212 VIP Men

This was probably my best blind-buy, as I was intrigued by vodka note. I own a huge bottle (200ml) since last september, and every now and then I come back to use this fragrance in between of testing others. Oh my god, I'm lost for that smell! It may sound weird regarding fragrance I wear myself, but I feel it's so sexy. I love every aspect - it's sweet though not clogging, boozy, minty, sonewhat fruity and this just blends so damn fine into nearly a perfect fragrance... ...except for one thing - longetivity. It's just dissolving from my skin after nearly 3 hours, I can't even sniff it off my wrists at all after that period. Not sure if it's a matter of skin pH or what, but I feel anytime i find perfumes that I love, they are evaporating in no time, while those I have hard time with (vanilla based with fruit) are there usually until the next day, am I cursed or what? I'm not worried for it's legitimacy as I bought it at trusted store. I already tried to macerate it for one month with no significant results, next step would be layering it with some molecules (not sure which will work the best, but I will try few). Maybe I just have to overspray it, not being a sissy sprayer as some Curlies say haha. The bottle i own is 2022 batch, so looking at the votes for longetivity here (with majority on long lasting), was it reformulated so badly at some point? As some people in the comment section mentioned - this seems to be a clubbing scent, so maybe it will come alive in warmer months (as I'm rather not clubbing person myself), fingers crossed if that's its original purpose. Scent 10/10, one of my tops Longetivity 3/10, Sillage 7/10, Taking low longetivity, this still summarizes to 8/10.

At first I wasn't too sure with this one. All I could smell was yet another Lacoste Live / Hollister Festival Vibes / Penguin Reserve. It doesn't particularly smell like any of these but my nose was suffering from sniff fatigue. I had to leave it and go back, and I'm glad I did. It's one of those scents that doesn't change. What's there at first sniff is still there at the end of the day. What I get is the alcohol, obviously. Whether this is gin or vodka is not relevant; it's just an astringent ozonic binder to hold the other smells together. The other smells are really nice. You have a spicy creamy fruitiness. Not passionfruit, more citrusy cooking apples. There's no vanilla or tonka bean here but the warm sweetness is there. I have no idea what kind of amber has been used but that is certainly there with the musky warmth. As for the ginger and mint they sort of cancel each other out. All these smells, all mixed up together, all a little bit synthetic, they all sort of work. The fact that they all compete keeps the smell alive. My only slight concern is that harsh alcohol smell that binds it, but that's a minor complaint. This isn't quite in my top ten but it's certainly an "I Love It". Sillage is moderate. Longevity very good at about 12 hours.

Damn this stuff is GOOD!! I blind bought it today at Marshalls. Ive been eyeing it for awhile now, but never pulled the trigger. Saw it for $29.00 for a 1.7oz so I figured why not!? I'm really into frags for younger guys, especially ones that smell modern and fresh-spicy. Boy, did I get lucky! Okay, now it's not the greatest deal, but damn, I really, really like this stuff. I actually wore it tonight, 5 sprays total, and I smelled the wafts for 3 hours....And it was awesome! I will admit that it does remind me of Paco Rabanne 1 Million, but only for the first 5 min. I was disappointed at first because I thought it was just another 1 million, but as it started to settle, I was surprised. I definitely get the booziness....Now when I think of boozy, I always think of CH Men Prive or something brown and heavy, but this is clear and fresh-boozy! As it settles, the pepper comes out clean and clear. It is in the same boat as 1 Million, but it's completely different at the same time. 1 Million is incredibly thick and heavy while this is incredibly thick and fresh somehow! Highly recommend if your expectations are realistic!

This has been my signature fragarance since it was released. The first moment I smelled 212 VIP MEN I just knew "this is me"... so roll on over the years and we are at the stage where I have had lots of other fragrances I fell in love with and made my 'fragrance du jour' for a while. The last two days I have gone back to this as it represents me so much I feel extra confidence and assurity when wearing it, something I was unsure of whether I had kept hold of after a series of things in my life which had changed my perceptions. But today, literally just minutes ago, I got the best compliment from a woman I have ever had about this fragrance! "not fresh but - clean but not crisp... smooth, something with a punch that makes me notice it"... "...hmm..." "This smells like a shark..." "Oh..." said I... "like a 'shark' shark?... like a dangerous shark with teeth?" "Yes, but a sexy shark!"... "I dunno, ... powerful but sleek, you know?... like it cuts through the air smooth to your nose but it has a massive devastating hit on you?..." So yes, after that this is firmly back in my fragrance wardrobe as of today.

After reading a bunch of reviews and watching a few vids on VIP men, I decided to go ahead and blind buy it. The bottle is pretty cool too. As for the scent I definitely dig it. I can see the whole club vibe with this one but in all honestly it's not really a loud cologne like say one million. Even though it doesn't smell like 1 million i kinda see it in the same vein as it. But I wouldn't just wear this in a club or bar scene. I can see it's use in other places as long as the temp is cool. Not an office or maybe work scent though. .. Hmmm. Maybe with 1-2 sprays *shrugs* . It's definitely a evening scent but can see use of it later in the afternoon. I haven't tested it out in high heat to see if it can be cloying or not. Anyways as I was smelling my wrist through out a few hours, it started to smell real familiar to me.. I just couldn't put my finger on it because it was a scent i haven't smelled since I tested it years ago. Then it hit me.. Givenchy Play Intense! Just not as sweet. It's especially more apparent during the dry down for me. Overall though I think it's a pretty good fragrance.