Fragrances

In this edition of the head to head fragrance comparisons, we have two entries from the Tom Ford line up, Oud Wood vs. Ombre Leather 18. Which of these two popular scents smells the best?

As always, I am going to break down these competitors into categories, determine which has the edge, and is the ultimate winner between them. I’ve linked my original review of each below, for further reading.

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Tale of the Tape: Ombre Leather vs Oud Wood

Ombre Leather

Notes include: leather, moss, jasmine, amber, patchouli and cardamom

Click here to try: Ombré Leather Eau de Parfum Spray, 1.7-oz.

My review: Ombre Leather

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Oud Wood

Notes include: rosewood, sandalwood, oud, vanilla, tonka bean, amber, cardamom, and vetiver

Click here to try: Tom Ford Private Blend Oud Wood Eau De Parfum Spray – 50ml/1.7oz

Read my original review: Oud Wood

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Opening

Oud Wood opens up with that oud note and cardamom. It also has a peppery spice to it from the jump, that settles as it moves along. Beyond that, there is heavy wood notes from the rosewood and sandalwood.

Plus, a nice dry vetiver. It’s nice, spicy, and has a very woody base. So, you get a nice punch before this one moves fully into what its name suggests is on its way.

Ombre Leather opens with leather, jasmine, moss, and saffron. It’s a very dark and dry with supple leathery warmth and a certain earthy quality to it all. To me, it does capture that desert-like mood that they used in the advertising.

It reminds me a lot of Godolphin, at the start, but ultimately is different from that scent.

Ombre, of course has that standout leather note, but there’s actually depth to it and I like that the brand didn’t just add a fruity note to it. The jasmine and saffron create a really interesting dynamic here.

Which is better? I like Oud Wood and its interesting opening, but I really enjoy Ombre Leather more. The saffron and leather combo is superb, always catches my attention.

Edge: Ombre Leather

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Projection

Ombre Leather starts off strong on my skin and then becomes a moderate scent after a few hours of wear. The sillage is pretty strong, overall.

Ombre projects itself well, while not being overbearingly heavy, there is that mossy freshness sitting underneath the main notes.

Oud Wood is really moderate at first and then becomes quite weak. The Intense version of this was stronger and heavier, but this original sits much closer to the skin and doesn’t bog you down.

Which, might be a good thing for you, but I wouldn’t expect it to have a massive projection unless you go crazy with the sprays.

Edge: Ombre Leather

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Longevity

Neither of these scents are elite in terms of how long they will last. I get 6-8 hours of wear from Ombre Leather.

Meanwhile, Oud Wood is pretty pitiful at 4-5 hours.

So, neither of these are among the best performers that Tom Ford has to offer. Oud Wood has always been disappointing to me, each time that I’ve tried it out. Ombre, is serviceable, but definitely not among the elite.

Edge: Ombre Leather

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Versatility

I don’t particular see an edge in this category. Both of these fragrances are suited best for autumn and winter. They can be worn casually or dressed up (but favor dressed up), can work well in an office environment, or for a night out.

Neither is really a club beast at all and Ombre Leather is probably a bit sexier and can be more unisex…but not a definitive edge.

Edge: Push

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Overall Scent

I’m not a huge fan of the oud note, but I do enjoy the smell of Oud Wood much more than others, which use that ingredient. They didn’t go overboard with it and create some nearly unwearable fragrance for most people.

It’s nice, it has a great woody base, but can be a bit sour on my skin sometimes. The performance is one of my biggest gripes about this scent, especially at Tom Ford prices.

On the other hand, I really enjoy Ombre Leather. The warm and dry composition, with its rich leather note is awesome, and one of my favorites from this designer.

Add to that, it has better performance than does Oud Wood, and it’s a pretty clear winner in my mind. Ombre is leathery, earthy, with nice floral touches of jasmine and is a pleasure to wear. (Get it here: Ombre Leather)

Winner: Ombre Leather 

The smokey incense note is actually found in many men’s fragrances. However, it isn’t often featured all that prominently. Mostly, it gets used with a light touch, to add a bit more depth to a composition. Though, when it is used correctly, incense can be a great note. In this post, I want to give some options for men who want a nice smelling incensed scented cologne. I ended up with five selections, which should be enough, to get one started.

