Cologne Reviews

Gentlemen Only Intense by Givenchy

by

I have already reviewed many scents this week, including Gentlemen Only. Since I’ve also got a mini size of Gentlemen Only Intense, I thought that I’d go ahead and do a review post on it.

This is another cologne from Givenchy and one which is masculine and suited toward the cooler months of the year. How does it stack up? Is it better than the original? Please read below for my full take on this scent.

What Does Gentlemen Only Intense Smell Like?

gentlemen only intense

Notes include: tonka bean, birch wood, mandarin, patchouli, leather, amber, and cedar

Click Here to Try:Givenchy Gentlemen Only Intense Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 3.3 Ounce

My Full Review

OK, so after trying the original Gentlemen Only and enjoying it, (only to later be disappointed by its longevity), I was looking forward to trying the Intense version of this cologne. As it turns out, I actually like this one much better.

Let me state beforehand that I love sweet/spicy/leathery fragrances in the fall or winter months. I am a fan of tonka bean (Versace Eros), leather even in something like Dirty English, and the sweet/spicy incense of something like Body Kouros. As such, I was drawn to this fragrance right off the bat.

The opening is a sweet blend of tonka bean, amber, and the leather note. This is an interesting departure from the original which featured more of the birch wood, mandarin, and vetiver, which are downplayed a great deal in Intense.

The opening has a bit more fresh spiciness, than this one will later feature. You get some of the mandarin, mint, and pink pepper.

The composition is pretty inverted from the original. As such, you are hit with a different sensibility and less of the dry sweetness than Gentlemen Only.

Intense presents itself as much more of a sweet/incense take on the original, that at times seems somewhat gourmand without going overboard (like in Very Irresistible by Givenchy)  but keeping an underlying smokiness.

Again, this one might not be for everyone but if you enjoy that kind of sweet/leathery/masculine type of scent this could be a good look. The dry down becomes a woody, sweet, leathery, creamy/amber-laden affair.

It has that Gentlemen Only dryness, spice, and smokiness but those are relegated to bit players. It all comes together, as being super smooth. I really enjoy the way that it smells, even if the development isn’t too complex.

Sillage and Longevity

Projection wise, it is pretty good. It’s not a beast but it is better than Gentlemen Only, though, I believe Intense is a misnomer…it’s not intense but quite moderate. Even with that spiciness. It’ll project itself 4-6 feet from the skin for a while, before settling back down, closer to the skin.

Longevity was the drawback of the original and honestly, Intense isn’t much better in this regard. 4-5 hours of life at most. The only saving grace is that I feel that this is a nighttime fragrance and so that longevity might be enough in that situation.

However, it really should be better than that and I’m disappointed that it isn’t. Shouldn’t an ‘intense’ fragrance, have a strong sillage, and staying power?

I think others have gotten a slightly better result with this one. For me, it refuses to stick around for very long on my skin, which is usually fine with not ‘eating up’ colognes.

When Should Gentlemen Only Intense be Worn?

Again, to me, this is a nighttime fragrance. The original was more of the office type of daily wear, while this one is a sexier evening wear option. On a cold evening, Intense is actually really awesome, and will get complemented.

Well, at least for those first few hours. It is a mature fragrance and will generally be a better fit for those in their late 20s and up.

Overall Impressions

Overall, is it worth a buy? Maybe. It smells really good, in my opinion, but the longevity questions remain. The fragrance itself is an awesome blend of sweetness, woods, leather, and spice. On that end of things, Gentlemen Only Intense is pretty brilliant.

It’s not an all-time great or anything, but this had the potential of being a under the radar favorite. The tonka bean and leather combination is so good here.

It’s one that I could definitely find a place for on occasion, but, at the price I could get something else that is a much better performer. It’s not a bad fragrance, actually quite good, but it could be magnificent.

Updating this post, a few years after the initial review, I think that it’s been discontinued.

I still have a mini bottle of this, wear it occasionally, and still cannot believe what a missed opportunity this was for greatness. You might be able to pick up a cheap bottle, at the discount sites now, and it would be worth a shot.

Newer Update: I just saw it going for around $100 when I looked it up, which is a bit of a stretch in my opinion. So, you’ve probably missed out on getting this one for anything reasonable.

Weekend for Men by Burberry

by

Burberry is a line which usually sports very good and universally appealing fragrances at a moderate price point. I have already gone over the best Burberry colognes here, and I left Weekend for Men, off of that list.

