JavSantana

I had tried this fragrance once in a Sears store, and i have to way i was surprised with what i had smelled, bearing in mind that the EDT was a generic shower gel fragrance, while the EDP held pretty much no relation to that at all, while retaining an easy to like character but a more interesting aura around it, with rich suede, amber, powdery notes and certain liquor - spices feel.

I finally decided to buy the fragrance with a recent payment i got and got my bottle in the mail a couple of days ago. This is what i smelled:

The Icon EDP starts off with a bright grapefruit and black pepper combo, which, in the context of this fragrance, might give a slight liquor impression, along lavender. I frankly don't smell much (If not at all) its green notes of cypress or juniper.

In the heart, a hyperrealistic suede accord and an iris note appear, while its base holds amber, woods and slight earth tones. It is quite musky and slightly animalic given the suede note, which literally smells like a new, very fine, suede jacket. It's like wearing a suede jacket all of the time and the other notes come into play over it, like the powdery iris, the slight sweetness of amber / benzoin, and the wood and earth tones from patchouli and vetiver, while the pepper also remains for a very good part of the evolution of the fragrance. By the way, for the first half an hour or an hour of the fragrance, it will be very similar to Gentleman EDT from '17, while its drydown resembles more closely Gentleman EDP, given the amber, vanillic, resinous, slightly earthy and powdery accords.

It's great for a classy, young man's scent, who wants to smell different to modern stuff, while retaining a relatively modern and "fresh" aura.

Its performance is average, with a subtle projection. However, sprayed on clothing, it will perform much better with less sprays. The opening is a bit synthetic, but i don't think it is particularly artificial smelling. For a point of reference, Givenchy Gentleman EDT from 2017 is very similar to it, overall smell and synthetic - wise.

Great for dates, winter and fall wear, and such. Good for formal wear as well. Overall a very good value for the price i paid, around 30 USD, it can easily compete scent and performance - wise with fragrance of the likes of Givenchy and Carolina Herrera, for half their price.

Benetton is one of the lower tier brands of Puig, producer of brands such as Paco Rabanne, Carolina Herrera and Jean Paul Gaultier, to name the few. Yet, this fragrance is a solid release. Here's why.

Opens up with citrus and spice nuances. Its drydown holds leather, vanilla, amber, wood notes, where oud is dominant. It's naturally a synthetic oud but that doesn't mean is bad. It feels quite animalic, medicinal, and almost as a farm stable, while mantaining the sweetness and smooth aura of the vanilla notes, and the slight leather character. Spices add warmth and complexity to the fragrance. And the smell it creates it's just a warm, leathery, spicy, slightly animalic, creamy oud scent. Its performance is very solid, and for its price, even better. Some say it can be used in summer and such but for some reason, i consider it best to wear it in the late fall and throught the winter. For christmas and new year's eve i find it a great scent, some of the best money can buy, and even better being this cheap. For a christmas scent, also great. You nailed it, Benetton

Bottom line: Great value for price. Greetings

I have tried this fragrance a few times. It is indeed very nice scent - wise. Its evolution is the following:

Opens up with aromatic and citrus nuances, which instantly dry down into a huge amber accord. Does feel heavily balsamic, ambery, slightly sweet, heavily resinous, and it also posseses a present, earthy patchouli note to add a bit more complexity to the scent.

Its performance is good, while not being a beast mode by any means. For a good amber scent (Winter - forward) highly recommended. I prefer its older brother the classic Colors Man Black, an oud - forward fragrance which i personally find more suited to my taste and warmer feeling.

PD: I do find it quite close to Gentleman Reserve Privee by Givenchy, just with less nuances, lacks the whisky and such, but the drydown of both is pretty much the same. Greetings

I tried this fragrance in my local Sears store. I walked in and saw that in the Ralph Lauren stand there was no more the classic Polo bottle. Rather a more refined looking one that stated "Oud". I asked for them to let me try it and this is what i smelled:

It has nothing in common with the original Polo from 1978, or in its defect, it's as if we compared two paintings that portray or picture the same image but in completely different styles. While Polo from '78 is constructed in a leather / woody chypre style, Polo Oud is a modern leather / oud / spices scent, closer to the likes of Givenchy Gentleman EDP, Benetton's Colors Man Black and Black Intenso, Bentley For Men, Ferrari's Essence Oud, and finally, Antonio Banderas' The Icon EDP.

It opens up with slight citrus and aromatic nuances, but it's just a slight bright opening that almost immediately passes to a heart bouquet of rose and a dominant cinnamon, and its base consists of oud, a slight leather feel (Not that it has leather, but oud usually feels quite leather forward) and amber / vanilla nuances, even though not declared, since modern day releases mention 10 notes but have a hundred ingredients to them that can only be deconstructed or understood by perfumers or chemists.

Anyway, it feels christmasy and warm. However, i do find it a bit overpriced since it is a new release. I do consider it some of the best releases of the last 5 years or so. And i do find it much more oriental - leaning than some of its similars i mentioned previously, which do lean much more into an "occidental" compilation of aromas than this Polo Oud. Gentleman feels as a classic french perfumery that uses materials from around the globe. Bentley is purely occidental as well since evoques liquors aged in wooden casks much in the style of european tradition, same for its bark tanned leather note, much different to the urine - treated leather from the middle east. Polo Oud, on the other side, might recall an oriental oud attar with rose notes and a present cinnamon, much signature of the oriental side of things.

Bottom line: If you have the means to buy it, not a bad fragrance by any means. Very good performance. Great for a Xmas gift this year. Blessings

In the greek myth, Antaeus, a giant, son of Poseidon, obtained his power from the earth itself, and he had an unlimited amount of it as long as he touched the ground.

Jacques Polge created this fragrance bearing that in mind, inside the woody chypre family and in the style of classic masculines back in the day, as Polo from RL (A Polo light years away from the current one) Oscar de la Renta Pour Lui, Aramis, Givenchy Gentleman and so on.

Antaeus' opening presents potent citrus and herbal nuances, typical of the chypre family, as freshly cut, juicy and aromatic lemons and bergamots. In the heart presents other aromatic notes such as thyme, basil, coriander and sage, (Which in my opinion are not noticeable in the opening since the citrus blast overwhelms any other) and i also note a floral bouquet, mainly of rose. Its drydown consists of smoky, slightly musky castoreum, a resinoid amber accord between myrrh and labdanum, and present nuances of oakmoss and patchouli, making it a chypre through and through.

Its aroma from the heart to the drydown to me smells like freshly shaven masculine skin with a touch of citrus peel, red roses, firewood smoke and a slight sweet balsamic from the amber. Even though many consider it as a unisex leaning fragrance, i don't think so, not my cup of tea. Is not to sound misogynous but i would dislike heavily a female wearing this. Why? Well, females usually don't reek of smoke, herbs, oakmoss and freshly shaven manly skin...

Bottom line: One of the chypres in best shape from this era. Polo has been heavily tamed down. Antaeus retains quite a bit more power. Greetings