1881 Essentiel

Keywords: Citrus zest, Basil and Coriander Perfect summer option especially if you like the Declaration accord. The similarity is at least 70%, side by side of course there could be contrasts better smelled, which I have not done but if I smelled this blind I would say a Declaration flanker. I guess Essentiel would perform no less than the Declaration too. I also agree with the reviewer down below, that this resembles Dior Homme Cologne in the opening for a few seconds. I believe I got it for around 20 eur and for the price I have zero complaints. This goes straight into my summer rotation until and if ever it gets boring.

The perfume opens up with a lot citruses, mostly lemon – very acidic. After a few minutes, herbs (like rosemary, oregano) and a bit of pepper start to appear. In the dry-down, soapy notes appear too, but it's not very sweet. It all smells very, very fresh, light, lively, invigorating, but it is not an unique scent, however. I can't find much wood, vetiver or moss in here; after an hour or so, maybe they start to fly somewhere in the background – the scent feels more balanced and less sharp, but it's still mostly citruses and herbs. I find it pleasant, but not too special. I think it's good for a young man, maybe even a teen boy. It lasts on my skin for around three hours. Projection is within an arm's length for around an hour, then it becomes a skin scent.

Nothing exciting. Opens with a heavy sweet citrus. Within 10 minutes this starts to fade and a drier spicier note becomes more evident - basil and artemisia mixing? Any woody note is very faint and within 2 - 3 hours it's gone. The longevity scale here on Fragrantica shows weak as up to 2 hours and moderate as over 3, this belongs in that no man's land. Sillage is soft. Again it's a fragrance that I'll class as like (there's nothing to dislike about it) but I really wish there was a Mehhh button to choose.

Many complain about the longevity of the perfume, I use it in spring and summer and with 4 sprays it lasts 6 hours on the skin, to extend its duration I use a moisturizing cream or I insist with 8 sprays to get 8+ hours. In the first 3 hours it takes me to Sophie Matisse Art Edition Bamboo Harmony By Kilian 90% identical in the first 3 hours (I had Bamboo Harmony, I only have the bottle left), I wouldn't recommend blind-buying, not everyone will like it.

I think my batch has a more prominent pepper note then what others are marking it as above. The pepper, bergamot/citrus, vetiver and cedar give this a clear similarity to Dior Sauvage. Although, this does lack the intensive ambroxan and metallic notes, it still falls in the same ballpark, especially since it came out three years after. Effectively a more tame and mature version of the Dior.

This is my 4th Cerruti 1881 and so far I am very happy with this house! Essentiel is indeed a citrus base fragrance. Opens with citruses + basil and a little later vetiver + wood join. Thankfully the citruses stay all the way. Mediterranean style, performance is moderate. I like it and the price is very good too!!

Buyed this one to discover the Cerruti 1881 line, but nothing compares to the original. Essential 1881 is a bit like Declaration from Cartier but less powerfull.

This fragrance is definitely not generic! An unusual fruity citrus fragrance with a distinct ripe guava note A very pleasant Spring/Summer fragrance

It is NOT similar in any way to Sauvage. It has vibe of a Declaration and Artisan Pure. Classy summer fragrance.

Refreshing but on my skin basil becomes domunant note which I dont like to smell like.

First ever Cerruti fragrance I can't stand and I've owned 95% of all their male scents.Loved most and disliked none. Blind bought this , the opening is pure citrus followed by a huge shot of guava maybe even sickly mango, feel like I would become diabetic just by wearing it . And then....in an hour it's gone. IMHO it shouldn't be a male fragrance at all, it's at best unisex yet another fragrance terrified to offend anyone 😣it's far too sickly sweet for my liking and bland. Unlike Riviera which is great, this recent offering falls far short of a great fragrance houses offerings end result,it's gone to my partner as she likes the feminine touch to it...

artemisia and basil disappear in half an hour. If you're patient, it smells good afterwards. Don't buy without testing.

