Schnüfflbart

Coming of age in the late 80s, I suddenly felt the need to express myself olfactorily. At first, I started with cheap scents like "Denim," but later I eyed Drakkar Noir and this very Salvatore Tacchini. The bottle had the same angular design as the interiors of Alfas and Fiats of the time, and just as much cheap plastic used. But oh, how grown-up I felt when I wore the fragrance.... fresh, clean, soapy, and confident. A white polo shirt is a must here!

I suspect our parents would have wished we were as decent as Salvatore was back then.

And now, a few decades later, my current bottle is running low. Perhaps it's the nostalgic, idealized view, but I remember it being louder and more potent. The performance has likely suffered a bit due to reformulations as well. But it’s still lovely, with its fresh and green-spicy opening and how it becomes creamier and more floral towards the end.

The bottle is truly a horror, but the price is mild. Still, I probably won't buy it again. At some point, you have to let go. And for those really intense nostalgia moments, I still have Rabanne pour Homme.

Thank you, Salvatore, for the beautiful memories!

Huh... I find it hard to categorize this scent.

I really liked the black "Rave Now" with its potent pineapple and beautifully creamy drydown. The synthetic notes were also kept in check for my nose with the black Rave Now.

Rave Now Intense is a completely different story. The fragrances are not even remotely similar, as can already be inferred from the fragrance pyramid. However, I find the synthetic notes in this scent quite intense at the beginning.

The top notes list cucumber, tangerine, and watermelon. If you're expecting a watery-fresh opening like Nautica's Voyage, you'll first get a harsh slap in the face.
The scent is not aquatic, blue, or citrusy for me at the opening, but rather fresh-spicy in a piercing way. I can't detect anything citrusy. I can only briefly identify a very synthetic cucumber note and a faint hint of watermelon, which is overshadowed by indefinable spice notes. It could be the sage that then takes over in the heart note, but it already leaves its first piercing impression in the top note. The opening definitely comes across as medicinal-synthetic to me.

Then, very quickly, the mentioned sage and a light basil note emerge. Again, it does not come across as pleasant or rounded at all. The sage hits the olfactory bulb uncomfortably and is then accompanied by something dark-sweet that could indeed be, as DiCaprio noted in his statement, praline. Here, the scent vaguely reminds me of Haltane by Parfums de Marly.

The scent progression is quite confusing for me. Because now, as it transitions into the base note, the scent actually becomes subtly fresh-blue paired with something green-spicy. The scent is definitely more pleasant in this phase than at the beginning. The woody notes take over in the end and let a hint of blue freshness and green-aromatic notes ride the wave until the scent bids farewell. I only catch a whiff of leather if I stick my nose to the sprayed area.

I find the performance below average. The sillage is very modest throughout the entire progression, and the longevity is about 4 hours for me. I understand "Intense" to mean something different...

Personally, I don't like the bottles of the Rave Now line. They are quite bulky and don't feel particularly high-quality. The spray head also works more poorly than well. What speaks for this scent is the price: you can usually get 100ml for under 20 bucks. That's very cheap.

In summary, Rave Now Intense is a budget-friendly scent with an interesting scent progression, but the piercing synthetic top and heart notes must first be overcome. After that, in the base note, it is a quite nice but unremarkable scent. The performance is modest. The suitable occasions for me would be spring/fall or on cooler summer days in leisure time. I wouldn't wear it in the heat or while exercising.

One final note on similarity: among the suggestions, LNDH Bleu Electrique is listed. I can attest to zero (zero, nil, cero, nul, nolla) similarity between these two scents. But that's just how noses are different.

This fragrance was part of a bundle of 20 bottles that I had won in an auction. After reading the reviews and statements, and since I had already tested the OG Acqua Essenziale (which I found rather uninspired), my expectations for "Blu" were quite low. I was pleasantly surprised.

Blu is not a revelation, but a well-made "blue" fragrance that stands out from the crowd of other blue scents (and the OG). Yes, it opens citrus-fresh and slightly aquatic, but it also has a subtly sweet note. The cardamom adds an interesting twist that I don't know from other blue cheapies.

In the heart note, it becomes a bit woody, and in the drydown, the tonka bean delivers a solid performance. Yes, it is somewhat synthetic, but by no means as intense as other blue fragrances in the same price category, which sometimes resemble each other like eggs (hello shower gel!).

Due to the woody and sweet scent progression, this fragrance is more suitable for those over 30 and is one that works well on a lovely summer evening, but also makes a good impression in the office.

The sillage is decent for a fragrance of this type at first. The biggest drawback is the longevity, which for me is rather meager at about 3-4 hours. After that, it is only perceivable as a skin scent.
[EDIT:] Upon wearing it again, I noticed a slightly better performance. It was still subtly detectable after 5 hours. On the day of the review, either my nose or the fragrance on my skin had a performance issue. It is still not a performance beast, but now it is in good company with other freshies. Therefore, I adjusted the review and rating. [:EDIT]

The bottle is okay, but nothing special: straightforward, thick glass with a nice color gradient and an uninspired but heavy cap. The spray head is average.

Acqua Essenziale Blu is not a run-of-the-mill freshie for me, but a decent blue fragrance with its own twist that will accompany me on summer evenings from now on.

I like Limoncello, the sugary-citrusy shot that is served during or after a multi-course Italian dinner. And I like this scent from Ganso. In Helsinki (of all places!) I received this fragrance as a small sample. A few months later, it was in use by the Mediterranean at 23 degrees in the evening.

The fragrance opens with the expected lemon note, which is quite strong but not sharp. However, something warm and woody quickly joins in. I couldn't perceive the floral notes. Over time, it becomes creamy, probably due to the vanilla. It has a good sillage and remains noticeable for about 4-5 hours.

I found it particularly suitable in the evening hours at temperatures between 20 and 25. In greater heat, I probably wouldn't wear it because of the creamy base note, but that's just my personal preference.

The fragrance is definitely not a sharp citrus monster but rather lemon cream in a wooden bowl, soft, pleasing, and approachable. For me, it's definitely a candidate for the next summer vacation by the Mediterranean. I would wear it in the evening when the sun is slowly setting and the shimmering heat subsides.

Once again, I’m testing a fragrance that I purchased in a bundle. I was a bit skeptical when spraying it on and... as expected, a synthetic shower gel scent hit me first. My wife, who came into the room shortly after, asked if I had just come out of the shower. So it does have projection, at least at the beginning.

It’s a fresh and synthetic scent that will surely work well in the summer. My wife even liked it quite a bit. Indeed: you smell like you’ve just showered, which is never a bad thing. But it’s not exactly exciting.

After spraying it on, I actually got a bit of Invictus vibes from the sweet-fresh synthetic notes. That subsides after a while, and the scent becomes a bit softer and slightly woody. I must admit that I don’t recognize any of the notes listed in the fragrance pyramid. To me, it’s all synthetic mush. Contrary to some comments, the scent thankfully never turned musty on me.

The longevity is about 4 hours, after which it can really only be detected by putting your nose to the skin (but even then, after 8 hours). The projection is quite decent in the first 30-60 minutes.

I find the Eternity bottles rather bulky and unappealing. However, the sky-blue glass looks quite nice here and fits the theme of "Air."

Conclusion: if you like Invictus and are looking for something that projects less and evaporates quicker, you might be quite satisfied with this fragrance. I believe the 100ml bottles can now be found for under 30 bucks, which is quite reasonable for a fresh gym scent.