Men’s Fashion

Nautica Blue vs Guess Seductive Cologne Comparison

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So, here we are with another head to head matchup between two popular men’s fragrances. Today, we are going towards the inexpensive end of the spectrum, in a matchup between: Nautica Blue vs. Guess Seductive Homme. Which of these colognes smells the best? Which has the better sillage? Longevity? Versatility? Please continue below for my full take on how these two scents stack up.

Tale of the Tape: Nautica Blue vs. Guess Seductive

Guess Seductive Homme 

Notes include: Cardamom Milk, Pink Pepper, Patchouli, Sandalwood, And Musk.

Read my Original Review Here

Click here to try: Guess Seductive Men Edt Spray, 3.4 Ounce

Nautica Blue

Notes include: Musk, cedar, bergamot, sandalwood, peach, pineapple, water lily, jasmine

Click here to try: Nautica Blue Eau De Toilette Spray for Men, 3.4 fluid ounce

Read my original Review: Nautica Blue

Opening

Nautica Blue opens with a rather sharp, soapy/detergent-like smell. This is especially true on some of the newer bottles that I’ve tried. The top notes include pineapple, peach, and bergamot. As such, you are going to get that fruity aroma but with the pineapple and musk, it can be pretty intense and not all that appealing at the start.

It doesn’t seem as well-blended or pleasant as it did in the past, either. The original bottles of Nautica Blue were better, than their current crop.

Meanwhile, Guess Seductive Homme, opens with a citrus note of mandarin orange that is paired with a warm and slightly spicy cardamom milk note. These two are flanked by emerging ingredients of amber and pink pepper. It’s fresh, enveloping, and masculine.

Between the two, Guess blows Nautica Blue out of the water, in terms of how each starts. It’s just so much more pleasant and doesn’t require more time to settle down.

Edge: Guess Seductive

Projection

Each of these colognes, has fairly moderate sillage. For the first hour or so, they are relatively the same. However, Nautica Blue loses its sillage power much quicker than does the Guess, and then becomes a pretty light scent.

Guess Seductive is moderate for a longer stretch than is Nautica Blue and thus gets the edge. Seductive is just a much better performer.

Edge: Seductive

Longevity

Nautica Blue lasts on my skin from anywhere between 2-5 hours. Yep, it has a wide range, depending on the climate or other emergent factors of the day.

Seductive will lasts between 6-8 hours on my skin. Most of the time, it is closer to the six hour mark. It does weaken, as it moves along, but not to the extent of Blue.

Edge: Seductive 

Versatility

Guess Seductive is mainly a cold weather scent. It isn’t terrible in warm temperatures, but gets worse when the heat is turned up. It is also good for casual wear and can be worn romantically, as the Seductive name suggests.

Nautica Blue is a warm weather scent, that can hold up fine in the winter. More of a year round scent, than Guess Seductive. However, it is much more casual and feels like more of a teenage scent than Guess.

This is probably as close as Nautica Blue gets to taking a category, but it still falls short.

Edge: Seductive

Overall Scent

So, this is a pretty one-sided matchup. Guess Seductive Homme is the much better cologne, in my opinion, as it has a better scent and performance.

Nautica Blue starts out too harsh for my nose, but dries down much better. It is clean, fresh, and soapy. It has those fruity top notes, musk, and a woody base. Also, lily and jasmine sprinkled in.

It is a nice choice for a cheapie to wear on the daily, especially in high school or something, but it’s not an amazing cologne by any stretch. It’s solid for what it is and one of the better Nautica colognes. It isn’t as good as it once was, but it’s still decent.

Guess Seductive Homme is a pretty unique scent, at an attractive price point. It is warm, slightly spicy, with a juicy mandarin orange note sitting on top. It’s still one of the best buys on the market for that $20-30 price range and a very good starter cologne. Easily beats Blue in my opinion.

Winner: Guess Seductive Homme

Arancia Di Capri by Acqua Di Parma

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Arancia di Capri is another scent from the Blu Mediterraneo line of fragrances from Acqua di Parma. I’m going to post even more reviews from this lineup in the coming weeks, but I figured I would start here, with what I consider one of the best smelling colognes of the bunch. What does it smell like? How does it perform? When should it be worn? Continue below for my full thoughts on this scent.

What does Arancia di Capri Smell Like?

Notes include: mandarin orange, caramel, petitgrain, musk, bergamot, grapefruit

Click here to try: Acqua Di Parma Blue Mediterraneo Arancia Di Capri Eau De Toilette Spray for Men, 5 Ounce

The opening of Arancia di Capri is an immediate aromatic sensation of citrus fruits, mainly the mandarin orange and bergamot notes. Acqua Di Parma, really does a fantastic job with the citrus notes in their fragrances.

