Fragrances

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

Obsession for Men by Calvin Klein

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For this installment of my reviews of Calvin Klein colognes for men, we are going to hit the way back machine and take a look at Obsession, the classic CK scent from the 1980s. This is one of the scents which helped to put the designer’s fragrance line on the map and has been a very good seller ever since its release. Let’s take an opportunity to give this now classic fragrance an overview of what makes it so.

Update: I’ve update and edited this review, to expand upon, and give additional thoughts on this cologne. List of the best Calvin Klein fragrances for men!

What Does CK Obsession for Men Smell Like?

rp_obsession-300x300.jpg

Notes include: mandarin and spice, with low tones of musk, sandalwood and amber

Shop on Amazon: Calvin Klein OBSESSION for Men Eau de Toilette, 4 fl. oz.

My Full Wear Review

One of the first things that I have always noticed, about Obsession, is its warmth and notes of spice. It is a rather complex and rich fragrance and unlike a scent such as Opium Pour Homme, its spice is less Oriental and more of a fragrant cinnamon bouquet.

This scent is really interesting because it also has some fruity top notes like tangerine along with some more subdued floral notes which lend it an earthy or woodsy quality.

However, it opens up with mostly the cinnamon coming through as the main spice, as it will for the rest of the wear. In the beginning stages, it is joined by a variety of citrus notes from lime, mandarin, and the aforementioned tangerine.

To my nose, the citrus really doesn’t come across as juicy, more of an impression of dried fruit with lavender and the spice.

The fruity opening transitions away and a more floral heart begins to peak through. This is when obsession begins to feel warmer. This is when I really start to notice the woody notes, as well. It a blend of spice and sweetness, with a woodsy base.

Rosewood, nutmeg, jasmine, and sandalwood join the cinnamon and lavender (which will weaken, a bit later).

Finally, we get to what I mostly experience for the rest of the wear. It’s a cinnamon amber blend with vanilla highlights. That is the main attraction and it sits on a bed of sandalwood, random flowers, and spices. Very attractive and cozy, while still having a stylish feeling, after these ensuing decades.

Sillage, Longevity, Versatility

The warmth and the blend of herbal spice and florals lend credence to the fact that Obsession is a very nice cologne for the winter months. I think that anyone who says it doesn’t project well, might be wearing it in the wrong climate, as I think that it hangs beautifully in the crisp and cold air.

The sillage itself, probably isn’t going to take over a room, but you do get solid projection within the first few hours. After that, it is definitely respectable, and not weak at all. In my experience, it is much better in this regard, than many of the other CK fragrances.

Its longevity is average in my opinion, though, it can become overpowering when over-sprayed and have a tendency to permeate from clothing or skin. It is a moderate cologne to the extent that it is used in moderation.

It will seem to go on my skin, for anywhere between 5-7 hours, and this is the latest batch that I’ve gotten a hold of.

Most of the CK fragrances will fall into this range. Some less than that, but this is what the majority seem to be capable of nowadays.

Seasonally, save this one for the colder months, as I’ve written. It’s not too joyous of a wear in the heat and humidity. In the crisp air of autumn or winter, Obsession really comes to life between the warm comforting amber and the spiciness of cinnamon.

It actually is a versatile scent, in that, it can still be worn by any age group.

Obsession for Men can fit in a wide variety of situations, during the day, while pull double duty at night. Women like it, men like it…there’s a reason this was a best-seller and still moves units.

If you’re younger, you can wear this. It does have a different style than what you might be used to, but it’s worth a try. If you like Obsession, it’s one that you can get a lot of use out of in high school or college.

Overall Impressions of Obsession

Overall, I still think that this is one of the top fragrances by Calvin Klein and is simply a classic. There have of course been reformulations, over the years, but the newer batches seem to be on the right track.

Is it exactly the same as 1986? I doubt it. I wasn’t around for the original, but the newer editions, certainly hold up well. Plus, you can find bottles of this stuff at discounters for a good amount below retail. It can be a nice value play.

It is a mature fragrance for everyday wear, and is also inexpensive, so those are some definite pluses that Obsession has going for it. The complexity is still there and it has an interesting life cycle.

Yes, it is different from most of the more modern releases, but that doesn’t detract at all for me. In fact, I tend to dig this one, even more. It’s really delicious and a pleasant experience to wear. Pick up a bottle, Obsession is still, a damn good fragrance.