Fragrance Reviews by ortho123

In my first reviews for Basenotes I have been more concerned with so-called everyday scents. Old Spice IMO is perhaps THE everyday scent for men. It is also IMO much less age specific than most scents and may I say, that while noting from memory differences in the reformulation, these differences do not detract, and as at least one reviewer stated, may for some be preffered. Interestingly I have noted, the use of the new High Endurance deodorant actually brings back more of the deeper spice of the original formula. In fact it was wearing ONLY the deodorant on my way out the house that my wife without prompting or being questioned "responded positively" and why I picked up yet another bottle of the after shave the same night at the local supermarket.

Yes, things that sound "pedestrian." I too have known people with money who wore Old Spice! One was the owner of a number of medical clinics in Asia. And I have also walked down the street and smelled Fahrenheit and Dolce Gabbana on teens and Polo on the unemployed.

If the notion of a worthy scent did not include the proviso "go easy on the application" how many scents would be in the database on this website?

Here you have the intial freshness, before "fresh" was a category, of a citrus/faint soapiness that is very soon a floral, and the spice which I agree is not the "Old" clove depth of memory but enough casual smokiness in the drydown, more in the cologne than the after shave, and remarkably in the High Endurance deodorant. The vanilla does come through (even on a used and closed bottle). I have no major complaints about the new plastic bottle.

Yes, in defiance of the overpriced, hyped and the "trying too hard" that many young men and yes even "less younger" men seem to manifest, especially those of the last two generations, and yes, in defiance of the aquatics, mostly indistingushable and TRULY generic with only 1 or 2 exceptions, and if in search of a mass market scent as different as you are (don't care about the cliche), and I will say this also, if you are looking for a somewhat complex scent that evolves even in the reformulation (could we have at least a one week moratorium on this word!)... I recommend Old Spice in the same way that I would recommend the more recent affordable and yes, worthy vodkas.

You can "age it" or wear it straight from the supermarket, still one of the best places to meet women (for the unmarried).

This is an an incredible scent which, thanks to even more recent introuctions such as Pi IMO achieves a status that might be called meta-everyday. Why? Though now a budget scent, in its intentions, especially as a cologne that quickly becomes a base of tonka/heliotrope powder, it achieves an admirable linearity. That's right, linear is not a bad thing and maybe a better alternative to one of the many generic aquatics (except for Blue Label and Bulgari Aqua).

Yes, my wife just picked me up a 9.95 set on the way to the check out, not because she's cheap, but after some time this is the kind of scent (with these intentions as well) which we both like very much.

Wearing and loving the classic Canoes proves this journey is indeed somewhat spiritual. Interesting that someone of foetidus' stature began their own journey with the still remarkable Canoe.

Got this for a gift over over 20 years ago and then picked up it (the cologne) in 2006. There is a Japanese after shave that is a direct ripoff of this scent.

For me, too much of this isn't clean at all but cloying. Put it on kind of light and this is really nice stuff, beyond simply "inoffensive" but a classic.

I have to say though, that while initially a clean scent the overall effect for me can sometimes push the sense of calming/nostalgia into a kind of sadness. I do not wear it myself anymore but recommend it. Maybe like others have said it is better for cooler weather, and I do notice that it is the after shave that gets most frequent mention.... not only on this forum but on on others.

Another well after shave made by Gilette! Not too easily found at least in my area... except at Pathmark.

Yes, after comparing Burberry in its engineering to not simply a scent a carsalesman would wear (or a youthful thug) but intrnsically a kind of carsalesman, intrinsically "queasy" and teetering, a review inspired by Storm Force, believe it or not... a review of Storm Force itself.

There is an initial fruit smell which for lack of a better reference is like melon/banana which gave me a brief but intense olfactory memory of Alain Delon. That first blunt force of Storm Force does not persist. There is a glimpse of mint freshness, not overwhelming, less teetering and some vanilla surrounded in wood.

The first 20 minutes of this long lasting scent are not the best for me. Thoughts of wanting just Pi by Givenchy

But it's worth the wait. For me, this is a more wearable scent than Burberry, with even better hints of incense, perhaps the occasional calculus of this $6 after shave.

