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The Scent Absolute for Him by Hugo Boss

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This is the last of the Hugo Boss ‘The Scent’ reviews, as I’ve covered all of the releases up to this point (I may have to double check that). I thought that I might as well end with what I consider to be the best of the series, The Scent Absolute.

The aroma, the performance, and entire package is just superior to the others, in my opinion. What does it smell like? How long does it last? Continue below for my full take.

What does The Scent Absolute for Him Smell Like?

Notes include: maninka, ginger, vetiver, Mondia root

Click here to try: Hugo Boss The Scent Absolute for Him Eau De Parfum, 1.6 Fl Oz

My Full Review

The Scent Absolute is probably the most closely related to the original cologne from this Hugo Boss series. That’s a great thing, as I really enjoyed how that one smelled, but it had terrible performance.

However, The Scent Absolute corrects that, gives me a fresh and spicier profile, and isn’t the powdery chocolate of Private Accord (which is nice, but I prefer the maninka fruit). Yet, Absolute is also the more linear of the two parfums.

Absolute for Him kicks off with the fresh spiciness of ginger. It’s a bold use of the ginger note and it actually has a bit of a lemony-quality to it. Very nice. This is paired with the signature maninka fruit of the line, giving the composition a fruity warmth.

It’s a fruity and spicy opening act, with somewhat rum-like booziness in the mix. It doesn’t actually have that as an accord, but the fragrance puts out that sort of vibe (mondia roots). Absolute is masculine, attractive, and is definitely unique while retaining that The Scent DNA.

Super easy to wear.

I mentioned that this is a linear fragrance. Well, there is a change. The spice burns off and you are left with a mix of the maninka and vetiver the rest of the way. Fresh, a touch of earthiness, and smoke.

That’s about all the development I get from this fragrance. Though, I don’t think it needs to go much further.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, this one starts out on the upper edges of what could be considered moderate (4-7 foot projection), before moving in to a lighter moderate (3-4 feet). It’s not a complete beast, but performs very well when compared to the others.

The Scent Absolute also has good longevity. Gets around 8-9 hours of wear. Again, don’t expect a monster projection beast, but this one does hang around for a nice long while and doesn’t flake out early.

Seasonally, this has autumn and winter written all over it. Not a totally heavy or dense fragrance, but that spice would kind of be off-putting in the heat of the summer months. If you have relatively mild springs where you live, it would work then too.

Absolute is masculine. Not a teenagers fragrance, but not exactly formal either. It can venture into the nightlife and is great for casual wear. This is more of a ‘sexy’, mass appealing cologne, that leans much more into evening wear.

I don’t find it to be particularly out of place anywhere, I just don’t consider it a jack of all trades kind of cologne.

Overall Impressions of The Scent Absolute

Overall, do I like The Scent Absolute? Yes, again, it is my favorite out of all of these colognes. If I had to buy one from the series, I’d go with Absolute, without question.

It isn’t a very complicated fragrance. Though, I love the sweet maninka fruit, and ginger is among my favorite notes. Together, it is damn near brilliant. The slight rum impression is an additional bonus.

I’m not as big of a fan of the vetiver dry down, but it’s solid overall. The performance at least gives you your money’s worth, unlike some of the others.

This is a very good perfume for him. It’s just not a total must buy for me, personally. If you’re a fan of the other ‘The Scent’ fragrances, this is one that you need to check out, and give strong consideration to purchasing.

I dig it and went through the entire sample pretty easily. If this scent sounds like your kind of thing, give it a try before it disappears from the market entirely.

The Scent Private Accord by Hugo Boss

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The Scent from Hugo Boss spun off a ton of flankers in a pretty short amount of time. Overall, the lineup was good, with some that were even better. Private Accord was brought out in 2018, to give a new interpretation of the maninka fruit-based The Scent DNA. What does this entry smell like? How long does it last? Is it even worth a try?

What does The Scent Private Accord Smell Like?

