Fragrances

Versace Eros vs Polo Red Cologne Comparison

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It’s been a little while since I have done a cologne comparison and so I thought that I’d present a head to head match up between a Versace and a Polo scent. Eros vs. Polo Red. Both of these colognes are highly popular fragrances that have been released in the past 3-4 years and usually occupy a similar pricing point. I like both and have owned (own) both of them before. Which one is better? Which is the better performer? Is one worth a purchase?

Tale of the Tape: Eros vs Polo Red

Versace Eros 

Notes of Eros: mint, green apple, tonka bean, madagascar vanilla, vetiver

versace eros

Read my Eros review

Shop Amazon for: Versace Eros Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 3.4 Fluid Ounce

Polo Red Tale of the Tape

rp_polo-red-300x259.jpg

Notes of Polo Red: grapefruit, italian lemon, cranberry, saffron, sage

Try Polo Red: Ralph Lauren Polo Red Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 4.2 Ounce

Read my original review: Polo Red Ralph Lauren Review

Opening

The opening of Eros is like a heavy, cool, and gourmand blast that then begins to warm up rather quickly. Polo Red is sweet and warm with a candy-like lemon and cranberry combo. I really like Polo Red in the opening but I feel that Eros is just more interesting, even if it can be overpowering.

Update: Eros now seems to have more of the lemon up top than previously, at least to my nose. It’s more of a citrus mint up top, whereas the was more balance and a creamier tonka/vanilla aroma, in the very early stages.

Polo Red starts with that citrus and cranberry sweet/sharp blend. It’s bright and sits on top of plenty of amber.

Which one is better? I’d probably still go with Eros, but it’s less clear cut than it had been previously.

Edge: Eros

Projection

Versace Eros is an absolute monster in this regard. Polo Red is on the lower end of moderate with how it projects. I often have to double up on the application of Red, just to make it stand out. Eros never has that problem.

Update: Eros is still better with the sillage than Polo Red, but it isn’t as strong as it was in the initial bottles.

Edge: Eros

Longevity

My biggest gripe with Polo Red has always been the longevity issues. It works rather well when I double up but can have the tendency to just give out sometimes.

Eros is not only loud and bold, it also has always gotten very great wear anytime I’ve put it on. Even if you don’t like Eros, it simply performs.

Update: Eros has also lost some of its longevity, but again, still better than Red.

Edge: Eros

Versatility

Polo Red is good in the spring and summertime. I think it works decent enough in the colder months also. Red is a nice casual wear that is safe for the office but can be worn on dates without problem.

Eros…I can’t call it an office scent (it could be done, technically), but it is an in your face type of fragrance. Eros is also a cold weather scent, it can get somewhat ugly in the heat. Gotta give the nod to Polo.

Edge: Polo Red

Overall Scent

I’m going to go with Eros. However, I really do like wearing Polo Red…it’s just got some performance issues. Eros isn’t really a cologne for everyone nor is it for ever situation but there are plenty of guys who will appreciate it.

It is a rich, bold, and very nice gourmand that is built for romantic wear. It’s the better of the two. However, nowadays I might go with Polo Red Extreme as my first choice from these line of scent. I’m still fairly high on Versace Eros, just not to the same extent.

Winner: Eros

Polo Red Intense vs. Extreme Cologne Comparison

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Today, I am going to be doing a head to head comparison between two Ralph Lauren fragrances. These two entries are from the Polo Red lineup and are flankers to the original cologne: Polo Red Extreme vs. Intense. I have worn and review each already, but which one is the better buy? Which lasts longer? Smells the best? I will break down each by category, before declaring an ultimate winner.

Tale of the Tape: Red Intense vs Extreme

Polo Red Extreme

Notes include: blood orange, coffee, ebony wood

Click here to try: Polo Red Extreme Eau de Parfum Spray 4.2 Ounce, Ralph Lauren Men

Read my review: Polo Red Extreme

Polo Red Intense

Notes include: cranberry, grapefruit, coffee, leather, ginger, amber, lavender, lemon, cedar, sage, saffron

Click here to try: Ralph Lauren Polo Red Intense for Men 4.2 Oz Edp Spray By Ralph Lauren, 4.2 Fluid Ounce

Read my original review: Polo Red Intense

Opening

Polo Red Extreme opens up with coffee and blood orange, I also get a bit of that tart cranberry note, which is in all Polo Red fragrances.

