Luna Rossa Black by Prada

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I am a pretty big fan of Prada’s men’s fragrances. In particular, I like the Luna Rossa line, as I find them to all be at least solid. Not one of them is a bad cologne. As such, I wanted to give Luna Rossa Black a try, and see if it held up the name’s tradition. How does it smell? When should it be worn? How does it perform? Please continue below, for my full take on this scent.

What Does Luna Rossa Black Smell Like?

Notes include: patchouli, amber, angelica, tonka bean, musk, bergamot

Click here to try: Prada Luna Rossa Black for Men Eau de Parfum Spray, 3.4 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

My initial impression of Luna Rossa Black, wasn’t all that positive. It wasn’t a bad scent, I just wasn’t that taken, with how it started out. This is going to be another single wear review, as I tried this in the store, but it was a surprisingly long encounter with this scent. Oh and it got much better, as it moved along.

The opening consists of a light bergamot note, some patchouli, amber, and angelica. I’m not sure what has me feeling so lukewarm, about Black in the beginning, but I think its just the patchouli mixing weird with one of the other notes.

It’s got a warm, semi-powdery aroma, that has a burnt sort of aroma. To my nose, it’s just not great.

Nonetheless, I kept this Prada cologne on my skin, and gradually came around to it. I actually really enjoy the dry down, on this one. The amber and tonka bean, really begin to ramp up. It’s got a sweet, smooth, and still retains that powdery scent. That Prada amber note, is fantastic, as usual with this brand.

Black does have a ‘dark’ sort of smell to it. The musk note comes in, and the patchouli falls back, to a much better role. It gives it that underlying earthy aroma, but doesn’t interfere with the great amber/tonka bean show up top. It becomes super smooth, a bit sweet, with a not too heavy feeling scent.

How’s the Sillage? How Long Does it Last?

I really wasn’t sure how long to expect this fragrance to go. To be honest, I sort of just sprayed myself with it three times at the store, and kind of forgot about it. However, this one projects itself quite well. It’s not a monster, but the sillage is very solid.

What really shocked me, was how long this one went for. Keep in mind, it is summer, I went outside multiple times with this on. 9-10 hours later, I could still smell it.

Update: Coming back to this one years later, in the wintertime, and this one works so much better with how it smells and it still hits that double digit hour mark fairly easily. So, I’ve bumped up the score a bit below.

I had to take a shower, but it could have kept going. My skin is pretty good at not eating up colognes, but the longevity was on point with Black.

Versatility

While I do think that Luna Rossa Black is more appropriate for the colder weather. It honestly, held up pretty well in the heat. It wasn’t perfect, as some of the notes did degrade a bit, but still did a good job.

I’d say it’s much more of an option during the autumn through early spring. It has a professional and refined sort of smell, but has a sexy edge, that can take it into nighttime wear.

Overall Scent

I wasn’t too thrilled with Luna Rossa Black at first, but it won me over. It is a great addition to the Luna Rossa line, still not my favorite, though I did enjoy wearing it.

To me, after the first hour, is when this one is at its absolute best. I love tonka bean and amber, so this was a really nice experience. That first hour, is mid-tier.

Am I blown away by it? No, though, I give it fairly high marks across the board. It’s nothing groundbreaking, it just lasts a long time, and has an attractive scent. That’s most of what we require from our fragrances and Black delivers.

It’s one of the better editions. I like the original Luna Rossa and Sport a bit more than this. Yet, this also seems to be a favorite of a lot of people. Try this one out, it’s a designer scent that does everything well.

Wanted Girl by Azzaro

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Wanted for Men has been a hit for Azzaro and naturally they also put out a women’s version in 2019, Wanted Girl. I got a hold of a sample of this a while back, but never got around to giving it a review. Let’s change that today. How does it smell? Perform? Is it worth a buy? 

What does Wanted Girl by Azzaro Smell Like?

