Men’s Fashion

B Men Cologne Review by Thierry Mugler

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In my latest batch of cologne samples, I received some that were really great (see: Guerlain Pour Homme) and others that simply weren’t for me (see: Michael Kors and Givenchy Very Irresistible). When it came time to try out B Men by Thierry Mugler, I was pretty confused on how I should feel about it.

Initially, I found it repulsive, but then I gave it another try and it began to sway me towards having a more favorable opinion of it. In this review, I want to take a closer look at this fragrance and give my opinion as to whether or not it is worth a purchase.

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Notes include: licorice, vetiver, patchouli, violet, vanilla, musk, spices, and leather

Click Here to Try B-Men!

As I said, I wasn’t exactly thrilled with this fragrance at first. That is mostly due to it’s licorice note, as it wears on me and gives me a headache, as I wrote about with Lolita Lempicka.  The licorice combined with the intensity of the spice accord in the opening note was simply too much for me. However, it turns out that the licorice scent starts to take a back seat after a short time period and the real essence of the cologne emerges.

B Men is a very masculine scent. It is a blast of warm spiciness with sweet undertones and leather. As the licorice begins to recede, the vanilla note steps up to help give it more of a manageable sweetness that serves to take the intensity down a couple of notches. It’s a dark scent which is probably best served for use by a more mature man, as it exudes a confident sensuality.

This cologne projects very well and also lasts for a fairly long time. I wouldn’t say that it is the longest lasting fragrance by any means but it does deliver quite well in that regard. B Men is a good choice for the winter time, I think it would turn into a complete mess on warmer days and be quite insufferable. However, on cold days, its warmth will envelop and this fragrance will behave as it should.

Do I recommend this cologne? Sort of. It’s not my personal favorite but it has grown on me. Also, I don’t think that it would be a great choice for a lot of guys nor is it useful in every situation. It’s not quite a niche cologne but it is close. I like it and I would say that you should give it a try if you are into spicy scents with a bit of sweetness to them.

La Force 11 by Dolce & Gabbana Cologne Review

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During the last decade, Dolce & Gabbana launched their Anthology collection of scents, which were a series of short-run special fragrances. I recently procured a few more samples of these fragrances, as I did with 21 Le Fou, which I reviewed here. For this post, I am going to share my experience with wearing La Force 11 and see how it stacks up against other fragrances.

 

 

 

 

 

la force

Notes include: vanilla, cinnamon, sandalwood, pimento, cypress, heliotrope 

 

Upon the first sprays of this cologne, I was struck by its light and almost candy-like sweetness. To me, the interplay between the vanilla and cinnamon notes, brings back memories of Bubble Yum chewing gum. Only, La Force 11, has that extra layer of spice provided by the cinnamon. This fragrance is soft and pleasant in its presentation, a sort of powdery air about it, which makes me think that it is like a Joop!…if Joop! were toned way down and stripped of some of its component parts.

The sweetness later fades a bit and it becomes much more of a spicy and powdery fragrance. Honestly, I like the scent but it all seems pretty basic and lacks any real distinction. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however, if dropping money on a designer fragrance, I want something with a little more nuance and which stands out from the pack.

The projection on La Force is fairly weak as well. With more sprays, you might rate it as moderate but that’s as far as I’d say it goes. It is also lacking in terms of longevity. 2-4 hours depending on the day and the weather is all I could get out of it. I think that this is a fine smelling fragrance but nothing that outstanding. It seems to be missing something that would allow it to be a distinct cologne. La Force 11 is both sweet and spicy to a point and could be classified as oriental but there are much better options in that sort of fragrance anyways, such as, Opium Pour Homme. I cannot really recommend this cologne, as I don’t really see the point of owning a bottle. It doesn’t last, it’s projection is poor, and though pleasant it is ultimately bland.

Axe White Label Forest Scent Review

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This is my second installment of reviewing the new White Label scents from Axe. In my first entry, I reviewed Night, and while that is a perfectly fine scent, I actually prefer Forest among the two options.

So, in this post I wanted to give my initial impression of this fragrance from Axe and why I think it is a good scent.

Axe White Label Forest Overview

Notes include: pear, starfruit, driftwood, and moss

My Full Review

Forest opens with a really intense note of pear blended with the starfruit, which makes it smell almost like a green apple.

This scent is energetic upon its opening and when lathered that moss and driftwood notes begin to emerge which give it that masculine scent.

As the name suggests, they are going for a woodsy fragrance and they have definitely succeeded on that end.

The fruit notes aren’t too sweet but add a layer of complexity to the scent, so that it just doesn’t smell like a pine air freshener.

The emerging scent is crisp and natural in its airs. Even after it’s had an hour or so to breathe in the air you can still detect the pear note which offsets the moss and sort of pure, forest scent.

Overall, I enjoy this shower gel, even more so than Night. I cannot say that this is the best Axe scent by any stretch but it is certainly a good one and I look forward to trying out the rest of the White Label lineup.

Axe White Label Night Shower Gel Review

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We generally cover the best in men’s colognes and ladies perfumes on this site. However, there are naturally other fashion and beauty products on the markets which command our attention from time to time.

Today, i would like to delve into a line known as the White Label by Axe which is a subsidiary of Unilever.

Axe is an industry leader in male body spray, deodorant, and body wash and has introduced the new white label line of scents here in 2015. For this post, I am going to give my impressions on the fragrance called, “Night” after using it in its shower gel form.

Axe Night Overview

Notes include: grapefruit, lavender, cedarwood and praline

My Full Review

The opening of this shower gel is smooth and dark. It comes out of the bottle colored purple and has a very good lather, once you begin working it.

To me, the most prominent note is the sandalwood and it provides a very clean experience and that element of darkness to the fragrance.

The cedar wood gives it a rougher and more masculine note and balances out the bitterness of the grapefruit quite well. This isn’t a cologne that has multi-layers to it but it does provide a fresh and very smooth scent.

In terms of its staying power, again, it’s not a cologne…though I am sure the deodorant or body spray will last much further into the day (Axe will generally last pretty much all day in my experience, especially the deodorant).

The shower gel, seems to have a staying power of maybe 4 hours depending on the environment you’re in. If I use it after the gym and am just lounging around the house, it obviously lasts much longer than if I am out and about.

Do I like this scent? I do but it isn’t my favorite among the two White Label shower gels that I have tried thus far.

Versace Pour Homme Oud Noir

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For my second post, in this series of reviews of the latest cologne samples I received, I am going to talk briefly about Versace Pour Homme Oud Noir. Now, I say briefly because I can now safely say that I hate this fragrance. To me, it is just simply unpleasant to wear, gives me a headache, and just wow…I really can’t stand it.

oud noir

Notes include: Bitter orange, neroli, black pepper, oud, patchouli, saffron, and others

Okay, nice things to say. Um, the bottle looks really cool. Explaining what colognes smell like through text can be challenging sometimes, but I would say that Oud Noir opens up with a very intense bug spray vibe blended with oriental notes. Specifically, I think it smells like an intense version of a bug spray called, Cutter.

There is a bit of spice to this fragrance and quite frankly it just makes my head hurt and want to wash it off immediately. It has a disgusting synthetic vibe to it and while it claims to be moderate, I would suggest that it is much more of a heavy scent.

It is really thick and just kind of sits in the air. The intensity fades a bit after 10 minutes or so but it doesn’t magically develop into something that actually smells good.

That’s really all I want to say about this stuff, I’m not recommending it, but you can grab a sample for yourself if you want to. I would suggest that instead you purchase a Versace cologne that actually smells good.