Fragrances

Eau de Lacoste L.12.12 Jaune (Yellow)

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One of the few things that I actually like about being in airports ,is the proliferation of duty free shops and luxury retailers, from which I can test out a few sprays of new colognes.

Today, while at El Prat in Barcelona, I got to sample Eau de Lacoste L.12.12 Jaune and thought that I’d post a one-time wear review of this fragrance. Update: I’m coming back to this one years later, with more on Jaune.

Now for those of you who don’t know French, this is the yellow bottle of the series, and was released back in 2015.  As usual, I’m going to give my thoughts on how it smells, performs, and whether or not I think that it is worth a purchase.

What does Lacoste Yellow (Jaune) Men’s Perfume Smell Like?

Notes Include: grapefruit, pink pepper, cyprus, tonic, golden delicious apples

Click Here to try: Lacoste Eau de Lacoste L.12.12 Jaune Eau de Toilette for Men, 3.3 fl. oz.

My Full Review

Upon first spraying Jaune, I immediately identified the first note as grapefruit. There is a slight spice to it, which when combined with the citrus overtones, creates an energetic and lively fragrance.

The opening is rather bold and instantly reminds one of a summer day with a hint of woodiness provided by the cyprus note, gives Jaune a somewhat unique feeling for this type of citrus fragrance.

There is a tonic note which gives this Yellow cologne, that slightly fizzy and upbeat kind of aroma. It’s like a cold drink paired with a peppery bite, with a fresh woodsy overtone consisting of cypress/vetiver.

One thing that I noticed about Jaune, is that, it doesn’t particularly develop beyond its initial scent. It’s very simplistic and straightforward. That initial burst is really quite good but this cologne lacks any real character, other than what it first shows you.

That in itself, wouldn’t be a problem. However, it becomes much more noticeable, when its other weakness is put front and center. Coming back to this perfume, multiple times, I still never really get any development so to speak of on my skin.

Jaune is sweet and citrusy, with a pleasant freshness that permeates the wear.

Sillage. How Long does it Last? Versatility.

The longevity of this one, like the other Eau de Lacoste scents I have reviewed, leaves much to be desired. Again, it starts off bold and seems like it’ll be a welcome addition to your cologne collection, but then fades relatively fast and is relegated to a skin scent.

It does project very well for the first 30-45 minutes of wear…which just ain’t enough. I also sprayed Polo Red Extreme, on my other arm at the same time, and that Ralph Lauren fragrance is still going strong. The difference is very noticeable in terms of performance.

As a weaker fragrance, it will stick around for maybe 4-6 hours, depending on the day. Not great for the retail price, but at a discount it could be a nice pick up, for those warmer days.

Update: Yep, right in that 4-6 hour range, is about what to expect from this one. This whole series from Lacoste, had pretty mediocre performance.

I don’t know that I like the scent of the Yellow bottle of Eau de Lacoste better than the White, but it might have the edge (or be tied) with Red.

Jaune is a bit different than the others, it’s a casual spring/summer scent, but I’d categorize it more towards the sporty end of the spectrum.

Again, it’s a simple scent. I’d say that it’s more geared toward younger guys, up through their 20s. It’s light enough to wear professionally. Smells nice, but isn’t sexy, nor does it have the power of a club beast.

Overall Impression of Lacoste Jaune

Overall, is it worth a buy? Maybe. If you can get a hold of a cheap bottle of Jaune, then, I would consider having a bottle. The scent is a really nice and energetic citrus, if that’s your thing, than this Eau de Lacoste edition is worth a look.

Again, I wish Lacoste would’ve beefed up the longevity of these scents because they are good casual colognes for the warmer months. Good smell, not so great performance.

I enjoy the grapefruit and the tonic, there are other summer colognes which do more of the straight lemonade vibe, so this was a slightly different take. An intense version would’ve been great, but that’ll probably never happen.

