Stronger With You Intensely vs. Absolutely

Stronger With You is a series that keeps marching on for Emporio Armani. Among the two highly rated and sought after versions of this formulation are: Intensely and Absolutely. Each has some memorable aromas and comes with great performance. However, the question is, which of these colognes is better? Which lasts longer? Which one should you buy?

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Tale of the Tape: Stronger with You Absolutely vs. Intensely

Stronger With You Intensely

Notes include: pink pepper, cinnamon, toffee, lavender, sage, suede, amber, violet, vetiver

Click here to try: Intensely

My Full Review: Stronger with You Intensely

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Stronger With You Absolutely

Notes include: glazed chestnut, rum, lavender, cedar, vanilla, elemi

My Full Review: Stronger with You Absolutely

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Opening

The opening spray of Absolutely provides the short-lived citrus burst of bergamot and some other sweetish and fruity background notes, that I believe are apart of the initial lavender accord.

This is met with some spice and warmth. Not overly so, however. Arman’s description mentioned  pink pepper being here, I think that may be a part of this initial mix, since that is in Stronger Intensely as a note also.

But, this one also strikes me as being quite resinous from the get go. Elemi or the ‘glaze’ of the chestnut note is something that really sticks out after that top blast.

Notably, there is cinnamon in addition to the rum accord. Yes, there is some warm spiciness and booziness , but this is a lot smoother composition than a heavily spiced boozy rum note. It never really hits that level.

With Intensely, starts with its spiciness. Here, it is warmer and doesn’t last long (like the bergamot in Absolutely). The pink pepper is now the stronger note, joined by cinnamon and sage.

I get a sweet influence earlier with Intensely. The toffee accord with the cinnamon and caramel notes really gives Intensely a more dynamic feel. It is much less resinous and doesn’t have the same ‘glazed’ aroma as Absolutely.

Which do I prefer? I consistently have favored the opening of Intensely. Absolutely is nice, but I think once its chestnut note gets fully going, that’s when it is at its best. However, that’s not entirely in the opening act.

Intensely, gives me a better blend of sweetness and spice initially, and that’s what gives it the win in this category.

Edge: Intensely

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Projection

The projection of Absolutely really good, able to reach well across a room. Then, it’ll become a 4-5 foot scent bubble, and finally a skin scent. Not the heaviest or most beast mode projection out there, but I wasn’t disappointed.

Intensely, is a bit more powerful than that. Now, it isn’t completely overwhelming either.

However, I do notice it further away from Absolutely, when I tested each on clothing and walked to the other side of the living room.

Not a convincing win, but Intensely does have the edge. It’s not going to be the reason I’d buy one versus the other, however.

Edge: Intensely

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Longevity

The longevity of both of these scents are really great, on my skin. But, there’s also no distinction between them, and they perform equally.

Both Intensely and Absolutely, outperform the original EDT. Total longevity is 11-12 hours, which is great for this sort of mainstream fragrance.

No winner here, just awesome performers.

Edge: Push

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Versatility

Another category in which they are equals. Autumn and winter wears. A bit more mature than the original EDT, but still suitable for younger men as well.

Each is great for the nightlife, casual, or date night. Neither is something that’s completely formal or going to be an office scent for most folks.

Edge: Push

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Overall Scent

Overall, this is a pretty evenly match competition. I enjoy both of these fragrances and they are among my favorites from the Stronger with You lineup. But, which is better?

With Absolutely, the opening is enjoyable, but I really like the glazed chestnut middle act that it provides. It’s one of the nuttier versions in this line and that core ingredient is really done well with Absolutely.

The cinnamon, rum, and elemi all give it further depth but is mostly limited to the opening. The dry down, though, comes on stronger with lavender.

It’s not terrible, but Absolutely really starts to lose a lot of its distinction from the rest of the series and the lavender doesn’t do much to boost it.

With Intensely, I love the toffee, vanilla, and suede with periods of spice and lavender. Great, just without the same chestnut note, but also the vanilla reminds me of the EDT (just blended way better)

It’s sweeter, smoother, and gives me slightly more sillage than Absolutely. So, it’s my pick in this contest. I enjoy it from start to finish, even with Absolutely’s enjoyable middle act.

Winner: Intensely