7 Cobalt Loewe 2021

Perfectly balanced, signature worthy scent.

It tangentially flirts with blue scents, but there's much more: there's incense, there's fruitiness, there's spices. I wouldn't call it a fresh scent, but a versatile one. I cannot think of a perfume that would fit the 4 seasons better.

I think it's one of the most underrated fragrances out there.

Loewe 7 Cobalt outshines them by far. It starts with a tart black currant, that is spiced by incense and clove. Sage serves to give the fragrance a noticeable green facet. I can tell there are a lot of high quality and/or natural ingredients because this is one of the least synthetic smelling fragrances in this genre.

I see a lot of comparisons to Bleu de Chanel, but other than being a “blue”, I don’t see much similarity. BDC focuses on brighter citrus and has a creamier sandalwood base. It comes off a bit more formal. Cobalt 7 is a darker and spicier fragrance that has more herbaceous notes and a more tart citrus. I don’t think it’s at all redundant to own both, but if I had to choose just one blue for my collection, Cobalt 7 would be it. Also, the sage note in Cobalt 7 is the absolute star on my skin. Definitely the best sage note I’ve smelled in all of my fragrances. It’s very natural smelling and very potent.

The presentation and bottle is absolutely stunning. The decorative wooden cap, the high quality engraved atomizer, and the beautiful blue bottle color. All top notch.

Cobalt 7 is pricier than blues like Versace Dylan Blue, Polo Deep Blue, or Ferragamo Acqua Essenziale Blu. But you can get it for cheaper on discounters than blues like BDC, Dior Sauvage, or Roja Elysium. For the quality you get, it’s well worth the price.

Loewe 7 Cobalt is an excellent fragrance. Interestingly, it's the only one from this brand that I truly enjoy and find appealing. Other scents like Esencia Eau de Parfum , Esencia Elixir , 7 Elixir , and Earth Elixir come across to me as extremely synthetic and chemical warfare.

Loewe 7 Cobalt is a definitely a blue fragrance but with a subtle yet noticeable floral note in the background. Initially, it bears a striking resemblance to Drakkar Noir Eau de Toilette ; the metallic - Cobalt - quality of 7 closely mirrors the blast of freshness lemon verbena present in Drakkar Noir, my nose simply senses a resemblance between them but only in the opening. While it has a refreshing element, it's not a scent I'd recommend for wearing in the summer heat, though it could well work for summer evenings.

So yes, it carries an old-school vibe, but it doesn't smell outdated or stale; rather, it has a nostalgic quality to it. As it transitions into the mid and dry down, it becomes increasingly smoky. In the dry down, the smokiness is so pronounced that you might not believe it's a blue fragrance, yet it remains professional, well-blended, and smooth. I understand why this is a blue fragrance for those that don't like blue fragrances.

This fragrance is far superior to Bleu de Chanel EDT or EDP, and since I never cared for the Parfum or Exclusiff, it completely crushes those two. It offers a better scent and greater value. I am not sure why others here give it lowers marks on performance, but please note that incense and vetiver are some of the strongest molecules that a fragrance can have in the base.
The performance lasts 8-10 hours on skin, and even longer on clothes, but it doesn't project beyond 1.5 hours. After that, it forms a strong and dense scent bubble around you, and the sillage is also very good for a blue fragrance, of course and you don't need more than 4-6 sprays with it.
I wholeheartedly recommend this.

Loewe 7 Cobalt is an excellent offering. It is well suited for all seasons and occasions. It opens with a strong aromatic sage, pepper, and black currant, it dries down a bit airy, slightly smokey, creamy and woody. The opening reminds me a tad bit of the dry down of BDC EDP with some strong similarities with the opening of Burberry Hero EDT, as well as a few other fragrances. If you have ever tried Moncler Sunrise Pour Homme, the openings are extremely similar. As Cobalt dries down, it becomes a much higher quality version of Dior Homme Sport 2021 with some added sage and frankincense that give it an incense like quality. I find it to be more interesting than DHS21, yet not quite as elegant as BDC EDP. It's different enough from both that I don't find it be redundant. Although the opening is similar to Moncler Sunrise, the dry down of Sunrise is definitely earthy and a bit animalic with much more incense, although the performance of Sunrise is edged out by Cobalt. I would say owning both of those could be considered redundant. I prefer the opening of Cobalt, but like the dry down better of Sunrise, despite the performance disparity in favor of Cobalt.

This is safe for all seasons and occasions, as I mentioned before. Performance is very solid, giving you 10 hours on skin, although the projection and sillage aren't too loud after the 1st hour (which is a good thing in my opinion). Definitely a masculine fragrance.