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What are the Top Incense Colognes for Men?

Sweet, Spicy Winter Wear

Yves Saint Laurent Body Kouros for Men, Eau De Toilette, 3.3 Fluid Ounce
Great casual cologne which is a favorite of mine in the winter months. It blends eucalyptus, incense, and woods for a candy sweet fragrance with a bit of spice.

Kouros Body, is a very unique fragrance, that was released by YSL back in 2000. Really, there’s nothing else that smells quite like it, due to the ingredients it used.

The main note is bezoin that is paired with a smokey incense note and a somewhat medicinal eucalyptus. It is very smooth, with an enveloping warmth, and a light spice within the sweetness powered by sage. It is very simple and super fresh.

The sillage was always pretty moderate, but it has a solid wear time. However, when women got close to me while I was wearing this, it usually got me complements. Not too many guys wear this and I was glad to stand out. I reviewed Kouros Body here

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Dark Incense Aquatic

Giorgio Armani Aqua di Gio Profumo, 4.2 Fluid Ounce– A flanker from the original and best-selling Acqua di Gio, AdG Profumo, exceeds the original in my opinion. It is a dark aquatic fragrance with an attractive spice and smoky undertones provided by the incense note.

Profumo starts out with bergamot and deep sea aquatic notes. The composition screams out summertime spent on the coast and is more refined and masculine than its predecessor.

Great salty marine elements with sage and rosemary, giving it all extra heft. Awesome. Acqua di Gio Profumo Review

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Smooth, Leather, and Incense

Givenchy Gentlemen Only Intense Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 3.3 Ounce– Gentlemen Only Intense has a limited usability, being a nighttime wear, and not having the greatest longevity. However, it does have a very nice aroma, and incense note involved quite a lot.

It opens up smooth, warm, and sweet with note of leather, amber, and tonka bean. The smoky incense combines with this sweet and smooth triumvirate, to create a dark and rather unique scent.

You can usually find this for a good price, nowadays. I do wish it had better performance, but it does smell great. Gentlemen Only Intense Review

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A Bleu Option

Bleu De Chaneⅼ Eau De Parfum Pour Homme Spray 1.7 Fl. OZ. / 50ML.– You could also go with the EDT version of Bleu here, as well. However, I like the EDP, better overall. It opens up with citrus and spices (grapefruit, mint, ginger, and pink pepper), and then, later shifts into something warmer.

It will be a citrus, amber, and incense blend. Further along, the woodsy notes of cedar and sandalwood, really emerge from the base.

This is a fantastic cologne, not a pure bred example of incense, but there is definitely enough here to qualify. Great performance. Bleu de Chanel EDP Review

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Dark Then Floral

Valentino Uomo Noir Absolu For Men Eau de Parfum 3.4 Oz– Uomo Noir Absolu kicks things off with spices of cinnamon and pepper. It also has the iris note, which is in all of the Valentino Uomo fragrances. Noir starts off quite dark and spicy, becomes somewhat sweeter, with a powdered iris.

Later on, is when the incense note comes out as a huge part of this fragrance. It is paired with sandalwood and Uomo Noir takes on more of an oriental blend of aromas.

The performance here is really good, I got 8-10 hours, during testing. An excellent choice for cold weather. Uomo Noir Full Review

Most of us grew up with the smell of baby powder being around. It’s probably one of our earliest sensory memories, at least from an aroma standpoint. That clean and fresh smell, the white talcum powder, and just a pleasant memory of our youth. To this day, I still enjoy the scent.

As such, I like to throw on some cologne from time to time, which brings back those memories without the actual white powder mess. In this post, I am going to give you five different options, that will deliver the baby powder freshness in a perfume form.

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What Men’s Fragrances Smell Like Baby/Talcum Powder?

Designer Powder

Prada L’homme Prada L’eau for Men Eau De Toilette Spray, 3.4 Ounce– This isn’t my favorite of the Prada L’Homme line (that’d be Intense), but it is the one with most powdery aroma. It is lead by iris and neroli with woody notes at the top.

