Prada L’Homme EDT

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Prada has a ton of different fragrances on the market. They can often be confusing, as each release seems to get a bunch of different flankers with similar names. Today, I want to focus on one scent in particular, Prada L’Homme EDT. The original blend that started off the L’Homme line of perfumes. How does this men’s cologne smell? What are the notes? Does it perform? Is it versatile? Is this even worth a try?

What does Prada L’Homme EDT Smell Like?

Notes include: iris, amber, geranium, patchouli, neroli, violet, pepper, cedar

Click here to try: Prada L’Homme Eau De Toilette Spray, 3.4 Fluid Ounce

My Full Wear Review

The opening of Prada L’Homme immediately hits my nose with an iris note, a super freshness, and other warm powdery floral ingredients. It seems to have plenty of similarities with Dior Homme Eau, but definitely isn’t exactly the same as that fragrance. For one, it lacks that cacao, leather, and bergamot top notes.

They just happen to share a dominant iris, which isn’t the most common of ingredients in men’s colognes. I think that the iris pairs very well with the neroli and violet notes, all of which is swimming in the usual Prada amber.

The composition is somewhat sweet, but there aren’t any fruity or candied elements in here, just a light floral sweetness.

L’Homme is a rather simple cologne, but has a solid base of cedar, light pepper, and a bit of patchouli to make things less feminized. Even though, this could absolutely pass as a unisex scent.

As I wrote, this cologne is pretty straightforward. You do get different stretches of time where the neroli, violet, or geranium is more intense but none of these ever overtake the beautiful iris or amber note.

The base is just the base and doesn’t interfere too much into the main soapy/powder clean attraction.

This isn’t as powdery as some of the flankers in this series, but it is a very good and balanced blend of notes.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, Prada L’Homme is a moderate fragrance with an airiness. I don’t even notice that I’m wearing it at times, but it’s not weak. I’d say moderate for the first 2/3 of the wear and then it turns light. Don’t expect some bomb of a perfume, it’s about subtlety with this one.

Longevity wise, I get about 6-7 hours on my skin, not amazing but quite serviceable. I do wish that L’Homme had an extra bit of power.

That would make it truly elite in my book. At least, in terms of this style of fragrance.

What is great about this scent is its versatility. It can be worn year round pretty much. Can go casual, but it works completely in a business setting, and is non-offensive.

You can wear it on a date, but it is pretty low key, and not as much sexy as it is clean and elegant.

Definitely pleasant to be around, but might not have the power to draw people in. Teens and younger men, would probably want to opt for something else, maybe a bit more dynamic than this. If you want another Prada, try out the Luna Rossa line of colognes.

Overall Impressions of L’Homme EDT

Overall, do I like Prada L’Homme? Yes, I think that it’s an excellent fragrance. The longevity and projection isn’t amazing, but the smell is simple yet great. This Prada L’Homme line shares a lot of similarities with the Dior Homme lineup, but each has its own unique scent.

I like the aroma. I do with that there was more power behind it. The iris note is fantastic, as is the amber, that is so often used by the brand. Fresh and a bit sweet, with very minor development, but some good floral highlights coming through.

Personally, I don’t need a bottle of this, since a full bottle of Dior Homme already fills this role in my collection. However, for a guy that is looking for something understated for work or for more dressed up events, this is simply an awesome option.

Hugo by Hugo Boss

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I’ve already done a best of Hugo Boss cologne post, as well as reviews for Hugo Red and No.6. So, I thought that I should do a full review of Hugo. Per usual, I want to explore how this fragrance opens, how it performs, what it smells like, when it should be worn, and whether or not it is worth a potential purchase. Please continue below to read my full rating and review of Hugo.

What does Hugo by Hugo Boss Smell Like?

Notes include: woods, mint, grapefruit, apple, lavender, basil, cedar

Click here to try: Hugo for Men by Hugo Boss Eau de Toilette Spray, 2.5 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

This is one of those fragrances that I remember from my childhood. Hugo dates back to the 1990s and I distinctly remember this scent, as I believe that my brother had a bottle. The opening of Hugo is a terrific blend of a green type of scent with hints of citrus.

This cologne is so damn fresh and clean and is a real pleasure to take in. Very much a product of the era. The top layer of this fragrance is the crisp notes of mint, apple, and grapefruit. Mint and apple add a cooling sensation to the aroma.

These notes reinforce the clean springtime aura that Hugo puts out with some extra masculine spice from the basil note.

