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The smell of my youth
This is where it all started for me. Growing up on the island of Malta in the 1980s, there wasn't the culture of cologne. For men of all ages, cologne was reserved for special occasions only (i.e. Aramis Classic). On the daily, men wore aftershave. Old men wore barbershop: mostly Brut (talcy lavender) and Tabac (musky floral). Young men wore Denim (spicy powerhouse) due to a massive advertising campaign from the neighboring Italy. The tagline roughly translated to "for the man who never has to ask for [sex]" ...not very PC by today's standards. As a result, I'm wired to associate barbershop with gentlemanly scents, and powerhouses with manly scents.
Denim is the smell of my youth. I frequently pick it as my SOTD over fragrances that cost over 10 times more. I'll always have a bottle in my collection. With that disclaimer out of the way, on to the review.
The opening of Denim Original is a fresh burst of spicy citrus, musky soap, and to my nose also a honey accord. The dry-down is less citrusy but woodier. Not a modern smell, but given its manly freshness, it might be easy for young men to pull off. As with all my other fragrances, this is not something you wear for external gratification, this is one you wear to please yourself.
I never got the fabled hours and hours of performance from Denim aftershave and the same goes for the EDT. But given its ridiculously low price-tag, I'll forgive the 1 hour of projection, low sillage, and 3-4 hours of longevity.
Masculinity Level: Steve McQueen in Bullitt, effortless cool.
Denim is the smell of my youth. I frequently pick it as my SOTD over fragrances that cost over 10 times more. I'll always have a bottle in my collection. With that disclaimer out of the way, on to the review.
The opening of Denim Original is a fresh burst of spicy citrus, musky soap, and to my nose also a honey accord. The dry-down is less citrusy but woodier. Not a modern smell, but given its manly freshness, it might be easy for young men to pull off. As with all my other fragrances, this is not something you wear for external gratification, this is one you wear to please yourself.
I never got the fabled hours and hours of performance from Denim aftershave and the same goes for the EDT. But given its ridiculously low price-tag, I'll forgive the 1 hour of projection, low sillage, and 3-4 hours of longevity.
Masculinity Level: Steve McQueen in Bullitt, effortless cool.
Doesn't live up to its tough name
The bottle is a work of art.
The name Vendetta conjures up visions of Mafia executions.
...So what is the first masculine fragrance from the house of Valentino like?
Despite the name, there's nothing edgy or dangerous here - it's actually quite light. Vendetta opens with a remarkable aldehydic blast of bergamot, basil, and coriander, and that lingers for quite a while. A smooth, warm cinnamon note appears soon after. The dry-down is equal parts cinnamon, patchouli, oakmoss, and leather... Basically Valentino played it safe, making a lighter, more refined version of Halston Z-14 which by then had already been around for 2 decades.
Projection and longevity are moderate, so naturally I spray the bejeezus out of it. This aromatic is light enough to use on hot Mediterranean Summer nights.
Masculinity Level: It doesn't live up to its tough name. More like Michael Caine in Alfie, than Get Carter.
The name Vendetta conjures up visions of Mafia executions.
...So what is the first masculine fragrance from the house of Valentino like?
Despite the name, there's nothing edgy or dangerous here - it's actually quite light. Vendetta opens with a remarkable aldehydic blast of bergamot, basil, and coriander, and that lingers for quite a while. A smooth, warm cinnamon note appears soon after. The dry-down is equal parts cinnamon, patchouli, oakmoss, and leather... Basically Valentino played it safe, making a lighter, more refined version of Halston Z-14 which by then had already been around for 2 decades.
Projection and longevity are moderate, so naturally I spray the bejeezus out of it. This aromatic is light enough to use on hot Mediterranean Summer nights.
Masculinity Level: It doesn't live up to its tough name. More like Michael Caine in Alfie, than Get Carter.
Cheapest bottle in my collection, but far from the worst
I used the Vetyver "deodorant spray EDT" extensively back in the day, but needed Scents of South Jersey on YouTube to point out the existence of the proper EDT. For the €6 it costs, I was expecting a super synthetic mess. Well, is it?
This is surprisingly pleasant, masculine, and dry, quite linear throughout with citrus, pine, and smoky vetiver. There might be more, but that's all I get. It's basically a clone of modern Dunhill Edition; not to be confused with vintage Dunhill Edition which was complex and long-lasting.
Performance of Malizia is moderate at best, but just as bad as the current watered-down Dunhill Edition, which costs at least 4 times more, making Malizia a much better bang for buck.
The bottle is tall with a narrow footprint and topples easily, but thankfully it's very light so a domino effect with larger bottles is unlikely to happen. It only comes in 50ml, so you can tell it's made to be chucked into a gym bag or beach bag, which explains why the bottle is so bloody hideous. I'll definitely place it at the very back of the display shelf. In a box. Hidden inside a false bottom drawer.
Masculinity Level: Brad Pitt as the ex green beret in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
This is surprisingly pleasant, masculine, and dry, quite linear throughout with citrus, pine, and smoky vetiver. There might be more, but that's all I get. It's basically a clone of modern Dunhill Edition; not to be confused with vintage Dunhill Edition which was complex and long-lasting.