Notes include: vetiver, ginger flower, dulce de leche, orange blossom, pink pepper

Click here to try: Azzaro Wanted Girl Eau de Parfum – Perfume for Women

My Full Review

Before I get into my review of this fragrance, let’s see how Azzaro describes it: In tribute to a new, free and flamboyant femininity. A floral, gourmand and oriental eau de parfum with an addictive trail.

Wanted Girl opens up with a very well blended mix of sweet, warmth, and a fresh spice provided by the ginger. There is an opening citrus note or rather, a few different ones.

I couldn’t find any official listing other than having orange blossom, but the list of ingredients includes: limonene and citronellol…so the citrus influence is definitely here.

The reason that it seems to blend together so much, is that everything is wrapped up in the embrace of notes like pink pepper. I also smell patchouli and tonka bean. This is a definite gourmand scent.

Anyway, the opening act is a sweet and slightly sharp mix of the citrus notes. Then, a few minutes after the dulce de leche becomes quite apparent, and it’s a note that I enjoy. As it moves along, the tonka bean takes over the patchouli.

Sweet, creamy, and warm. More importantly, it becomes pretty floral, and the spice doesn’t hang around for the latter stages. It’s quite delicious and has an enveloping thickness, without being a total sillage monster. Closer to the skin, but a very cozy sort of perfume

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

This isn’t a super powerful fragrance. The sillage starts off in the upper range of moderate and pretty middle of the road thereafter. Not bad, but not an insane performer.

The longevity is good, though, not elite. It’ll hang around on my skin for 6-7.5 hours, it seems. A useful perfume for sure and by no means a weak performer. With a full bottle, I would guess that Wanted Girl would last closer to that upper end, based on the density of the sprays.

Seasonally, autumn and winter, mostly. But, I don’t think that it’s too heavy of a scent to venture into at least some of the springtime. 

 

Mostly, a daily wear for the colder months of the year. Not really a formal fragrance, but one which could venture into the nightlife. It’s got an attractive and edible quality, that as a man, I enjoy. Kind of sexy and really something that I want to smell more of.

Despite the Girl name, it isn’t completely relegated to being a teenager’s scent, but it will more likely appeal to those through their mid-20s or so. Of course, fans of the sweetish gourmands at any age, might want to indulge in this one.

Overall Impressions of Wanted Girl

Do I like this scent? Yes, I think that it is put together well and a nice little gourmand scent. Not too sugary or overbearing, but one that is a crowd pleaser, and generally easy to wear.

Wanted Girl isn’t groundbreaking and you’ve probably smelled fragrances close to what this one smells like. Though, I do think that it stands out enough on its own, to be considered distinct and not just another clone. 

The creaminess is great, along with the warm embrace that this Azzaro surrounds you with. Dulce de leche is the real star of the composition and makes this one a very nice designer scent.

Pleasant, cozy, and pretty. If you’re not into gourmands, avoid this one. However, for anyone else, it’s a darn good buy. Not the best, but it should provide plenty of what you’d want in a fragrance.

Chloe Absolu de Parfum

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Absolu is one of the many Chloe samples that I picked up for review months ago. This one was released back in 2017 and I wanted to see how this one worked over a longer duration, than I had previously encountered it. How does it smell? Does it last long? Is Chloe Absolu worth a try?

What does Chloe Absolu Smell Like?

Notes includes: rose, patchouli, vanilla

Click here to try: Chloe Absolu

My Full Review

Absolu opens up with a blast of Damask rose and centifolia rose. But, on my skin I also get the patchouli note coming in from the start.

The centifolia adds a fresh, somewhat greenish/vegetal aroma to the rose of the original Chloe perfume. Add that to the patchouli note, you get a woodsy/earthy touch to a very familiar rose formula.

That contrasts against the sweeter, more pure floral aroma of the Damask rose. Absolu is a bouquet of roses sitting in water surrounded by patchouli. That’s basically the scent.