Notes include: ginger, maninka fruit, mocha, cocoa absolute, pepper, bergamot, patchouli, woods

Click here to try: BOSS The Scent Private Accord for Him, 3.3 Fl Oz 

My Full Review

Private Accord kicks things off with an immediate impact from the cacao note. It is very strong from the start and joined by the fresh spice of ginger. Ginger is one of my favorite spicy notes, so, I think the opening here is sort of awesome.

Underneath that is a further spiciness supplied by a dash of pepper. Along with, the usual fruitiness of this series, maninka fruit. However, in this one, you get some pineapple to go along with it.

I will say, that the maninka and fruitiness as a whole, is toned down in The Scent Private Accord when compared to the others.

Once it has settled somewhat, the spiciness subsides. Cacao will at first be joined by a coffee note. Think more 75% cacao, 25% coffee. Then, the coffee will mostly be replace by vanilla, with the gourmand aroma being held together by a nice patchouli note.

 The dry down is probably my least favorite part of this fragrance. It becomes much drier with a powdery cacao smell. It’s a sweet and dry cologne, pretty distant from that early great freshness of spices and fruits.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Private Accord has good sillage. It will project itself around 6-8 feet from the wearer, at it’s peak. Strong, but ultimately hits the upper end of moderate for much of its wear. From then on, it will still have a nice scent bubble, but not permeate the room.

I get just over 8 hours of wear with Private Accord. It isn’t an elite scent, in this regard, but much better than some of the others in this series from Hugo Boss. I really had no issue with the performance from this one. 

So, if you like the smell, you’ll at least get your money’s worth out of it.

Seasonally, stick to the autumn and winter. This is very much a colder weather wear and would kind of get gross in the heat. That sweet, spicy, warmth isn’t exactly built for the summer.

This one also skews toward younger guys. The chocolate and vanilla combination dominates, once the initial ginger spice burns off. Not strictly a teenager’s scent or anything, but Private Accord isn’t something formal.

It’s good casually or for the nightlife. Would for sure, want to wear this Hugo Boss out for an evening on the town versus whatever during the daytime. 

 

 

Overall Impression of Private Accord

Overall, do I like this Hugo Boss scent? I think it’s a nice smelling fragrance overall. It does get a little too heavy on the cacao and vanilla, in the latter stages. That part isn’t bad, but it’s a noticeable step down.

The early stages with the ginger, pepper, and maninka fruit are worthwhile and ranks among the best in the series. There isn’t too much development, but the sweet powdery quality isn’t amazing to me.

I prefer The Scent Absolute from this series. Actually, I liked the original better also, it just had terrible performance. Private Accord at least has solid performance going for it, with a nice smell.

That being said, Private Accord is an above average to very good cologne. It might not be for everyone, as you’re going to have to really be into dry chocolatey gourmands. Not super sugary, but more of a warm powder.

Update: Here in 2024, it appears that Private Accord got discontinued at some point. Not surprising, since this fragrance came out in 2018, and Boss is still releasing other flankers in ‘The Scent’ line.

As of now, it looks like you can still purchase bottles at a reasonable price from third party sites. Still wouldn’t be my first pick in the series, but you could do a lot worse for $60 than picking up a bottle of Private Accord.

Boss Bottled Night by Hugo Boss

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I’ve done some Hugo Boss cologne reviews recently and even have few samples of this brand’s other scents on the way, so, I thought that it’d be a good idea before reviewing those to do one on Bottled Night.

I had already included this in my best Hugo Boss fragrances for guys but never got around to writing up a review of this scent.

I generally like most of the stuff that they put out (except Energise…) and have been wearing Hugo Red a lot this summer, so I’m a mood now to tackle Bottled Night. As usual, I’ll cover the scent’s smell, how it performs, when it can be worn, and whether or not it is worth a buy.

What does Boss Bottled Night Smell Like?

Notes include: African violet, birch leaves, musk, lavender, amarello wood

Click here to try: Boss Bottled Night by Hugo Boss for Men – 3.3 Ounce EDT Spray

My Full Wear Review

The opening of Boss Bottled Night is somewhat of a surprise, in that, when looking at the container and the name you’d think you would be getting something quite dark and mysterious.