Update: This is still around on discounter sites, as of now, even if Lacoste discontinued it. I’m pretty sure they did, anyway. Jaune was one of the better editions of the L.12.12. lineup, in terms of smell.

The performance while not great, was also better than some of the others. Very pleasant, fresh, fizzy, and sweet. I just saw it for under $60 and somewhat cheaper with a promo code. In that $40-50 range, it might be worthwhile for some, while the stock of Jaune dwindles.

Polo Double Black by Ralph Lauren

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Another of my recent sample colognes that I received is Polo Double Black. I certainly enjoy my fair share of Ralph Lauren produced fragrances and have a certain familiarity with them.

Having said that, I had yet to experience Double Black and was excited to see how it stood up to the rest of the Polo lineup and indeed if it would become a part of my regular rotation of scents. This one was released in 2006.

Please read on to see my full opinion on this scent and if it’s worth a buy. Note: I have updated this page, years after the initial review.

Also check out: Best Polo Scents for Men, Polo Red Review, Polo Blue Review

What does Double Black Smell Like?

Polo Double Black

Notes include: coffee, mango, juniper berry, nutmeg, cardamom, pepper, woods

Click here to try: Polo Double Black on Amazon

Double Black Full Review

Polo Double Black is certainly a ‘dark’ and masculine fragrance.  While you will notice that it contains mango and juniper berry notes, it is not a fruity scent, really at all.

The opening is noticeably spicy, with the pepper note taking the lead and you definitely get the emergence of this cologne’s overall warmth with the blend of coffee and woods. Also, this warm spicy feeling is solidified by the nutmeg, which peaks through at times.

Double Black opens up with the warm spice, which is a different look from the fruitier Polo Black. The same frozen mango exists at the top, along with the aforementioned juniper berry, but each has been subdued to the coffee, pepper, and nutmeg notes.

As it settles, you do start to get the sweetness to come out but I really don’t get much of a mango note here, but maybe that’s just my nose not picking it up. I can see this being a pretty decent choice during the winter months, as the warm spiciness should work well.

It does have almost a chocolate scent to it at some point, I guess I would call it mocha, with the coffee and maybe the sweetness is the mango note at work to create this aroma.

The more times that I wore the sample, the more that I appreciated this unique smell. It takes elements of the original Polo Black and then adds smooth spices to the mix. Double Black really began to charm me.

Longevity, Sillage, and Versatility

Which brings me to the performance issues. Polo Double Black, isn’t a scent which will go all day long, and into the night. In fact, it might not even go half the day. I got 4-5 hours of solid performance and maybe another hour in which I could somewhat detect it.

Sometimes, it was even worse than that. I might go 3 hours, not even bothering to stick around as a skin scent.

The projection is moderate in my opinion and not overwhelming at all. This is a huge problem, because the aroma itself it really quite captivating, but it just won’t last very long and has pretty bad sillage.

The projection will be in the 2-3 foot range, max, past the first hour or so. It has a good initial burst, but Double Black falls apart thereafter.

It does have good versatility, I could definitely wear this during work or out on the town, as it is quite attractive and warm. It seems more like a ‘dressy’ casual type of scent.

If it actually lasts on your skin and people can smell it, I’m almost certain that Double Black would be a draw for complements.

Double Black is better in the colder seasons. I wouldn’t wear this in the hot and humid weather, but during autumn and winter, it really comes out smelling great.

 

Overall Impressions of Polo Double Black

Overall, I don’t hate this fragrance. Actually, I’ve had to come back here and edit my original thoughts somewhat because I started to really like it more and more.

My main problem with it is the longevity, like Polo Red (which I also like a lot), Double Black has some longevity issues. Yet, Polo Red EDT can definitely outdo Double.

If this were an all-day trooper, I’d probably pick up a small bottle at least, for my collection.

There just seems to be much better bets out there for the price. The sweet/spicy coffee aroma is highly appealing, however. It’s also not as good as the original Polo Black.

