Men's Summer Fragrances

Welcome the sunshine and some eagerly awaited fragrance launches into your life with our edit of the best spring/summer scents. 

Armani Code Summer

A vibrant citrus blend of grapefruit, lemon and green neroli, this summer edition, inspired by the original Armani Code is as fresh as the sea’s breeze, toughened with woody amber and musk base notes. Both seductive and invigorating, it’s the perfect accompaniment to those heady summer evenings.

Armani Code Summer by Giorgio Armani, 75ml, £39.50

L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme Summer Fragrance

Bursting with tangy mandarin, yuzu, aromatic sage, vetiver and ambergris, thoughts of warm oceans, with turquoise clarity and sparkling sunshine are conjured with a light spritz. Issey Miyake fragrances never fail to heighten the senses and this limited edition, is no exception.

L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme Summer Fragrance by Issey Miyake, 125ml, £37.50

Emporio Armani Diamonds Summer

Crisp mint and zingy lemon enliven the body and mind, while cocoa and masculine cedar wood create a sensuous base. Energising and dynamic, stay cool in the heat with Diamonds Summer.

Emporio Armani Diamonds Summer, 75ml, £34

Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Stimulating Summer Fragrance

A fragrance to be worn like a sensorial tattoo, in true Gaultier sailor-style, Le Male is as divine as anticipated. Calming lavender, mint and cardamom teamed with vanilla, musk and sandalwood create a scent explosion, just right for the new season.

Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Stimulating Summer Fragrance, 125ml, £37.50

Montblanc LEGEND

Effortlessly masculine and virile, yet subtle and fresh, LEGEND by Montblanc evokes the image of an impeccably groomed gentleman. Lavender and bergamot top notes are beautifully complemented by evernyl, an aroma warm and deep like oakmoss.

Montblanc LEGEND, 100ml, £57

Paul Smith Sunshine for Men

Ideal to pack for a scorching holiday or to enhance the British summer, Paul Smith’s latest edition dazzles with spices and juicy fruit. Coriander leaves, grapefruit and black peppercorns uplift, while coriander seeds, star fruit and sandalwood add depth.

Paul Smith Sunshine for Men, 100ml, £26

source:TheStyleKing

Prada Amber Pour Homme Intense

A reinterpretation of the label’s debut male fragrance from 2006, Prada’s new “Amber Pour Homme Intense” eau de parfum is the latest addition to its line of fragrances for men. Containing notes of Italian bergamot, Indonesian patchouli, vanilla from Madagascar and myrrh from Somalia, the cologne bears a rich and intense aroma. With a design similar to that of the original, the bottle is narrow and rectangular with a silver plate that’s inscribed with the key notes. Available in bottles of 50mL and 100mL, the fragrance arrives in stores this Friday April 15, and can be purchased through select retailers worldwide.

Tony Ward by Mario Testino for D&G Anthology | #11 La Force

Adding a new fragrance to their Anthology lineup, D&G taps model and icon Tony Ward. Photographed by Mario Testino, Tony perfectly represents fragrance #11 La Force.

Eau de Steve McQueen

It seems like every celebrity and his/her cousin is launching their own scents these days. Thing is, most of those celebrities are, well...you know, alive. Not this one, though.

Amidst the myriad jackets, watches and even motorcycles – and just about everything in between – licensed by the late Steve McQueen's estate comes this cologne. It features a fresh green fruit top-note, the essence of cardamom, sage and cinnamon and cedar base. And of course, the name and likeness of the legendary King of Cool himself.

It won't come cheap, with a €190 (nearly $250) list price (before shipping and taxes), and hits the market as we go to press.