As it moves along, the patchouli feels stronger, about equal to the rose. While the vanilla, if it is there, doesn’t do much of anything on my skin.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Chloe Absolu is pretty powerful. Not elite, just well above average, especially in that first hour. It jumped off of the skin and its one to create a scent trail, without feeling all too ‘heavy’. That vegetal aspect helps to keep it from being overwhelming.

The longevity here is quite good, just not great. It can go for over 7 hours and maybe hit that 8 hour mark on skin. That’s where it always seemed to fall when I was testing it out.

Seasonally, this one has plenty of versatility. It can be worn pretty much anytime, except maybe the hottest days of summer. I’d prefer to wear it on more temperate days versus either extreme, as that’s when Absolu is at its best.

Absolu is very wearable in a variety of situations. It’s one that can pretty much become a daily wear, if you so desire. It’s not overly serious, but still has enough style and class to be worn dressed upon the right day.

Less of a sexy or nightlife sort of wear, however.

Overall Impressions of Chloe Absolu

Overall, do I like this perfume? I do. It’s not super complicated, about what you expect from the Chloe name, but still a lovely scent on the whole.

It’s a mix between two different types of rose, with a substantial amount of patchouli. Sweetness, greenish fresh, and earthy. If that’s your style of fragrance, this one will probably be right up your alley.

The performance is solid and this one will give you plenty of time to wear it. I think this is worth a try and one of the better new-ish scents that Chloe has come out with over the last decade or so. If you like the other Chloe scents, this is one to check out.

Lovefest Burning Cherry | 48 by Kayali

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Lovefest Burning Cherry is one of the most popular options from Kayali. This is probably due to its somewhat close resemblance to Lost Cherry by Tom Ford. But, I wanted to do a full review of this fragrance on its own to see how it performs and what it smells like. Is this perfume worth trying out?

What does Lovefest Burning Cherry Smell Like?

Notes include: burning cherry, raspberry, praline, palo santo, guiac wood, patchouli

Click here to try: Lovefest Burning Cherry 48

My Full Review

Lovefest Burning Cherry has gotten a lot of attention due to its similarities to Lost Cherry by Tom Ford. It definitely is a pretty close relation to that fragrance, but does have enough differences to be distinct.

The opening is where things are most similar. The cherry note here is the main attraction and probably takes on an 80/20 split with the raspberry note. This does feel like a thicker and quite a syrupy cherry note versus the Tom Ford.

Along with that, we do get some additional gourmand sweetness from the praline note, along with an incense smokiness coming from the ‘burning cherry’ itself (and palo santo). There is a powdery bit of aroma here, which comes from a shorter-lived floral accord (heliotrope, apparently).

After the opening, this will begin to change more towards the smokiness, with added woods, some light patchouli and amber. This is where it shifts away from being a Lost Cherry near dupe, into something a little more independent.

Palo santo and guaiac wood really start to come into their own, with the slightly resinous amber note. The cherry note does stick around for the duration, while the other notes fade away. Burning Cherry More balsamic, less floral

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Burning Cherry opens up with some decent projecting power, but it is pretty middle of the road, for the entirety. Maybe an hour with good sillage, then medium, and dries down with the last few hours being really light.

The longevity isn’t bad either, but not elite. I get 7-7.5 hours on the skin. It’s actually one of the better standalone performers in the Kayali lineup.

Seasonally, this one is going to work best in the autumn and winter months. The cherry, smoke, amber, etc. isn’t going to be great in the heat. Though, is quite good on a crisp evening in February.

It’s more of a casual or nighttime sort of scent. Obviously, you can get plenty of use out of this as a part of a layering combination. It’s attractive as a gourmand sort of wear, not really all that sexy to me, but I suppose some might find it to be.

Overall Impressions of Lovefest Burning Cherry

Overall, do I like this scent? I do. It’s one of the better offerings from Kayali. I’m not absolutely amazed by it, but I think that it a nice wear and well worth a try.

Unlike some of the others, this one can really be worn on its own and be appreciated, without having to layer it with anything. Though, I’m sure people have also figured out plenty of options to pair it with.

