Armani Black Diamond really reminds me of 1 Million Paco Rabanne, although it tries to be a bit nastier.

I don’t think there’s much room for a detailed description of the notes: it’s masculine, smoked, sweet and dirty from the very start, with dirty-but-classy pepper, warm red orange and other sweet notes.

And it will remain like that for the rest of its life on skin, after all, that is what it was created for by Jacques Cavallier in 2011 (Diesel Fuel For Life, L’Eau d’Issey).

Masculine, spicy, sexy, open-shirt and dirty. If this is what you’re looking for, maybe try One Million first, just in case you might like it better, else go for it.

And I would go for it as well, but… I’m in the mood for more, so here’s my take on Emporio Armani Diamonds Black Carat For Him: it’s a good prototype for the perfect masculine, but it’s too polished, too clean, too gentle. L’omo ha da puzza’ as they say in Rome, a real man must smell.

So, I hereby ask: is that all you got? If real men don’t bother about showering and shaving, then add more pepper, take away some of the refined sweetness and make something more uneducated, dirtier, rougher, for cryin’ out loud!

Is there anything like that around? It wouldn’t be my signature perfume for sure (wearing it in an office? Are you crazy?), but it would be something to wear in particular occasions, for someone who appreciates this kind of stuff. Can mainstream perfumes dare for once?

If anyone knows about anything like that, I’m ready.

If this was a color it would be
Emporio Armani Diamonds Black Carat For Him

Emporio Armani Black Carat Perfume Review

So that’s the perfume I smelt one day on my older sister’s boyfriend when I was a kid. Personal digression, to say this is from a couple of years ago, 1984, created by Roger Pellegrino.

The opening of Armani Pour Homme is with a fragrant, very real orange, and – childhood knocking at my door again – the same taste I used to get sucking these fruit drops.

In the background however, there is already a spice and/or a herb of some sort. I couldn’t give it a proper name, but it’s a bit bitter and a bit dirty. As it becomes more present, I would say it’s the warm-but-cold cardamom.

When the heart notes start to take shape, with orange slowly fading out, this Armani perfume for men becomes a soft but solid masculine, warm, spicy, soapy, and sustained by woods until the dry down.

And yet, Armani Eau De Toilette Pour Homme seemed to lack of something, like the mystery of Bleu de Chanel or the elegant dirtiness of Emporio Armani City Glam. But then I realised it was rather for something it had: the 28 years of age, weighing it down.

It must have been quite sophisticated in its time though, and it may still evoke some nostalgic memory of youth.  As for me, I prefer my orange fruit drops.

If this was a color it would be

Armani Eau Pour Homme Vaporisateur

Armani Eau Pour Homme Review

What about a nice mix of coffee and neutral florals, with a small dose of caramel and a sprinkle of pepper on top?

OK, put it that way it looks like a meaningless concoction, but this is what this Givenchy Play eau de toilette is about and it somehow works.

It was launched in 2008 as the Intense version of Givenchy Play for men, and created by Emilie Bevierre Coppermann (Black XS for Her) and Lucas Sieuzak.

It’s possibly the most linear perfume I have sampled so far, but that doesn’t have to be a bad quality. One thing is when you sit down and try to describe what goes on on a paper strip, that’s when you want to see stuff happening, some movida. But when you’re looking for something to wear on your skin, you may not want any surprise.

For that, you have this Intense Play For Him: it’s sweeter than Only The Brave and less aromatic than Optimistic.

If I have to be honest, it didn’t drive me crazy. Sure it’s not hateable, it has a certain amount of warmth a trace of darkness (that’s why I couldn’t put it with the aromatic/fresh ones), and it’s even smoked in the very end, but why didn’t they put more coffee and pepper and less sugar in it?

If this was a color it would be
Play Intense By Givenchy For Him

Givenchy Play Intense For Him Review

Gucci Guilty fragrance starts fruity and sweet before going at sweet-floral speed after a couple of minutes.

When the florals have found some balance, the fruits come out again (peach, if you ask me) and turn out to be a fair amount. In spite of that however, I put this in the sweet-floral category, as it’s still mainly floral and the sweetness is more intense than in the fruity floral ones. Check those for less sweet stuff.

So, we were saying, Guilty perfume by Gucci is more on the floral side: it goes easier on the blotter, more sparkling and fresher, but more animalic on the skin (according to this other review it’s the pepper). Florals (mainly lilac) will remain in the foreground for the most part anyway.

It’s a pattern I’m starting to see with this type of fragrances for women, in which the intention of the perfume maker seems to go mainly floral, but without giving up the contribution that fruits can give in modifying the floralcy and enhancing the sweetness.