Intense opens with a similar profile to the original Polo Red, using cranberry and lemon, for a bright fruity start. However, it is also joined by spicy notes such as ginger, sage, saffron, and that warm coffee.

Which is better? I think that Intense is quite an improvement over the original and I like it a whole lot. However, I like the mature simplicity of Extreme, even more.

The blood orange note is great, very juicy, and the coffee is even stronger than the rest of the lineup. Not way better, but I like it a tad more.

Edge: Extreme

Projection

To me, the first few hours of wear, for both Intense and Extreme are about the same. The sillage for each is quite strong and will definitely project itself plenty away from the wearer. After a few hours, Intense becomes more moderate, while Extreme remains close to how it opened.

Edge: Extreme

Longevity

Again, in terms of performance, they are quite similar but Extreme has the ability to go longer. Extreme lasts 8-10 hours, on my skin, depending on the day. Meanwhile, Intense lasts 7-9 hours. Obviously, some overlap here, but Extreme reaches a greater height.

Edge: Extreme

Versatility

These scents are pretty equal, in when they can be worn. Both are best for cooler temperatures and don’t do great in the heat. Casual and nightlife fragrances mainly, but you can wear to the office, if you go light with the spray. No real distinction.

Edge: Push

Overall Scent

Polo Red Intense is a really great fragrance. I liked the original Polo Red and then this came along, and improved upon every aspect of it. It has a lot of personality and great complexity.

The dry down period features sweet fruit, smooth leather/coffee, warm amber, and lavender. It’s got very good performance and is a solid scent overall. I recommend it, completely.

Update: I’m not into Red Intense as much now, then when it first came out. I would definitely go with Extreme over it now.

However, I think Polo Red Extreme, is a little better. It’s really simplistic with that blood orange/cranberry opening, coffee, and ebony wood in the dry down.

Yes, you will have to love the blood orange and coffee mix to like this one, but it is damn good. The performance is really great and it’s smooth and warm profile is a joy to wear.

Extreme wins this round, not by a huge margin, but enough for the nod.

Winner: Extreme

La Nuit de l’Homme vs. Creed Aventus

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or this fragrance comparison match up, I want to do a head to head, between two of the better men’s colognes out on the market: Creed Aventus vs. La Nuit de L’Homme by Yves Saint Laurent. Which of these two scents is the better buy? Which has the better sillage? Longevity? Which smells the best? I have worn both many times and have reviewed each. Now, I will break it down by category, before declaring an ultimate winner.

Tale of the Tape: La Nuit vs Aventus

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 try Aventus: Creed Aventus Creed 4 OZ Millesime Spray For Men

My original Review: Creed Aventus

La Nuit

Notes include: cardamom, bergamot, vetiver, lavender, cedar

Try it out: Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit De L’homme Eau de Toilette Spray, 3.3-Ounce

Read my review: La Nuit de l’Homme

Opening

La Nuit de L’Homme opens up with its main ingredient of cardamom and the addition of bergamot. Now, the bergamot, adds a light citrus touch to the start. However, the warm cardamom is much more of a force.

It is warm, fresh, with a light spice. After 15-20 minutes, the bergamot, is mostly replaced by lavender.

Aventus starts off quite sharp. Black currant and pineapple, at the top, will have the tendency to be harsh together. Add that mix, to birch wood, and it’s not my favorite. I’m not saying the opening of Aventus is terrible, but I’ve never enjoyed it, even if I do like the fragrance in its totality.

This round is obviously going to the YSL. It is simple, yet very effective.

Edge: La Nuit

Projection

The opening act of La Nuit is fairly moderate, but not weak. It does lighten up much more, as it moves along, but it won’t be mistaken for a sillage monster.

Aventus, isn’t elite with its strength, but it is a strong cologne. Plus, that strength will last for a long time, and doesn’t weaken the same way La Nuit does. Easy win here.

Edge: Aventus

Longevity

La Nuit has always lasted on me for 6-8 hours. I get 8-9 with Aventus. Some wears, they’re about equals, but most of the time Aventus will outlast its competitor.

