Claiborne Sport by Liz Claiborne Cologne Review

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The other day, I published my list of the best Liz Claiborne fragrances for men. One of the scents that I left off the list was Claiborne Sport, despite the fact that I used to have a bottle and it was my first experience with the Claiborne line. In this post, I thought that I would take a closer look at Claiborne Sport and whether or not it is worth a buy, even if it was left off the list of top scents by the brand.

 

 

 

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Notes include: ginger, morning dew, cedar, lavender, amber

Click Here to Try Claiborne Sport

 

One of the first colognes that I ever received, was a bottle of Claiborne Sport. It must have been during my first years of high school when I would occasionally wear this fragrance to class in the morning. The first thing that I’ve always noticed about this fragrance was its strong opening. It has an earthy/green scent laden with a musky spice. Now, it isn’t an overwhelming scent by any means, but it does start off with a strong note.

This is a sport cologne, so it of course has that sporty and active vibe to it. It’s clean and has an energy about it that many other fragrances do not. Claiborne Sport is a bright sort of cologne but it doesn’t really stand out in my opinion. It is rather generic in its presentation, though, it does seem to get smoother and less spicy as it develops.

Longevity and projection were always average in my experience. This isn’t an all day affair and you should probably expect to get 4-6 hours out of it, with the last two being fairly weak. On the plus side, like all Claiborne scents, Sport is very inexpensive so it should present no problems having to re-spray once it begins to fade.

Overall, do I like this scent? Eh, it was always just alright to me. Even when it was my only bottle of cologne, I still didn’t choose to wear it that often. It seemed a bit too musky or synthetic for my tastes at times and I was never really in a rush to spray some on me. It’s not a terrible fragrance in my opinion, it just is average at a really cheap price point. However, there are better options for the money and even more in the Claiborne family of colognes.

 

Axe Apollo Fragrance Review

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This is going to be my fourth review of an Axe scent and another one from the standard label (for White Label reviews, see: Forest and Night). For this post, I’m going to give my thoughts on the Apollo scent from Axe. This was sort of a blind buy because I needed some shower gel while I was at the store, this happened to be on sale, and I also just liked the name (Greek mythology ftw). What did I think of this fragrance? Read below to find out.

 

 

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Notes include: sandalwood, sage, and mandarin

 

Let me say from the start that I only sort of like Axe Apollo. I do think that it smells good. However, I do not put it on the same level as the best scents from Axe. I’ve noticed that they like to use a sandalwood note in many of their products (including: Anarchy), since it tends to provide that smooth and fresh scent that people enjoy. Apollo is definitely a fresh scent, it is quite cool and crisp with some spice provided by the sage note.

I think the sage note is what isn’t really capturing my attention. Overall, the scent just feels sort of flat and less dynamic than some others. It is a burst of cold spice, that while pleasant, doesn’t really keep you coming back for more. I did use the whole bottle of shower gel and definitely didn’t mind it. I felt clean and like it didn’t bother me or put me off at all. It was just lacking something and the mandarin note seems a little bit weak as well.

Some guys out there might really enjoy using Apollo. I just thought it was so so. In my opinion the best of Axe seems to be: Anarchy, Kilo, Dark/Gold Temptation, Harmony, and one other that I don’t think they make any longer.

Axe Anarchy for Him Shower Gel Review

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I have already done a few reviews on Unilever’s Axe products from their White Label line of scents (Forest and Night). Now, I want to step away from the White Label and review a selection from its standard line of scents. I have been using Axe Anarchy for Him, as a shower gel for the past few days and want to briefly give my thoughts and experiences with this product.

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Notes include: amber, sandalwood, and fruit notes.

Upon my first sniff of Anarchy, I immediately liked it better than the two white label entries that I had tried so far (which I actually liked) and some of the other Axe scents I have used before. It almost reminded me of Axe’s Dark Temptation or Gold Temptation, in its rich quality. However, it doesn’t have the same chocolate notes and the fruit notes begin to emerge. I get a sensation of perhaps, bergamot, and a bit of coconut for good measure.

The sandalwood and amber give it that smooth aroma while those fruit notes create a really wonderful dynamic (sort of 1 Million-ish). I find Anarchy for Him to be quite refreshing and think that it smells very good for what it is. Obviously, this is just a shower gel, so its longevity and projection aren’t going to be great. The body spray should provide much more in that area and provides a cheap alternative to cologne for younger guys.

