Tommy Bahama for Men

Tommy Bahama for Him was released back in 2013. It’s been almost that long since I’ve tried it out, but never long enough for a full review. I grabbed a mini bottle of this fragrance some time ago, in order to finally correct that. How does this smell? Does this cologne last long? Is it worth a try?

What does Tommy Bahama for Men Smell Like?

Notes include: watermelon, tangerine, ginger, pear, tiare flower, violet leaf, coriander, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean

Click here to try: Tommy Bahama for Men

My Full Review

Tommy Bahama opens up with a nice blend of juicy fruits, led by the watermelon note. It’s a lighter watery sort of crispness with the watermelon and pear notes giving this fragrance its aquatic aroma.

The tangerine note, is the second strongest fruity ingredient behind the watermelon, and only adds it’s clean citrus touch for a few minutes in the opening, at least on my skin.

Tommy Bahama for Men often gets compared to Nautica Voyage and it’s easy to smell why. The crisp fruit (apple, in the Nautica) and violet leaf really overlap and the main highlights of each.

However, Tommy Bahama lacks almost all of the other floral influence. The tiare flower here is barely detectable and not a prominent feature like the mimosa and Voyage. Not to mention the musk, lotus, and greenish notes.

No, they’re not a one to one match but the similarities are for sure there.

Anyway, in Tommy Bahama most of the other notes really don’t have all that much substance, outside of the amber. The ginger is around giving it a light spiciness early. Though, the coriander doesn’t factor in much with it.

I get a melon and violet leaf blend for much of the duration with amber and light woods coming in later on. Really, not too much development here. Even if the notes, suggest greater depth.

Fruity, aquatic with a very light saltiness, and some violet leaf is basically the gist of this cologne.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, it’s a lighter fragrance without much of a scent trail being left behind. The projection is pretty middle of the road. Probably 4-6 feet off of the skin, at its peak. Mostly, going to hover in that 1-3 foot zone.

The longevity for me is 4-5 hours. Most of the times I’ve worn it, I get almost right at 5 hours, before I cannot detect it on my skin. Sometimes, it disappears even sooner than that.

This is a spring and summer wear. It’s light, fresh, aquatic, with that ozonic aroma coming from the violet leaf. I do like that this has less of that ‘greenish’ aspect that Nautica Voyage has and the violet leaf isn’t super loud.

But, it’s mostly a casual daytime wear. Just hanging around. Maybe at the beach or hanging around on the coast. Nothing too fancy. Clean aquatic, not a bold nightlife wear or anything like that.

Overall Impressions of Tommy Bahama

Overall, do I like this fragrance? It’s fine. Like a more streamlined Nautica Voyage, which isn’t a bad thing depending on the price you get it for. At full retail, it’s not worth it. At under $20, possibly.

That being said, I like Voyage more than this. Even with its greener profile and mimosa heart, it just comes across as a nicer scent.

The opening is the most interesting part when you really have an array of fruits, the touch of ginger, and it feels the most ‘aquatic’ without being oceanic. The watermelon, pear, and tangerine work well.

The rest of the fragrance is kind of boring and doesn’t really develop as much as it probably should with the list of notes. Sure, you might get some floral impressions but that tiare flower doesn’t really come through.

The longevity and general performance is completely average. Really, you would only need a full bottle of the stuff if you find it for dirt cheap and want a summer freshie. Even then, there are better options.

I don’t hate Tommy Bahama for Men, but it doesn’t do anything truly remarkable.

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.