L’eau is an airy sort of fragrance, but actually hangs around quite well. Later, I pick up the light spice of the ginger note. This isn’t a full on baby powder smell, but it is close, and has enough of a masculine edge to separate itself. L’Homme L’Eau Review.

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Greenish Rose

BURBERRY Brit Eau De Toilette for Him– Brit takes the talcum powder smell and adds spice and the scent of roses to it. This men’s fragrances is super fresh and green. It opens with ginger, nutmeg, and a great tonka bean note.

Along with that, is a light mandarin orange note, which adds a dash of citrus to the composition. As it dries down, Brit, really starts to take on the powdery quality. The rose and cedar combine with the tonka bean, and dominate the composition.

You do still have the ginger and nutmeg spices underneath. I really like wearing this one, as you do get that powdery scent, but delivered in a unique way. The sillage is moderate and I tend to get 8 hours of wear from this perfume. Burberry Brit Review

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Clean Ginger Baby Powder

Bvlgari BLV By Bvlgari For Men Eau De Toilette Spray 3.4 Oz– This one also has a ginger spice, but it Blv has a warmer profile with a great cardamom note, and then the awesome smell of juniper berries.

Beyond that you get teak wood and tobacco flower, but all of the notes sort of blend to create, a really clean baby powder aroma. What’s great is that this Bvlgari cologne, isn’t a heavy one, and is still enjoyable to wear when the temperatures are high. Bvlgari Blv Review

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Citrus and Iris Powder

Baby Blue Jeans By Gianni Versace For Men. Eau De Toilette Spray 1.6 Ounces– Baby Blue Jeans isn’t as good as the original Blue Jeans, but it is still a very good option for the baby or talcum powder segment. 

This Versace scent starts out with some powerful citrus notes, mostly consisting of lime, and finishes with the inclusion of iris and sandalwood. The lime is the main attraction here and has a tart aroma to it, but the powder really ratchets up a few hours in with the iris note.

Baby Blue Jeans isn’t a ‘pure’ baby powder fragrance, the whole way through, but it does offer a nice change of pace from the rest of the list.

Classic Style

Royal Copenhagen By Royal Copenhagen For Men. Cologne Spray 3.4 oz– Royal Copenhagen is a fragrance that has been around for a long time and definitely brings that old school sort of feel.

It is a powdery fragrance, but also has a solid amount of musk, and a calming lavender note to boot. Royal Copenhagen is quite clean, with a definite masculine air about it. This feels very refined and grown up, all at a really nice price point.

Other than that, I really like how the tobacco note floats in and out of a major position within the smell, and it also has a prominent rose note, much like Burberry Brit.

Giorgio Armani has put out a lot of insanely popular men’s fragrances, over the year. Among the best of them, have been the Code series. Armani Code was the original and made a huge impact, on the fragrance world, 10-15 years ago. Since then, a whole host of flanker fragrances have been released under the Code banner, including 2018’s Code Absolu. Which one smells better, though? Which has the better performance? Which one is the best buy?

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Tale of the Tape: Code vs. Absolu

Armani Code

Notes include: citrus, lavender, apple, leather, tobacco, star anise, woods

Click here to try: Armani Code By Giorgio Armani For Men. Eau De Toilette Spray 4.2 Oz.

Read my review: Armani Code

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Code Absolu

Notes include: vanilla, tonka bean, suede, nutmeg, rum accord, mandarin, apple, orange blossom, wood, and carrot seeds

Click here to try: Giorgio Armani Code Absolu EDP Eau de Parfum For Men 3.7oz

Read my review: Code Absolu

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Opening

The original Code opens up with some fruity top notes, consisting of citrus and some apple. The citrus is the main attraction, but quickly joined by tobacco, star anise, and leather. It is freshly spiced with a powdery quality. Yet, with that nice citrus touch, which will grow weaker during the latter stages.

Code Absolu opens up with a spiciness provided by nutmeg and rum. These two notes are smoothed out by suede and tonka bean. This also has some citrus, at the top, from mandarin orange. Plus, the same apple note. Nutmeg and tonka bean are the strongest at the start, before the suede starts coming in more.