However, what you find is a very clean scent powered by the lavender note and with a beautiful hint of floral provided by the African Violet. Add musk and you get an underlying warmth to go along with a masculine woodsy note.

Upon the opening, I really do pick up a lot of the violet. I must say, that violet isn’t one of my favorite floral notes, but it does work well within this composition.

The birch note is super dry, with a very slight smokiness to it, at times.

As we move forward, the lavender emerges more fully, and is joined by a light musk note. This is about as much development, as you’re going to get from Bottled Night. It’s a mix of lavender and violet, with dry woods, and some musky touches.

One of the things that I really appreciate about Bottled Night is how unique it feels. Like, it is pretty simple and straightforward in how it plays out, but it really doesn’t smell like anything else I can think of in the world of cologne. It is a soft scent yet has a very nice ability to project itself.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

As I said, the sillage is pretty good here. Again, not a heavy fragrance by any means, but people will be able to pick it up on you with in a decent radius. At least for the first few hours of wear.

Longevity wise, it is in the realm of average, which is weird since it does a good job of projecting. Six hours seems to be the demarcation point for Boss Bottled Night, after that it tends to fade.

It is a versatile fragrance, I really can’t pin it down for a season, as I could see it working for multiple weather situations. It’s a fragrance that could go from the office to a night out on the town without much problem.

Yes, it is called bottled night, but it isn’t really one that would stand out as being ‘too much’ for daytime use. Really, never has struck me as a particularly dark or nightlife exclusive cologne. It has a clean, well put together aroma, for guys with a more stylish or mature air about them.

Overall Impression of Boss Bottled Night

Overall, would I recommend it? Yes, it is definitely a very nice cologne and it unique smell only adds to its appeal. It isn’t very complex, clean/floral/musk, so you definitely know what you’re getting within a few minutes of wear.

I’m not that much into violet as a note, so this will never be my favorite. Though, I can appreciate it for what it is.

Boss Bottled Night does everything at least pretty well and is quite sexy for what it is. If you want something clean, simple, at a good price, then this should work out for you. If you don’t like violet or lavender that much, then avoid Bottled Night.

The performance is decent, in my experience, but not amazing. I think this will appeal to a certain percentage of guys, but doesn’t necessarily have that super wide universal x-factor.

Boss the Scent EDT by Hugo Boss

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With my latest fragrance order, I made sure to pick up many more samples to try out and review. Among them, is a scent that I never got around to giving a whirl: Hugo Boss The Scent. Wow. What a great name. Really though, I’ve been wanting to wear this one, because it sounded like it’d be my type of fragrance.

In this post, I’m going to share my experience with this Hugo Boss cologne, and whether or not I think it is worth a try. How does it smell? Does it last long? How’s the sillage?

What does Boss The Scent EDT Smell Like?

Notes include: ginger, leather, maninka, lavender, woods, mandarin, bergamot

Click here to try: Hugo Boss THE SCENT Eau de Toilette, 6.7 Fl Oz

My Full Review

Before we get into my personal review, let’s see what Hugo Boss has to say about The Scent: An irresistible fragrance, unforgettable like a savored seduction. Exquisite notes of ginger, exotic maninka, and leather unfold over time, seducing the senses.

Boss The Scent opens up with a nice amount of ginger and sweetness from the fruit notes. It’s a bit warm/spicy, but more fresh, and I can pick up on the light citrus underneath. Maninka is apparently a fruit, but I’ve never smelled it before, so I cannot really attest to its aroma.

However, the only thing in here that I don’t immediately recognize smells wonderful…so I assume that’s what it is.

A few minutes after the opening, I’m still getting plenty of ginger, but the citrus notes have faded some. The second wave of leather and lavender comes forward, and leather, is the strongest of those two. At least, to my nose. The composition is fresh, smooth, and semi-sweet.

This one doesn’t develop all that much. The last leg of the wear consists of: ginger, leather, lavender, some wood, and what I guess is the maninka. The fresh sweetness and warmth is very attractive. Boss The Scent is great in its simplicity and I keep coming back to smelling my wrists or catching a whiff off of my neck.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, the sillage of The Scent, is weak. It starts off well enough, but quickly turns into a skin scent. That’s extremely disappointing. It didn’t need to be a complete beast, but this one is super soft.

