Fragrances

Best Smelling Playboy Colognes for Men

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Playboy as a branding logo, name, and lifestyle persona has been used from casinos to nightclubs to the subject of today’s post, men’s fragrances.

Now, before I get to the list of the five best scents from this line, I want to make it understood that these are very inexpensive colognes and not always comparable to designer fragrances.

However, out of all of the colognes that were produced under the Playboy imprint, there were some surprisingly nice wears that are available for under $10 and as low as $5 in some cases. NOTE: HERE IS THE LIST OF THE BEST WOMEN’S PLAYBOY PERFUMES

What are the Top Playboy Fragrances for Him?

Low Key and Unique

Playboy Vegas By Playboy For Men Edt Spray 3.3 Oz– An herbal/powdery/sweet/spice opening that transforms itself into more of a woodsy scent during its short life cycle. No, Vegas is not a longevity or projection beast, even by Playboy cologne standards.

However, while it lasts it’s quite an attractive fragrance, which is good enough to reapply. It actually feels rather unique, which is rare at this price point. There is a tea note, apple, a nice basil kick, and it dries down with doses of vanilla and lavender.

You’d think that the Vegas one would be more of a bold or nightlife kind of cologne…nope. Actually, a light aromatic.

Familiar Fresh

Playboy New York Eau De Toilette Spray for Men, 3.4 Ounce– Playboy actually has an array of scents available for under $10 and in fact, most of them can be had for $5 currently. New York is one of the best of the bunch.

A very fresh and sweet scent that feels like a designer fragrance clone…a vaguely familiar mix of several scents. Think along the lines of Montblanc Legend and all the others, that smell like it. This is the super cheap version.

The performance is okay when compared to most colognes but for the insanely low price, Playboy New York is an absolute winner. Playboy New York Full Review

Sweet Winter Cologne

Playboy Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, VIP, 3.4 Ounce– A sweet chocolatey fragrance with a nice boozy spice provided by a rum note and smoothed out by tonka bean. Not super sugary when blended with the rum note.

Nice gourmand entry from Playboy and it actually has okay longevity and won’t crap out in a few hours. Not that it goes super long, but it held up well enough. Enjoyable wintertime scent.

Boozy Semi-Gourmond 

Playboy London Eau De Toilette Spray for Men, 3.4 Ounce–  This is possibly the most interesting and perhaps the most refined of the Playboy label. London has notes of tonka bean, brandy, and cinnamon with a pretty solid longevity.

The brandy note gives it a boozy start and the blend of cinnamon and tonka bean, feels quite powdery, on my skin. Warm and cozy with a sweet floral and clean cedar base to hold things together.

At this price, point I have ranked this as one of the best scents available. Playboy did good. Playboy London Full Review

Cheap Code

Hollywood Playboy by Coty for Men Eau De Toilette Spray 3.4 oz– Soft, powdery, and sweet like a very poor man’s Armani Code. But hey, for $5-10, you can double up the sprays to make it last longer than the few hours it usually gives.

Hollywood is a mixed bag performance wise, though, it could serve a place in a teenager’s collection. Synthetic citrus opening with lavender and vanilla, really coming through after 15 minutes or so. Once it settles, Hollywood is actually pretty enjoyable to wear.

5 Best Smelling Sean John Colognes

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Celebrities love creating their own fragrance lines. Many do a piss-poor job at it. Puff Daddy and his Sean John line of scents for men, did a pretty good job at it. Now, I wouldn’t rate any of these colognes as having blown me away but there are definitely some that are quite nice, and can be had for a fair price. In this post, I’d like to put forth the five best scents from Sean John, that are actually worth a try.

What are the Top Sean Jean Fragrances?

Crisp Citrus and Spice

Sean John 3 AM Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 3.4 Ounce– Fresh citrus notes meet gin and tonic for an appealing late night encounter.

It’s got a light spicy feeling, that has a cool aroma, and not a heavy overhanded spiciness. It’s like Very Cool by Tommy Bahama with a citrus/tonic blend sitting on top.