I don’t remember being impressed by it, however, when I received a mini bottle of this cologne, I thought that I would give it another shot and post a review. Did it change my mind, this time around? Read below for more.

What Does Burberry Weekend Smell Like?

FullSizeRender (50)

Notes include: tangerine, citrus, musk, rose, iris, sandalwood, oakmoss, ivy, honey

Click here to try: BURBERRY Weekend Eau De Toilette for Men, 1.7 Fl. oz.

My Full Wear Review

Burberry Weekend, opens with a lot of citrus, and it sticks around for the duration of the wear. I get a ton of lemon, in this one, and some bergamot underneath. The other fruits, just seem to blend together, with one another and create a generic cloud.

After like 15-20 minutes some of the oakmoss and sandalwood type of notes, do start to emerge. This gives Weekend, a bit of an earthy/woody body, but this is mostly a citrusy affair. Ivy is fairly noticeable, which provides a grassy sort of smell, it’s not super powerful but you can pick up on it.

To me, Burberry Weekend really doesn’t ever get anymore complex than that, just a blend of citrus and some woodsy notes in the background. On my skin, it is mostly lemon with some ivy, sandalwood, and a bit of dry oakmoss. It’s extremely linear on me.

I suppose there is some honeyed sweetness, in there, but not very much. If you’re not into the smell within 10-15 minutes, you probably won’t ever be.

How Long does it Last? What’s the Sillage Like?

It’s projection and longevity are both moderate. It’s not a beast with its sillage, but it at least, isn’t completely weak. It’s projection is a few feet from the skin, for most of the wear, so don’t expect folks to be able to smell you from across the room or anything.

The longevity clocks in at about six hours or so. Again, not impressive, but passable at the right price.

Versatility

This is a casual wear for the spring/summer months, all the way. It would seem out of place, during the rest of the year. It’s not a nighttime beast, nor a formal type of fragrance.

Weekend for Men is a scent you can throw on, when the temperature goes up, and smell fresh and citrusy.

A cologne to feel clean and somewhat refreshed, not a scent that’s going to bet getting massive complements or be seen as ‘sexy’.

Overall Scent

This is a very short review because quite frankly, Weekend isn’t all that impressive. If you’re a big fan of citrus, then maybe it’s worth getting a hold of.

Otherwise, I really don’t get who this is aimed at. I think that it smells okay but the citrus is just too prevalent and the other notes never seem to fully wrestle control away from it.

As a result, it can take on too much of a bathroom cleaner type of scent…it’s not totally chemical but you can definitely detect a resemblance. Is it an awful cologne? No, but it isn’t a very good one.

Even for this type of summer-centric release, it’s not very good. Below the D&G Light Blue flankers and other designer efforts in the same space.

There are much better options, from the line of Burberry scents (see: London and Burberry for Men), and other ones that are much better choices for summer weather (Burberry Summer line, usually smell better at least, with poor performance). I’ll probably pass on wearing the rest of this mini bottle.

Update: Yeah, I never finished it before getting rid of this mini. This still floats around for cheap, so, it might be worth spending $20-30 on. I still wouldn’t personally, but if you wanted an easy to wear summer citrus, this is passable.

Luna Rossa Black by Prada

by

I am a pretty big fan of Prada’s men’s fragrances. In particular, I like the Luna Rossa line, as I find them to all be at least solid. Not one of them is a bad cologne. As such, I wanted to give Luna Rossa Black a try, and see if it held up the name’s tradition. How does it smell? When should it be worn? How does it perform? Please continue below, for my full take on this scent.

What Does Luna Rossa Black Smell Like?

Notes include: patchouli, amber, angelica, tonka bean, musk, bergamot

Click here to try: Prada Luna Rossa Black for Men Eau de Parfum Spray, 3.4 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

My initial impression of Luna Rossa Black, wasn’t all that positive. It wasn’t a bad scent, I just wasn’t that taken, with how it started out. This is going to be another single wear review, as I tried this in the store, but it was a surprisingly long encounter with this scent. Oh and it got much better, as it moved along.

The opening consists of a light bergamot note, some patchouli, amber, and angelica. I’m not sure what has me feeling so lukewarm, about Black in the beginning, but I think its just the patchouli mixing weird with one of the other notes.

It’s got a warm, semi-powdery aroma, that has a burnt sort of aroma. To my nose, it’s just not great.