Yes, I could smell this everywhere for awhile and frankly, in some ways, I find it more nauseating than a sweet fragrance like Pi (which I very much admire). What Aqua di Gio is to floral/citrus, this scent is to oriental, a kind of teetering between sincere wood/spice and yes annoying fruit/mint notes, just like a car salesman, who also, when the moment is right, turns on the charm and tries to be somewhat "seductive."

For those who would like to try a cheaper alternative, go to Pathmark and check out Storm Force, a $6 after shave definitely inspired by Burberry. Some may like it better.

2 reviews in one? No, I would never do that.

With M7 (and Rive Gauche) a dialectic is established with the industry and deservedly do. BUT do I need or particularly enjoy this dialiectic? I have to also laugh at highly bankrolled advertising campaigns in the name of so-called bravery.

Bottom line, I am beginning to become a reviewer (part of my spiritual journey?) more in the school of Sir Slanty of Basenotes...

M7 for me is not the "medicine" for today's market that is alternately praised (with provisos) by even its admirers. Special occasions? For me, that would be once.

Someone who's working is not automatically a millionaire for being in the same room with the unemployed.

There is something more emasculating about this cologne than even so-called sweet scents. It remains for me ungrounded... like so much of what is now called "culture." But it is not so much masculine or femine here. I consider AdG an insincere scent, ergo it's popularity? One I don't have to think about? After all, there's that close-up black and white photograph...

No. It is not "overrrated." It is overpurchased.

I too do not consider it an "aquatic" but more like the floral vapor state bees or birds experience on a hot day after the rain.

If this is popular especially with young ladies, it enables them to have sex while maintainiing the delusion on some level that they have never known a man or perhaps, on another level, that they have been with a close female friend.

Shame on you Aqua di Gio!

Moderation, yeah, yeah, yeah and a cologne I have personally witnessed women notice and love on the right man passing by, leaving me, yes, feeling suprisingly too old to benefit from this classic? Maybe not.

I had the opportunity to sample the Classiic (now discontinued) but perhaps it had not been properly stored. Less of the sparkle and richness I remembered from 1979, the year I was given a gift set? The mediterranean adjective applied to that lotion, not to the new more linear barbershopish at times green plastic bottle cologne. But let me say this: still deserving of praise, the new Brut still capable of getting the job done and worthy of at least one more first place award in the Basenotes mass market category. And yes, an ever-so-careful application, a smeared dime-drop for the sake of new magic.

Hands down the best cologne value available today! This is one I would wear if I were in my 20's again with a total disregard for current fashion dictates. One shot!

Ditto for all the positive reviews including those which challenge reviewers who heap derision on Quorum.

This cologne is really a kind of Latin Polo (green). Less complex, more raw to be sure, A lesser cologne than Polo? Sure, I'll agree to that since Polo becomes a kind of oriental But this Latin Polo is no pollo (chicken) and will not compensate for one's own personal lack of confidence. Though basically a fan and aware of the freshness becoming spiciness (on the verge of athetic spice?) of this juice, the drydown leads me to use it less these days simply because my own tastes are changing and feel less a need to make a statement.

Let me say: I recommend it one or two shots, especially for expressing an already present sense of attitude.

I gave this one a try again. I have to say I liked it and would recommend it BUT my recommendation applies mostly to the after shave which is smoother, not simply lighter, more balanced. This is one of those light/heavy scents IMO where moderation is defintely the best policy. Too much, especially on the chest, a somewhat cloying depressing effect.

Clean, retro with a drydown much less outdated than many other classics. At $15 dollars for an 8 oz. shave?

I remember even way back when prefering the All-Purpose Lotion.

I wore this fairly recently, received female compliments as they say and even wore it, for the first time, with a light one shot application on a hot day to the beach where it held up with a kind of spicy, lotion effect (before the sunscreen).

In the final analysis, not for me. I do pick up the slightly sleazy (dandyistic?) vibe of this cologne with a lot of included notes making it at least for me a kind of cologne for the undecided who want a masculine scent. Frankly it made me remember the old Ted Lapidus (red plasic/ amber bottle) yes, a stronger more linear scent which I would prefer even now.

