Andasu

I've been unfair to Sauvage. We've all seen the jokes about it, we've all seen how popular it is, and we've all probably tried it before. I've tried it several times before, and only now does everything click about it. I love to be a hater, especially of blue fragrances, and Sauvage is certainly no exception.

Except I don't really hate how Sauvage actually smells; it smells fine. It's citrusy, peppery, aquatic fresh. Nothing to complain about there. But what does stand out about it is that it is STRONG. Needlessly so. It's loud, it hangs around for ages, and it refuses to die. Sauvage completely obliterates every other scent in its vicinity.

But its strength suddenly makes a lot of things make sense. It's well-known by now that self-care and fragrance content are having their moment on social media, especially TikTok. If Sauvage is what gets the kids and the bros into fragrances, no wonder they think everything else is weak. Sauvage is so strong that just about everything else pales in comparison to it. If this is what the bros are all wearing when they go clubbing, of course they want something else that can possibly stand up to it.

I understand now why people are going bonkers for it. It smells fine, it's really strong, and it lasts for ages. However, it's also invasive, despite the smell itself being pretty inoffensive. Sauvage demands everyone's attention in all its loud okayness. If everyone I knew were wearing this, I'd get pissed off by it pretty quickly. It's absolutely not safe to wear to work because it really does fill a room. But somehow, it's not the worst masc fragrance Dior are selling, so I guess it gets a point for that.

At 175 AUD for a bottle, this is a little bit more expensive than some other blue fairings. But then Mugler's fragrances are also expensive and are also nuclear strength, so I guess it's worth it? I wouldn't buy it though, it's pretty lacking in character and its strength would certainly annoy me.

This is scarily accurate as a grass smell and difficult to rate.

It's 3:30 PM on a Sunday, I've mowed the lawn, and the smell of freshly cut grass fills the air as the afternoon sun warms up the lawn. Though I live in an apartment now, the smell takes me back to living at my mum's house and mowing the lawn.

But how do you rate the smell of grass? I love the smell of freshly cut grass, I think it's one of my favourite smells in the world. But as a perfume? I don't know. I don't know if I'd want to wear a perfume that smells only like grass. I know Demeter sells all of their scents in other forms. As an essential oil to scent the air, this would smack, and I'd have it going all the time. I've given this a high score for smell because I really do love the smell, but this is definitely a weird one for perfume. I suppose you could also use it as a room spray if you don't like wearing it.

Just as well it doesn't hang around for long, like all the other Demeter scents. And it's cheap too, so hey! Why not try smelling like grass for a while?

Oh, this is nice. It starts off in a similar way to other blue scents, but then veers off into leathery territory and stays there for the rest of its life. Some leather fragrances come up smelling of nothing but leather on me, but this doesn't. It's kind of peppery, but also kind of citrusy. I like it! I really like that Calvin Klein scents have a pretty common thread of freshness for the most part.

This is the best variation of Defy in my opinion - the EDT is just chemically citrusy blech, and the Parfum, while also very nice, doesn't do much more than a prominent cacao note. Like the Parfum, I really appreciate that Calvin Klein have done something different to other blue scents with this. I don't think it's going to put a spotlight back on them, but it's much better than the stuff they were putting out just a few years ago.

As with all Calvin Kleins, this is pretty good value - you can get 100mL of it for 90 AUD, or 200mL for just $20 more. So, if you like it enough, getting a lot of it won't set you back too much.

Is this going to be the blue fragrance I end up buying?? We shall see.

I'll put this review in this version, as I tried the version made by Inter Parfums and a more recent batch, and not the older versions by the original company or L'Oreal.

I had the chance to try this some time ago, I saw the notes and I was hoping to try it before I bought it. After trying it I didn't end up buying it and probably won't, but it is nice.

The opening is very citrusy but not overwhelming, and as it dries down it goes through a ton of different phases - floral, slightly green and aromatic, citrus coming and going, before eventually settling to a powdery woody musk. I found the way it changes really interesting, and it really drew me in.

Having tried a few more fragrances now, in a lot of ways, it feels similar to 60s masculine powerhouses like Eau Sauvage or Habit Rouge, but with some of the cliches of masculine fragrances of the 80s. It's definitely dated, but it feels classy and gives me a nostalgic feeling somehow. It smells like something my dad used, though I don't remember ever seeing a bottle of this stuff at home.

The dry-down is quite strong and it stayed on my skin for many hours through hand washing. I went to the gym on the day I tried it, and it was even stronger there. Considering you can get this for around 60 AUD for 100mL, I'd say it's pretty excellent value with that in mind. It's not for me as I would prefer something a bit more expressive of myself, but it is admittedly a very nice scent.

This is one of my favourite fragrances in my collection.

Terre D'Hermes is a classic, but it took me a moment to come around to it. Not so with this - I found the citrus in this to be more in line with what I was used to when I bought it, and of course the vetiver in this is intoxicating.

I bought this at a time I was looking for something to replace one of my favourite fragrances that was discontinued - Illusione for Men by Bottega Veneta. This doesn't really smell exactly like it, but it has a similar vibe.

This turns down the earthiness of the OG Terre and brightens up the citrus. It's also a bit floral, and though it's not listed, I get something that reminds me of ginger - probably the pepper note. It's a very bright scent, and I can imagine that this is what walking through an orange grove in bloom on a sunny day smells like.

In many ways, as well, it feels like a modern interpretation of Guerlain Vetiver. It's not as dry, and the citrus is much brighter and harsher. The vetiver there leans much more into the dried hay aspects of vetiver than this ever does. Overall, this is much easier to wear than the Guerlain, but still excellent. An excellent introduction to vetiver fragrances!

Absolutely delightful, this never fails to make me happy whenever I catch a whiff of it during the day. At 200 AUD for 100ml at full retail, this is a little bit pricey for a designer fragrance, but I think it's worth it. I will keep buying this as long as they keep making it.