Stronger With You vs. Absolutely

Stronger With You is a seemingly ever expanding series from the Emporio Armani line. Absolutely is one of the more popular flankers from to spawn off of that original formulation. In this post, I want to compare the two: Stronger with You EDT vs. Stronger with You Absolutely. Which is the better cologne? Which lasts longer?

Tale of the Tape: Stronger With You vs. Absolutely

Stronger With You

Notes include: vanilla, mint, cardamom, chesnut, amber, pink pepper, sage, violet leaf

Click here to try: Emporio Armani Stronger With You for Men Eau de Toilette Spray, 1.7 oz

My Full Review: Stronger With You

Stronger With You Absolutely

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

Read my Full review: Absolutely

Opening

Stronger With You opens up fresh and with its spicier notes out front. To me, the cardamom really stands apart from the other notes, it really has a significant weighting in the mix

Beyond that, it’s: pink pepper, mint, sage. The vanilla and chestnut notes are there also, but will gain strength a bit further in. Early on, it’s cardamom and the others.

With Absolutely,  the opening act gives me a blast of the very short-lived bergamot and some of the other fruity sweetish notes, that are associated with the lavender accord.

The difference is the resinous qualities, along with the spicy booziness here. Elemi or the ‘glaze’ of the chestnut note is something that is really distinct versus the other Stronger fragrances

The Armani website mentioned 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.

Which is better? I’ve always been pretty indifferent to Stronger EDT’s opening act. Absolutely is more interesting, has greater depth, and just smells better.

Edge: Absolutely

Projection

Both of these are on the stronger side, especially for designer fragrances. Stronger with You EDT is very good with its ability to create a scent trail and project off of the skin. From the first time that I tested it out, I wasn’t disappointed.

Is Absolutely better? Not really. But, it also isn’t worse. To me, these have been about equal to one another with how they project.

At least in this aspect of their performances, these Emporio Armani colognes are equals.

Edge: Push

Longevity

The original Stronger With You lasts for at least 9 hours on my skin. However, it can go above 10 hours at times, as well. It just sometimes fails to hit that double digit hour mark.

Absolutely is better on this front. I routinely get 11 or 12 hours of wear from this one. Both of these fragrances have great staying power for mainstream colognes.  But, the flanker is a notch above the original.

Edge: Absolutely

Versatility

Both of them are best in the autumn and winter months. Though, each can sneak into the early spring, especially if you’re planning on using them for evening wear.

Neither is a formal wear or one that is built for offices. Casual, nightlife, and romantic wear would be better uses.

I think Absolutely has a slight edge versus the original in this department. The aroma is more mature, even while being sweet. The scent is just put together better in a more refined presentation.

Edge: Absolutely

Overall Scent

So, which one of these fragrances is the better one to try?

With SWY EDT, it was always a fragrance that I liked aspects of, but was never really blown away by. There’s nothing much to complain about with the performance aspect of the scent, but the smell is a good one which never approaches great.

It actually made me be not too inclined to try out the rest of the series, since I thought it was ‘fine’ rather than being anything spectacular.

Absolutely, on the other hand, is either the second or third best scent that Emporio Armani has released thus far under this banner. I like Intensely more and Leather depending on the day.

The opening resinous elemi, the cinnamon/rum, the fruitiness and the chestnut coming in later on make this one a better option.

It’s not any heavier, but you do get a few more hours of performance out of it. It’s not overwhelming better, but this is still an easy choice for me.

Winner: Stronger With You Absolutely

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.