Today I'm trying out the new Boss Bottled Tonic.
I must admit that I have never been a fan of the Boss Bottled line. In fact, Hugo Boss is not exactly one of my favorite brands. So why am I trying this fragrance?
Do you think I was actually interested? Or that I was forced to do it and am therefore not testing it voluntarily?
No, the answer is simpler than you can imagine! I just happened to have a sample on hand, and since I have to stick my nose into everything, I just gave it a try. Besides, testing with a sample at home is much better than having to sacrifice a valuable arm in a store, which could be used for nicer and more interesting fragrances :D
The scent:
So… right from the start, there's something to complain about. Despite the original sample, the scent comes in a tube instead of a mini-spray… hmpf! So I had to open the thing and hope that part of it wouldn't end up on the table, but… luckily I'm not as clumsy as a certain friend who tends to spill more than half the contents of sample tubes on her table and then curses for ages :D
Then I had to apply it and couldn't help but think of all those who say you shouldn't apply too firmly because you would destroy the scent molecules. Of course, as if I would press my fingers down hard like a mortar when applying to the skin…
Aaaah, never mind. I'm getting sidetracked, so let me get back to the scent :D
The scent: (second attempt!)
So, as far as I can remember, I smell the typical DNA of the regular Boss Bottled EDT at first. Somehow it seems to resemble the regular Bottled quite a bit, but this one seems a little fresher and more summery. I definitely pick up citrus notes, which unfortunately are full of synthetics. There's grapefruit and lemon, but also something fruity like apple.
Hmm,… I think a main difference is the cinnamon. It's much stronger in the regular Bottled, while here it seems to play more in the background, which is probably why the scent appears fresher as mentioned.
In the end, the citrus notes fade a bit and the scent becomes somewhat warmer. There's some cinnamon, but you can also smell light herbal and floral notes (you can perceive a very faint rose, for example). The scent is only slightly sweet. It stays that way until most of the notes gradually weaken and the scent just becomes inconspicuous on the skin. And as mentioned, the scent feels extremely synthetic from start to finish. This synthetics is also a big difference from the regular EDT, which came across as much less chemical.
The sillage and longevity:
The sillage is moderate. Even when applying, you have to get close to smell the fragrance. A scent cloud doesn't linger here, at most briefly at the beginning if you apply heavily and really douse yourself. The longevity is also only average. I think it lasts less than the regular EDT, but I still get about eight hours out of it.
The bottle:
The bottle is the same as it has been for years. You see a bottle-like shape, in which the fragrance liquid is light blue this time. Additionally, the Boss logo is prominently featured, which I find a bit flashy now. However, I do find the bottle a bit nicer today than I did a few years ago. So it's okay, and the light blue color of the fragrance liquid looks quite nice!
So... it might sound a bit cliché or even snobbish, but I had already thought that the new Bottled wouldn't be a wonder and would also radiate strongly synthetic notes. Sure, it may be mainstream, but I think mainstream doesn't automatically mean bad or boring, as there are many mainstream fragrances that smell really great and are even free of any noticeable synthetics (though some with synthetic notes smell quite good to me!).
But Boss Bottled Tonic has unfortunately just become another fragrance that you could at most recognize as part of the Bottled line if you're a fan of this series; otherwise, it smells like 1000 other rather generic fragrances and has absolutely nothing special about it. Of course, I realize that this fragrance will have its fans too, but I just don't like it. And as you can see, I've used the term "synthetic" quite often this time, but the scent indeed has an unpleasant, extremely synthetic-chemical note that significantly devalues the fragrance and makes it seem cheaper. This was not as extreme with the regular EDT.
The fragrance could be used as an all-rounder, although it comes across as more spring-like due to the lower cinnamon and slightly stronger citrus notes than the regular Boss Bottled. I can also imagine it for going out, especially for younger people who don't necessarily want to smell sweet.
So, you can hate me now if you're fans of this series, but I just don't like these fragrances. The only thing I like with Boss in the title is the card game Boss Monster, but that goes back to being nerdy (so much so) that I'd rather not go into it further. Interested parties can search for it on Google themselves (and then call me a freaky nerd… *sigh*).
Top Notes 
Apple
Bitter orange
Grapefruit
Lemon
Obsolete Burlap
Heart Notes 
Ginger
Cinnamon
Clove
Geranium
Base Notes 
Vetiver
Suryavardhan
Jssfranch
Kurai
HugoMontez
Aithan
Hugoderrica
Kraemdon
xtermn8
Pwts
Axiomatic
