tropical vibe underneath the wood and spice. As it moves along, I get more of the black pepper and nutmeg combo paired with the wood, and much less of the citrus/coconut combo.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, this Diesel cologne, is kind of weak, but not a complete disaster. You might add an extra spray while wearing it to get a full effect. Still, not going to overwhelm.

It hangs in the air rather lightly but it does have a pretty good radius of projection for a time. The overall effect is pretty limited.

The longevity is also not so great, I’d say around 4 hours per wear, maybe 5 on occasion. The sillage is a bit better than how long it actually lasts, which isn’t saying much.

For a mainstream designer fragrance, that’s just flat out embarrassing. I tested it a few times and that’s what I got out of Wild. With a super cheap cologne, I might expect performance like this, but not for Diesel.

This strikes me as a fall through springtime scent. I wouldn’t like this in the summer and it would probably perform even worse in the heat. Even though it isn’t a heavy fragrance, has some citrus and tropical notes, I’d still pass when it’s hot out.

In cold weather, it could be fairly decent, as a casual or maybe office kind of cologne to wear. There are certainly more formal and better options, however. I wouldn’t wear this for a night on the town, a date, or anything else of the sort.

It’s not a very versatile fragrance outside of the range of climate that it can be worn in.

Overall Impressions of Only the Brave Wild

Overall would I recommend Only the Brave Wild? Not really. I don’t see it as useful in any meaningful way. It doesn’t smell terrible, but it’s just okay, and very forgettable.

The performance isn’t good enough for it to be a sneaky good fragrance, and I’m pretty unenthusiastic about wearing it any further. It is fairly unique, it just doesn’t do much of anything with that uniqueness.

Like, the performance is bad, even if you happen to personally like the smell. Coming back to this scent, I’m wavering on even that aspect of it. I still think that Only the Brave Wild is mid in smell and pretty lousy in almost every other aspect.

There are a ton of better options at this price point and below, so Only the Brave Wild is the odd man out.

Idylle by Guerlain

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I’m back with another review of a ladies’ fragrance. This time it’s Idylle, a release from Guerlain Paris which came out in 2009. It comes in a water droplet shaped bottle and features many floral notes. I’m going to explore how it smelled, performed, when it could be worn, and if it is worth a purchase.

What does Idylle Smell Like?

Notes: freesia, rose, raspberry, lily of the valley, musk, peony, lilac, patchouli, litchi

Click here to try: Idylle by Guerlain, 3.4 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

I’m not a huge fan of the smell of roses, so when I saw that it was a not in Idylle, I thought that it might overpower the rest of the composition and make me not enjoy it. That actually wasn’t the case.

The opening is like a bouquet of floral notes with some raspberry and litchi to give it a slightly fruity aroma. The main floral that stands out is the Lily of the Valley note which is accompanied by a tempered rose.

What I like about Idylle, is that, as a floral it doesn’t become to ‘green’ and plant like. Nor does it fall too much into the trap of overdoing it with white flowers.

It’s a great mix of several different floral notes that creates a bright and upbeat fragrance. It is a sophisticated and very feminine scent, that never strays into grandma or little girl territory.

As it dries down, Idylle picks up more of the musk note which I feel rounds it out and doesn’t overwhelm. Idylle seems to be very well blended and while the lily is the main player, it is more of a team effort between all of the notes.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection on this perfume falls somewhere between moderate and strong. It isn’t a beast but I was always aware of its presence.

I think that first hour or so is going to produce a nice scent trail for the wearer. After that, it’ll be above what the average fragrance provides, but not hitting elite levels.

The longevity is also solid but not insane, probably 6-7 hours of good wear. Testing Idylle out a few times, this is all that it seemed capable of. Better sillage and projection versus how long it actually lasts on skin.

Idylle is a bright womanly scent that could be worn in mostly casual or just daily wear situations. I honestly like it enough that I would want to smell it on a woman that I was dating. I don’t think I’d call it sexy, more like very pretty and attractive.

But, it is one that should offer plenty of opportunities to spray it on before you leave the house. Not a super unique standout, though it can certainly serve a function in one’s perfume rotation.

This is a warmer weather scent, so spring/summer. The florals, fruits, greenish qualities all make this Guerlain ideal for these two seasons.

Overall Impressions of Idylle

Overall, is Idylle worth a buy? If you like florals, yes. This Guerlain perfume does a great job at not becoming dominated by one note or just making you feel like you’re stuck in a garden. A good balance and very wearable.