Performance of Malizia is moderate at best, but just as bad as the current watered-down Dunhill Edition, which costs at least 4 times more, making Malizia a much better bang for buck.
The bottle is tall with a narrow footprint and topples easily, but thankfully it's very light so a domino effect with larger bottles is unlikely to happen. It only comes in 50ml, so you can tell it's made to be chucked into a gym bag or beach bag, which explains why the bottle is so bloody hideous. I'll definitely place it at the very back of the display shelf. In a box. Hidden inside a false bottom drawer.
Masculinity Level: Brad Pitt as the ex green beret in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
Snake Head Love
The aggressive snake head design of the bottle is 80s to the core, but this isn't what I'm wired to consider an uber masculine powerhouse.
The opening is all about an aldehydic rose and jasmine taming the animalic honey accord. In the dry-down oakmoss and patchouli appear to help keep the musk and civet in check, which they do beautifully. There are dozens of notes in this that my nose couldn't possibly pick up. There is an element of sweetness in Iquitos, but it is pleasant without ever becoming cloying.
Projection is very good in the first hour and a half, and longevity is good on my skin. I also have the aftershave and its performance is way above average by aftershave standards. Such quality is highly unusual in a celebrity fragrance - the only other one I enjoy and own is Pavarotti For Men. Well worth the hype.
Masculinity Level: Tony Montana after hitting it big, before his inevitable downfall.
The opening is all about an aldehydic rose and jasmine taming the animalic honey accord. In the dry-down oakmoss and patchouli appear to help keep the musk and civet in check, which they do beautifully. There are dozens of notes in this that my nose couldn't possibly pick up. There is an element of sweetness in Iquitos, but it is pleasant without ever becoming cloying.
Projection is very good in the first hour and a half, and longevity is good on my skin. I also have the aftershave and its performance is way above average by aftershave standards. Such quality is highly unusual in a celebrity fragrance - the only other one I enjoy and own is Pavarotti For Men. Well worth the hype.
Masculinity Level: Tony Montana after hitting it big, before his inevitable downfall.
As old school as it gets
This is my late grandfather's big ol' 220ml splash bottle from the early 80s. He used Brut aftershave every day and I assume Old Brown on formal occasions, since he only used half the bottle in 40 years. I don't know much about the Parera brand, apart that it is famous in Spain and some Latin American countries mostly for producing a cologne called Varon Dandy, which nowadays is the object of ridicule much like Old Spice is elsewhere.
Although this bottle of Old Brown was initially exposed to air decades ago, only some of the bergamot in the juice seems to be missing. Everything else seems to be intact: lavender, clary sage, a lot of florals like geranium, rose, jasmine, and a hefty dose of musk. When I first smelled this, the concoction of jasmine and heavy, dirty musk felt too sweaty and pissy to me. For a long while, more than a perfume, this smelled more like something a wild animal would use to mark its territory. So, on my shelf it remained, untouched, waiting for that very rare occasion when I would want to smell like a toilet bowl. Thankfully, now that my olfactory is more experienced, I can appreciate Old Brown for the old-school gentlemanly floral fragrance that it is, and don't keep it solely for sentimental reasons... though I won't wear it often. For reference, it's like a stronger Maurer & Wirtz Tabac Original EDC, not my cup of tea.
Projection in the first hour and a half is good. Longevity is easily over 8 hours. If you overspray, you'll regret it. It certainly is not the type of juice you want to *splash* on yourself, so I decant into a 30ml bottle with atomizer.
Masculinity Level: If you had asked me a while back I would have said Evan McGregor crawling out of the worst toilet in Scotland. But with my newfound appreciation for it, I will go with Michael Caine in Get Carter.
Although this bottle of Old Brown was initially exposed to air decades ago, only some of the bergamot in the juice seems to be missing. Everything else seems to be intact: lavender, clary sage, a lot of florals like geranium, rose, jasmine, and a hefty dose of musk. When I first smelled this, the concoction of jasmine and heavy, dirty musk felt too sweaty and pissy to me. For a long while, more than a perfume, this smelled more like something a wild animal would use to mark its territory. So, on my shelf it remained, untouched, waiting for that very rare occasion when I would want to smell like a toilet bowl. Thankfully, now that my olfactory is more experienced, I can appreciate Old Brown for the old-school gentlemanly floral fragrance that it is, and don't keep it solely for sentimental reasons... though I won't wear it often. For reference, it's like a stronger Maurer & Wirtz Tabac Original EDC, not my cup of tea.
Projection in the first hour and a half is good. Longevity is easily over 8 hours. If you overspray, you'll regret it. It certainly is not the type of juice you want to *splash* on yourself, so I decant into a 30ml bottle with atomizer.
Masculinity Level: If you had asked me a while back I would have said Evan McGregor crawling out of the worst toilet in Scotland. But with my newfound appreciation for it, I will go with Michael Caine in Get Carter.
