Men’s Fashion

1 Million vs 1 Million Prive Cologne Comparison

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Paco Rabanne’s 1 Million has been a hyper-popular cologne ever since its release however many years ago. It is known as a bold and absolute monster performer, which has been a go to for younger men, at bars and night clubs across the globe.

With the release of 2016’s flanker scent, 1 Million Prive, the fragrance may have some competition from one which was birthed from it’s own success.

In this post, I am going to give my thoughts and performance review, in order to create a comparison between 1 Million vs 1 Million Prive by Paco Rabanne for men.

Tale of the Tape: Prive vs. 1 Million

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 EDT Review

 

1 Million Prive

Notes include: tonka bean, apple, cinnamon, myrrh, mandarin orange, tobacco

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

Read my original review: 1 Million Prive Cologne Review

 

Opening

The original 1 Million has this grape bubblegum-like opening that has become pretty infamous. This candy scented start is one reason I think this fragrance has pushed some people away from wearing it. Personally, I think that it works just fine and actually enjoy it.

1 Million opens up with leather, citrus, and rose. Together, they create that bubblegum sort of smell. It’s actually a really smooth leather, juicy orange and grapefruit. This is surrounded by a warm and bold amber, with hints of cooling mint. 

All in all, it’s a nice and powerful start, to this now classic best-seller.

Prive, on the other hand, takes on something a bit darker and less sweet. It still retains the cinnamon note of the original but adds a scent of apple (though, it’s not an actual ingredient, it’s just the effect that the blend gives off), which reminds me of cinnamon applesauce but not as sweet.

There is a light citrus note, provided by the same mandarin orange, as the original.  Tonka bean, myrrh, and tobacco come in later, to give it a rich and thick aroma. 

Honestly, I think I was digging the opening of Prive while wearing it the other day, more so than when I wear the original. The more time that I’ve spent with both, the more that I prefer Prive as a flanker cologne.

Edge: Prive

Projection

Update: The latest batch of 1 Million that I tried, isn’t nearly as strong as it used to be. As such, I’m downgrading it, and calling this category a tie. Below is my original take.

1 Million is a straight beast in terms of performance and in order to take this category, Prive would have had to match or somehow even exceed the bar that was set. It doesn’t.

Prive actually has really good projection and is by no means weak, but, 1 Million is legendary in this regard. Maybe newer formulations of 1 Million are toned down, somewhat, but I haven’t experienced that myself.

Prive is a very strong fragrance, so, you won’t actually be disappointed by the performance, it just doesn’t hold a candle to the original. 

Edge: Push

 

Longevity

Update: The newer batches of 1 Million don’t go as long. Usually, it still hits 8-9 hours, but now Prive has the upper hand.

Again, performance wise, 1 Million takes the cake. It goes on forever seemingly. Prive is no joke and will last 9-10 hours after spraying.

1 Million, always seemed to go for 12 hours, on my skin. Then, I’d lose track of it. I mean, you have to go to sleep at some point. Nonetheless, Prive is again, a great performer too. 

Edge: Prive

Versatility

Both of these colognes are useful for casual to romantic wear. Though, go lightly when wearing to work or school. Both are well suited to the colder weather. I would say, that Prive, is better suited for more formal events. Even though, it’s not really a formal scent, by any means. 

However, 1 Million can probably hold up better during warmer whether than can Prive, which gives it the edge here. For me, these both were always colder weather, nightlife wears. 

Edge: 1 Million

Overall Scent

Right now, I am enjoying Prive more than I do 1 Million. The original is a better performer but Prive is also great in that manner. Prive is smooth, warm, and I really like the cinnamon/tobacco note dry down period.

Update: After a few years of having tried Prive, after its release, I can say it is my favorite 1 Million fragrance. Better than the original and 1 Million Lucky.  Plus, it now has a better performance than the original, also.

Update 2: Prive has been discontinued, as of now. I tried to find a bottle a few months back and it wasn’t possible at a reasonable price. So, the original 1 Million EDT is the one I’d go with out of the series, if I couldn’t get my hands on a bottle of Prive…which looks like is going to be the case moving forward.

