Light Blue Pour Homme Italian Love by D&G

Since it was a new year, D&G released a new Light Blue flanker for 2022. Following up on 2021’s Light Blue Forever, they are now coming out with Pour Homme Italian Love. It appears to be a similar scent to Forever, but is that the case? I forgot to update this page last year, so, I grabbed a sample finally to test Italian Love out. How does it smell? Is it worth a buy?

What does Light Blue Italian Love Smell Like?

Notes include: Italian bergamot, grapefruit, green notes, violet leaf, ozonic notes, guaiac wood, vetiver, musk, patchouli

Click here to try: Light Blue Italian Love

My Full Review

Let’s see how D&G describes it:  It opens with Italian bergamot and juicy frozen grapefruit, revealing a fresh cocktail. It then evolves to an intensely masculine heart, with invigorating green notes combining with violet leaf and the fresh aquatic wave of the ozonic marine accord. Earthy vetiver combines with musks and the heady, mysterious note of patchouli, while the full-bodied note of guaiac wood brings new depth and an intriguing sensuality.

Tried it yourself? Leave your own review and score in the comments section below.

Italian Love starts out very close to what you get with Forever.  If you already have Light Blue Forever, you can probably skip this.

Yet, the differences that are between them, make Italian Love a better buy in my mind, for those who don’t have a bottle of either. Or, if the blend of Forever, just put you off.

Italian Love brings back the grapefruit note, but this time it is paired with a juicy and slightly sour bergamot note. Tart and sour, nothing sweet. I like it a lot. The balance is probably around 70/30 in favor of the grapefruit, but the bergamot gives it a better balance.

The second difference that I notice, is the toned down violet leaf in this Light Blue versus Forever. The violet leaf and green notes aren’t as prominent, but the ozonic gives it more of that airy sea breeze impression. Not salty, but leans very blueish and fresh.

As we move into the next phase, the grapefruit takes a more solid leading role in the citrus top. This is also when the light musk note and woods begin to emerge. Musk and vetiver are carryovers from Forever, maybe the musk is weakened in Italian Love, but it is essentially the same with how it comes across.

It’s interesting that Italian Love has a bit of fizziness to it. Can come across as a fresh cocktail of some sort. The bergamot really helps with that, along with the strengthened ozonic accord, and the guaiac wood which makes an appearance in the middle act.

The dry down is a blend of the citrus, musk, and mostly vetiver-dominant woody notes. A little patchouli and guaiac wood thrown in for good measure, but not extremely noticeable. That’s basically the ending of Italian Love.

One more thing to note, is that there is what feels like a light smokiness. Probably the guaiac wood mixing with vetiver, but the undercurrent of this cologne is quite a dry freshness.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

The sillage here is pretty moderate, just like Forever. The early stages come with the same blast of citrusy strength that you get with its predecessor, but it settles thereafter. It projects in that 4-6 foot range, initially, with a normal amount of application. Maybe 2-3 feet, past the first hour.

Still not incredible projection, but nothing to be disappointed by.

As a weaker skin scent, it’ll hang around for just over 7 hours, on my skin. That being said, most of what you’re going to pick up will be in the first couple of hours. It is still there, I just don’t notice it all that often.

Seasonally, late spring and summertime. The Light Blue flankers really lean into the summer appeal of the original, as seen with 2023’s Light Blue Summer Vibes (which I’ll review very soon).

It might be a little more versatile, with its appeal versus Forever, which smells like pure grapefruit at times. This one is great to wear out on summer days or nights, and one that can get complements since it performs in the heat. Casual, daily wear, and nightlife.

Overall Impressions of Italian Love

Overall, do I like Light Blue Italian Love? Yes, it is better than Forever. The blend just has a more delightful aroma and some better depth versus the 2021 release. I’m still not a massive fan of this much grapefruit, but this is one of the better releases from the Light Blue line.

The bergamot is the hero for me, in the early stages. It helps to pull back some of that overwhelming grapefruit of Forever, without destroying the appeal of that fragrance. Secondly, the heavier weighting of the ozonic notes, is just a better way to go for me.

Performance wise, it’s basically the same as what I got with Forever. So, it will all come down to which smell you prefer Forever (greenish grapefruit) or Italian Love (ozonic grapefruit blend). For me, it’s the latter.

On the whole, Italian Love is a very good summer fragrance. I’m not completely blown away by it, but I like it for what this scent is going to be used for.

Best Men's Colognes

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.