The longevity, in this lighter state, is about 4-5 hours. Again, not great. I know there is an Intense version of this cologne, though, I haven’t tried it.

This version, has pretty dismal performance. It seems to happen a lot with ginger and citrus blended fragrances. So many of them start great, then fade quickly.

Seasonally, I’d wear this in the autumn through springtime. It’s probably best in a temperate climate, but wouldn’t be something I’d wear in the heat. Boss The Scent is good for casual, business, or more formal situations.

It is attractive, has a sexy vibe, but it doesn’t have the strength for nightlife wear. An enhancement in strength could’ve made this one a great little all around choice for many guys.

Overall Impressions of Boss the Scent

Overall, do I like Boss The Scent? I love the way that this smells. It just doesn’t have good performance. I was looking forward to wearing this one, was pleased at the start, but then it just dropped off big time.

I really hope the intense version, actually brings it, and doesn’t change the overall scent too much. I’ll have to get a hold of some to try out.

For this one? I’m not sure I can recommend it. Not unless, you get a super cheap bottle of the stuff. The smell is simple, but fresh and inviting. Great concept, just the execution didn’t live up to what it should’ve been.

Hugo Energise by Hugo Boss

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My latest review will be Energise by Hugo Boss, which I recently received a sample vial of and hadn’t yet given it much of a try. I have already reviewed Boss Bottled No. 6 and Hugo Red, which I recommend trying out and wanted to see if this one could find a place in my rotation.

How did Energise perform? What does it smell like? Is it worth a purchase? Please continue below for my full impression of this cologne.

What does Hugo Boss Energise Smell Like?

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Notes include: mandarin, cocoa beans, freesia, pink pepper, kumquat, coriander, and more

Click here to try: Hugo Boss Energise Eau de toilette Spray for Men, 4.2 Fluid Ounce

My Full Wear Review

I have a pretty solid amount of respect for Hugo Boss fragrances, so when I got a hold of a sample of this cologne, I was excited to try it. With a name like Energise, I figured it’d be a youthful and you know, energetic scent.

Upon opening, I get a citrusy type of smell mixed with pink pepper which adds a hint of spiciness. Also, the cocoa beans are faint, but I’m pretty sure I’m detecting them for an added layer of smoothness.

The mint that is present, gives this a coolness to go with the fresh warmth of the pink pepper. However, it just doesn’t seem to have a really crisp edge. It feels pretty flat. Clean, yes, but that’s about all.

Honestly, the opening is just so bland to me. It’s not a bad smell but it does seem really flat and uninspiring. I have no idea where they were trying to take this one.

On the one hand, it is a rather unique type of scent just based on the ingredients…BUT there’s nothing really there to make it pop. Just a semi-sweet blend of citrus and pink pepper.

There wasn’t too much of a drydown period with Energise either, as it doesn’t hold for very long. Some leather, the remaining citrus, and pink pepper. That’s about all that I get from this.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

The sillage isn’t huge, probably call it a lighter moderate cologne. It’s somewhat noticeable, but isn’t going to really assert itself.

While the projection is moderate, it only seems to last a few hours. Seriously, after a few tries with this scent, I got it to last 3 hours at its maximum. Somewhere in that range, is about what one can expect from Energise.

I suppose that this was meant to be a casual scent, since it certainly isn’t romantic, energizing, or seductive in any way. I would say that this would be more geared toward younger guys, but not completely a teenager’s fragrance. It has enough maturity to go higher in age range.

Overall Impressions of Energise

Overall, I’m just confused by this cologne. What’s its purpose? Performance is subpar and it is totally average while it does work. I can’t recommend Energise when there are so many others out there that are much better, including from Hugo Boss.

I don’t think that it smells bad at all. It’s just, meh. If it had better performance, I could maybe give it a thumbs up, at a cheap enough price point. But even for cheap, Energise doesn’t strike me as being worth it.

Doesn’t seem to be all that cheap, but the good news is (if you’re interested in Energise) is Boss still makes this, as of now. So, test is out for yourself.