I purchased two bottles from the Playboy line of scents produced by Coty, New York and London. I was already familiar with them but wanted to spend more time with each and since
I got them at a price of around $5 a piece, it wasn’t a major investment to do so. In this post, I am going to cover what’s in New York, how it smells, how it performs, when it should be worn, and whether or not I think that it is worth a purchase.
What does Playboy New York Smell Like?
Notes include: vinyl, vanilla, apple, tonka bean, lime, black pepper, and vetiver
Click here to try: PLAYBOY New York Men Eau De Toilette Spray, 3.4 Ounce
My Full Wear Review
The initial 15-20 seconds of Playboy New York is a heavy alcohol smell that quickly settles down (luckily). From that emerges an interesting yet familiar blend of mostly apple, vanilla, and the intriguing vinyl note.
I have to say that the vinyl note is very prominent in this fragrance, at least for a while after application.
The freshness of New York is a crisp apple note that seems to sit on top of the vinyl and while the vanilla is there it doesn’t always strike me as a more run of the mill vanilla scent.
Lime is present and it smells like a way weaker version of the lime note in Set Sail St. Barts. There is also a very faint spice, which I guess is the black pepper note, but there really isn’t too much to it.
From there on out, Playboy New York is pretty darn linear, and what you smell is what you get…the watery apple, vinyl, and vanilla blend.
Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility
Projection wise, it’s pretty moderate. It feels watered down when compared to many other more expensive colognes, which is to be expected when you can pick up a bottle for $10 more or less.
However, it isn’t bad at all in the performance department. Longevity ranges from 5-6 hours of solid wear and longer when it just sits as a skin scent. For what it is, that is pretty great. It’s not going to give you elite performance, just really good value.
This is a good casual scent for the warmer parts of the year. I would say it’s best for guys in high school or in their early 20s, who need something inexpensive, that can be worn at work or school. It’s fresh and pleasant but I wouldn’t classify it as a bar/romantic/club wear kind of cologne.
Overall Impressions of New York by Playboy
Overall, would I recommend Playboy New York? If you’re in the market for a cologne in this price range, yes. If you can actually afford something beyond this, there are way better options out there.
For what this scent is, though (a nice cheapy), Playboy New York definitely gives you a decent bang for your buck.
It’s clean, fresh, familiar, and can trick people into thinking that it is something more expensive than it really is. There really aren’t too many solid scents for under $15, but this is one and one of the better scents from the Playboy brand.
Update: It has been discontinued since this initial publication. As such, bottle might not be so prevalent anymore. If you see it for more than $20, I’d pass and get something else.
Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with the different fragrances that I’ve owned, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, that new hobby grew into a consistent passion, helping millions of readers along the way. I have personally written reviews for well over 800 perfumes and colognes for both men and women. This is along with writing hundreds of other in-depth fragrance guides.