It’s a nice scent, but I don’t really dig the lack of longevity on this one, which can be a problem when you get into the less expensive designer fragrances. Still in the top 5 for the opening alone.

Best Overall Sean John

Unforgivable By Sean John For Men. Eau De Toilette Spray 4.2 Oz.– Again Sean John decides to hit you with the citrus notes and the booze (is it any wonder Puff went into Ciroc vodka?) but this is probably the best the line has to offer.

Unforgiveable is blend of the citrus notes, but the orange note really comes through the most. A pinch of saltiness and the rest combines to create a bit of a melon-like smell.

Very clean scent that is actually quite attractive to the opposite sex and has a nice support of rum, tonka bean, and sandalwood notes. It’s also one of the most popular colognes from this lineup.

Fruity Semi-Aquatic

I Am King by Sean John for Men – 3.4 Ounce EDT Spray– Cranberry/Orange aquatic mix that is a light daytime type of wear but good for the warmer months. The fruit notes are almost candy-like but I must admit that I kind of like it. Longevity isn’t so great, though.

The opening has some tartness for the cranberry note, but that fades and the fruit notes feel a bit sweet and bright.

Then, there is an underlying aquatic note. It’s a light and watery sort of aroma but has a enjoyable cleanliness.

Boozy Unforgivable

Unforgivable Black by Sean John For Men. Eau De Toilette Spray 2.5-Ounces– Has a lot of similarities with the original but this one really hits with the rum note, so, if you like boozy scents you’d be well-served getting this one ahead of Unforgivable.

Also, Black has good longevity, which makes it a nice deal for the price. It’s not too different from the original, but that rum note and some citrus is pumped up higher. It’s more difficult to find nowadays, though, if you can get a cheap bottle it’s worth a try.

Fizzy Citrus and Amber Woods

Sean John Unforgivable Night by Sean John for Men Eau De Toilette Spray, 4.2-Ounce– Citrus, amber, boozy notes, and wood make Night a very interesting fragrance. It is an energetic nightlife composition with the right hint of sexiness to attract the ladies.

There is a fizziness to this cologne with notes of juniper berry and champagne. The citrus is the star and there isn’t a strong rum note like the fragrance listed above.

The performance isn’t as good as the other two Unforgivable fragrances, so this would be my third choice. Nonetheless, I do enjoy the citrus here.

A*Men Pure Shot by Thierry Mugler

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I’m a pretty big fan of a lot of men’s colognes from Thierry Mugler, so I’m always looking to try scents from this designer that I have yet to experience. I received a sample sprayer of one such fragrance, A*Men Pure Shot, which is from the Angel Men line.

In this post, I’m going to go over my experiences of wearing this scent, what in it, how it performs, what I like and don’t like, and if I think that this one is worth a buy.

What does A*Men Pure Shot Smell Like?

Notes include: mint, patchouli, juniper, pepper, and sequoia

Click here to try: Thierry Mugler Angel Men Pure Shot Eau de Toilette Spray for Men (Limited Edition), 3.4 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

The opening of Pure Shot is a party of mint and patchouli with some juniper throw in for good measure. Immediately, I am reminded of Ice Men, also by Mugler which also a mint and patchouli heavy cologne.

These two are almost the exact same scent, which makes me wonder why one of the two was even necessary to produce in the first place.

The separation of the two comes from the juniper berry note, which in my opinion isn’t really distinct enough to set them apart. The spice in Pure Shot is pepper, while in Ice Men it is nutmeg, but the effect is basically the same for your nose.

I do think that Pure Shot develops a bit more than its counterpart, which is pretty linear throughout wear. It has a noticeable sequoia wood note as it moves along and the juniper does allow for distinction.

I do like the mint and juniper combination, it does indeed create that fresh, crisp, and very cool aroma. It’s not amazing, but I do enjoy it.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, Pure Shot is decent. It can actually be pretty heavy at first spray, but that fades rather quickly. After that initial start, I was expecting a really bold and long lasting scent, but that wasn’t meant to be.

Longevity isn’t that great either, probably around 4-6 hours, depending on the circumstance. At this price point, it should be a lot better than this. I think that it has been discontinued, as of me updating this post, so it’s become even pricier.