As Gucci perfume Guilty evolves, there will be more balance between the two sides, but their connection will be tighter and harder to untangle. Until the finale, which is still sweet but greener, thanks to patchouli.

Gucci Guilty Eau de Toilette is reasonably sweet, although some may find it a bit too much. It’s classy and “adult”, a term that in my own vocabulary stands between “young” and “mature.”

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Gucci Perfume Guilty

Perfume Gucci Guilty For Women

Paul Smith Optimistic For Him won’t be the most original nor the deepest, nor the most sophisticated fragrance, but it’s quite pleasant overall.

It’s quite recent, launched in spring 2011 with the version for Her, both created by Francoise Caron (Hermes Eau D`Orange Verte, Rock’n Rose by Valentino among the others).

The opening is very fresh, almost cold. It’s just a generic freshness at first, but then all the layers will start to gradually come out: at first light sweet notes, and a not-too sour mandarin.

And then come light unisex florals with also aromatic green notes, which make it a bit more interesting. It feels like a sort of sweeter version of Lacoste Essential Sport. No amber so far.

So there you have: your popular and safe aromatic / fresh perfume for men formula:

citrus + floral + sweet + aromatic

The sweetness is more prominent, whereas the florals seem to remain in the background. On my skin it came out more aromatic, whereas on the blotter the freshness was higher.

It is quite similar to Diesel Only The Brave, and although both are too sweet for my taste, I would personally prefer Optimistic as the citrus seem to be more present.

It’s possibly the most unisex fragrance I have sampled so far, until the end, when amber and the classic masculine clean smell come in and pull it more towards the masculine side. And the sweet notes step aside.

As I said, this Paul Smith Optimistic For Men won’t be the most original thing on this earth. However, they managed to make it as least dull as possible. It will be great for informal post-shower moments, and it seems like they made an effort to make it optimistic. if this is the very first perfume for men you ever sample, or if this category has not fallen from grace with you, you may want to try it.

If this was a color – before the dry down- it would be:

Paul Smith Perfumes

Paul Smith Optimistic Review

Fourth Diesel fragrance for men and fifth overall reviewed here, with Diesel Only The Brave perfume they decided to go less cold and citrusy than in Fuel For Life, and take the sweet road instead.

The opening is indeed quite fresh, with orange and mandarin but the fragrance soon becomes sweet, although in a non-powdery way, also adding clean florals. 

It goes on blending in green and aromatic notes, and amber as well, but they are all sort of obfuscated by, and wrapped into, a cloud of sweet notes, which is small and hazy, not at all cloying, but resistant nonetheless (are these the leather notes that many seem to feel in here?).

Sometimes however, the secondary notes manage to pierce the sweet mist and it’s like having a young version of Paco Rabanne Pour Homme elevated square (that’s what the title is about, in case you were wondering): they made it younger, then took the result and made it younger again. That is why - albeit reluctantly – I put it in the Aromatic / Fresh category.

I think that Diesel Only The Brave cologne has a mellow character. The clear target is young men, and the intention is to be easy on women’s noses. And that cannot be bad, can it? I think it clashes a little with the name and the great-looking bottle in the shape of a closed fist, but probably I’m looking at the concept of bravery from a different (I mean, older) perspective.

The finale veers slightly towards vanilla and couldn’t be more unisex.

Personally not my cup of tea, this Diesel perfume for men, but if I were a certain amount of years younger, let’s say between 18 and 25, I would give it a serious thought, and so should you.

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Diesel Perfume Only The Brave

Only The Brave By Diesel Review

It’s only the third Chanel perfume for men that I’ve reviewed so far (or should I say the second, as one was Allure Homme Sport and the other one was its close fresher cousin Allure Homme Edition Blanche), but I think I’m starting to see a pattern: they’re all similar to stuff that you may have smelt before, but with a sort of Chanel-ness in them, which makes them classier and with better quality.

Rather than fresh, Chanel Bleu For Men is almost cold at the start (a coldness like the one Diesel Fuel For Life Pour Homme or Bang Bang), and it’s  made fresh – warmer that is – by orange.

But although the orange is not there as a simple passer-by, this is not a disguised edition of Allure Homme Sport. There are spices in the background, a bouquet of spices indeed, with a fair amount of incense (is that cinnamon standing out or is it just me?).

So it’s fresh-oriental so far, but the evolution will start now, as spices and incense will grow in intensity. The idea however, is not the one of an oriental hammer of the eighties or, it actually is if you will, but with a much lighter touch. It’s like applying on the skin a thin layer of something very intense, and the color of the bottle – a see-through dark blue – gives a perfect idea.