It is an interesting take on the formula, just doesn’t have the execution to make it worthwhile. The aroma is nice, just no performance to back it up.

Update: I’m pretty sure that this is discontinued. Though, I still see bottles floating around for sale, at times. However, those bottles are usually pretty richly priced. While this is a likeable fragrance with how it smells, Polo Double Black isn’t worth paying nearly $100 for. 

Skulls & Roses by Ed Hardy

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I was shopping in Target the other day and made my usual stop to the fragrance aisle. I’m pretty sure that I had tried every one of those colognes with the exception of this weird looking one in a black skull bottle. I kept seeing this bottle all the time but never bothered to smell it.

Well, I bit the bullet and tried it out and thought that I’d share my thoughts on this Christian Audigier fragrance for men, Skulls & Roses…under the Ed Hardy banner. In this post, I want to explore a bit on how it smells, performs, when it could be worn, and if I think it’s worth it to purchase a full bottle of this juice.

What does Skulls and Roses for Men Smell Like?

Notes included: lavender, bergamot, oakmoss, musk, cardamom

Click here to try: Skulls and Roses ED Hardy Colognes for Men, 2.5 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

From the bottle design and the name, I was expecting this scent to be something dark, sort of loud, and with a possible rose note lurking somewhere in there. Instead, what I got from this cologne was something clean, pleasant, and surprisingly very nice for the price point this sells at.

The opening is a blend of the lavender, bergamot, and a semi-spicy musk/cardamom mix. Totally not the winter beast I predicted it’d be. It’s a very light and familiar smell, sort of reminiscent of Mont Blanc, though a tad different in my opinion.

I sprayed it twice on my forearm and went about my day. It was fairly strong at first but definitely not overpowering and I kept bringing it up to my nose to smell some more. That’s always a good sign.

I really think that they got the musk note just right with this one. The note doesn’t feel like it dominates, but it does accentuate the clean aroma, brought on my the lavender and bergamot.

Skulls and Roses isn’t a very complex type of cologne that goes through multiple phases, in fact, it’s almost completely linear. That really isn’t a bad thing, as they got the opening done correctly, and didn’t need to stray too far from its roots in order to make a good smelling fragrance.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise it’s fairly moderate for the first hour or so and then really became a light scent on my skin after that.  That initial burst is good. It will create a decent radius around you, before moving into a range that is more intimate.

However, the longevity as a close to skin scent was pretty decent, at about six hours. This is the type of cologne that performs but will mostly only be noticeable in situations in which someone pulls closer…again, not a bad thing.

Update: Trying this a few more times over the years and it is indeed a steady 6-6.5 hours on my skin. Basically, no matter the circumstance, that’s what I’ll get.

I’d say its also a pretty good bet, for a date night scenario with its fresh sort of soapy vibe. There’s just enough bergamot and spice to keep it interesting. It’s not the sexiest fragrance on the planet or anything like that, but it’s attractive enough, especially at this price point.

Mostly though, I’d view this as a casual daily wear, for younger guys. Something that you can throw on before school or at your job or just hanging out around town.

If you need something cheap and clean, this one would serve well. Skulls isn’t a wintertime scent like I expected, I wore it on a mild day and it seemed very well suited for that and I’d venture a guess that it’d be fine in the summer also.

Overall Impressions of Skulls and Roses

Is Skulls and Roses worth a buy? I actually dug this cologne quite a bit. It’s not top tier, but you can do a lot worse, and it exceeds my expectations for something of this caliber.

It’s very simple and while not the best performer, it gets the job done. Plus, it’s inexpensive enough that one could just apply a bit more than usual to get the full effect.

It’s under $30 a bottle and often much cheaper than that. Skulls and Roses is a solid casual cologne that could also double as a date night go to. It isn’t a projection monster, so not great for the club scene. Very nice and I even kind of like the bottle design now, too.