Overall, I’d say this is in the upper echelon of scents from Axe. I haven’t actually worn the body spray since my early high school days but this is just as good as any of them. Give it a try in whatever form you need, deodorant, shower gel, body spray, as it is a great fresh and sweet scent at a rock bottom price.

Versace Versus for Women Perfume Review

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When I received a shipment of cologne samples not too long ago, one of the vials that I ordered turned out to be a woman’s fragrance, Versace Versus. As such, rather than simply toss it our or give this sample away, I decided that I would wear it myself and post a review of this scent. Sure, I’m not the target demographic for this perfume but I still think I can adequately relate my experiences with it in this post.

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Click Here to try Versus!

It seems that Versace reintroduced Versus again, after its initial run in the 1990s. I cannot seem to pin down exactly what notes are in this perfume, as I have seen multiple listings of ingredients.

However, I do detect orange and other floral notes in its composition. Overall, I would classify this as a citrus/floral mix, which gives the perfume an overall brightness and a sharp quality to it.

Upon applying Versus, I first noticed that it hits pretty hard initially. The citrus notes have the most impact, right out of the gate, but it does settle down within an hour of use.

Secondly, while I would characterize this scent as feminine, it isn’t ‘girly’ at all in my opinion. As a man, I feel like I can wear it and it wouldn’t feel completely out of place on me.

It’s not totally unisex like something such as, CK One, but it does seem to skew the borders of unisex against the totally feminine.

I actually like this scent, as it has a nice and positive energy to it. I found that it turned more floral as time wore on but the citrus notes hung around and provided Versus with a clean heart.

Also, I find that there is definitely a musk note in here as well, which adds some extra body to this perfume. Versus projects itself as a moderate fragrance after the initial application dies down a bit.

I found that I got a good 6-8 hours of use out of it, on the days when I wore it as my primary fragrance.

Overall, I think that Versus is a very lovely perfume. It is both energetic and confident, which should bode well for use in casual situations. I think it smells wonderful but I wouldn’t say it’s a seductive perfume.

As a man, I am definitely drawn to it, it is an alluring scent but not really sensual like some others would be. I’ve worn it on mild autumn days and found that it performed well but I think it would do better in slightly warmer weather…I don’t know about the depths of summer but definitely springtime.

I give Versus a positive recommendation, though while it isn’t earth shattering, it’s a solid scent all around and may be worth checking out.

B Men Cologne Review by Thierry Mugler

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In my latest batch of cologne samples, I received some that were really great (see: Guerlain Pour Homme) and others that simply weren’t for me (see: Michael Kors and Givenchy Very Irresistible). When it came time to try out B Men by Thierry Mugler, I was pretty confused on how I should feel about it.

Initially, I found it repulsive, but then I gave it another try and it began to sway me towards having a more favorable opinion of it. In this review, I want to take a closer look at this fragrance and give my opinion as to whether or not it is worth a purchase.

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Notes include: licorice, vetiver, patchouli, violet, vanilla, musk, spices, and leather

Click Here to Try B-Men!

As I said, I wasn’t exactly thrilled with this fragrance at first. That is mostly due to it’s licorice note, as it wears on me and gives me a headache, as I wrote about with Lolita Lempicka.  The licorice combined with the intensity of the spice accord in the opening note was simply too much for me. However, it turns out that the licorice scent starts to take a back seat after a short time period and the real essence of the cologne emerges.

B Men is a very masculine scent. It is a blast of warm spiciness with sweet undertones and leather. As the licorice begins to recede, the vanilla note steps up to help give it more of a manageable sweetness that serves to take the intensity down a couple of notches. It’s a dark scent which is probably best served for use by a more mature man, as it exudes a confident sensuality.

This cologne projects very well and also lasts for a fairly long time. I wouldn’t say that it is the longest lasting fragrance by any means but it does deliver quite well in that regard. B Men is a good choice for the winter time, I think it would turn into a complete mess on warmer days and be quite insufferable. However, on cold days, its warmth will envelop and this fragrance will behave as it should.

Do I recommend this cologne? Sort of. It’s not my personal favorite but it has grown on me. Also, I don’t think that it would be a great choice for a lot of guys nor is it useful in every situation. It’s not quite a niche cologne but it is close. I like it and I would say that you should give it a try if you are into spicy scents with a bit of sweetness to them.