Also, with the newer bottles the apple note seems to be stronger than in the older formulations than I recall. Sort of like as found in Tommy by Tommy Hilfiger, except this isn’t nearly as sweet.

The lavender note plays a big role here giving it a smoothness and slight floral aroma which presents itself as totally mellow and casual. That’s exactly how I view Hugo, mellow and casual.

Hugo is a pretty straightforward and linear cologne. Beyond this, you get a woodiness from the base and the overall smell becomes blended together more, and each note feels less distinct.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, it’s not a beast but it is noticeable. Hugo isn’t a heavy fragrance, so it is unlikely to offend those around you.

Longevity, I can usually squeeze out 6 hours of this stuff, so pretty moderate on that end. Older bottles, could probably get a few more hours. However, this isn’t a fragrance that has gotten reformulated to death. It retains almost all of its originality and power.

It’s pretty versatile but I’d say it’s more suited for a casual, everyday type of cologne. Late spring and summer is where Hugo really shines, the fresh citrus just begs to be worn during the warmer months of the year.

If you just need something to wear around, that can cover most all of your bases, this Hugo Boss can do it.

Overall Impressions of Hugo

Overall, is Hugo worth a purchase? I’d say yes, if you’re in the market for a good summertime cologne. I like this offering from Hugo Boss but I lean more towards Bottled Boss No.6 or Hugo Red over this one most of the time.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really good casual scent, though not wholly unique and can be sort of generic. However, Hugo does get the job done and if you can catch it in your price range, it’s worth a shot.

I have been seeing bottles for super cheap as of late. In that case, it’s well worth a shot in the $20-35 range. This is a 90s style fragrance, so, it’s not going to be what most younger guys are used to. Not a bad thing, just no longer a commonplace experience.

5 Best Smelling Balenciaga Fragrances

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Balenciaga has been a name which has resonated in the world of fashion for many decades now. Among it’s lineup, is of course, the almost required fragrance offerings from nearly all the big design houses.

In this post, I want to cover five of the ladies’ perfumes that have been sold by Balenciaga over the years, and what could be considered the best of the bunch.

Obviously, there may be some that I left off of the list, but this is a good place to start for those who are searching for the top Balenciaga scents.

Update: They haven’t put out a new fragrance in years it seems. So, these might be difficult to find or even more expensive now than usual.

Favorite Balenciaga Fragrances for Her

Balanced with Depth

Balenciaga B Perfume, 1.7 Ounce– One of the newer scents from the Balenciaga line, B, is a wholly unique scent in the women’s fragrance space. It has a fresh and green aroma yet is laden with woods, a tart sweetness, and the addition of pea as a note.

Yeah, B isn’t a perfume for everyone, but is a great choice for those looking to set themselves apart from the masses.

The lily of the valley gives B a balanced approach to the perfume, with a good blend of wood, greener notes, and some light floral ingredients. Lily of the valley and violet leaf. It has a bit of spice from a pepper note underneath.

As it dries down, the woody cedar note becomes more prominent and its less about the floral notes. Very interesting and can be a go to for the right person.

Popular Green Floral 

Balenciaga Florabotanica Eau de Parfum Spray for Women, 3.4 Ounce– A fresh and green sort of floral with rose and carnation notes surrounded by vetiver. Florabotanica has been around for a long time and the perfume’s performance also has great longevity.

This fragrance has a great earthy character that shines in spring and summer. An interesting but slight addition to the composition is a cannabis note.

It helps to further the green-ish elements of this fragrance. The rose note isn’t the usual fully developed bright red variety and there is also a crisp and cool mint note that is prevalent.

Scent for Violet Lovers

Balenciaga Paris Eau de Parfum Spray for Women, 2.5 Ounce– A naturalistic floral with violet as the main highlight. It has a powdery sort of aroma but then is joined by a woodiness, later on in the wear. Paris is a moderate fragrance suited for an every day usage.

Violet is of course the dominant note here, but there is a woodsy and naturalistic heart to this fragrance. A bit of vetiver, more cedar, dashed with some other light floral and plant notes.

Paris is upbeat with a great freshness and a clean finish. Feels very vibrant and dynamic, not like a heavy old time violet.

Warm and Inviting Fragrance

Cristobal By Balenciaga For Women. Eau De Toilette Spray 1.7 oz– This one has been discontinued but you can still find bottles here and there. Cristobal features vanilla, fig, patchouli, and floral notes.

It is a soft perfume with a lot of personality and has moments of spice, sweetness, and overall warmth.

