Duftjunkie99
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The next value-for-money hit from Câline
Unbeknownst to me, I recently made my way to my trusted drugstore, as they were having a sale on Câline fragrances. Upon arriving at the perfume section, I was surprised to find that a new men's fragrance from Câline had made its way to the shelves, bearing the mysterious name "Dark Mystery."
The fragrance was immediately purchased, and with great curiosity, I opened the packaging and sprayed it on.
The scent starts with a very fresh note, as one would expect from a fragrance with bergamot in the top notes. This very fresh note fades relatively quickly and transitions into a fruity-woody direction.
Towards the end of the fragrance experience, the scent becomes increasingly woody.
I would rate the longevity as solid; I could perceive the fragrance for about 5-6 hours.
The sillage is also decent; the scent is subtly noticeable in the surroundings.
The bottle is, as expected from Câline, of good quality, and the gradient from dark to milky glass is visually very pleasing.
Conclusion: With "Dark Mystery," Câline delivers once again and reaffirms that they are the benchmark in the low-price segment in drugstores. It is always astonishing to see that this brand manages to offer designer fragrance profiles at such affordable prices. While "Dark Mystery" does not quite match its role model (YSL Myself) in all aspects (such as longevity and sillage), this is easily forgivable for the price.
The fragrance was immediately purchased, and with great curiosity, I opened the packaging and sprayed it on.
The scent starts with a very fresh note, as one would expect from a fragrance with bergamot in the top notes. This very fresh note fades relatively quickly and transitions into a fruity-woody direction.
Towards the end of the fragrance experience, the scent becomes increasingly woody.
I would rate the longevity as solid; I could perceive the fragrance for about 5-6 hours.
The sillage is also decent; the scent is subtly noticeable in the surroundings.
The bottle is, as expected from Câline, of good quality, and the gradient from dark to milky glass is visually very pleasing.
Conclusion: With "Dark Mystery," Câline delivers once again and reaffirms that they are the benchmark in the low-price segment in drugstores. It is always astonishing to see that this brand manages to offer designer fragrance profiles at such affordable prices. While "Dark Mystery" does not quite match its role model (YSL Myself) in all aspects (such as longevity and sillage), this is easily forgivable for the price.
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A Noticeable Increase in Quality
La Rive has always been known for affordable dupes and is an established brand in this area. For a long time, however, La Rive's fragrances struggled with several issues, such as a strong alcoholic note, poor longevity, or miserable bottles.
The first La Rive fragrance I acquired, namely La Rive Cabana, had to deal with exactly such problems. However, when comparing it to La Rive Colossus, one will find that a lot has changed in terms of quality over time at La Rive.
Enough with the preamble, let's get to the scent: Colossus starts with a fresh apple-mint note, and already in the opening, the vanilla and tonka bean are noticeable, giving the fragrance a certain powderiness.
The parallels to the original Eros by Versace are clearly recognizable, although my impression is that the opening of Eros is slightly more "explosive."
Over time, the fresh notes recede, and the vanilla note becomes more prominent.
The sillage is moderate, meaning the fragrance can be perceived from a bit of a distance, but it is definitely not room-filling. I would also say that the original performs slightly better in this regard.
The longevity is about 6-7 hours.
The bottle is extremely well done considering the price: The cap clicks in pleasantly and securely, the bottle is made of sturdy glass, and the design appears simple and timeless.
Conclusion: With Colossus, La Rive demonstrates that they are increasingly valuing quality, and one can only hope that La Rive will continue to pay attention to this in future fragrances. So, anyone looking for an affordable and well-executed alternative to Eros should take a closer look at Colossus!
The first La Rive fragrance I acquired, namely La Rive Cabana, had to deal with exactly such problems. However, when comparing it to La Rive Colossus, one will find that a lot has changed in terms of quality over time at La Rive.