It’s just the most well rounded fragrance of them all. It has enough elements of the original to be familiar, then, adds to that foundation with something uniquely its own. 

Prive seems darker and a bit more mature than the original and I love the tonka bean note. That’s not to say that the orginal 1 Million is bad. It isn’t and I still like to wear it but as of writing I’m more into Prive. Maybe, it is recency bias but I’m going with the new flanker as the winner.

Winner: Prive

6 Best Smelling Hollister Colognes

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I’ve never owned any clothing from Hollister. Even when it was extremely popular, I just never saw the appeal of their apparel. However, the line of fragrances, do actually smell very nice for the most part and are probably the best products in the store. In this post, I want to go over what I feel are the best options from the clothing brand, in terms of its colognes and provide some info as to what separates each of them.

What are the Top Hollister Colognes for Men?

Most Popular Hollister Scent

Hollister Socal Cologne Spray for Men, 2.5 Fluid Ounce– If you’ve ever walked into or even by a Hollister store, you’ve almost undoubtedly smelled Socal wafting through the air.

The stores themselves, tend to overspray the stuff, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that it actually does smell good when applied in normal amounts.

It is clean, sweet, with a beachy wood vibe. It is warm and vibrant with a slight air of coconut for good measure. Plus, those hints of herbal/earthy ingredients. Very youthful, not super complex, but has a depth and versatility that is actually impressive for what it is.

Best Overall Cologne

Hollister Wave Men Eau De Toilette, 3.4 Ounce– A very upbeat aquatic type of cologne and one of the more recent additions to the lineup for Hollister.

Wave features a citrus accord led by yuzu then it is ‘greened’ up by bamboo leaf and some driftwood. The familiar aroma of lavender also lends a smoothness to Wave. Clean and has a nice sweetness to it.

The citrus and bamboo mix is fantastic and really separates Wave, as a unique, and very enjoyable cologne to wear. I think that this is the most interesting and has the aroma that I like the most from their fragrances.

Wave is fresh with some woody and aquatic notes to give it a familiar summertime feeling.

Another Top Bet

JAKE (BLUE EDITION) * Hollister 1.7 oz / 50 ml EDC Men Cologne Spray– Jake is the other best seller from Hollister besides Socal. This one is much more straightforward in my opinion, but it has a really great aroma within its simplicity.

It has a citrus top that features a slight floral kind of sweetness over top of a wood/sea water base. Fresh summer shore vibe, that is pleasant all around.

As it dries down, it gets woodier in its smell, but never fully loses that citrus zest. The performance on this one is actually pretty good for one of these types of scents, also.

A Similar Profile to a Popular Cologne

Coastline by Hollister–  I’m putting Coastline on the list, because it does smell really good. However, it’s pretty much a similar aroma of the original Fierce from Abercrombie. Though, slightly different, and without as much power as that popular fragrance once had.

Coastline is lighter with its sillage and has much more of a citrus feeling up top versus Fierce. I also don’t think that it has the same spicy qualities as that one, at least to the same degree.

Nevertheless, I’ve seen this one on sale for pretty cheap, and it could be a good pickup for those who want a Fierce-like scent.

 

 

Sunset Fruits

SoCal Sunset by Hollister–  This is a flanker fragrance of SoCal, so, it’s going to have plenty of similarities with the original. Yet, this one does kind of stand out on its own in many ways.

It’s got a smoother and creamier aroma to it, with more fruits. It’s led by its citrus notes, probably a blend of lemon and bergamot. But, there also seems to be a tropical influence in there as well.

I think this one is more pineapple versus the coconut of the original SoCal.

It’s not heavy but has a lighter sillage and stays fresh for the summer months. Woods and a hint of vanilla. Nice and enjoyable wear.

Summer Nighttime Wear

Festival Nite for Him– Okay, so you can also wear this during the daytime, but this is a nice change of pace fragrance from the others.

You get plenty of citrus here, that is paired with a nice sweet apple. It’s more candy-like than naturalistic. Yet, this all swims in a sea of ambroxan with a few lightly spiced notes arising throughout.

Not too heavy, but as a clean and smooth base that really comes through, after an hour or so. Longevity is pretty good for this sort of scent and the aroma is attractive.