Sweet and a bit creamy vanilla, with a warm embracing patchouli, that is blended with florals and fig. This one is a great wintertime option, if you can get a bottle at a good price.

The vanilla sort of holds everything together, but it still presents a rather unique aroma, versus the usual vanilla perfumes.

Best Overall Balenciaga Perfume

Balenciaga Talisman By Balenciaga 100ml Spray– A sweeter and fruitier option with less floral notes than found in the other entries on this list from Balenciaga. Talisman, isn’t all sweetness, as it features smoky elements and boozy rum undertones coursing through it’s body.

A bright yet dry aroma with a definite tropical feeling, like being in the tropics during the wintertime. Pineapple, peach, and some other fruity ingredients. Talisman is deep with good complexity, the smokiness of the scent really brings to life the various fruits and other gourmand notes.

I really liked this one, when I came across it. The others on the list are great, in their own right, but Talisman just strikes me as the more interesting fragrance. Plus, the dry warmth and mix of different ingredients is awesome.

Invictus Intense by Paco Rabanne

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More samples have been acquired and thus more reviews will be on the way. One such entry, is a 2016 release from Paco Rabanne and a flanker to the original Invictus. Invictus Intense takes the original and attempts to ratchet the power up and give the cologne a new experience. How does it rate? Does it last? Continue reading below for my full review of Invictus Intense.

What does Invictus Intense Smell Like?

Notes include: orange blossom, black pepper, malt accord, wood, black amber, ambergris

Click here to try: Paco Rabanne Invictus Intense Eau De Toilette Spray 100ml/3.4oz

My Full Wear Review

The opening of Invictus Intense seems less sweet than the original. There is an immediate sensation of a warm amber note with a salty marine element hanging around. It definitely takes the Invictus name in a new direction, it feels darker, and has a boozy quality provided by the malt accord (think whiskey).

After a few minutes of settling on my skin, the orange blossom emerges which provides a softer sweetness that is reminiscent of the original Invictus. On my skin, up to this point, the booziness retains the strongest spot in the composition. 

Intense maintains the freshness of the original (the bay leaf) but does away with the citrus notes (outside of the orange blossom aroma). I always find it interesting how these brand’s change notes around or eliminate them entire while still maintaining the overall essence of the original scent.

As it moves along, Intense becomes more of a darker floral (almost unisex) fragrance with woody notes plus black pepper and the ultimate takeover of the composition by the ambergris.

The sweetness in Intense is almost muted, with how restrained it is. when compared to the original Invictus. Much more spice here, within the context of an amber-laden fragrance. 

The final dry down consists of amber, marine notes (sea salt), and a woody base. The wood isn’t too noticeable, but it is there. Anything that remains from the other notes, just seems to blend together, on my skin. It all seems much deeper and richer than the original Invictus does. 

As a whole, Invictus Intense delivers a warm, slighty spicy, and fresh mix of mostly amber and floral notes. The malt, wood, and black pepper play a supporting role in balancing it out and preventing it from becoming a ‘women’s’ scent.  Though, at its heart, you can still sense the spirit of the original.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, I’d say it’s somewhere between moderate and mildly strong. You can obviously overdo the sprays with it but it isn’t super pungent. It’s kind of funny how this ‘Intense’ version of Invictus is still weaker than the regular 1 Million also by Paco Rabanne.

The sillage will pretty much be in a 5-7 foot radius around the wearer, for the opening act, and then move towards the skin gradually. It’s not an absolute bomb, but again, it can be over-sprayed. 

Longevity is also really good but not great, think I’m getting about 7-8 hours with it, at a still solid projection. Plus, maybe a few more hours as a close skin scent. The longevity on my skin isn’t amazing, but this will go on forever, on clothes.

Don’t spray fragrances on anything that you actually care about keeping high quality, but with a t-shirt, Invictus Intense is very long-lasting.

One nice aspect about Invictus Intense is how versatile it is. It’s so balanced and can seemingly be worn in any season and not feel out of place.

While I cannot test it in the high heat of summer in the middle of October, I think it would hold up nicely. Though, that would be its worst performing climate.

In the colder weather, Intense works very well. The whiskey and amber combination are an ideal fit, in autumn/winter, and just seem to hang around beautifully in the crisp air. 

It also can be worn casually or out on the town or out on a date. Intense is quite pleasant and has a certain sexiness to it that girls should love. It still feels like a younger man’s cologne, but less so than the original. I’ve never worn it to an office environment, but I couldn’t see why a light application, wouldn’t work. 