Which is better? I have to say, that I enjoy Code Absolu, more than the original. It starts off with a better spiciness, the sweetness and smooth suede is also better. It feels like it has more depth and a darker quality.

Edge: Code Absolu

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Projection

The sillage of the original Code is moderately strong, at the start. Then, it is pretty steady, in the moderate camp thereafter. Code Absolu, hits a stronger initial ability to project itself, and stays fairly strong (but not overwhelming) throughout. It’s got the better projecting ability.

Edge: Absolu

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Longevity

Code feels somewhat weaker than it used to and no longer stays around for the same amount of time. Older bottles, used to get around 8 hours. Now, it seems to be confined to the 5-6 hour range. Absolu will go way above 10 hours, on my skin, and blows the older bottles of the original out of the water.

Edge: Absolu

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Versatility

These two colognes, essentially occupy the same space, as you’d expect. Both are best worn when the temperatures are cooler and are great as nightlife scents. Yes, the both have an attractive and sexy scent. No clear winner, here.

Edge: Push

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Overall Scent

The original Armani Code is a classic and still a best seller, to this day. It’s got a great scent. The citrus up front, with the spice, and the later leather/tonka bean notes are all very nice. However, reformulations happen, and it’s not exactly the same as it used to be. Still very good, but weaker and tweaked a bit.

Code Absolu is now the best of the Armani Code lineup. It’s slightly better than my previous favorite, Code Profumo. I also consider it to be, one of the best fragrances out there right now, for men.

It does everything right, from the smell, down to the performance. The vanilla and tonka bean, come to dominate the dry down, but the spice and the light citrus make this one beautiful to smell.

You can still pick up much cheaper bottles of the original, but without any consideration for price, Code Absolu takes this one.

Winner: Absolu

It’s not quite ‘officially’ summer just yet. Although, it has been hotter than Hades, where I live for over a month now. As such, I thought that I’d get back into doing some seasonal type of posts, and start things off with Creed.

Now, I’ve already done lists of the best overall men’s and women’s scents, from this designer; but let’s go ahead and narrow things down for the summer months, shall we? I have selected three perfumes from Creed’s lineup and presented them below in order of ‘best’.

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What are the Best Creed Fragrances for Summer?

1. Creed Millesime Imperial Spray, 4.0 fl. oz.

Creed Imperial has a lemon and sea salt opening blend, which actually gives off a melon, sort of aroma. It is very fresh and salty, with the fruit ingredients being dominant throughout. However, as it moves along, more of the oceanic influence comes in, along with musk, and a light iris note.

This one is a great summer wear, as it just feels bright, dynamic, and like a day at the shore. The sillage isn’t heavy, but I’ve always gotten 7 hours of wear out of Imperial Millesime. This is my favorite one to wear in the warmer months. My original review.

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2. Creed Silver Mountain Water Eau De Parfum Spray, 3.3 Ounce

Silver Mountain Water starts off with citrus notes of bergamot and mandarin orange. There is a black currant note in there, as well, but it becomes more noticeable later on to my nose.

Also later, the green tea note takes over, and this scent becomes a clean and green herbal fragrance with the citrus in the background.

The sillage isn’t super powerful with this one either, but you can overspray it pretty easily. Longevity was around 6 hours, on my skin. Silver Mountain Water Review

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3. Creed Virgin Island Water Eau De Parfum Spray, 3.3 Fl Ounce

Virgin Island Water is some folks favorite Creed wear, during the summer months. For me, it is the third best, as I’m not as high on it. VIW opens with a citrus and rum accord, the citrus being bergamot and lime. I really like that opening blast, as it feels like sitting on a beach, with a tropical drink in hand.

When the coconut comes in heavier, this one starts to take on more of a suntan lotion aroma. Plenty of people enjoy that, I think that it is just okay.

Virgin Island Water is built for the summertime, though, and for that it is an over nice choice for men or women. Virgin Island Water Review

So, those are my three choices for the best Creed perfume options for the summer. I know some people might expect Aventus to be on here, but I actually think that it performs at its worst, when it gets hot and humid out. I like that one a lot more in the autumn through springtime. These three options should yield an option for just about anyone looking to get into a Creed purchase.