Gucci by Gucci Sport pour Homme - Perfume Review

Gucci by Gucci Sport pour Homme is a flanker to 2008’s Gucci by Gucci pour Homme. According to Gucci creative director Frida Giannini, Sport is “…a new, fresher and lighter fragrance to suit the demands of a spontaneous lifestyle. I don’t necessarily link it literally with sports. It’s more a sporty state of mind. Meaning, off-duty time and the attitude that comes from being relaxed and carefree.” ²
Gucci by Gucci Sport seems to have been created by committee (“a collaboration involving Giannini, the Procter & Gamble Prestige Products fragrance creation team and fragrance supplier Givaudan….” ²) Gucci by Gucci Sport contains grapefruit, mandarin, cypress, lemon, cardamom, fig, vetiver, patchouli, and ambrette seeds.
Gucci by Gucci Sport begins with “abrasive” citrus and a menthol-y note  (cardamom on steroids? eucalyptus?); there’s also a second or two of “ripe” (cat-pee) grapefruit. As the citrus fades, minty/menthol notes dominate; I don’t smell most of the (well-blended) listed notes. In its early phase of development, I’d call Gucci by Gucci Sport a “mouthwash” fragrance with a hygiene-product odor: Listerine, meet Axe! Gucci by Gucci Sport dries down to a woody (cedar)-musk-fresh accord with a hint of hard-candy/patchouli sweetness  In the extreme dry-down, the notes are a bit discordant and “salty.”
I really like the Gucci by Gucci pour Homme ‘horse-bit’ bottle (and I especially like Gucci by Gucci Sport pour Homme’s clear glass bottle filled with green juice). The Gucci bottle “elevates” the fragrance from the usual boring blue bottles and blue juice of many sport fragrances on the market and it avoids a kitschy “sport”-theme design.
Gucci by Gucci Sport Eau de Toilette is sold in 50 and 90 ml ($57/73); the fragrance is also available in after shave lotion and balm, deodorant (spray/stick) and shower gel.



                                                                                                                                                                                 source:nstperfume.com/

Chanel Egoiste - Perfume Review

Égoïste is everything I like in a fragrance, and nothing I dislike. This beautiful grandchild of Bois des Iles is a magical, warm harmony of woods and spices. On me it is softer than soft, it envelopes me like most exquisite and most expensive dark-golden silk garment. On a man…oh on a man it is irresistible. If I were a poet, I would have written a passionate sonnet for Égoïste. But I am not, so I am writing this review.

The beginning of Égoïste has a candied (mandarin) and at the same time slightly medicinal (lavender) feel that I find delightfully quirky and enjoyable. The fragrance grows warmer and sweeter as it develops, never crossing the line into being cloying and overwhelming. The sandalwood and rose blend (a union made in olfactory heaven) in the heart of the fragrance is incredibly attractive. The dark warmth of wood and the sweetness of the rose are spiced up by saffron and coriander; in the drydown, the gentle vanilla note becomes apparent. It does not make Égoïste sweeter, but it does make it even softer. This is a discreetly exotic woody-oriental scent that makes one think about opulent fabrics and golden chalices filled with mysterious potions... "Discreetly", because this exoticism is in true Chanel style, i.e. masterfully understated, without excessive embellishments. I once said about D'Orsay Le Dandy that if it were a man, I would have undoubtedly fallen head over heals in love with him. Egoiste is another fragrance that makes me wish that it could be magically turned into a person, even though I know that this stunner would break my heart in thousand little pieces…



                                                                                                                                                                  source: perfumesmellinthings

Burberry Sport for Men - Perfume Review

Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s chief creative officer, said: “I wanted it (Burberry Sport for Men) to feel like there was movement in the scent. I kept saying I wanted it zingy; I wanted to feel alive; I wanted to feel like it’s jumping.” ¹ Burberry Sport for Men was developed by perfumers Sonia Constant, Nathalie Gracia-Cetto and Antoine Maisondieu and contains notes of  “frosted ginger,” grapefruit, wheatgrass, marine notes, juniper berry, red ginger, white musks, cedar, woods and “dry amber.”
Burberry Sport for Men starts off soapy, sweet and gingery, with a clean grapefruit note. The gingers in Burberry Sport are more spicy-candied (think preserved ginger or strong ginger ale) than fresh and rooty. There is also a light and indistinct floral character in the soapy opening. As the scent goes into its mid-phase of development it becomes a bit “astringent” (bracing and “cool” but not strident); the dry-down returns to the sweetness of the opening notes with hints of pale wood, light musk and soft ambergris. Though Burberry Sport follows the sport scent trajectory, it’s mellower than most sport fragrances on the market.

If you want to try Burberry Sport, skip the Burberry “scent cards” being handed out at department stores (they present a “foil-wrapped” quarter drop — at most — of perfume that presents the base notes and not much else); either douse yourself with fragrance from the tester bottle or ask for a liquid sample to take home. (Sephora and Nordstrom are usually helpful at making samples for customers.)
Burberry Sport for Men has good lasting power and sillage; Burberry uses “sporty” rubberized materials in the packaging and there is no Burberry plaid in sight (the scent is a complement to the “plaid-less” Burberry Sport ready-to-wear line of clothes). If you are wondering what to do with the red rubber band that’s wrapped around the carton…it’s a bracelet.
Burberry Sport for Men is an Eau de Toilette, available in 30, 50 or 75 ml ($45-72); other Burberry Sport toiletry products are aftershave balm and lotion, shower gel and deodorant.