They are absolutely some of the best on the market. All very crisp, juicy, and don’t smell synthetic.

Arancia di Capri is a fresh scent that triggers memories of walking around in the open air on a warm summer day. There is a hint of musk in the composition, which gives the scent more depth than the citrus notes would otherwise provide.

About 20 minutes in, the caramel note emerges with it’s sugary sweetness, which provides an interesting partnership with the mandarin orange.

Cardamom and musk deliver a warm and nice bit of depth to the fragrance, but it is mostly a sweet citrus perfume.

Projection wise, the opening is strong but it settles extremely quickly into a skin scent. It is better that the performance I got while wearing Bergamotto di Calabria, but it still isn’t great.

I get about 4-5 hours out of it as a skin scent, with a normal spray. You can double up the sprays, apply a layer of unscented lotion to your skin prior to wear, or spray it directly on the fabric of a shirt that you don’t mind potentially damaging. For instance, I sprayed this on an old t-shirt and the performance was much better.

Seasonally, this is warm weather all the way. It’s really a fantastic aroma for this time of year and extremely well put together. I wish the intensity was scaled up and then it would be near perfection because the scent does smell wonderful.

If the cardamom and caramel were stronger, this would be a heavier winter fragrance. But, as constituted this is a citrus summer fragrance. 

Overall, do I recommend Arancia di Capri? Yes. It is one of the best scents from Acqua di Parma and a true highlight in the citrus fragrance space. Is the performance great? No. But if you can get it for a good price and use some techniques to stretch out the longevity, it can be an absolute winner in the summertime.

The orange note is fantastic and quite realistic. That’s really the highlight of this Acqua di Parma scent. I wish it could hold up better than it does, but outside of that, Arancia di Capri is great. 

Higher Energy by Christian Dior

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I have already done some posts on this site about the top Christian Dior fragrances, along with a review of the companies’ latest offering, Sauvage. So, when I getting together my latest haul of cologne samples, I thought that I would revisit another Dior fragrance, Higher Energy.

How does this scent stack up to Dior’s other men’s colognes? Is it worth a purchase? Find out more by reading below. Note: This has been discontinued for over a decade, which is about the time frame of my initial review.

What does Higher Energy by Dior Smell Like?

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Notes include:  Cypress, rosemary, musk, melon, juniper, mint, grapefruit, cedar

Click here to try Higher Energy!

My initial reaction to Higher Energy is one of familiarity. I cannot quite think of what this scent’s opening smells like but I think it is a fragrance by either Hilfiger or Lacoste. Maybe a bit of Dior Homme Sport?

I get a definite summertime and sporty vibe from the fruit notes which come out smelling very smooth and wonderful.

However, it doesn’t take on an overly sweet or candy-like aroma, as it seems to be grounded by the woodsy and mint notes.

At first, it’s a combination of mint and grapefruit to my nose. Some other fruity notes and juniper. There’s a slight clean spiciness, but nothing overpowering.

Higher Energy is a very clean and fresh cologne which isn’t too loud or overbearing. Like I said, I get a sport type of vibe from it and it projects decently when outdoors in the warmth of the sun.

I definitely get more emergence of the grapefruit note as the time went on and it took on a less sweet and more woodsy aroma. Cedar, juniper, grapefruit, and musk is what I’m left with, once Higher Energy has fully developed.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Now, while I think this scent smells good and I would have no problem wearing it during the late spring or summer, it does have some issues. It’s not a long-lasting scent, after about 3 hours of wear, I had to press my nose against my skin to smell it.

Maybe you can get 4-6 hours out of it but it didn’t seem to hold well on my skin.

The projection starts out moderate and obviously fades, people won’t smell you from across the room, which is great but after a certain period of time, they may not be able to detect it unless they’re right up on you.

Also, this is definitely a seasonal fragrance which limits its appeal even further. Again, spring or summer. It is attractive enough and would probably draw some complements, it’s performance is just such a hinderance.

Overall Impressions of Higher Energy

Overall, I like Higher Energy. It’s a really nice and fresh cologne. It’s just not a big time performer for the price, lacks some versatility, and isn’t all that unique.

It has been discontinued, so, even trying to find a bottle nowadays is getting more difficult. Update: The Dua Brand has their own inspired take on Higher Energy, called #Energetic

The smell itself, is actually quite nice. Though, the performance isn’t really good at all.

