Curve Appeal by Liz Claiborne

In a recent order, I made sure to grab enough sample and mini sizes, to post up some new reviews and particularly those fragrances that won’t cost a lot. Since, a lot of what I’ve review recently has been more higher end stuff.

So, I decided to grab a few of the Curve flanker fragrances from Liz Claiborne including today’s review subject, Curve Appeal. This one came out back in 2011, but how doe it stack up? Is it actually worth a buy?

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What does Curve Appeal Smell Like?

Notes include: pear, watermelon, marine notes, lavender, bergamot, musk, cedar, cardamom, amber, mandarin

Click here to try: Curve Appeal Cologne for Men, 0.5 Ounce

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My Full Wear Review

Curve Appeal opens with a strong dose of its aquatic elements, it’s not too salty, but more of just the watery aspect of that aroma. It is joined by a ever-present watermelon, which is flanked by other fruit notes like pear and citrus.

This definitely falls into a youthfully fresh aquatic, it’s clean, and doesn’t blow the doors off with a heavy sillage from the jump. I like the watermelon note here, it’s not one that gets used all of the time, but it does help to set an inexpensive fragrance like this one apart.

Between the watermelon and the pear note, they add even more of an aquatic feel to the composition, as those are both quite crisp and watery sorts of fruits.

They do a good job with this one, not presenting the watermelon as a sort of candied Jolly Rancher sort of aroma. Instead, it’s lighter, with way less of a sugary edge.

Underneath that initial layer, I do get a fairly prominent cardamom note. However, its spice is held in check, by the lavender and cedar wood combo. It does bolster the freshness of Appeal, especially after the opening act, when the marine notes lighten up even more.

At this point, Curve Appeal consists of the watermelon note, with a marine accord, and the cedar/lavender/cardamom solidifying things. There’s a bit of the pear left, but the citrus really isn’t detectable.

Moving into the final phase, Appeal hits its musky and amber scented base. The musk isn’t heavy, and the amber provides, a lightly sweet and warm structure for the other notes to inhabit. The rest of the fragrance, stays pretty much what it what previously, and it rides out the remainder of the wear like this.

You get a fresh aquatic watermelon with some nice lavender, woods, and a slight spice. However, it is more sweet than spice.

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Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, it doesn’t have too strong of a sillage, as I wrote before. It’s light to moderate, not weak, but not a heavy hitter by any means. You’ll be able to notice it, but it does behave like a typical aquatic cologne.

The longevity is decent, but pretty good considering its price point. Curve Appeal, gave me 5-6 hours of wear, before fading. Not amazing, but this is one you can re-apply, without really caring about the cost.

Most cheaper fragrances aren’t really going to give you 8 hours or more wear anyway. This at least brings it somewhat close.

Seasonally, it strikes me as a warm weather fragrance, that wouldn’t be a bad reach during the rest of the year. It’s mostly a casual fragrance, for guys in their teens and 20s. You can wear it to work or just to grab whenever you need to freshen up.

Appeal isn’t a club beast or even something you’d wear for dates, as it doesn’t really give off a ‘sexy’ vibe. For a cheapie, Appeal is a good one to just throw on, and not really need to worry about. It isn’t going to overpower or offend.

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Overall Impressions of Curve Appeal

Overall, is Curve Appeal worth a look? It’s decent and smells pretty good. For the price, it would be a solid option for guys who want something super cheap, and also a light and clean fragrance to wear on a daily basis.

It’s scent isn’t amazing, but it is a nice aquatic, with enough appeal to be useful. You get a solid performance out of it, as well. Does it do as well as the original Curve? No, but certainly has its strengths.

Update: I’m not seeing Appeal around much anymore. It looks like it has been discontinued.