This could be a nice casual scent for someone. I think it provides a nice contrast with the warmer weather and a good change of pace from the usual summer scents.

It’s cooled mint, juniper, and patchouli mix gives off a nice bite of icy spice. Not really a formal wear or something for the nightlife either. Just something to spray on during the spring and summertime, when you’re just hanging out.

Overall Impressions of Pure Shot

Overall, do I think Pure Shot is worth it? Not for me. It is slightly better than Ice Men, but almost completely identical aside from the juniper. It’s not a great performer and doesn’t live up to the other gems of the A*Men line of fragrances.

I don’t think it smells horrible by any means and if you like mint and patchouli, you’d probably enjoy this one, assuming you can get a cheap bottle. It’s a fairly average scent with nothing really special about it.

Azzaro Wanted vs Wanted by Night

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Azzaro really struck upon a hit with its release of Wanted. It followed up in 2018, with its flanker scent, Wanted by Night. As such, a lot of people now have a dilemma about which of these fragrances they should buy, the original or the flanker? In this post, I’m going to break down each and compare them by category, before declaring an overall winner.

Tale of the Tape: Wanted vs. Wanted by Night

Wanted by Azzaro

Notes include: tonka bean, lemon, cardamom, vetiver, juniper, ginger, geranium, mint, amber wood

Click here to try: Azzaro Wanted Eau De Toilette Spray, 3.4 Ounce

Read my original Review: Wanted Review

Wanted by Night

Notes include: cumin, cinnamon, lavender, tobacco, lemon, orange, cedar, cypress, patchouli, fruits

Click here to try: Azzaro Wanted by Night Eau de Parfum for Men – Mens Cologne

Read my full review: Wanted by Night

Opening

The original Wanted starts things off with a prominent lemon note heading things up. It’s actually got a pretty similar smell to Invictus versus being a sharp and intense sort of lemon. Then, the next few minutes start to ramp up the warm and spicy cardamom, along with the creamy tonka bean note.

Meanwhile, Wanted by Night, plays down its own citrus and fruity notes. They are present, but take a back seat to the spices, particularly cinnamon and cumin. The start closely resembles Ultra Male by JPG, just stripped of the pear note, and the original Wanted.

Along with the cinnamon and cumin, is a nice tobacco note and some benzoin.

Which is better? I’ve always thought that Wanted was decent but not amazing at the start. Wanted by Night, is the better of the two in my opinion. It retains some sweetness, but the cinnamon spice and tobacco notes really set it apart.

Edge: Wanted by Night

Sillage

Which of these two is stronger? Both of these start out pretty powerful and can project themselves well. After that, each settles down to a more moderate scent, while still being above average when compared to other colognes.

I’ve worn both of these plenty and don’t really notice a clear cut winner, in this category, it’s about even.

Edge: Push

Longevity

Again, the performance for me is about the same. Both of these gives me 7-9 hours of wear, on my skin. Neither is elite, but they are quite good and can give you the full work day equivalent. They are similar scents, so, this is not to be unexpected.

Versatility

Seasonally, I think is where Wanted gets the edge. It can venture much more easily into the warmth of spring and when it’s not insanely hot out during the summer. Meanwhile, Wanted by Night is more confined to the autumn and winter months.

Both would be geared a bit more toward casual wear and nightlife. I don’t consider either to be formal or more of an office scent. Wanted by Night is a bit more mature, but still has a youthful vibe.

Edge: Wanted

Overall Scent

Wanted was always a pretty good cologne to me, but I never felt blown away by it. Its similarities to Invictus at the start, wasn’t a selling point to me. However, the dry down is much nicer with the apple and juniper notes.

However, Wanted by Night is just better to me. I like how it starts, I like the spiciness, and since it resembles much of what you get from Wanted in the latter stages…it makes more sense to pick up. I like the darker qualities while having enough sweetness to avoid being a spicy mess.

I like both, not in love with either, but I’d rather wear Wanted by Night. I mean, I have been wearing Night over the past few weeks, fairly regularly and that’s never been the case with Wanted.