Nonetheless, I kept this Prada cologne on my skin, and gradually came around to it. I actually really enjoy the dry down, on this one. The amber and tonka bean, really begin to ramp up. It’s got a sweet, smooth, and still retains that powdery scent. That Prada amber note, is fantastic, as usual with this brand.

Black does have a ‘dark’ sort of smell to it. The musk note comes in, and the patchouli falls back, to a much better role. It gives it that underlying earthy aroma, but doesn’t interfere with the great amber/tonka bean show up top. It becomes super smooth, a bit sweet, with a not too heavy feeling scent.

How’s the Sillage? How Long Does it Last?

I really wasn’t sure how long to expect this fragrance to go. To be honest, I sort of just sprayed myself with it three times at the store, and kind of forgot about it. However, this one projects itself quite well. It’s not a monster, but the sillage is very solid.

What really shocked me, was how long this one went for. Keep in mind, it is summer, I went outside multiple times with this on. 9-10 hours later, I could still smell it.

Update: Coming back to this one years later, in the wintertime, and this one works so much better with how it smells and it still hits that double digit hour mark fairly easily. So, I’ve bumped up the score a bit below.

I had to take a shower, but it could have kept going. My skin is pretty good at not eating up colognes, but the longevity was on point with Black.

Versatility

While I do think that Luna Rossa Black is more appropriate for the colder weather. It honestly, held up pretty well in the heat. It wasn’t perfect, as some of the notes did degrade a bit, but still did a good job.

I’d say it’s much more of an option during the autumn through early spring. It has a professional and refined sort of smell, but has a sexy edge, that can take it into nighttime wear.

Overall Scent

I wasn’t too thrilled with Luna Rossa Black at first, but it won me over. It is a great addition to the Luna Rossa line, still not my favorite, though I did enjoy wearing it.

To me, after the first hour, is when this one is at its absolute best. I love tonka bean and amber, so this was a really nice experience. That first hour, is mid-tier.

Am I blown away by it? No, though, I give it fairly high marks across the board. It’s nothing groundbreaking, it just lasts a long time, and has an attractive scent. That’s most of what we require from our fragrances and Black delivers.

It’s one of the better editions. I like the original Luna Rossa and Sport a bit more than this. Yet, this also seems to be a favorite of a lot of people. Try this one out, it’s a designer scent that does everything well.

Eau Sauvage Cologne by Dior

by

Eau Sauvage Cologne is a flanker of the 1966 classic Dior fragrance, which was released back in 2015. I bought three of the Eau Sauvage scents to test out and finally do full reviews on and Cologne is the last one on the list. How does it smell? Is it long lasting? Is Eau Sauvage Cologne worth a try?

What does Eau Sauvage Cologne Smell Like?

Notes include: grapefruit, mandarin orange, bergamot, galbanum, hedione, petitgrain, pink pepper, and vetiver

My Full Review

Right away, one thing that is noticeable is the resemblance of Eau Sauvage Cologne with Dior Homme Cologne. Now, this one is more complex than that fragrance, but the bergamot and grapefruit are the shared commonalities.

However, the differences are also very noticeable. Eau Sauvage Cologne is spicier, greener, and has a good amount of orange in the mix. Galbanum and petitgrain really give this one a green and somewhat bitter smell early, while the pink pepper kicks in the spice.

A bit further in the galbanum and pink pepper will subside a lot. It’s still more green than spicy underneath the influence of the citrus. The hedione gives it a light floral feel, with an additional stem-like smell, and the bergamot and grapefruit take charge in the citrus accord.

The rest of the way, this gets drier and fresh, rather than herbal green. I mean, the petitgrain stays for the duration, but everything else has pretty much burned off save the bergamot, grapefruit, and increasingly strong vetiver. That’s essentially the dry down.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

This one doesn’t come across as huge or having some long trail sort of sillage. It is though, one that creates a nice and somewhat far reaching aroma for that first hour to hour and a half.

There after it is a lighter moderate, but I don’t find it to be weak at all. Of course in the latter stages, it will sit closer to the skin. That’s not a problem because it does hold up better than similar colognes.

On my skin, this one lasts somewhere in the 6.5-7 hour range at its best. For this sort of summer scent, that’s not bad. I wasn’t expecting some long-lasting powerhouse, but I did get enough power and time to spend with Cologne that I was pleasantly surprised.

Seasonally, again, this is spring and summer all the way. It’s suited for that environment and is actually very nice in the warmer weather. I’ve had some days like that to test it out in during this winter. Eau Sauvage Cologne is awesome with a light breeze going.

