Guilty has added another name to its lineup, with 2022’s release, Guilty Pour Homme Parfum. I bought a full bottle of it, as soon as it was released, and have been enjoying it. But, how does it compare to another best seller from the line, Guilty EDP? In this post, I am going to break down each, before declaring an ultimate winner.
Tale of the Tape: Guilty Eau de Parfum vs. Parfum
Guilty Parfum
Notes include: juniper, orange flower, cistus, lavender, nutmeg, lemon, patchouli, musk
Click here to try: Guilty Pour Homme Parfum by Gucci (Macy’s)
Read my review: Guilty Parfum
Guilty EDP
Notes include: rose, French lavender, neroli, chili pepper, orange blossom, patchouli, vinegar, salt
Click here to try: GUCCI GUILTY POUR HOMME by Gucci, EAU DE PARFUM SPRAY 3 OZ
Read my review: Guilty EDP
Opening
Guilty EDP does have a very interesting aroma. It opens up with a balsamic quality. It is warm, spicy, and greenish with that rose note coming through. It is fresh and has a soapy cleanliness underneath, with a pinch of salt hanging in the scent.
Neroli and red pepper bring some spiciness and the white floral notes sit underneath the rose. It definitely leans toward the rose, early on. Then, the neroli and orange blossom come through more. Finally, the fragrance will feature the lavender and orange blossom.
With Parfum, you get a fresh and aromatic fragrance early on. The lemon is more peel than juicy fruit. It has a colder and woodsier feeling versus EDT. The juniper and nutmeg, really are pretty dominant at the opening stages, on me.
Which do I like more? Ehhh, it’s a pretty close call. Parfum reminds me plenty of the old Guilty Intense, with some distinctions of its own.
EDP? I find the opening act to be attractive and quite unique versus plenty of the others in the series. I’ll give it the edge here.
Edge: EDP
Projection
Guilty EDP is a lighter to moderate fragrance, with the moderate end of the scale being confined to the first two hours or so after spraying. It isn’t a super powerful fragrance, the sillage isn’t much to write home about. Though, decent.
Guilty Parfum hits the upper end of what could be considered moderate. The first two hours definitely hit a higher high, than does EDP.
It’s also not massive, but it will project itself 4-6 feet for a while. Then, it too will begin to lighten up after a few hours. The peak isn’t that much greater than EDP, but it does hold it for longer, also.
Edge: Parfum
Longevity
With Guilty Pour Homme EDP, I get about 5-6 hours of wear, on my skin. The performance does leave plenty to be desired. While it’s not completely atrocious, it still isn’t great at a Gucci price point.
With Parfum, it is 7-8 hours of wear. Not a complete beast, either. Though, I can say that it has consistently outperformed the EDP version.
That extra bit of difference does help separate these two.
Edge: Parfum
Versatility
Both of these are very versatile scent. I probably wouldn’t wear either as a strictly formal sort of fragrance, but outside of that, they should be fine. Also, neither is really a club beast. More daily wears, that can sometimes venture into the evening.
I do think that Parfum performs better in the warmer weather than does EDP. I don’t want either on the hottest days of summer, but Parfum fits better in the late spring, I’d say. That’s about the only real difference.
Edge: Parfum (slightly)
Overall Scent
With Guilty EDP the opening act is quite nice to wear. The balsamic rose with red pepper spice? Smells great and gives you something unique. Not a complete love for me, but a strong like, and something that doesn’t bore me.
After that? It is pretty boring. It’s got some of the same notes as earlier entries into the series. Lavender, orange blossom, cedar. Floral, soapy, clean. More in line with the original Guilty, which isn’t bad, but it’s disappointing after that start.
Guilty Parfum? It’s a very good cologne. Doesn’t quite reach must have or classic status, but one that is enjoyable all around. I think that it is just better than EDP. Every aspect outside of the opening and even that is a close call.
You get balance between citrus, freshness, floral notes, and woodsiness in the dry down. It’s a nice entry from Gucci and takes this contest.
Winner: Parfum
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.