Update: Newer bottles of Nuit aren’t even hitting that level. So, this is an easy win for the Creed.

Edge: Aventus

Versatility

Aventus is great in every season, except for the height of summer, where it is just so-so. It’s performance in the heat, isn’t spectacular, and I try to avoid wearing it then. La Nuit is better in colder weather through spring, but also not great in summer. Seasonally, they are equal.

Otherwise, they are both very versatile fragrances. They can both work in formal situations, work, date, late nights, whenever. I don’t really see any separation between them in this category.

Edge: Push

Overall Scent

When it comes down to it, both of the colognes, are awesome scents to wear. But which one has the upper hand? La Nuit has a great main duo of cardamom and lavender. It is warm, fresh, and smells really damn good.

The next layer of vetiver and cedar, only add to its overall appeal. Very clean, masculine, and receives complements.

Aventus doesn’t start off wonderful, but gets better, and has a whole lot of depth. The sharpness subsides, the woodsy notes led by birch are great and have a smokey touch. Then, there is some vanilla sweetness, with the now weaker fruity top notes.

I have to say, I think that Aventus is the better fragrance overall. The range of smells is more dynamic, the performance is better, and the quality is more consistent from bottle to bottle over the years.

I like the smell of each, for different reasons, and they are neck and neck in that aspect. Every other point, Aventus is equal to or better than, La Nuit.

That being said, if I had to buy one of them, and had enough cash to buy the Creed. I would probably buy La Nuit and some other fragrance(s), for the same amount as one bottle of Aventus.

I like having options and the price difference is pretty substantial here. Keep that in mind as an option, also. Or, you could try a fragrance that attempts to have the same Creed Aventus smell.

Update: La Nuit feels too weak and underperforms these days. As such, I’d probably go with something else. But, Aventus is still better.

Winner: Aventus

Lucky You for Men by Lucky Brand

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I’ve done literally hundreds of fragrance reviews on this site from the very expensive to the completely cheap. It can be tough to compare the top shelf stuff to the inexpensive wearers because frankly they’re not the same thing. As such, I tend to grade the inexpensive colognes on a different scale, so to speak.

They are there for everyday wear, to smell good, and to have decent enough performance…if they pass those hurdles and it fits your style, then they are usually a decent buy because you don’t have to break the bank to acquire them.

Today I’d like to take a closer look at Lucky You under the Lucky Brand label and under the Liz Claiborne umbrella, which is usually available for under $15 a bottle.

What does Lucky You Cologne Smell Like?

Notes include: tamarind, bamboo, cardamom, cotton flower, musk, sandalwood

Click here to try: Lucky You Lucky Brand Cologne Spray 3.4 Oz For Men

My Full Review

During the opening of Lucky You, I really have a hard time detecting exactly what the notes are supposed to be.  It’s green, fresh, somewhat soapy, and has its own distinct aroma. Looking at the ingredients, I can tell why it can be difficult, as most of those notes aren’t everyday smells.

After a few minutes, I definitely start getting the musk note, which isn’t heavy but does give this cologne some character. The opening does come on pretty strong, even if Lucky You is overall pretty mild.

There’s really green almost grassy note supported by a base of various woods, which while making it interesting, might scare some folks off initially.

Since this is a Liz Claiborne creation, I compare it to scents such as Curve or Bora Bora or Mambo.  Out of the four, Curve is still the best smelling, in my mind.

However, I think I’d put Lucky You as a secondary candidate, it has its own unique thing going on while still being attractive. It isn’t any type of grand creation that will blow you away, it’s pretty synthetic smelling, but there is a definite appeal here.

The fragrance itself is rather simple and straightforward. Most of the development, is one note gaining strength while another fades. For instance, more musk early on, with a grassier/floral disposition later on. It loses some of that soapy clean quality, while still remaining totally fresh.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, Lucky You isn’t strong outside of the first few minutes. Also, the longevity is pretty weak also, one will need more sprays than usual to get anything more than a few hours with this.

However, if you do over-spray, it’ll go for 4-6 hours, mostly as a skin scent. If you’re wearing a t-shirt you don’t care much about preserving, it can spray on fabric and last a decent amount of time. Still not a workhorse.

