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Today, I am going to be taking a closer look at two of the best selling men’s fragrances out there, and comparing what sets them apart. The two contestants? La Nuit de L’Homme vs. Sauvage EDT. Which smells better? The Dior or the YSL? Which cologne lasts longer? Has better sillage? Is the better buy? I have tried out and reviewed each of them, now it is time to see which is the winner.
Tale of the Tape: La Nuit vs. Sauvage
Sauvage EDT
Notes include: Bergamot, Ambroxan, Sichuan Pepper, lavender, pink pepper, and more
Click here to try: Sauvage by Chrisitan Dior Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 3.4 Ounce
Read my review: Sauvage EDT Review
La Nuit
Notes include: cardamom, bergamot, vetiver, lavender, cedar
Try it out: Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit De L’homme Eau de Toilette Spray, 3.3-Ounce
Read my review: La Nuit de l’Homme
Opening
The opening of Sauvage EDT is a spicy citrus blend of bergamot and Sichuan pepper. It is strong and fairly sharp, but is quickly joined by a calm lavender, and the ambroxan note. The ambroxan will become more prevalent as it settles on the skin.
La Nuit de l’Homme kicks off with cardamom and bergamot. It is also a somewhat spicy citrus blend, but the spice is fresher, smoother, and the bergamot is lighter in this YSL. La Nuit is warmer than it is spicy and the lavender note here, eventually takes over most of the citrus.
Which is better? I think that I prefer the start of La Nuit versus Sauvage. Sauvage can be too sharp at the beginning for my nose and I like the cardamom note better than the Sichuan pepper.
Edge: La Nuit
Projection
La Nuit starts off pretty moderate with its sillage, before becoming a much lighter cologne. Actually, newer bottles are fairly light for the entirety. It was never a heavy fragrance, but now it’s got even less punch.
Meanwhile, Sauvage EDT, starts off with a powerful burst and gradually becomes more upper moderate. The sillage is an easy win for the Dior.
Edge: Sauvage
Longevity
La Nuit will last in the 6-8 hour range, on my skin, but it’s usually more towards the six hour end. Update: newer bottles of this YSL don’t hit that 8 hour mark anymore. I can still get six, usually.
Sauvage will go 6-9 hours, but usually towards the nine hour mark. Sometimes, they’ll be equal, but more often than not it’s Sauvage winning.
Edge: Sauvage
Versatility
Both of these fragrances have a lot of versatility and can excel in a variety of situations. I think that the distinction comes in, with the climate. Sauvage can work year round, better than La Nuit, which holds up in cold to moderate temperatures but not so much in heat.
Also, Sauvage is better suited for the night club kind of environment. They are pretty equal in other respects.
Edge: Sauvage
Overall Scent
As you can see, Sauvage performs a bit better and is somewhat more versatile, than is La Nuit. However, I have to say that La Nuit de L’Homme smells better than Sauvage EDT.
Sauvage starts out with that intensity, that I’m not too fond of, and it becomes smoother over time with its lavender and ambroxan note. It is warm, spicy, and crowd pleasing with its citrus.
La Nuit is very clean and masculine with a lavender and cardamom blend, leading the way. Under that, you get woodsy cedar and vetiver. It is fresh with a really nice aroma.
I’m going to give La Nuit the win over Sauvage, because I do think that it is better smelling fragrance. It’s performance is good enough, to make up for lagging behind Sauvage in area, by just having the better scent.
Update: The performance has suffered with Nuit recently. It still smells like a better fragrance. I wouldn’t pay full price for either, but I enjoy La Nuit much more.
Remember though, I’m talking about the more popular EDT version of Sauvage versus La Nuit. I would actually go with the EDP version over either. This is how I’d rank them: 1. Sauvage EDP 2. Sauvage Parfum 3. La Nuit 4. Sauvage EDT.
If it’s between just these two, go with La Nuit. Otherwise, I’d pick Sauvage EDP. If you want EDT, there are plenty men’s perfumes like Dior Sauvage.
Winner: La Nuit
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Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.