Gucci Guilty EDT Pour Homme

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Today, we have an entry from Gucci, the original of the Guilty line up: Guilty Pour Homme EDT. This has been a very popular men’s fragrance, over this past decade, but how does it actually stack up? In this post, I’m going to break down my experience with it, let you know how it smells, how it performs, when it should be worn, and if it is worth a try or not.

What does Gucci Guilty Pour Homme Smell Like?

Notes include: lemon, orange blossom, lavender, patchouli, cedar, pink pepper, neroli

Click here to try: Guilty By Gucci EDT spray for Men, 3 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

The opening of Gucci Guilty eau de toilette hits with a nice clean citrus note of lemon, warm slightly spicy pink pepper, and a calming lavender. Actually, the lemon/pink pepper combo, remind me a bit of Guess Seductive Homme which has the pink pepper paired with orange.

Different colognes for sure, but it’s just what comes to mind.

Nonetheless, that cologne has a bit more spice, than does Guilty Pour Homme. What’s interesting, is that this opening, is a high percentage of what you’re going to get from this cologne. Just one of the scent, that you’ll know fairly quickly, whether or not you enjoy it.

The fragrance is light and warm with a smooth cedar base note and patchouli giving the composition more substantial aroma, than it otherwise would have. Still, Guilty is a pretty minimalist fragrance, in a lot of ways.

The orange blossom/neroli pairing of course bring a floral touch, but their citrus fragrances, tend to blend in with the lemon note. Plus, the lavender is the dominant floral, and it doesn’t give up much room to the others.

I remember I used to wear Gucci Guilty Black, years ago, and that is a close approximation of what I smell here; just without the lemon/pink pepper. So, it’s a less spicy version of Black, with those two notes added to the top. Also, the notes in this one are more distinct, as they could be difficult to distinguish between in Black.

There is a sweetness within Guilty, that may be vanilla, or just the floral notes interacting with the pink pepper and lemon. Either way, there is an undercurrent of that kind of vibe, that becomes more noticeable after an hour or so of wear.

Gucci Guilty Pour Homme is actually a pretty linear fragrance, there isn’t a lot of depth here, and what you get from the start is very close to how it dries down. Yet, it does have some substance at times, which I appreciate.

Finally, we get to the last bit of this cologne, where you do get a cedar aroma underneath the lavender and citrus combination. Ultimately, it is a lavender and citrus combination, with some light spice, floral notes, and a cedar base.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, it’s moderate for a couple of hours, and then it is quite light and airy. The sillage isn’t much beyond the immediate area around you, so, don’t expect some beast that will hit someone’s nose from across the room.

Longevity, is about 5-6 hours, on my skin. That’s not too great, but passable in a lot of situations. I do wish that it could go longer, especially at this price point. To me, that’s the biggest weakness of this fragrance.

Over the years, I’ve tested Guilty Pour Homme out again and again, with the same results.

Guilty Black and Intense, both stepped it up from here, giving you more time to spend with those colognes. Giving the two a further edge over the original.

Seasonally, it can go year round, but it mostly strikes me as a wear for spring or early summer. It’s not the usual aquatic colognes of that time frame, but it has an upbeat energy, and is light enough not to be cloying.

Guilty Pour Homme is kind of an all-purpose fragrance, as it can be worn casually, is safe enough for work, and attractive enough for a date.

Honestly, if a guy just wants something simple and one that can pull complements, Gucci Guilty can do the job. Performance is ehhh, but the versatility is darn good.

For a younger guy, this can be an easy starter cologne. It can cover most of your bases, as far as use goes, and is already wildly popular.

Overall Impressions of Guilty Pour Homme

Overall, do I like Gucci Guilty EDT? It’s nice, but nothing all that spectacular, to me. It has a very pleasant and clean smell, it has good potential for those who just want something easy to wear and low key.

This version doesn’t have the greatest performance, but it isn’t completely useless.

This has been a best seller for Gucci and has spawned so many flankers, many of which, have nothing in common with the original. I’m not sure why this one gets as much love as it does, but I like it fairly well.

