Missoni Wave Missoni 2020

We all need that one simple, fresh, versatile fragrance which you can reach for anytime, anywhere, especially in the high heat where heavier/sweeter scents might not be as fitting. For me, that fragrance has been Missoni Wave for most of the past couple of months. Even if not magnificent in terms of quality, it has been my "dumb-reach" fragrance for when I just needed something easy-going, fresh, and versatile. Ideally, you might also want to find such a scent without having to break the bank. And Missoni Wave gets extra points there too.

Also, I want to give a little recognition to Missoni for putting not only a pressurized atomizer, but also a magnetic cap on Missoni Wave's bottle. If a brand managed to do so for their $30-$50 fragrance, then there's no excuse for higher-end houses.

Anyways, onto the scent, the opening presents a very fresh and airy aura, with a synthetic burst in the opening, enveloping a slightly juicy, bright, and fruity, albeit evidently chemically mandarin, with a tangy, sweet citrus undertone too. There's definitely an aquatic vibe too which adds in that sort of salty, oceanic type of smell, which makes it a little harder to determine whether the fragrance has a synthetic undertone after the initial 5 minutes where it is obvious, or not. However, I'd say it is.

As the waves settle and we depart the sea, an aromatic field of various herbs makes way. The rosemary and clary sage in particular seem to dominate, with the former adding a slightly woodier, camphor-like accord, whilst the latter brings more of a subtly floral herbaceous sweetness, as well as some muskiness. The Egyptian pelargonium is a note I'm not familiar with, so I can't really pinpoint it on its own, which is anyways rather difficult, as its accords are of fresh, floral, green herbaceous qualities, blending in with the other heart notes offering similar facets. There is indeed a mild green aspect to the scent, but it doesn't sit in the front row. It's the same for the lavender, which is barely present with its sweet, herbal, unmistakable scent. Hence, there's an issue of balance. Not only that, but there's also a continued prominent chemical edge that is carried across the herbaceous heart here, which doesn't portray quality. That's also one of the main reasons it's difficult for me to properly identify the heart notes, rather than due to elite-level blending.

The base is where the vanilla orchid gets introduced, bringing a very noticeable creamy vanilla sweetness, but smoothly so, without ever turning too sweet. It also reminds me of jasmine, and there's a powdery undertone present too. Thankfully, the synthetic/chemical facet in the back has diminished in presence by now, but it's not completely gone. The rest of the base notes are not very pronounced, with a small dosage of musty, musky patchouli and damp oakmoss. The vetiver is pretty much undetectable by my nose.

Unfortunately, performance is just about what you'd expect from a freshie like this. On my skin, the fragrance barely made it to the 5 hour mark, turning into a skin scent somewhere around the 2 hour mark. For projection, it's fairly decent the first half an hour, with a two feet bubble around me and pretty good sillage. These, however, won't last long, and by the 1-1.5 hour mark, things get cut in half. So yes, it's safe to overspray.

As I stated at the beginning of the review, we all need a fragrance that we can wear anywhere, anytime. And there's really no place where Missoni Wave couldn't fit. It's possibly the most versatile fragrance I've tested to date, and I wouldn't hesitate to wear this anywhere. School, the office, hanging out around town, going to the gym, visiting your nose-sensitive family members... You name it. Sure, for a more special/formal occasion, you might want to get something that would fit the vibe better, but if your main priority is just smelling good without offending anyone, then it doesn't really get better than this.

And so, while the overall scent itself doesn't portray signs of excellent blending, nor very high-quality materials, I believe Missoni Wave is pretty good bang for your buck. It's simple and pleasant, easy to wear and affordable. It doesn't do anything notable, nor anything innovative. It just offers an affordable way to smell good everywhere, every time. And for someone who only wants that, it's a great option. But if you're looking for sheer quality, uniqueness, and/or great performance, then you'll have to bring out more cash, unfortunately.

Overall Rating: 5.8/10

Alright, to whomever is in these reviews trying to decide if they should purchase Missoni Wave or not I will give you the best information I can possible. I own both Chanel Allure Homme Sport and Versace Pour Homme and love them both to death, in fact they are two of my favorite fragrances and have been a very long time.. Missoni Wave doesn’t smell identical to either of them but that’s not to be expected. What it does do is its own sort of thing while taking a fair bit of inspiration from both of its main predecessors. Wave does start off a bit screechy synthetic and will slightly be almost off putting from the first initial sprays. Some of that will go away with oxidation/maturing and also it will slowly start to go away into the dry down. Once this fragrance settles down a bit you’re left with a very charming creamy citrus slightly floral fragrance perfect for warm weather. I would have to say Wave is a bit more comparable to Chanel Allure Homme Sport as it has that creaminess aspect to it that Versace Pour Homme does not. What Wave does have that favors Versace Pour Homme is that floral aspect introducing itself in the background. My verdict is for the price point this fragrance is 100% well worth it. If you like it’s Chanel or Versace predecessor’s very well then there’s a good chance you will enjoy Wave. It takes a little inspiration from both but like I mentioned above it’s creaminess aura makes it lean stronger in the Chanel direction. The longevity and projection on Wave are also good considering it’s DNA and price, I have always gotten 4-7 hours of longevity with 5-8 sprays and about a foot and half of projection. Take the chance on this one and ride the Wave!

When I reviewed Chanel Allure Homme Sport, I liked it a lot but found the performance pretty weak - getting barely 3 hours out of it. So, decided to hold off on buying a bottle to see what else is available. I now found something better with Missoni Wave. It is very similar to Allure Homme Sport, but I got about 5 and a half hours out of it with a good scent bubble with projection for the first hour and a half. That's a big improvement over the Chanel.

The fragrance itself is very pleasant - a somewhat blue generic, citrusy, mildly aquatic (no seaweed or salt) masculine scent with mild middle notes and base notes. The vetiver is subtle - nothing woody about this scent.

Easy choice for warm and hot days or nights. Reasonable price (better than Allure) and a great bottle with a magnetic cap too. Overall a good value. Missoni Wave will be in my summer rotation.

Missoni Wave is an okay fragrance overall, but nothing special. It goes in the same fresh, blue direction as Versace Pour Homme and AHS, but in comparison, i clearly prefer those two.

What holds Wave back for me is a noticeable synthetic note that runs through the scent, especially in the drydown. It lacks the smoothness and refinement that make Pour Homme and AHS so enjoyable.

The performance is alright for this type of scent. Safe daily driver for the office. It is clean and fresh. It doesn’t offend anyone. It does not fill the room but within arms reach people will notice that you smell good.

Not a bad fragrance by any means, just not one I’d reach for or repurchase.

This is a very nice fragrance. Got it in the mail yesterday and was love at first sniff. Unfortunately, something in it gives me a really bad allergic reaction. I had to take allergy pills to keep me from non-stop sneezing. Whatever chemicals they are using makes my nose start burning inside really bad. I was hoping it was just the pollen and grass outside since it's late Spring. Looks like I'll have to return it to fragrancex. Sucks, because I really like the smell. Aquatic, sweet, creamy, floral. Great price as well.