1. 1881 cerruti classic 2. signature 3. sport 4. riviera 5. amber 6. black 7. worst essentiel

Oh no! This is awful!! This is the clone of Dunhill's Icon, which I hate so much!! I had to return Dunhill and I hope I can return this one as well...Cannot explain why and how but these types of scents make me puke! Cannot stand them! It's a real shame as I love this Cerruti essential's bottle and cap. It looks very nice but the smell is just terrible to me...

This is indeed a citrus blast, IMO almost an overkill. In the beginning this cologne is very household cleaner intense, like a kitchen or bathroom cleaner. It was a blind buy and I really didn't like it at first. So I decided it would be my new gym frangrance, why not? And then, suddenly, and really strangely I started getting lots of smiles, especially from a different type of lady, a type that I usually don't pull at all. Thing is ,after the initial citrus blast dissipates, it does become kind of friendly and welcoming. And you certain feel clean, almost like Mr. Clean himself. Personally I like the woodier scents and wish this could have just a touch more cedar and perhaps something like a light evergreen or a hint of vetiver. My current summer favorite is AdP Ginepro di Sardinia. Much more of a compliment getter. Nobody has complimented me on the Cerruti so far, but as I said reactions seem to be positive. So while it is inexpensive I would still caution about blind buying. The initial blast smells like a janitor's closet, but after that it settles into something decent. Fragrance: 6/10 Longevity: 7/10 Sillage: Moderate to Strong so maybe 7.5/10 Mostly suited for hot days.

Initial impressions only. Kind of on the fence with this one and leaning towards more of a negative. Nice citrus, fresh and spicy opening but has a note that I am not entirely 100% sold on (think it must be the artemisia or possibly basil mixing with the vetiver) which seems to dominate the scent from about 10 minutes in and can smell like body odour if you catch a whiff of it. The fragrance is also very synthetic as well - nothing here smells remotely natural. Reminds me of something that Hugo Boss would release - smells smooth but without any attempt to replicate the actual real world smell of the citrus fruits listed. The herbal note I talked about earlier kind of takes me out of using it in high heat so not entirely sure when I would wear this. Will update once I have a few more full wearings of this one as it may just not work with my skin chemistry.

From smelling it on a paper tester, it smells like Dior Homme Cologne layered with Light Blue. As I have those 2 fragrances mentionned above, I will do the test and compare it with the Cerruti Essentiel vial I got from the store ;) Will update on the results later... UPDATE : I did the test on my skin and I confirm that Cerruti 1881 essentiel smells exactly the same as Light Blue Intense (for woman) layered with Dior Homme Cologne. Beware you have to spray light Blue first and Dior Homme Cologne second, otherwise the citrus note from light blue is a tad too proeminent. I only have light blue intense version for woman, but it should also work with the « regular » light blue for woman. I am glad I smelled Cerruti as now I discovered a combo of fragrance I really enjoy ! :)

This stuff is really nice. What I like about it is that it smells a lot younger than say Versace and Dolce & Gabanna. typically when I smell those I imagine an old man with a cane lol. This one smells nice and fresh. What I also like about it is that it significantly cheaper than the other colognes. I guess it does not last extremely long, (around 3 hours if you spray once.) I find it smells like swamp flowers and lemon/bergamot. Nice and citrusy. Comes in a big bottle enough to last many years.

First impressions only; A rather nice green citrus fragrance. Unlike some I didn't find the citrus too overpowering but actually quite nice, I do find the green notes (basil and perhaps the artemisia?) quite strong, which I wasn't really expecting for some reason and I wasn't too keen on the initial blast but after a minute or so it calms down. Now I'm prepared for it I'm going to test this out again and possibly try to score a sample. It's quite an interesting scent in my opinion.

This is the cheapy version of Tom Ford Costa Azzurra. Quite strong in sillage and longevity, maybe too strong.