Stronger with You Only by Emporio Armani

Stronger with You carries on as a series, producing flanker after flanker cologne to the original. A 2022 release from this line was Stronger with You Only, which I picked up a sample of a month or so ago, to test out. How does Only Smell? Does it last long? Is it worth a try?

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What does Stronger with You Only Smell Like?

Notes include: grapefruit, geranium, chestnut, vanilla, lavender, labdanum

Click here to try: SWY Only

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My Full Review

Stronger with You Only starts off with its grapefruit note, out front and center. It’s definitely not on its own, but it does have the leading role.

Early, I get a good deal of lavender with it, geranium, and that signature chestnut. Later, the vanilla will come more into play. However, I don’t find it all that powerful, early.

This one feels cleaner and less of the heavier sweetness of some of the other entries from this line. Only is streamlined and has a balance that the others can also lack.

That balance will initially come through, once the grapefruit takes a step back. The lavender and geranium come into an equal distribution with the citrus note.

The next phase, it’s lavender and vanilla in the driver’s seat. The chestnut is no longer super noticeable, but I do still get grapefruit and the tail end of geranium.

That’s essentially what this is. A mellowed out SWY blend (the labdanum playing a dampening role. Softer, less sweet, and a good one to reach for if you like this line and want a more relaxed edition.

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Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Only isn’t a heavy feeling fragrance, but it is one with good projection and will leave a scent trail. That being said, it’s a step down in terms of strength versus others in the series. That’s by design.

Still, I think this one is solidly above average versus the average cologne out there and doesn’t disappoint.

The performance is solid enough. I get right at about 8 hours, each time that I’ve worn it. Doesn’t seem to want to go any further than that, but it’ll work for most use cases.

What are those use cases? Well, this one can venture into the warmer weather better than other Stronger with You offerings. Not quite a summertime fragrance, but this will do nicely in the spring. Autumn, too.

Not particularly formal. Only is a good clean and casual daily wear sort of scent for the mild to warmer parts of the years.

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Overall Impressions of Stronger with You Only

Overall, do I like SWY Only? It’s okay. I’m not a massive fan of this Emporio Armani line and this is in the bottom half of my preferences.

It’s fairly bland and there’s nothing here that is all that new. Again, if the original is one of your favorites, you might enjoy this lighter edition of the SWY formula.

I enjoyed parts of the wear, but then, it could start to feel annoying to me. That’s how the original was with me, also. That’s what Only is like, just again, a cleaned up and toned down version.

If you’re a fan of that, you’ll almost certainly like SWY Only. I’m not sure that this would change too many minds, if you haven’t liked the others. It’s probably better than Freeze is, out of the lighter variants of this series.