Lemon, lavender, and pink pepper are the main stars here…so, that’s what you should expect from most of the wear. It’s cool, just not outstanding. I personally prefer the Intense version or Black, but the former is discontinued, so you will have to find bottles online.

Creed Viking vs Aventus Cologne Comparison

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So, here I am, back with another head to head cologne comparison. Today, I am following up my review of Creed Viking by comparing it with the most popular Creed fragrance, Aventus. How does the newest addition to the family stack up against, its highly rated counterpart? Continue below for my full take on Viking versus Aventus.

Tale of the Tape: Aventus vs. Viking

Creed Aventus

Notes of Creed Aventus: 

Top: Blackcurrant,Italian bergamot, French apples and pineapple

Middle: Rose, dry birch, Moroccan jasmine, and patchouli

Base Notes: musk, oak moss, ambergris, and vanilla.

Click here to try Aventus: Aventus For Men 4.0 oz EDP Spray By Creed

Click here to read my original Aventus Review

Creed Viking

Notes include: rose, pink pepper, bergamot, peppermint, sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli

Click here to try: Viking Eau de Parfum Spray for Men by Creed

Read my original Viking Review

Opening

Off the bat, as I’ve written many times on this site, I’m not a fan of the opening of Aventus. To me, it’s really too sharp, but it does get better.

Aventus kicks off with pineapple and black currant out in full force. That black currant is the main culprit for sharpness, especially when paired with pineapple.

Underneath that, is an apple note adding an additional watery fruitiness up top. Birch and oak moss come through also, early on. These two notes add a very dry freshness to the mix.

Viking on the other hand, is extremely fresh and crisp. The peppermint note really grabbed my attention and I like how it plays off of the sandalwood and pink pepper notes.

I don’t think Viking is the most amazing opening ever, but I did enjoy it a good deal, and I think that it takes this category.

It’s pretty simple, but it has an appealing coldness with it’s fresher warmer pink pepper. I like it.

Edge: Viking

Projection

Viking is solid but not super strong or bold. Aventus is strong but not insanely so. However, Aventus does have the more intense and noticeable scent of these two fragrances.

I always feel aware that I have Aventus on, while it wasn’t the same experience with Viking. Viking is just a softer fragrance overall.

Edge: Aventus

Longevity

With Aventus I’ve generally gotten 7-8 hours, maybe 9. During my wear with Viking, I got about the same. I’d probably have to wear Viking around more to see if any differences emerged, but for now, I’m rating them the same.

Viking just doesn’t have the same sillage. Since it is a lighter scent, it doesn’t seem like it hangs around as long, but it actually does.

Update: It might be a slight edge to Aventus. I do occasionally get that extra hour out of it, which doesn’t happen when I’ve tried Viking.

Edge: Push

Versatility

Both of these scents work casually and as an office worker kind of cologne. I do think what separates them, is that, Aventus has more sex appeal than Viking. Viking is really fresh and clean and kind of an old school sort of fragrance.

Meanwhile, Aventus, is a proven winner that can work very well in a number of situations. That’s not to say that you couldn’t wear Viking on a date, it’s just not something that strikes you as ‘sexy’, to the same extent.

Other than that, both really cover a lot of bases as to when they can be worn.

Edge: Aventus

Overall Scent

Viking is a nice scent in my opinion. I enjoy the contrast of cold peppermint and the warmth that begins to emerge as the fragrance wears on. It’s a green fragrance with notes that provide a crisp and invigorating spice.

That being said, I wasn’t blown away by it. If it was cheaper, I might consider purchasing a full bottle, but for the price…it’s not all that impressive.

Update: The more that I’ve tried it, the past few years, the more I liked it. Still, never was crazy about wearing it. Nice, but not a must have for me.

Aventus is still better. It has pretty much become classic in under a decade, which is remarkable. I think that it’s overall the better fragrance. I’ve always hated the opening few minutes, but it develops a great profile as the scent dries down.

While Aventus gets the nod as the better cologne, if I had to choose wearing between wearing these two right now, I’d pick Viking.

I’m actually completely sick of smelling Aventus and no longer keep any around. Basically because everything tries to be a Creed Aventus ‘clone’.