This point is indeed where a light comparison with the base notes of Allure Homme Sport might make sense, considering that the citrus notes can still be felt in the background.

But this is not the point of this Bleu De Chanel Pour Homme. What could be mistaken for a certain shyness, is actually the perfume’s agenda: it’s an elusive, hazy fragrance, and it will remain like that throughout the base notes, when it gets cleaner.

Classy, masculine, mysterious without being dark, and I bet quite sexy too. I think my wish list just got longer.

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Chanel De Bleu Review

Bleu De Chanel by Chanel Perfume Review

First and foremost: of all the perfumes that I had and have, Emporio Armani City Glam For Him is the most appreciated by the ladies. And that is the second main reason why I keep on buying it, the first being that I really really like it. OK… no point in lying here: both reasons are true, but it’s actually the other way round.

In any case, the best candidate for yournextperfume’s 100th perfume review.

The fragrance opens with ginger and mint, which set tone immediately to spicy and fresh. Depending on your skin, you may get it more fresh or more warm. There’s supposed to be bitter orange as well, but in my case, for once, I appreciate that fact that my skin is a freshness killer because it feels quite earthy and dirty on me. (is that the reason? I wonder…)

But dirty and fresh are only part of the recipe, because at some point the mint fades and gets subtle sweet notes. And that’s when the transformation into a warm and mature fragrance is complete.

The reason why City Glam Armani Perfume for men works so well is that – effortlessly – it takes the dirty side of ginger, puts a leash on it and gives it a fresh twist with mint. And that, my dear male readers, somehow translates into sexy.

As it goes on, ginger will join with woods, mint will definitely disappear and perfume City Glam will be rounder, smooth and warm as a mantelpiece of rubbed down solid wood.

Thanks, perfumers Annick Menardo (Bvlgari Black, Fuel For Life Homme) and Olivier Cresp (Dune by Dior, I love Love, Nina, Black XS, Valentina) for this.

If this was a color it would be
Emporio Armani City Glam For Men

Giorgio Armani Emporio City Glam Perfume

This Joe Malone perfume is more than it says on the bottle, and the extra bit is a fragrant clove, which took a while on the blotter to come out, but my skin gave back fairly quickly.

Other than giving me a pleasant WTF perfume moment (it doesn’t happen very often, last time it was with Declaration by Cartier two months ago), clove took what would have otherwise been a very sophisticated shaving foam (lavender and amber are of unquestionable quality here, but they’re still amber and lavender…) and turned it it into a great  fragrance.

This perfume Jo Malone is transparent, light, bright and strong: it won’t hide its parts, on the contrary, it will make simplicity its strength. And of course simple doesn’t mean easy.

The only thing about this Jomalone fragrance is that, it being a cologne, it won’t have an amazing duration, but the clove is so darn good that it’s highly forgivable. Spraying a little on your clothes however will do the trick, and even when clove is gone, you will still feel the good amber going on.

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Jo Malone Fragrance For Men Review

Jo Malone Amber And Lavender Cologne Review

Who would have thought that Dolce Gabbana The One Gentleman, with such a name and such a clear target in sophisticated semi-mature males would bring back so many childhood memories.

And yet it did, and that’s why I won’t try to describe notes in the usual way this time, I prefer to surrender and go with the flow.

The opening brought me back to one of those lemon popsicles with a liquorice stick (this one) that I used to have as a kid. The lemon was not fragrant as freshly squeezed, but creamy. My guess is that it comes from vanilla and lavender as there’s supposed to be no citrus in it.

And at some point, when the perfume is less creamy, and part of the lemon has turned into a clean smell, I feel daisies: that’s right, chamomile daisies. Or, as normal people would say, it’s a clean and quiet fragrance.

Mad ramblings aside, no worries, in all this there is masculinity circling around the field of daisies, coming from a very generic spice, which is probably a very soft cardamom. And with still the lemon note gently poking from below.

The finale is patchouli and vanilla, very neutral gender-wise, although quite similar to the one in other feminine fragrances.

I like the idea of gentleman they offered in this D&G perfume for men: not the guy who just swam in a pool full of Tide, nor the super oriental I’m-your-granddaddy type of thing, but one that is sophisticated and unpretentious at the same time, masculine with no need to raise its voice.

Of the Dolce & Gabbana masculine perfumes that I tried so far (Light Blue and D&G pour Homme), The One Gentleman is by far the best one, and a serious candidate to my wish list.

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The One Gentleman Dolce And Gabbana

Dolce And Gabbana The One Gentleman Cologne Review