I don’t think that this fragrance is going to blow any one away, but it is a great value play when compared to many others in its general price range.

6 Best Smelling Cuba Colognes

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Cuba Paris is a brand which produces a line of very inexpensive fragrances for both men and women. Now, for most brands that this describes, their products aren’t usually any good. However, Cuba seems to be able to produce men’s colognes with a good quality. Not elite, but much better than many other cheapies.

Beyond that, they have the ability to replicate some famous scents in their own way, or even come up with something that is wholly unique to the Cuba brand. For this post, I have selected six colognes from the line, which I feel are the best. Obviously, with such a large catalog of fragrances, I had to leave some off but this is a great place to start.

What are the Best Smelling Cuba Colognes?

Citrus and Powder

Cuba Brazil Copacabana Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 3.3 Ounce– One of the lesser known fragrance offerings from Cuba. Copacabana opens up with a great citrus blend and floral notes, which gives it a bit of a powdery edge.

There’s a noticeable lavender and at least some rose within the composition. It is a fresh sorts of fragrance, which dries down with some clove spice, and underlying woody notes. Pretty straightforward fragrance, but smells quite nice, and has good performance.

Bleu de Cuba

Cuba Shadow– Shadow is a newer release from Cuba, which appears to try and mimic the scent of Bleu de Chanel. It’s a hot market to have a similar smell to popular designer fragrances, but this doesn’t hit the same mark exactly.

Sure, there are similarities and the notes are basically the same, but the aroma itself it pretty different.

The citrus isn’t as good here and the initial freshness of the mint and ginger notes, don’t come in as well, either. But, things do settle and Shadow becomes a wonderful blend of these familiar notes.

It becomes a smoother clean sort of fragrance. Musk and the floral aspect, seem heavier in this compared to BdC, but it’s at its most similar after the first hour or so.

Most Popular Cuba Fragrance

Cuba Gold By Cuba For Men. Eau De Toilette Spray 3.3 Ounces– Smooth vanilla, vetiver, jasmine, and lavender. This one does have that famous Le Male scent, though, this precedes that popular fragrance.

You can definitely smell the similarities, though, this has more jasmine and is less spicy/smoky. Although, that is still around in the dry down period, thanks to the vetiver. It turns warm, sweet, and powdery with a great amber note.

A Million Bucks

Cuba Royal By Cuba, 3.30-Ounce– Royal is a fragrance, which often gets compared to 1 Million by Paco Rabanne, and it is easy to smell why. Royal is warm, starts off quite sweet, and has plenty of tobacco/spice during the dry down.

Is it an exact match? No, but when talking about a $10-12 option, it is close enough. This isn’t as close as Cuba Shadow is to BdC, for instance. Neither is exact, but the influence on each is totally there.

For instance, this doesn’t have the same leathery scent nor the distinct mint. While this is fairly strong, it doesn’t have the same sillage or staying power as 1 Million. Nonetheless, Royal is a fantastic option, particularly as a nighttime wear for guys who want to save money.

Sweet Warmth

Champs Cuba Prestige Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 3 Ounce– Cuba Prestige is an under the radar cheapie, that actually scores high marks across the board, from its smell to performance. It kicks off with lemon, bergamot, and black currant which gives it a fruity sweetness and bright disposition.

Then, Prestige takes the sweetness into another direction, with floral powder of jasmine and lavender. It becomes warmer as the amber note progresses, for a baked goods like sweetness. Very interesting scent, well worth a shot.

Spiced Tobacco Fragrance

Cuba Red By Cuba For Men Edt Spray 3.3 Oz– Red has much less sweetness, than the other fragrances on the list. It’s dry with tobacco, woods, but gets boosted by some wonderful spice.

Cuba Red is a masculine cologne, with a strong tobacco note, which is an ingredient you’ll need to like to appreciate this. It has an underlying earthy/outdoorsy quality. Similar to Burberry London, though, not entirely.