Just the ‘new’ factor of Viking and the fact that it is somewhat enjoyable in the same way Creed’s Original Santal is, would get me to favor it.

Maybe I’ll come back to Aventus at some point, but not for a long while. Between these two, most people will absolutely favor Aventus, and it takes the win here.

Winner: Aventus

Gentlemen Only by Givenchy

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I’ve been trying out more and more colognes over the past few weeks and I recently got a hold of a couple scent by Givenchy. Gentlemen Only and Gentlemen Only Intense. In this post, I want to take a closer look at the former, and give my opinion and rate how this fragrance measures up.

What is it composed of? What is the opening like? How does it smell? How long does it last? Please continue reading below for my full review of Gentlemen Only.

What Does Gentlemen Only Smell Like?

FullSizeRender (5)

Notes include: Birch wood, patchouli, vetiver, cedar, pink pepper, mandarin

Click here to try: Givenchy Gentlemen Only Eau De Toilette Spray for Men, 100ml, 3.3 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

My first impressions of Gentlemen Only is that it is a dry and slightly sweet woodsy scented fragrance. It is simple and refined. I was really digging this scent when I first applied it, and enjoyed the interplay between the vetiver and birch/cedar notes, that I could pick out.

This Givenchy fragrance is one in which I could completely imagine myself applying while wearing a suit and even though I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, I definitely felt quite fresh with it on.

Also, the opening has a citrus aroma provided by the mandarin note, that fades away during the dry down period. This mandarin and pink pepper give it the sweet/spicy undertones which helped to make Gentlemen Only quite appealing to my tastes.

As the citrus fades, it takes on more of a smoky type of aroma (think less of tobacco or a whiskey cask and more towards incense). Birch really becomes prominent on my skin, at this point.

The top is a citrus mix of that mandarin and bergamot, the latter being quite light. Pink pepper joins in to add some warm spice, to the very dry composition. It’s nice to have that juiciness on top of what is ultimately going to be a fresh woody fragrance.

As it moves further along, the smoky wood aromas, really start pouring out of this. Vetiver starts to take over the composition, with the lingering mandarin still hanging around. Under that, is the birch wood and some cedar.

Ultimately, Gentlemen Only is a somewhat spicy and smoky woods-based fragrance, with enough sweetness to change things up. Very nice and refined.

Sillage and Longevity

Projection wise, Gentlemen Only starts out pretty good in that regard. For the first few hours, I could notice it on myself and liked it a whole lot. In many regards, I though that I had found a new potential casual fragrance for me to wear.

It’s not going to leave a huge scent trail. It will be noticed for a little while, but isn’t going to take over a room. Then, it’s not going to even do that.

However, the longevity on this one is really disappointing.  After three hours or so I could no longer even detect it on my skin, I had sprayed some on my forearms, and got absolutely nothing from it. It’s so hard to find a good long lasting cologne sometimes.

This Givenchy isn’t one of them.

When Should it Be Worn?

Surprisingly, this isn’t too heavy of  a scent. Smoky and dry woods, sounds more like a winter thing, but here it isn’t really. I would say that Gentlemen Only works best in moderate temperatures. It’s not terrible in winter, but I wouldn’t wear it in the summertime.

It can be a daily wear at the office, or something you put on for semi-formal to formal occasions. It is attractive enough for the nightlife, but again, the performance isn’t great. It’s actually got a pretty wide use case.

Overall Impressions

Overall, is this Givenchy product worth a try? I definitely like the scent, although, I seem to enjoy the Intense version more… BUT Gentlemen Only just does not last. Plus, the Intense version isn’t really ‘intense’ and is quite a different fragrance all together.

If you want a woodsy/smoky/spicy cologne in this price range, consider: Burberry London or perhaps, YSL L’Homme Libre, both of which have much better longevity.

Gentlemen Only might not be a bad buy, if you can get it at a discount on the secondary market. Perhaps, it will last longer on your skin, versus my own. The scent itself, is worth it. The question is, how much performance can you wring out of this cologne?

It is interesting and has its moments, but ultimately probably not worthwhile for many guys.