I like the syrupy thickness that the cherry note has, the woods in the base, the amber, and the hints of heliotrope powder. Not a super complicated fragrance, there is enough here to enjoy, and the performance is pretty good.

This is worth a try, either through the sample set or one of the travel sizes. It is a perfume that does a lot of things right and actually does smell good.

VIP Private Show by Britney Spears

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I’ve recently reviewed a couple other Britney Spears perfumes, on the site, and this marks the third and final sample from this line out of my last batch. VIP Private Show was released as a flanker to Private Show in 2017 and is one of the latest releases from the brand. So, how does this one stack up? What does it smell like? What are the notes? How does VIP perform?

What does VIP Private Show Smell Like?

Notes included: mango, blood orange, apple, orange blossom, magnolia, amber, musk, violet, and wood

Click here to try: VIP Private Show by Britney Spears Eau de Parfum Spray 100ml

My Full Review

Immediately upon opening, one will notice how drastically different this is from the original Private Show. To the point, you wonder why they share the same name. That one was much more of a warm, sweet, and wintery fragrance.

Private Show VIP is a blast of fruit notes, mainly the raspberry, then blood orange, and a red apple. There is also some mango hanging around in there. I really enjoy the blood orange in here, how it plays off mainly the raspberry and mango notes.

This is mainly going to be a fruity perfume, so don’t expect too much of the other notes to be very pronounced. There is a violet that adds a very slight powdery aroma to the composition, but it never fully breaks through, at least to my nose.

If I pay very close attention, I can pick up musk and amber. Those notes mostly come through as an overall dose of warmth to the perfume.

Private Show VIP is sweet, mostly fruity but with a dash of sugar to it. However, the sweetness isn’t overwhelming, as the fruit notes have that air of juiciness to them.

It’s got a playful and flirty vibe with a tropical sensibility. This is a very linear fragrance, outside of that opening, you get mostly amber, but some violet and musk as well.

Sillage, How Long Does it Last, Versatility

Projection wise, the sillage of VIP is actually pretty strong. It isn’t crazy heavy or anything, but it can make itself known. It’s not a weak fragrance and you get your money’s worth from it. What’s great is, that it has the ability to project well, without being a heavy/thick perfume cloud.

It will become more intimate after a few hours, with a normal sized application. Though, I always noticed it sticking around until those very back end of the wear.

The longevity is also very good for something at this price point, I got about 8 hours of use from it. On the low end, it might go 6.5. On the high end, it might just exceed that 8 hour mark.

Most of the Britney Spears’ lineup of perfumes, seem to have solid performances. There may be a few that don’t really hold up for that long, but VIP does. It’s probably among the top performers, from the brand.

Seasonally, this is another spring/summer scent from Britney, more akin to Sunset Fantasy rather than the original Private Show. It’s also a versatile fragrance, as it can be worn casually during the day, but is also attractive enough to be worn for a night on the town.

More of a bar or nightclub type of evening, but still has its uses. It can be worn by teenagers, but it isn’t really a typical ‘teeny’ scent, that can’t be worn by anyone older. For a casual sort of wear, older women could pull it off and will probably enjoy it.

Overall Impression of Private Show VIP

Overall, do I like Private Show VIP by Britney Spears? I do. It’s another delicious smelling fruity perfume from the line, that has sort of a bubble gum like aroma. It is a pretty straightforward fragrance, but one that smells great and also has performance to boot.

It’s up there with my favorite Britney perfumes that have come out. Including, Private Show. Not the most popular for sure, but one that flies under the radar.

If you’re not a fan of fruity fragrances, especially one’s with raspberry or blood orange, than this is probably a scent to skip. For anyone else, this another fantastic value perfume for the warmer months of the year.

Nothing about this feels like it’s ‘too much’, the sweets aren’t too sweet, and the strength isn’t overwhelming. VIP Private Show is actually a unique blend with a tremendous blood orange and nice bit of mango, to really bring it home. The price is usually very inexpensive, so, it can definitely serve as a value buy.