I like that they went in more in a unique direction with Red, versus just trying to match London beat for beat. The end result is really nice and gives you somewhat of a different wear versus many of the modern colognes on the market.

Polo Black vs. Acqua di Gio

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For this entry into the men’s fragrance comparisons, I want to take a look at two fragrances from Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren, respectively. The two colognes in question, have been very popular for a long time now, Polo Black vs. Acqua di Gio.

Which of them is the better smelling scent? Which has better longevity?

I am going to break down my experiences with each in a variety of categories, before declaring a winner. Also, my original review of each, is linked below for further reading.

Tale of the Tape

Acqua di Gio

Notes include: bergamot, tangerine, neroli, jasmine, rosemary, patchouli, rock rose, hyacinth, persimmon, marine notes

Click here to try: Acqua Di Gio By Giorgio Armani For Men. Eau De Toilette Spray 3.4 Ounces

Read my review: Acqua di Gio 

Polo Black Tale of the Tape

Notes include:  mango, sandalwood, tonka bean, tangerine, sage, lemon, patchouli

Click here to try: Polo Black by Ralph Lauren for Men – 4.2 Ounce EDT Spray

My review: Polo Black Review

Opening

Polo Black opens up with a very nice mango note that is flanked by spicier notes of sage and patchouli. There are further citrus notes of tangerine and lemon, which aren’t as strong but do have a presence in the composition.

Acqua di Gio also has citrus notes of bergamot and tangerine, but is instead joined by the marine note accord, making it an aquatic fragrance. It’s slightly salty and has a great chilled freshness.

It also features jasmine and neroli, among other floral notes, sitting underneath of that. I get a lot of jasmine coming through the last few times, that I’ve tried Acqua di Gio. That, with the citrus is still awesome.

Which is better? I like Acqua di Gio, but I really enjoy how Polo Black starts off. Coming back to AdG after a long time away, I was tempted to give it the edge. But, Polo Black takes it still.

It is a great blend of fruits and spice, but uses mango, which is a rather unique note versus what you’d find in other men’s fragrances. It’s quite well put together and very enjoyable.

Edge: Polo Black

Projection

The projection of either of these fragrances is pretty moderate. Neither produces an extreme sillage, but you will indeed, notice that they are there. So, will those around you. However, there’s no real advantage here.

Lighter on the moderate scale for either. Mostly going to sit in that 3-4 foot range, as a radius, around where you sprayed the fragrance.

Edge: Push

Longevity

Again, the performance of these two colognes, track extremely close to one another. With either of them, I get 6-7 hours of wear, on my skin. No more than that and it’s a consistent result.

The older bottles of AdG could go a bit longer, but that hasn’t been the case in a long time. Some of the latest times that I’ve tested it, it might go 5-6 hours. But, these two are still basically equal.

Edge: Push

Versatiltity

Both of these scents can be worn for nearly any occasion and can go year round pretty much. However, the Armani holds up better in the summer, than does Polo Black.

I’m talking about the really hot days, more moderate temperatures, and Black is fine. Doesn’t do as well in high heat and humidity.

Edge: Acqua di Gio

Overall Scent

These fragrances are very close in terms of their uses and performances. I honestly enjoy wearing both of them, but, I do need to make a choice of which one I would reach for most of the time.

Acqua di Gio is an absolute classic, that has been imitated countless times, and is still a best-seller. It smells good, has solid sillage and longevity, and it is a great starter cologne for guys. It’s just one that does everything well.

In fact, there are times where I do actually prefer to wear Acqua di Gio. Yet, I don’t think it’s enough to top Black.

Polo Black is the better smelling of the two fragrances, for me. The mango and citrus top notes are paired fantastically with the spicier notes, at the start.

Then, the dry down period reveals a more woodsy and tonka bean-laden heart. It’s just got a more unique profile and has a very enjoyable wear. It’s not miles ahead of AdG, but I think that this Polo scent, tops its competitor.

Winner: Polo Black