Idylle is feminine and enjoyable while also being a pretty nice performer. If spiciness or sweetness is your thing, look elsewhere, but everyone else should like this fragrance and not be too offended by it.

Lily of the valley and some periods of rose, are really the two standouts from the balance of this fragrance. Even then, it’s a slight advantage over the other notes. A nice musky period to add to the cleanliness of Idylle’s floral arrangement.

To me, this is a pretty good scent across the board. I’m not overly enthusiastic about Idylle, while I do like it to some extent. It’s sort of a dumb reach floral scent. Easy to wear and will fit in many occasions.

Eternity Air for Men by Calvin Klein

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Eternity Air was one of the seemingly endless line of CK Eternity fragrances, that I had yet to properly try and review on the site. This one came out back in 2018 and I wasn’t too familiar with it.  So, I bought a travel sprayer’s worth of it to test out and share my thoughts on. How does it smell? How long does Air last? Is it worth a try?

What does Eternity Air Smell Like?

Notes include: lavender, mandarin, sea notes, juniper, violet leaf, seaweed, patchouli, amber, apple

Click here to try: Eternity Air

My Full Wear Review

The opening spray of Eternity Air does bring an airy sort of aroma. Not that it’s weak, but more like a gust of wind carrying it’s notes on top of it.

Initially, the lavender is most noticeable, along with the freshness of the juniper. A light mandarin and seaweed/saltwater combination, that is sort of like Bvlgari Aqva. However, this one reminds me a lot of Maritime Journey by Tommy Bahama blended with Light Blue Eau Intense.

I like the concept itself. The air accord and the sea/aquatic accord being the two dominate themes in this one. So, once I saw the listed notes, I had pretty high expectations for Air.

There is definitely an accord of ingredients in this one, that produces an Light Blue Eau Intense aroma. It’s like a current underneath the main attraction of Eternity Air. Amber, sea notes, mandarin, and especially the juniper all overlap with these two fragrances. Air isn’t nearly as strong, nor as citrusy.

From here, I pick up some of the violet leaf. What Eternity Air ultimately becomes is about the amber, lavender, juniper, and seaweed. The other notes mostly evaporate away from my skin and this starts to feel rather plain and familiar.

So, the oceanic feeling is gone, except for the seaweed. Then, the ‘air’ fresh breeziness doesn’t hold up throughout either. Again, the two main attractions are all but neutered by the end.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, it’s pretty moderate. On the lower end of the middle of the pack. For me, it actually holds up decently, but never feels like a powerhouse or anything.

Again, this is an airy aquatic. As such, Eternity Air isn’t going to be a heavy sillage bomb. Some scent trail and projection, but it’s going to be lighter with how it hangs in the air.

Longevity is okay, but not amazing. 5-6.5 hours with a few sprays, on the skin. On an old t-shirt, I got some more hours out of it. So, if you don’t mind damaging some clothing item, it’ll go further for you.

This one suffers the same fate as many other recent releases from this brand, it’s middling in the performance. Even if you like the smell of the fragrance itself, it kind of disappoints anyway.

Eternity Air is a spring/summer wear. Though, I’ve worn it in January, and it really wasn’t bad at all. It’s not a super citrus scent and the airy freshness didn’t feel too out of place.

Mostly, I would wear this as a casual scent. It’s not particularly offensive, so the office wouldn’t be a problem either. Not a club beast. It’s somewhat attractive, but nothing to call sexy.

You can at least wear Eternity Air in a variety of situations, which I guess is its strength. It’s just not very formal or anything that is well put together, even if it is something that one can get use out of.

Overall Impressions of Eternity Air

Do I like this fragrance? It’s okay. There’s nothing all that unique about it, nor anything attention grabbing. It smells like plenty of others out there, doesn’t have insane performance, but it isn’t revolting.

I thought that I would really like this one going into it. I do like fresh aquatics and with that added ‘air’ accord, this cologne sounded like something that’d be an under the radar gem. However, it doesn’t ever turn into anything special.

From the Eternity series, Air, is one of my least favorites. Eternity Now and Aqua are both better warm weather colognes. As such, what’s the point of getting this one?

The opening act is probably it’s most attractive point, but that’s short-lived. Everything else about it is completely middle of the road. Kind of a forgettable experience. Again, Eternity Air isn’t a bad fragrance, I just can’t see myself wanting to or needing to wear it.