By Designer

Claiborne Sport by Liz Claiborne Cologne Review

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The other day, I published my list of the best Liz Claiborne fragrances for men. One of the scents that I left off the list was Claiborne Sport, despite the fact that I used to have a bottle and it was my first experience with the Claiborne line. In this post, I thought that I would take a closer look at Claiborne Sport and whether or not it is worth a buy, even if it was left off the list of top scents by the brand.

 

 

 

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Notes include: ginger, morning dew, cedar, lavender, amber

Click Here to Try Claiborne Sport

 

One of the first colognes that I ever received, was a bottle of Claiborne Sport. It must have been during my first years of high school when I would occasionally wear this fragrance to class in the morning. The first thing that I’ve always noticed about this fragrance was its strong opening. It has an earthy/green scent laden with a musky spice. Now, it isn’t an overwhelming scent by any means, but it does start off with a strong note.

This is a sport cologne, so it of course has that sporty and active vibe to it. It’s clean and has an energy about it that many other fragrances do not. Claiborne Sport is a bright sort of cologne but it doesn’t really stand out in my opinion. It is rather generic in its presentation, though, it does seem to get smoother and less spicy as it develops.

Longevity and projection were always average in my experience. This isn’t an all day affair and you should probably expect to get 4-6 hours out of it, with the last two being fairly weak. On the plus side, like all Claiborne scents, Sport is very inexpensive so it should present no problems having to re-spray once it begins to fade.

Overall, do I like this scent? Eh, it was always just alright to me. Even when it was my only bottle of cologne, I still didn’t choose to wear it that often. It seemed a bit too musky or synthetic for my tastes at times and I was never really in a rush to spray some on me. It’s not a terrible fragrance in my opinion, it just is average at a really cheap price point. However, there are better options for the money and even more in the Claiborne family of colognes.

 

Axe Apollo Fragrance Review

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This is going to be my fourth review of an Axe scent and another one from the standard label (for White Label reviews, see: Forest and Night). For this post, I’m going to give my thoughts on the Apollo scent from Axe. This was sort of a blind buy because I needed some shower gel while I was at the store, this happened to be on sale, and I also just liked the name (Greek mythology ftw). What did I think of this fragrance? Read below to find out.

 

 

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Notes include: sandalwood, sage, and mandarin

 

Let me say from the start that I only sort of like Axe Apollo. I do think that it smells good. However, I do not put it on the same level as the best scents from Axe. I’ve noticed that they like to use a sandalwood note in many of their products (including: Anarchy), since it tends to provide that smooth and fresh scent that people enjoy. Apollo is definitely a fresh scent, it is quite cool and crisp with some spice provided by the sage note.

I think the sage note is what isn’t really capturing my attention. Overall, the scent just feels sort of flat and less dynamic than some others. It is a burst of cold spice, that while pleasant, doesn’t really keep you coming back for more. I did use the whole bottle of shower gel and definitely didn’t mind it. I felt clean and like it didn’t bother me or put me off at all. It was just lacking something and the mandarin note seems a little bit weak as well.

Some guys out there might really enjoy using Apollo. I just thought it was so so. In my opinion the best of Axe seems to be: Anarchy, Kilo, Dark/Gold Temptation, Harmony, and one other that I don’t think they make any longer.

Axe Anarchy for Him Shower Gel Review

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I have already done a few reviews on Unilever’s Axe products from their White Label line of scents (Forest and Night). Now, I want to step away from the White Label and review a selection from its standard line of scents. I have been using Axe Anarchy for Him, as a shower gel for the past few days and want to briefly give my thoughts and experiences with this product.

 

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Notes include: amber, sandalwood, and fruit notes.

 

Upon my first sniff of Anarchy, I immediately liked it better than the two white label entries that I had tried so far (which I actually liked) and some of the other Axe scents I have used before. It almost reminded me of Axe’s Dark Temptation or Gold Temptation, in its rich quality. However, it doesn’t have the same chocolate notes and the fruit notes begin to emerge. I get a sensation of perhaps, bergamot, and a bit of coconut for good measure.

The sandalwood and amber give it that smooth aroma while those fruit notes create a really wonderful dynamic (sort of 1 Million-ish). I find Anarchy for Him to be quite refreshing and think that it smells very good for what it is. Obviously, this is just a shower gel, so its longevity and projection aren’t going to be great. The body spray should provide much more in that area and provides a cheap alternative to cologne for younger guys.

Overall, I’d say this is in the upper echelon of scents from Axe. I haven’t actually worn the body spray since my early high school days but this is just as good as any of them. Give it a try in whatever form you need, deodorant, shower gel, body spray, as it is a great fresh and sweet scent at a rock bottom price.


La Force 11 by Dolce & Gabbana Cologne Review

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During the last decade, Dolce & Gabbana launched their Anthology collection of scents, which were a series of short-run special fragrances. I recently procured a few more samples of these fragrances, as I did with 21 Le Fou, which I reviewed here. For this post, I am going to share my experience with wearing La Force 11 and see how it stacks up against other fragrances.

 

 

 

 

 

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Notes include: vanilla, cinnamon, sandalwood, pimento, cypress, heliotrope 

 

Upon the first sprays of this cologne, I was struck by its light and almost candy-like sweetness. To me, the interplay between the vanilla and cinnamon notes, brings back memories of Bubble Yum chewing gum. Only, La Force 11, has that extra layer of spice provided by the cinnamon. This fragrance is soft and pleasant in its presentation, a sort of powdery air about it, which makes me think that it is like a Joop!…if Joop! were toned way down and stripped of some of its component parts.

The sweetness later fades a bit and it becomes much more of a spicy and powdery fragrance. Honestly, I like the scent but it all seems pretty basic and lacks any real distinction. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however, if dropping money on a designer fragrance, I want something with a little more nuance and which stands out from the pack.

The projection on La Force is fairly weak as well. With more sprays, you might rate it as moderate but that’s as far as I’d say it goes. It is also lacking in terms of longevity. 2-4 hours depending on the day and the weather is all I could get out of it. I think that this is a fine smelling fragrance but nothing that outstanding. It seems to be missing something that would allow it to be a distinct cologne. La Force 11 is both sweet and spicy to a point and could be classified as oriental but there are much better options in that sort of fragrance anyways, such as, Opium Pour Homme. I cannot really recommend this cologne, as I don’t really see the point of owning a bottle. It doesn’t last, it’s projection is poor, and though pleasant it is ultimately bland.

Axe White Label Forest Scent Review

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This is my second installment of reviewing the new White Label scents from Axe. In my first entry, I reviewed Night, and while that is a perfectly fine scent, I actually prefer Forest among the two options. So, in this post I wanted to give my initial impression of this fragrance from Axe and why I think it is a good scent.

 

Notes include: pear, starfruit, driftwood, and moss

 

Forest opens with a really intense note of pear blended with the starfruit, which makes it smell almost like a green apple. This scent is energetic upon its opening and when lathered that moss and driftwood notes begin to emerge which give it that masculine scent. As the name suggests, they are going for a woodsy fragrance and they have definitely succeeded on that end. The fruit notes aren’t too sweet but add a layer of complexity to the scent, so that it just doesn’t smell like a pine air freshener.

The emerging scent is crisp and natural in its airs. Even after it’s had an hour or so to breathe in the air you can still detect the pear note which offsets the moss and sort of pure, forest scent. Overall, I enjoy this shower gel, even more so than Night. I cannot say that this is the best Axe scent by any stretch but it is certainly a good one and I look forward to trying out the rest of the White Label lineup.