Also, they’re quite expensive and aren’t a real good value proposition. Unless you really need a bottle to round out your collection, it’s not particularly worth a try, for a full bottle. If you can still find a sample vial or mini, it may be a decent experience.

Not a bad fragrance, though, not one of Dior’s best. The Higher line didn’t hang around too long before Dior came out with the Dior Homme series, which is still going on to this day. I’ve also reviewed the original Higher, if you’re interested.

New York by Playboy

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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.

Dior Sauvage vs 1 Million Cologne Comparison

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In this edition of my head to head cologne comparisons, I’m going to pit Sauvage by Christian Dior versus 1 Million by Paco Rabanne. People seem to want to know which of these colognes is better, even though they are very different from one another.

However, I’m going to try to make the comparison between the two to find out which one smells and performs better, and declare an ultimate winner.

Tale of the Tape: 1 Million vs. Sauvage EDT

Sauvage

Notes of Sauvage: bergamot, ambroxan, lavender, pepper, wood notes

Click here to try: Christian Dior Sauvage for Men Eau De Toilette Spray, 3.4 Fluid Ounce

My Original Sauvage Review

1 Million

Notes include: grapefruit, blood orange, rose, mint, cinnamon, amber, leather, patchouli, and more

Click here to try: Paco Rabanne 1 Million Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 3.4 Fluid Ounce

Read my original review: 1 Million  Review

Opening

The opening of Sauvage gives off an aroma of amber, pepper, and the sharp bergamot note. There is a bit of spice to it but I do get a lot of the ambroxan. It’s nice and dries down to a clean/soapy scent with some slightly spice wood notes and the ever present bergamot.

Meanwhile, 1 Million starts off with an aroma that is similar to grape flavored bubblegum, which not everyone likes, but it does eventually settle down into something more leathery and slightly spicy than that candy-like sweetness.

Update: To my nose, the spiciness of cinnamon and mint come on more strongly, as well as the leather. Especially with newer bottles. 1 Million is still sweet, but don’t feel as much so as I remember.

The more time that has passed the less I actually like Sauvage EDT. It’s still got a sharp opening, which is alright, but it does get better than the initial start.

Edge: 1 Million

Projection

Sauvage is a pretty strong cologne and can be loud at times. However, it pales in comparison to the strength of 1 Million. 1 Million is a nightlife kind of scent and has pretty much reached a classic status in that space, based mostly off of its performance.

Update: The newer bottles of 1 Million don’t have the same power that they used to. This used to be an easy win, but now, I’d say this two are about equal in the sillage.

Edge: Push

Longevity

Again, Sauvage is very solid, I usually get 6-8 hours of wear.

1 Million is somewhere in the double digits in terms of the number of hours it will keep going for. The Dior is good, 1 Million is amazing in this regard.

Update: 1 Million still is good, but no longer insane with how long it lasts. For me, the latest batches still slightly outperform Sauvage. It will be in that 8 or 9 hour range.

Edge: 1 Million

Versatility

OK, so, this is where I think Sauvage can have an edge against 1 Million. Sauvage is mostly a spring/summer wear, in my opinion, but it can also work fairly well during the rest of the year.

It is also probably more acceptable for office/school wear but can make the transition to the nightlife.

1 Million is mostly a cold weather scent for me.  If used lightly, it can be worn in formal or casual situations, but this fragrance really shines in the nightlife. This can give it a limited usability for a lot of guys.

Sauvage has the edge, there’s just more opportunity to wear it.

Edge: Sauvage

Overall Scent

Bottom line, I like the way 1 Million smells more than I do Sauvage. I think that it is a much more interesting scent and has a complexity during its dry down that makes me want to wear it again.

However, it’s not always appropriate to wear, while Sauvage has much more use as an everyday cologne.

Now, 1 Million’s scent isn’t far and away better than Sauvage, but I do give it the edge. Personally, I would take 1 Million Prive, over either of these scents…and there would be no hesitation.

If you’re dead set about choosing one of these two fragrances, consider whether you’d rather have a sweet fragrance or something that is bright and clean. Do you need a daily wear or are you looking for something to bring out for certain occasions?

These are two very different scents and have almost nothing in common aside from their immense popularity. I’d rather wear 1 Million, so I’d give it the slight edge, based on it’s scent and performance.

Update: So, with the performance, 1 Million isn’t quite what it once was. However, I still enjoy wearing it. Again, the more time with Sauvage, the less I enjoyed it. I know, it’s a bestseller, but the EDT is very overrated.

Sauvage EDP is great, though. Sauvage Elixir, also. If you want a Sauvage go with them. If you want a 1 Million besides EDT, go with Elixir.

Winner: 1 Million