Overall, comparisons to Santos aside, I would recommend it for its price/quality ratio. For me, it achieves a kind of generic effect, not for the way it smells but for its intentions.

With more than one spray, yes 1, this classic yields not only one of the most over the top openings but a cologne with a drydown that is for me a nauseating, depressing meltdown. Blame it on the rosemary? Remorse following pleasure seeking? This cologne easily boasts before the fact.

Sure, like so many other men, I have worn this cologne and felt "great" at certain points while wearing it, but the overall sensation was not that pleasing.

Trying it again just the other day with my lady at my side, I realized that while I could like it, even wear it again, it would require a one spray proviso and even then, in the back of my mind that sense that maybe things would turn bad.

Believe me, I "get it" when it comes to this classic and I have puchased it more than once, even in recent years, a kind of default purchase each time. But the last time I owned it, I thought maybe I had left it in my car too long in the heat or maybe the store was selling old stock.

What I like about Blue Label is precisely how easy it is to wear, the "nothing spectacular" quality, which, at the same time, manages to "distinguish itself." I too declared war on aquatics even in my review of Agua Lavanda. For me, at least, I zeroed in on piercing qualities of allegedly fresh scents as well as indirectly cloying possibilities of "light scents."

On my skin. Blue Label is truly a scent I would wear casually or even on my wedding day (I'm not joking), not simply because it "does not offend," but because, and someone said this in a review of another cologne I can't remember, "that's just what you were looking for." The scent for me is like an evolving tea, very balanced, somewhat sexy, very real. It's is a young scent with undeniable elements of maturity, the kind of being in the here and now variety of being a man.

Yes, this review abounds with quotes (Basenotes standrards) the way Blue Label selectively quotes and balances some of the notes from Givenchy's Red Label and yes, the way the way the fresh scent designation invites plagiarism. May I also say I'm not looking these days for powerhouse sillage to feel like a man or longevity that would survive 7 hours of sleep and the laundrymat. Most of life including people is "comparable." Has that stopped anyone here from speaking about vetivers, powdery scents, bay rums... or from falling in love? Yes, no more television until the next Shakespeare! No more love!

Don't be too quick not to fall in love with this light yet grounded scent just because, like life itself, most days are like many others. That was not the fault of time.

Somehow this ordinary day of Blue Label is quite beautiful.

I first received a small bottle of Agua Lavanda as part of a boxed set of other small bottles of cologne when I was around 12 years old. Years later, in college years I would rediscover Agua Lavanda in many of the Hispanic cologne/perfume shops in New Jersey. While in Madrid in 1990, this is what I wore after I showered and left the hostel residencial on the Gran Via to meet Elaine, a young woman from Southern France, in the afternoon or early evening.

Agua Lavanda tells its story calmly: not an easy clean scent of deodorized brightness or athletic spice nor the story of the now stock, ubiquitous fruity sharpness of the "younger scents" of the last 10 to 15 years, scents often more acrid and disomforting, especially to one's eyes, than might be admitted by their wearers and admirers. These so called "lighter scents" are effectively heavy scents in my opinion often overly reliant at first on synthetic even girlish notes which seem to finally emerge as a piercing abiding generic wood note. Agua Lavanda is instead "the best soap," the body clean and alive and ready, less leaving the barber shop than the intimate waters of bathing and grooming. What is remarkanle to me about this cologne is the return of middle and even top notes that never really vanished but are again seemingly renewed. This accounts for the "suprising longevity" of this cologne, a longevity that is subtle not the blast and ever popular sustained slow meltdown into sometimes nauseating medleys for those who really have no time. Agua Lavanda: top notes which include bergamont's ultimate fullness, a sense of an ordinary man's luxury and middle notes which seem to compliment and contrast both top and base notes, not simply compete with or make their appearance like dullards when the top notes have nearly faded, nor due to the base notes endure as overly gentlemanly.

In a world of often interchangeable younger scents which yield their truth on scatch and sniff inserts, Agua Lavanda requires only one's hands and body for its best marketing. It remains for me the scent of starting the day and leaving the house, meeting the woman I love, and yes, conversation, laughter, embracing, making love, the intimate waters.