The only downsides, in my opinion, are the price, lack of originality, and lack of complexity. This is a niche fragrance by many benchmarks (including price), yet it doesn't really smell niche. It share parallels with many other fragrances that can be had for a much lower price. Afnan has an original creation called Highness VI which is very similar, is much stronger, much cheaper, and smells of equal quality (which is shocking given it's creator's reputation as mainly being a clone house). Cobalt is also an expensive fragrance for what you get, at $170/€150 for a 50ml, it is beyond what a similar fragrance from a designer house would offer.
I enjoyed this fragrance much more when I first got it, I find my nose getting fatigued and bored from Cobalt fairly easily now. I usually only put it on once every 4-6 weeks, hoping the original magic will return, but I just can't seem to appreciate it like I did before. I wore it once to a special event, over-spraying myself, and wondering who around me had put on too much Dior Homme Sport 2021, only to later realize it was me with too much Loewe 7 Cobalt. Maybe my opinion will change when the warm weather comes again, but I find it to be to tired, dry and monotonus now. I left my scores for the fragrance reflecting my original experiences.

I like freshies. I like "blue" scents. So the 7 Cobalt quickly came onto my radar, but after a sobering test on my arm, it didn't stay there long and disappeared.
After I recently gave the Esencia Eau de Parfum a new chance and found it much better on my neck and in the air than just on my arm, I had to try the 7 Cobalt as well, and I was richly rewarded. I must say about this fragrance: Test it on your neck or don't test it at all.

How I perceive a so-called "Full Wear" on my neck, I will now write here. (4 sprays in the neck area)

The scent starts with a very refreshing and juicy blackcurrant and a refreshing blue trail; yes: a fruity shower gel aura spreads in the air. But the opening "disappears" quite quickly, and the drydown sets in very, very fast in my perception. And in the drydown, this fragrance is very unusual because I feel that at no point from the drydown do I perceive a mixture of several scents, but the different notes of 7 Cobalt come back like actors on stage, hold short monologues, and make way for their colleagues. The speaking parts are divided as follows:

Sage and incense take the stage the most and hold the most energetic monologues.
Pepper and vetiver have fewer speaking parts.
Clove and tonka, on the other hand, are even less present, with the clove speaking very, very quietly. Fortunately.

What surprises me: I often see the juniper berry on stage. However, it is not listed. Could it be? Is it the combination of blackcurrant, vetiver, and clove that makes me think of juniper berry?

Be that as it may:
The fragrance has something fresh, something dry, and through sage and incense a depth that, in terms of construction, reminds me of the legendary and beautiful "Acqua di Giò Profumo (Parfum) | Giorgio Armani," as there, too, the freshness is embedded in a deep and austere scenery of rosemary, sage, and incense. I don't want to say that 7 Cobalt resembles Acqua di Giò Profumo Parfum; caution: I am talking about the "function" or construction.
In fact, 7 Cobalt reminds me more of masculin Pluriel - less sharp, less pronounced, brighter and airier, and indeed bluer. This fragrance is not listed at all under "Similar."
I can understand the similarity to Silver Mountain Water and "Bleu de Chanel (Eau de Parfum) | Chanel." Partially also to "Percival | Parfums de Marly," which was far too blue and far too "shower gel" for me. The alleged similarity to Antaeus Eau de Toilette must be more of a joke.
Despite the incense, I see no closeness to my beloved "Dior Homme Sport (2021) | Dior." And I want to make the next point based on that:

7 Cobalt does not radiate as much as, for example, Dior Homme Sport (2021); it is significantly more reserved. However, I smell at least 4 hours of subtle scent clouds that I perceive as being between shower gel and interesting, mysterious accords of incense, sage, and pepper. Additionally, I must say that for me, one of the most beautiful and interesting variations of vetiver belongs here. After 4-5 hours, the fragrance becomes very close to the skin; I don't smell it myself anymore, but others (not strangers!) do upon inquiry. For me, the longevity is absolutely secondary or even uninteresting.
For fragrances that I like, I find an application. As someone who showers multiple times a day, exercises, and has a fragmented workday, it's not a problem. And even if a fragrance is only perceivable to me for 2 hours, I enjoy it for those 2 hours and look forward to applying a new scent after my shower in a few hours. But this fragrance does last through a workday (7-8 hours), with the first half perceptible to the wearer and the second half only to others. And part of the religious mystery is also believing in what you cannot see. I believe, no, I know that the fragrance is there, even if I can no longer perceive it after 4-5 hours. That would be mystery number 3. Mystery number 1 arises from the sacral-sounding notes like sage and incense that frame the freshness.
Mystery number 2 arises, as mentioned, from the fact that the notes are sometimes more, sometimes less perceivable, coming and going without one knowing when and why certain notes come back to my nose with varying intensity. The wearer must accept this. In this lies the beauty of this sillage: a variety of beautiful accords spread over several hours.

I find the bottle beautiful. The wooden cap also fits wonderfully with this bottle color (dark turquoise with a metallic look?)

Loewe, we are learning to love each other. I now have the Esencia Eau de Parfum in a 15ml travel bottle and this one in 100 ml.
I also find the 001 Man Eau de Parfum interesting, as well as those with air and water labels on the bottles. But for now, this is good. I am happy with this access.