This is more of a casual daytime scent or a fresh garden party sort of wear. You can also wear it during business you may have during the summer. It has a clean and fresh appeal, while still holding a level of maturity.

Overall Impressions of Eau Sauvage Cologne

Overall, do I like this fragrance? I do. It might have a slight edge over Dior Homme Cologne, due to its depth and slightly better performance, though it isn’t crushing its compatriot in terms of enjoyment.

The herbal green element here gives a nice change of pace and you still get the great citrus notes found in the other Eau Sauvage scents. It’s a very nice pickup for the spring and summer months, when you want something well put together but isn’t going to fall apart in the heat.

The citrus notes are great, I like the orange, but I actually prefer once it has settled and I get more of the grapefruit and bergamot. It might have to do with the galbanum taking a back seat, as well.

This is worth getting, if you’re in need of a summer cologne. Fresh, cold, and clean. Really one of the better designer warm weather citrus fragrances. Better than Allure Homme Sport Cologne, also, which shares plenty of overlap too.

Eau Sauvage Extreme Intense (2010) by Dior

by

Eau Sauvage Extreme Intense is one from Dior that I have not tried. It actually first came out back in the 80s and was updated for release back in 2010. Going through the list of Eau Sauvage fragrances, this was one that I was excited to try out. How does it smell? Does it last long? Is it worth a buy?

What does Eau Sauvage Extreme Smell Like?

Notes include: bergamot, lemon, grapefruit, cedar, lavender, elemi, mint, basil, jasmine, patchouli, oakmoss, vetiver

Click here to try: Eau Sauvage Extreme Intense

My Full Review

Cold, bright, and fresh. There is the usual Eau Sauvage citrus notes, this time however, they are sitting underneath a blend of basil and mint up top. I actually get a bit more of the basil on my skin, then I do the mint note. Herbal, sort of a menthol kind of effect, when put together.

I like it. The fresh spiciness doesn’t overwhelm and still has balance within the composition. It’s held in check by the lavender note and the resinous elemi, which was also a big factor in Eau Sauvage Parfum. Here, it has less of a long-term influence.

After a while, the basil and mint will calm down and the citrus starts to come through more clearly. Lavender, elemi, cedar start to follow in gaining strength. Less green than the opening act, but the basil and mint do stick around at a lower level.

Patchouli breaks through a bit after this. It’s not heavy, but it does dirty up the scent somewhat, for at least a little while. Nothing too intrusive, but it plays well with the general green and woody aspects of Extreme Intense.

For me, the rest of the way is a cedar, lavender, elemi, and citrus affair. Very little spice and patchouli left. More of a clean and somewhat fresh aroma. Some moss thrown in for good measure.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

After having both this and Parfum at the same time, the performances are essentially identical for me. Fairly strong sillage when initially sprayed, then, staying more inside a 3-5 foot radius of the skin.

Again, like Parfum, Extreme Intense hits the 8-8.5 hour territory. Those last hours aren’t super powerful, but it does indeed stick around. With the name Extreme Intense, you might expect something with a lot more kick, but it’s not bad overall.

Seasonally, I really like the versatility of Eau Sauvage Extreme. It’s great in the slightly warmer weather, but doesn’t feel completely out of place in the cold either.

Autumn and spring are probably the best time to wear it. It might be too fresh initially for the dead of winter, but outside of that, it’s not really a problem.

Day or night wear. It’s attractive, somewhat sexy, but one that’s easily enjoyed without having to completely stand out. Could absolutely be a daily wear for some guys. Very versatile, not overly formula but can cover a lot of bases.

Overall Impressions of Extreme Intense

Overall, do I like Eau Sauvage Extreme Intense? I like it well enough, but I prefer Eau Sauvage Parfum from this series as a regular wear, and the Cologne version as a summer specific fragrance.

That opening with the basil and mint is nice. Those two combined with the underlying citrus (bergamot) is one of the highlights for me. It resembles some of the Eau Sauvage scents thereafter, but I just like those others more than this.

Not to say that this is bad, it’s not at all. I like it. This one might suit you better, particularly if you want a greener and woodsier take on this Eau Sauvage DNA.  The performance is good enough and it is wearable in plenty of scenarios.

I like it. If you can try before you buy, I would do so. That’s harder to do, since I’m not even sure that this is still in production. Extreme is at least worth trying out and may be a great addition to your collection.