Bvlgari Man

I have a bottle of this that I bought about six years ago and that I think I'll now be taking out service. I've always liked the scent but it's never bowled me over. Not that there's anything wrong with it--it's just never quite been to my taste. I bought this as a spring fragrance but seem to be more drawn to greener scents in that context. Bvlgari Soir remains a favourite on grey spring days and nights and has aged very well--not noticeably changed--in its box on my shelf. Man is a different story. Initially I found it quite thin and floral. The performance has never impressed me. Again, there's nothing wrong with any of that that; I might not expect much else from a spring fragrance and it may also be the mark of a typically understated creation from Alberto Morillas. (I seem to have collected a lot of his creations before ever hearing or seeing the man's name.) From one spring to the next, the scent would lose some of the florals and become perhaps a little darker and anyway more to my taste, with the (clean) vetiver in particular perhaps gradually coming to the fore. I feel as if I may have hit the sweet spot five years in but even then I wasn't crazy about the scent. Another year on, this has gotten to smell like a kind of honeyed vetiver water with only a slight floral component. It's nice enough but it isn't the fragrance I never really fell in love with anyway, so I'm decommissioning my bottle. I don't think I'll be buying another but I still really like Morillas and Bvlgari. Edit: It's July now and this evening I thought I'd give this fragrance another chance (perhaps its last), in case it might be back to its old self. To my surprise, it is. (I find the ozonic aspect really pretty striking again--so kind of bracing in an ambient way that, as well as spring breezes, it makes me think of mint, even though it doesn't smell like mint.) It's hard to tell what lesson to draw from this (I no longer live in quite the same climate as I did when I first used the scent and I've only recently discovered the Bvlgari locking sprayer, so I wonder whether evaporation has played a role) but I suspect this is a fragrance that pretty much goes into hibernation once seasonal temperatures drop below those of a Mediterranean spring.

I'm actually shocked at all the bad reviews on this one. I think this scent is super safe, while retaining uniqueness. I remember YEARS ago walking into a perfume shop in the mall and when the man asks me what kind of scent I'm looking for...I asked him what he was wearing. I'm sure he was a chronic oversprayer (as am I)...but his scent literally filled the room. LITERALLY. I will never forget that. That was years ago when I was probably 19-21 years old. I loved it. I didn't buy it back then as it is Bvlgari afterall and I think at this particular perfume shop (where obviously it won't be amazon / Ebay prices)...it was like $70-$80. Fast forward a few years into my mid 20s after I got more financially stable...I finally bought it as well as the "Extreme" version. And I love them both. Both smell amazing and both last 6-8 hours and even longer on clothing. This scent (in my opinion) is a scent where I cannot differentiate individual notes. I can describe the "accords" but not specific notes. To me it is a mixture of 3 accords. I most definitely smell the woody accord most prominently. Followed second by the green accord. And I smell some florals mixed in but in small quantity. I love this. A GREAT office scent. And it's clean so I can even see it working well as a gym scent. Give yourself two sprays on the neck, a spray on each arm, and a few sprays on the front of your shirt and it will last you about 6-7 hours on your skin and a good 8-12 hours on the fabric. I haven't smelled a scent like this ever and I own hundreds. I could pick this scent out of a sniff line up, blindfolded. Projection - 4 feet or so. Longevity - 6-7 hours on my skin and easily 10 hours when I spray it on my shirt, sometimes longer. Overall Score - 9/10

The problem with Bvlgari Man - you know, Saturday was fragrance shop day, and I was looking for autumn stuff. I sampled Bvlgari Man in Black the other day and was blown away, but thought it too dark for every day office wear. So, I sampled the plain ole Bvlgari Man. It's got a very strong alcohol opening, which thankfully passes after a minute or so - what you're left with is something akin to a body moisturiser with a strong element of honey, which smells very warm on the skin. I'm not sure where the 'woody' notes are supposed to be - everything is so well blended together, it just creates are rather intoxicating and 'different' scent. I said body moisturiser because this really is a skin scent . I don't get any projection out of it. I can literally put on 20 sprays and contort my body or shake my hands in front of the wife, and she'll wince in concentration to catch the scent. THIS, is a snuggling scent. Its for intimate moments. Perhaps if you used it with the shower gel you'd get some projection, or perhaps I'm just the wrong skin type? It worked best lunchtime at the gym - I ran from work to the gym and after about 5 minutes of exercise, there it was. So, maybe its a Summer scent that reacts best to heat - knowing my luck, I'll probably get mistaken and stung by a bee. I love the smell, it just needs more oomph! Not sure I can recommend....I'll have to leave it to you to test...

This is my favorite cool/cold weather formal scent - a clean, complex, woody, masculine line straight to everything I aspire to be. I wear this to work at least once a week, and though I'm more a fan of casual get-togethers with friends than black-tie affairs, the next one of those I attend, this refined, woody-vetyver-amber/honey gentleman will be on the dresser ready to wear well before I've picked out my suit. Yes it has longevity issues - projection is relatively brief but at least on my skin it's detectable 7-8 hours after application. It's pretty affordable so I do go heavy on my "delicate-scent" routine - pulse-points, two on the chest, one on the back of the head and I get pretty good performance that way (a couple of hours of decent projection than 4-6 hours as a skin scent is typical on my skin). This is probably aided by the fact that I wear it almost exclusively with long-sleeves, so that probably helps preserve it a bit longer than if I were wearing it casually. I also like to wear this on my fasting or low-cal days, because I feel like James effing Bond when I wear it, and James effing Bond doesn't get mustard on his cuffs while scarfing down a cheeseburger... thanks, James. Overall I am extremely happy with it and the "Man" bottle that's quite appealing, and I'm exploring the flankers now.

Perhaps I'm somewhat biased about this scent because it's one worn by the most lovely man I know who is somewhat of a rare individual. Quite frankly, to start though, Bvlgari Man doesn't make an independent statement in it's uniqueness or artistic quality. It's decidedly one for mainstream appeal and a great department store fragrance. Also somewhat reminiscent of He Wood Rocky Mountain Wood by DSQUARED2. Opening with fresh green violet leaves and bergamot, Bvlgari Man vibrates with enthusiasm. Just a drop of honey, and this delivers a very faint sweet yuzu/grapefruit accord. Musk interplays and softens the composition a little along with an understated aquatic-root note rather than anything floral or suggestive of lotus. As this fragrance continues to transition, it becomes dry and turns its vetiverious face to the sun, all the while remaining green and aquatic... like fresh, tall timber harvested from a river bank. What remains on the skin is a deliciously infusion of delicately peppered greenery and plush wood. Again, it's not a revolution in fragrance by any means but it manages to make the skin sparkle without upstaging the wearer. Refined, humble, contemporary, ethereal, and most definitely alluring.