Enough with the preamble, let's get to the scent: Colossus starts with a fresh apple-mint note, and already in the opening, the vanilla and tonka bean are noticeable, giving the fragrance a certain powderiness.
The parallels to the original Eros by Versace are clearly recognizable, although my impression is that the opening of Eros is slightly more "explosive."
Over time, the fresh notes recede, and the vanilla note becomes more prominent.
The sillage is moderate, meaning the fragrance can be perceived from a bit of a distance, but it is definitely not room-filling. I would also say that the original performs slightly better in this regard.
The longevity is about 6-7 hours.
The bottle is extremely well done considering the price: The cap clicks in pleasantly and securely, the bottle is made of sturdy glass, and the design appears simple and timeless.
Conclusion: With Colossus, La Rive demonstrates that they are increasingly valuing quality, and one can only hope that La Rive will continue to pay attention to this in future fragrances. So, anyone looking for an affordable and well-executed alternative to Eros should take a closer look at Colossus!
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The Name Says It All
We all know those products that have names that are completely inappropriate for marketing reasons. From the fragrance world, I can immediately think of the Prada Luna Rossa Sport, which has "Sport" in the name but is actually too sweet for a sport fragrance.
In my opinion, a fragrance that can be worn, for example, at the gym should fundamentally meet the following criteria: It should bring a certain freshness and not be too noticeable, especially regarding the sillage.
The Azzaro Sport meets these criteria very well.
The Azzaro Sport has a fresh scent profile that personally reminds me of "Fierce" by A&F or "Absolutely Dark" by Zara.
I don't perceive individual scent notes, but rather a general freshness that is consistently present in the fragrance.
The longevity and sillage are not particularly pronounced with Azzaro Sport, and that's exactly why the fragrance is well-suited for a workout: For 1.5 - 2 hours, you can perceive the scent well without "annoying" others nearby.
All in all, Azzaro's "Sport" is a pleasant fragrance that lives up to its name more than adequately.
In my opinion, a fragrance that can be worn, for example, at the gym should fundamentally meet the following criteria: It should bring a certain freshness and not be too noticeable, especially regarding the sillage.
The Azzaro Sport meets these criteria very well.
The Azzaro Sport has a fresh scent profile that personally reminds me of "Fierce" by A&F or "Absolutely Dark" by Zara.
I don't perceive individual scent notes, but rather a general freshness that is consistently present in the fragrance.
The longevity and sillage are not particularly pronounced with Azzaro Sport, and that's exactly why the fragrance is well-suited for a workout: For 1.5 - 2 hours, you can perceive the scent well without "annoying" others nearby.
All in all, Azzaro's "Sport" is a pleasant fragrance that lives up to its name more than adequately.
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The Notably Unobtrusive Paco
Paco Rabanne (now simply "Rabanne") is known for "loud," sweet fragrances that definitely attract attention, such as 1 Million, Invictus, or Pure XS.
However, there was also a phase when this brand released more understated scents, and "Paco" comes from that time.
Paco is a fresh-citrus fragrance that also features a tea note, which remains subtly in the background.
The scent stays consistently citrusy after application, and there isn't a significant development in the fragrance. However, "Paco" doesn't need that, as the beautiful combination of citrus and tea note is extremely pleasant.
The longevity isn't particularly long; after 3-4 hours, the fragrance is no longer really noticeable.
The sillage is also not very pronounced and is noticeably more discreet than one would expect from fragrances by Rabanne.
The bottle has a unique feature: the cardboard outer packaging holds the aluminum bottle. This means the bottle doesn't have an independent cap but shares a cap (also made of aluminum) with the outer packaging. It's quite an interesting concept, but personally, I don't find it very appealing.
In terms of price, Paco is around €25-30, and it is often available during sales in drugstores. For what it offers, it's quite reasonable.
Thus, Paco is a lovely reminder of a time when Paco Rabanne still released subtle and reserved fragrances.
However, there was also a phase when this brand released more understated scents, and "Paco" comes from that time.