It’s best served as a casual fragrance for younger guys (think teens to mid 20s) and since it is so inexpensive, it fits naturally into that demographic. This isn’t a date night or club wear, though…it’s an everyday, casual school/work type of scent.

Lucky You is a nice little change of pace from the usual fare, in the spring and summertime. It wears very well in the warmer weather, without having an aquatic or super citrus vibe like others.

Overall Impression of Lucky You

Overall, is Lucky You worth a buy? If you fit into the demographic and need something really inexpensive to wear on a daily basis, I might give it a try. It doesn’t really fit with me so I’ll pass.

I also think that there are much better smelling scent for cheap (as I’ve documented here and here) but I won’t say this is a bad buy. Lucky You is pretty good, although it’s longevity leaves much to be desired.

But again, it costs like $10-12 per bottle usually, so I can’t complain too much about performance. It’s a nice smelling starter cologne for those on a tight budget. If you can afford more, definitely go with something else. Even if you can’t, there are still yet more options.

Polo Red Extreme vs Polo Blue Comparison

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For this entry into the men’s fragrance comparisons, I am going to be taking a closer look at two scents from the Ralph Lauren line up: Polo Red Extreme vs. Polo Blue EDT. I will break down each by different categories and deciding factors to determine, which one smells better? Which lasts longer? Ultimately, which men’s cologne is the better buy?

Tale of the Tape

Polo Blue

Notes include: amber, melon, patchouli, geranium, cucumber, tangerine, moss, musk

Click here to try: Polo Blue by Ralph Lauren for Men, Eau De Toilette Natural Spray, 4.2 Ounce

Read my original review: Polo Blue Review

Polo Red Extreme

Notes include: blood orange, coffee, ebony wood

Click here to try: Polo Red Extreme Eau de Parfum Spray 4.2 Ounce, Ralph Lauren Men

Read my review: Polo Red Extreme

Opening

Polo Blue opens with melon and cucumber notes, giving it a cool, familiar, and crisp aroma. There is a constant aquatic note, at the heart of the fragrance, with tangerine and amber adding a bit more to the composition. It smells nice and has a rather simple aroma.

Red Extreme is also pretty simple, in its presentation. You get a big burst of blood orange and coffee notes. It’s simple, but is actually quite unique versus most of what you’ll get on the market. There is also a hint of that tart cranberry, which is found in the original Polo Red.

Which is better? Polo Blue is pleasant, but I prefer the opening of Red Extreme. That blood orange and coffee combination is just great, it does its own thing, while staying somewhat true to the original.

Edge: Red Extreme

Projection

The sillage of Polo Blue is pretty solid throughout, but not a bold fragrance. It is more of a moderate, that will get noticed close by, but not take over a room. It’s also an EDT, so the power is going to be less than the EDP, Red Extreme.

Extreme is quite strong and stays that way throughout. It’s probably not as ‘extreme’ as the name would suggest, but it has no problems projecting.

Edge: Red Extreme

Longevity

Polo Blue is a good performer overall. I have always gotten 7-8 hours of wear, on my skin, while wearing that cologne. However, it again falls short of the performance of Red Extreme. That fragrance will go 8-10 hours of wear.

Edge: Red Extreme

Versatility

In terms of occasion, they are pretty equal as to when they can be worn. However, in terms of climate, I think that Polo Blue has the advantage. It can be worn year round and will hold up way better in the heat, than Extreme.

Extreme can go into moderate temperatures, but is not a summertime scent. The Red is much more limited with its wearable opportunities.

Edge: Blue

Overall Scent

Polo Blue EDT is a nice scent. It’s never amazed me, as it’s pretty basic, and there are lots of similar scents. To me, I like the aquatic elements and the hints of citrus within that. Price wise, I would probably get Eternity Aqua over Polo Blue, as it’s similar and usually cheaper nowadays.

It does have the advantage, in that, it can be worn pretty much anytime. That’s usually a big selling point with Blue.

Red Extreme is also quite linear but it smells better and has greater performance versus Polo Blue. The blood orange and coffee are really nice, and then, there is the ebony wood note which brings its own unique element to the cologne.

Not everyone is going to like the notes in this, but it is a better composition in my mind, versus Blue.

Winner: Red Extreme