Overall Impressions of Invictus Intense

Overall, is Invictus Intense worth a buy? I honestly like it. If you hated the original, I highly doubt you’ll like this one, so go ahead and skip over it. It’s not an amazing scent, in my opinion, BUT I think that it is quite good.

Update: this one is now discontinued.

It doesn’t do a bad job at anything, has a nice aroma, and has great versatility. For the price, one could do a lot worse, and I would lean towards wearing Intense over the original Invictus.

This is one that I have a mini bottle of. I put it on every once in a while, when I am in the mood to do so, and just enjoy. I love amber, orange blossom, and whiskey. Plus, I am not opposed to the Invictus DNA, that inhabits all of these colognes. 

Actually, after trying all of the Invictus scents including the newer Invictus Legend, Intense is my favorite. I have grown somewhat fonder of the original, but I still would rather wear this, over any of them. 

The Scent of Peace by Bond No. 9

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I recently got a hold of about 10 Bond No. 9 fragrance samples, so, now I will be posting proper reviews on each over the next little while. The first up to bat is a highly popular fragrance for ladies, The Scent of Peace.

In this post, I’m going to explore what’s in it, how it smells, how it performs, and whether or not it is worth a buy.

What does The Scent of Peace Smell Like?

Notes include: grapefruit, black currant, cedar, lily of the valley, hedione, musk

Click here to try: Bond No. 9 The Scent Of Peace Eau De Parfum Spray, 3.3 Fluid Ounce

My Full Wear Review

The Scent of Peace gets a lot of comparisons to Light Blue by D&G. With Light Blue, you get: apple, lemon, and musk. While with this Bond No. 9 fragrance, you get: grapefruit, black currant, and musk. So, while they share the musk note, the juicy fruits within the composition are different but create a similar effect.

Which one is better? I think that The Scent of Peace gets it right. The grapefruit note with the delicious smelling back currant is a much more enjoyable aroma than the already nicely scented Light Blue.

Anyways, the opening of this fragrance, is all about those vibrant and juicy fruits. It is a very fresh and bright aroma that has me smelling the spot on my arms I sprayed, again and again. Just catching a waft of this stuff is quite and enjoyable experience.

The black currant is the leader of the pack, without question. Obviously, pairing this note with further citrus, can make the beginning of the scent quite sharp. Some might find it to be too much, though for me, it’s not bad at all and actually enjoyable. 

As it moves along, the floral notes begin to emerge, but never really seem to take over the scent. At this point, I am fully getting the summer’s day vibe from The Scent of Peace. Lily of the valley is the floral note of choice, but it really remains light, and flanked by the musky ingredient. 

With the underlying cedar note, the lily of the valley, creates a ‘green’ outdoorsy aroma that is undeniably beautiful when blended with the fruit. It’s fresh, clean, bright, with a bit of a biting sharpness. 

The whole wear isn’t all that complicated. It’s an easy to put on scent, with minimal development, but an attractive and refreshing smell. 

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, this one is pretty light to moderate, which I think is a good thing in this case. This perfume doesn’t need to be an absolute bomb and would take away from how good it already is.

It is light, yet noticeable, before turning into a skin scent that sneaks up on you, lest you have forgotten that you were wearing it.

Longevity, is good, however. Around 7 hours of solid wear and maybe a few more, where it is still detectable on my skin. It could probably go longer, in the right circumstances. It does its job for a daily wear or casual type of scent. It could be a bit better, but it’s certainly solid. 

I would say this is an ideal spring/summer fragrance. As a casual daytime wear or one that is worn to work or school. It has an upbeat but not overly youthful vibe, it doesn’t have that ‘teenager’ super sweetness, but seems right for women in their 20s and up. Think beautiful but not necessarily sexy.

It’s a really nice and refreshing sort of wear, that will sit beautifully in the temperate or warmer climates. Once the black currant settles in a bit, things still feel a bit crisp, but The Scent of Peace is an altogether smoother experience. 

Overall Impression of The Scent of Peace for Her

Overall, would I recommend The Scent of Peace? Yes, this is one of my favorite Bond No. 9 fragrances for women. It is delicious and oh so pretty.  It is great for those who are looking for a casual scent that will garner complements, be enjoyable to wear, and won’t overpower a room.

Obviously, the Bond No. 9 lineup can be pricey. However, this is one that I think is worth the purchase. Not everyone will be enamored with it, it will mostly boil down to the grapefruit and black currant combo. Though, I think that most, will find this to be a very nice perfume to spray on during the spring and summertime.