Paco is a fresh-citrus fragrance that also features a tea note, which remains subtly in the background.
The scent stays consistently citrusy after application, and there isn't a significant development in the fragrance. However, "Paco" doesn't need that, as the beautiful combination of citrus and tea note is extremely pleasant.
The longevity isn't particularly long; after 3-4 hours, the fragrance is no longer really noticeable.
The sillage is also not very pronounced and is noticeably more discreet than one would expect from fragrances by Rabanne.
The bottle has a unique feature: the cardboard outer packaging holds the aluminum bottle. This means the bottle doesn't have an independent cap but shares a cap (also made of aluminum) with the outer packaging. It's quite an interesting concept, but personally, I don't find it very appealing.
In terms of price, Paco is around €25-30, and it is often available during sales in drugstores. For what it offers, it's quite reasonable.
Thus, Paco is a lovely reminder of a time when Paco Rabanne still released subtle and reserved fragrances.
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Câline at Its Best
In my opinion, Infinite Navy is the best fragrance from Câline for men, and I would like to explain why in this review.
The Infinite Navy takes inspiration from a very well-known men’s fragrance, namely Le Mâle by Jean Paul Gaultier. Over the years, Le Mâle has changed significantly: from a room-filling beast mode scent to a lighter, fresher fragrance with a hint of oriental flair.
Infinite Navy is more aligned with the older formulations of Le Mâle. Accordingly, Infinite Navy has a sweeter opening, dominated by cinnamon, vanilla, and tonka bean. However, the sweetness is somewhat tempered by the fresher scent accents coming from bergamot, mint, and lavender.
Over time, the fresher notes settle down, and the sweetness becomes more pronounced; towards the end, I personally mainly perceive a very lovely vanilla note.
Regarding longevity, it can be said that Infinite Navy has a decent performance: even after 7 hours, I could still perceive the scent relatively well on my clothing.
The sillage is also completely acceptable, as it is not room-filling, but the fragrance is still noticeable from a distance.
The bottle design appeals to me greatly, as it looks simple and elegant and is also well-made.
The price-performance ratio is very good, as you can often get Infinite Navy for under €5 during sales and with the use of coupons. I can hardly think of a fragrance that offers such quality for the price.
Conclusion: Infinite Navy does not need to hide behind its predecessor, as it offers a variation of Le Mâle that is no longer available today. Additionally, since it can also showcase better performance than other fragrances from Câline, it is personally the best fragrance of the brand for me.
The Infinite Navy takes inspiration from a very well-known men’s fragrance, namely Le Mâle by Jean Paul Gaultier. Over the years, Le Mâle has changed significantly: from a room-filling beast mode scent to a lighter, fresher fragrance with a hint of oriental flair.
Infinite Navy is more aligned with the older formulations of Le Mâle. Accordingly, Infinite Navy has a sweeter opening, dominated by cinnamon, vanilla, and tonka bean. However, the sweetness is somewhat tempered by the fresher scent accents coming from bergamot, mint, and lavender.
Over time, the fresher notes settle down, and the sweetness becomes more pronounced; towards the end, I personally mainly perceive a very lovely vanilla note.
Regarding longevity, it can be said that Infinite Navy has a decent performance: even after 7 hours, I could still perceive the scent relatively well on my clothing.
The sillage is also completely acceptable, as it is not room-filling, but the fragrance is still noticeable from a distance.
The bottle design appeals to me greatly, as it looks simple and elegant and is also well-made.
The price-performance ratio is very good, as you can often get Infinite Navy for under €5 during sales and with the use of coupons. I can hardly think of a fragrance that offers such quality for the price.
Conclusion: Infinite Navy does not need to hide behind its predecessor, as it offers a variation of Le Mâle that is no longer available today. Additionally, since it can also showcase better performance than other fragrances from Câline, it is personally the best fragrance of the brand for me.
