Spicebomb Infrared vs Night Vision EDP

Viktor & Rolf have put out some newer Spicebomb flankers over the past year or so under the Infrared and Night Vision banners. As such, people are always comparing them or simply wondering what’s the difference between these colognes. For this post, I’m going to compare Spicebomb Infrared to Night Vision EDP (it’s better than EDT), and declare a winner of which one is best.

---

Tale of the Tape: Spicebomb Night Vision vs Infrared

Night Vision Eau de Parfum

Notes include: black spices, sage, lemon essence, fir balsam 

Read my Full Review: Spicebomb Night Vision EDP

---

Night Vision Infrared

Notes include: red berries, tobacco, habanero, cinnamon, saffron

---

Opening

Spicebomb much like it’s green bottle color suggests, does open up with a woodsy freshness and cooler profile. It’s got red pepper for spice, not as much sweetness as the EDT or Infrared, but also a lemon essence to separate it.

The fir and maybe some light benzoin give this a fresh and balsamic aroma, but when I move away from the skin, it can hang in the air as a fresh sweetness.

Infrared starts off hot and sweet. The cinnamon note pops, along with the red berry oil, and habenero pepper. I like that initial punch, very reminiscent of the original Spicebomb, but unique. The tobacco note from Extreme is also running around in this mix.

Which is better? It was fairly close at first. However, the more I tested Infrared, the more I gravitated toward it instead of Night Vision’s opening.

I love the spicy and sweet mix of notes. The cinnamon is a favorite spicy note of mine and the red berries is a nice touch.

Edge: Infrared

---

Projection

Night Vision is an eau de parfum with a higher fragrance concentration, while Infrared is an EDT. The sillage in the Night Vision is marginally better, but I don’t find there to be a huge difference.

Night Vision EDP starts off strong and settles into a moderate. While, Infrared probably reaches the upper limit of what could be considered moderate, and then settles.

Neither is a bomb, but both can reach that 4-6 foot radius mark without issue. Night Vision reaches a little further, on the whole.

Edge: Night Vision

---

Longevity

With Night Vision EDP, I get 7-8 hours of wear. Now, the last two hours or so, it’s very close to the skin. Still there, just not projecting very much at all.

Infrared seems to hit the 6-7 hour range, on my skin. Both of these are well within what could be called average to maybe slightly better than that.

Night Vision has the edge, but not by much even as an EDP.

Edge: Night Vision

---

Versatility

So, both of these fragrances are geared more towards autumn and winter. But, I’ve tested both of them in 75-80 degree Fahrenheit weather, with pretty high humidity and they held up well. I wouldn’t go much beyond that, but they’re pretty equal.

Actually, Infrared gets better when worn outdoors. It was actually what started me getting more into the cologne.

Neither of these is a formal wear. Can both be worn casually, more for younger guys, and can venture into the nightlife. Not really much difference.

Edge: Push

---

Overall Scent

Night Vision Eau de Parfum is a nice fragrance. It does have its moments during the wear, when I really enjoy it. When compared to Night Vision EDT, it absolutely is better (that’s my least favorite Spicebomb).

However, like its predecessor, it doesn’t run the table. The fir note is nice, giving it that woodsy feeling. The greenish freshness, the slight powdery and balsamic finish are good too. It just doesn’t completely hold my attention or wow me.

It’s fine, but not something I’m clamoring to own.

Spicebomb Infrared is my pick here. Since the original Spicebomb has lost much of its performance over the years, Infrared might be my second favorite now behind Extreme.

In fact, I might just pick up a full bottle of Infrared, since I don’t get enough cold days around here to justify owning another pure winter wear like Extreme.

I really love the opening act of the berries, habanero, and cinnamon. It reminds me of other ‘red hot’ style fragrances and it still has more of that original Spicebomb DNA when compared to the Night Vision scents.

It almost lost me during the dry down the first time I work it, as I was getting more tobacco and saffron with a sweet touch. But, when I wore it outside, Infrared created an awesome scent bubble around me.

The performance is okay and I hope they make a worthwhile EDP version of this cologne. As of now, I’ll happily take Infrared as is, and pretty easily in this head to head.

Winner: Spicebomb Infrared