Winner: Wanted by Night

Bvlgari Aqua Pour Homme

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I’ve had this review idea sitting in my drafts folder for a couple of years now. I entirely forgot to review Bvlgari Aqva, way back then, and have overlooked it ever since. So, here I am to remedy that oversight, armed with another mini bottle of this Bvlgari aquatic fragrance.

This one was released in 2005.

How does it stack up? What does it smell like? Does it last long? Please continue reading below for my full take of Aqva. Note: I have updated this post, a few years later, to add some further depth and experience with it.

What does Bvlgari Aqua Smell Like?

Notes include: mandarin, seaweed, cedar, orange, lavender, petitgrain

Click here to try Aqva: Aqua By Bvlgari Eau De Toilette Spray For Men 3.4 oz

My Full Wear Review

It doesn’t get much more ‘aquatic’ than a scent whose main note is seaweed. Yes, that green stuff at the bottom of the ocean, gives Bvlgari Aqua a very interesting aroma which helps sets it apart from the crowd.

The opening blends this seaweed note with cedar and both types of orange to create something that is familiar with its citrus content while still remaining fresh and unique.

I like the citrus notes in the opening, but their strength is short-lived. They do still stick around, just not with the same intensity. 

This opening lasts about 10 minutes or so and then Aqva changes course. It becomes more oceanic and salty, with a bit of smoothness from the lavender note. This is when this fragrance really shines as an aquatic, as you will pick up on that watery sea vibe.

Also, Aqva begins to hang much closer to the skin, and you won’t detect it for a few minutes and then it’ll hit your nose again. It’s kind of a weird experience.

It is interesting, how Aqva goes from being a clean and upbeat citrus blend, to something darker and deeper. Closely emulating the sea itself. Is it a naturalistic sea blend of notes? Not really, you can tell that it’s manufactured. However, it is a very good simulation. 

 

What I’m finally left with is seaweed, soaking in the ocean, with hints of lavender and cedar that has become driftwood. Salty and a bit of fresh spice from the latent sage note. 

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, it starts off pretty strong and as I wrote, it turns more into a skin scent that can be sneaky strong. I guess I could say that it’s fairly moderate, when you don’t notice it but other’s in your general vicinity will.

Longevity wise, it’s okay, and not something that lasts more than 5 hours or so.

I’ve had a mini bottle of this for ages, now. On my skin, that 4-5 hour range, is a hard limit. It does have that light watery sillage, but this one isn’t ever going to be an all day wear. More like, something you throw on during a warm day, knowing it will fade into the evening.

When to wear? Summertime, of course. This is a casual scent that is built for the summer months. I wouldn’t be wearing it to the office or while dressed up but at the beach or at a laid back bar at night, this would be good stuff to have on.

This is straight coastal and island life in a bottle.

Keep it casual. Aqva isn’t going to be a date night scent and the sea notes, really don’t put out a formal vibe, in the slightest. For a fairly popular fragrance, it uses are pretty limited.

This shouldn’t be the only cologne on your list of potential buys, if you don’t have anything else to use, for the rest of the time. 

Overall Impression of Bvlgari Aqva Pour Homme

Overall, do I like Aqua? Yes, it’s kind of a niche fragrance in terms of its use, but has a wide appeal in terms of its smell.

This is a unique scent by Bvlgari (before they released all of the flanker versions), the seaweed and oceanic aroma give it a defined spot to wear on the calendar, and it is a great wear from the aquatic category.

It doesn’t have amazing longevity but it is decent for what it is. If aquatics/oceanic scents aren’t your thing, skip this one. Otherwise, you might do well to check Bvlgari Aqva out. I’m still not a huge fan of the sea weed note, but it’s not horribly offensive, in this version.

Some of the other Aqva scents, go seriously heavy into the oceanic side of things, but this is more moderate.

Bvlgari Aqva gives you a nice citrus fruitiness with the refreshing notes of the sea, along with woody undertones. It’s not the most outstanding thing on the market, but it can have it uses for the right kind of guy.