                                                                                                                                                                                source:nstperfume.com/

Bleu de Chanel - fragrance review

Bleu de Chanel is Chanel’s “first major male fragrance since 2004’s Allure Homme Sport and its first men’s master brand since 1990’s Egoïste.”* Even though Bleu de Chanel is not geared to a particular demographic/age-group, Chanel hopes this fragrance will broaden its appeal with young men. Bleu de Chanel was created by Chanel’s in-house perfumer Jacques Polge and it contains notes of citrus (bergamot, lemon, grapefruit), “deep blue sea” accord, peppermint, pink pepper, nutmeg, ginger, jasmine, cedar, vetiver, patchouli, labdanum and frankincense.

Chanel describes Bleu de Chanel as a “woody-aromatic” fragrance, but it definitely has (no matter its big-city-at-night/”dressy” ad campaign) a marine/sport vibe — and the marine nature of the perfume becomes more pronounced the longer I wear it.
Bleu de Chanel has been badly received by the online perfume community. Polge has been accused of sullying the Chanel name by gathering together in one perfume many elements of mainstream (read: banal, cheap, made-for-the-hoi polloi) men’s fragrances: a fresh/ozonic accord, AXE-like “personal hygiene” notes, simple-minded (and smelling) sport-y aromas. Throw me to the floor, hold me down, and make me guzzle vintage Chanel No. 5 till I morph into Catherine Deneuve, circa 1973, but at this point in my life, and in the realm of perfume creation, I could care less about the Chanel heritage, its “mystique” or exclusivity. Chanel is in business now, as it was when Coco Chanel was in charge, to make money…fragrance tastes change and what sells is preferred over what’s “artistic” or adventurous; anyway, niche perfume companies have picked up the slack when it comes to creating quirky and “soulful” perfumes. Let Chanel have its fresh, marine-sport fragrance for men.
Bleu de Chanel is not a “graphic” (and harsh) take on the ‘deep blue sea’; it’s a more impressionistic and diffuse interpretation of a marine-sport fragrance. In the opening and heart of Bleu de Chanel, the notes seem to move into each other’s space, bleed into one another in “watercolor” fashion — peppermint nudges grapefruit, mixing some green menthol into oily, yellow peel; flecks of grated nutmeg and ground pink pepper float on clear, ginger juice. What’s most interesting (to me) about Bleu de Chanel is the control Polge has over its ingredients and his ability to make the same “watercolor” (spontaneous-smelling) effects reappear with every application.
Bleu de Chanel goes on “cool” as it opens with strong bergamot-grapefruit and (non-medicinal) peppermint leaf notes. Bleu de Chanel’s “temperature” starts to rise as nutmeg and ginger become apparent; the scent of peppercorns mixed with mild vetiver and a floral note (reminiscent of the jasmine in Christian Dior Eau Sauvage) adds even more warmth to the mid-phase of development. Though there is a smidgen of “freshness” one associates with marine and sport fragrances, there’s more complexity and better ingredients used in Bleu de Chanel than in your average water/sport perfume. For me, Bleu de Chanel conjures a summer beach — hot sand; sun-toasted skin; silky driftwood; baking stones; citronella (bugs, be gone!); and an evocative, slightly salty accord I’ll call “clean-dog-takes-a-dip-in-the-sea-and-then-suns-herself-dry.” The most traditional (formulaic) phase of Bleu de Chanel is its base, where citrus-y musk, pale cedar and a touch of incense ash (benzoin?) mix to produce a sweet talcy finale.

Bleu de Chanel is not a perfume to sample on paper (where it smells stunted and “sketchy”); it should be worn — and applied with a generous hand — to experience its subtle phases of development. Blue de Chanel has good lasting power and sillage, and to me, it smells more masculine than “unisex.” Of all the marine-sport fragrances I’ve sniffed over the years, Bleu de Chanel is one of my favorites and the only one I’ve considered buying for myself.
Bleu de Chanel Eau de Toilette comes in a heavy blue-gray bottle whose sides and top are a gorgeous sapphire color; the fragrance is available in 50 ($59) and 100 ($79) ml and also comes in 100 ml aftershave lotion ($50).

                                                                                                                                                                                source: nstperfume.com