DKNY Men 2009

DKNY Men (2009) has been in my collection since launched, I am using my 5th bottle nowadays and it has a unique aura that was and still is not mainstream at all. The blend smells simple, that is true, it smells linear, if that's a bad thing at all, but I think very highly of this formula, there's something about it I can't explain yet and this doesn't happen often. It is a nostril tickling woody-metallic scent if that makes any sense. The scent fits the image of New York somehow. It smells smart-casual. White sneakers, chinos, shirts and blazers in an urban setting in the grey concrete jungle. Credits to whoever designed that bottle, couldn't be more accurate. The use of Calone is spot on. The mid-drydown is Calone/Scentenal galore to my nose, probably where Essenza connections are made but that's about it. You clearly get the ozonic notes but also quite grey with a purple hue in color association, very metallic, it's more peppery with a sharp opening only to soften shortly after initial spray. I suspect Norlimbanol plays a big role giving a very dry feeling that you can almost feel back of your throat if you smell up close. I usually am very sensitive to metallic notes and modern woody ambers like in Bleu de Chanel, Sauvage, Terre d'Hermes etc. which all have a metallic note that I dislike, perhaps the citric metallic feeling is putting me off in them, but this one, is great in direction of pepper - woods and violet metallic - the signature of Alberto Morillas. A great option for a blind buy office-safe, attractive, day/night scent in an affordable price. I can't really find anything to seriously compare...You get that it's a Morillas scent, but it does not really smell like I don't know Acqua di Gio, or Bvlgari Aqva/Marine. In a blind test I would even say this is maybe from the brand Abercrombie & Fitch, I somehow get the A&F brand vibe (not saying it is similar to any A&F fragrances) or Carolina Herrera. I also think it's in the same vein of 212 for Men, same peppery watery metallic violet leaf note available there too. Longevity: Moderate in 2-3 sprays. If you add one or two more, lasts 6-8 hours easy especially on clothes. Sillage: I usually get compliments from people around me when I wear this. And they say it "fills" a room but not disturbing. Projection: Pretty strong with 5+ sprays Update 2023: I recently noticed a clear resemblance to CK Reveal for Women. It's almost the same pepper - iris/violet accord, though CK Reveal women goes in a more powdery amber direction, my nose tells me they share quite a bit of the same molecules in the pepper-iris part.

I like this fragrance very much, have been using it everyday in the office and received good comments from friends and co-worker, smell very masculine and nice, somehow make me feel smart and brilliant. The bottle design is superb, simplistic yet stylish, the cap is made of solid metal ring, can see the quality just from the bottle itself! Loving it, great for collection! The scent start with mild dusty citrus, kind of keep you feeling refreshing, second note is smoky herbal with woody plus a slight peppery scent - remind me old books smell, just like the smell in a old library smell (in a good way).... Base note is mild musky woody scent, overall it is very linear scent and does not evolve much, just keep you feeling great. Longevity is OK for me, 5-6 hours on me, suitable for fall/ winter use. Overall, this is a very simplistic and modern scent that make men smell brilliantly, in a very natural way without shouting out loud, casual yet very suitable for office wear, safe choice for most men. 8/10 from me.

I tried today, it's really good scent. Longevity and sillage are good. In the first six hour, scent is intense but then stay close to skin. Very nice woody fragrance :) 8,5 /10

I miss this one! Great mix of citrus and juniper with wood undertones. Very well balanced and great for everyday use. Maybe they will bring it back one day.

Well resurrected in Acqua Di Gio EDP 2022!

Acqua Di Gio Essenza & Eau de Parfum? Where in God’s good green earth do these fragrance reviews or takes come from? From Hades or the deepest depths of ignorance or sheer stupidity? Mind boggling and a true travesty what this forum has become with the complete and utter nonsense that some of these members spew and then defiantly enough, others blindly follow to fragrance oblivion. It’s a damn dumpster fire of mindless rhetoric and a total annihilation of self serving waste and confusion. Here’s the truth for the real frag heads. DKNY Men has nothing to do with Essenza, Eau de Parfum, Parfum & even the OG ADG. This is a bitter aromatic with a slight infusion of citrus up top that is tempered by Juniper Berries & Violet Leaf notes. The heart & drydown are basically Patchouli, Vetiver and a Wood component. Nothing more, nothing less. There isn’t a shred of aquatic accords nor calone, no sweetness of any kind. It’s dry, slightly herbaceous with a slight edge of a simulated dirty freshness to it. Performance is average at best but, with a few extra sprays one can expect a full work days worth of light wafts permeating softly without suffocating or violating someone’s breathable air space. This is more personal and stays closer to the skin as the day goes on. It’s professional, clean with a touch of an animalistic nuance to it that puts a shit eating grin on my face and has produced unexpected compliments from the Ladies both young and old. And there you have it. It’s not the best of its class or group but, it offers enough to show some distinction to the rest in its category. Whoever says anything different ladies & gents, they’re just clowns with pathetic agendas as they have nothing more to offer to this forum or any other for that matter. Mindless fools, period.

Well, I’m going to start this review talking about the presentation of this product. I see many expensive perfumes being sold out there, with a presentation that is far below the expectation that the customer deserves, by the value it is paid. DKNY Men is one that meets the expectations very well. The bottle is gorgeous, heavy, with a cover all made in metal, with bas-relief inscriptions, and that “high quality” type of product. About the scent: it is, with no doubt, an aromatic one! On me, the top notes are almost imperceptible. I can’t feel mandarin, juniper or the sage...just a bit of bergamot. On the other hand, the heart is very strong and present in this fragrance. The cardamom, the violet leaves and, especially, the pepper are there for the whole time. Finally, a vetiver, which is very present, although its low power, with a nice note of cedar and oris root. A beautiful scent, with a light "burnt" sensation and not very common aroma. But, at the same time, it is the "common place" for men's fragrances. I believe this cologne manages to cater to the taste of any type of man. Therefore, a great scent for any collection! The lasting power is really good, but I think the projection is low. If it was the type of scent that exudes more, would be a true candidate for enter on anyone’s TOP 10 collection. Anyway, the whole work deserves respect and admiration.

The continued search for a "man" that fits me has lead me to this. Not as a final resulting decision culminating dozens of different "men", but more or less stopping to take this one in, to acknowledge it and appreciate it. DKNY definitely impressed me with "be delicious men" so i was very excited to decant myself some of this at a local grey market store. Starts off very generic and citrusy...BLAH. The DRY-DOWN is where it's at on this guy. Cooling powdery grassy-sweet juniper takes over along with some buttery vetiver and muddy/warm pepper. I would agree that this would be great for office-wear, as none of the notes really stick out and trip anyone, aside from a few lapses in Juniper's judgement this is entirely safe to wear any time. One could categorize this along with Bvlgari man, in the sense that they are both very much refined and safe for any occasion, as any man SHOULD be. Don't be a complainer, it's not always good for your fragrance to make a first impression for you. As i stated in my Bvlgari man review, in terms of how this smells on skin, i'm sure that this scent smells different on every person as well, and that the fragrance isn't ment to "replace" your own aroma. To me, this and many other "man" scents are simply ment to assist with your own natural born aroma. Smell: 8 Longevity: 9 Sillage: 7.5 (casual wear)

Not too shabby..!! It has been a number of months since I last tried the DKNY Men's fragrance. Given the many negative reviews, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, I give credit to my colleagues who suggest there is not much substance or depth to this fragrance and also agree there is shared DNA with Armani's Acqua di Gio. Bottom line on DKNY Men is that the fragrance smells good, but there is nothing to build a game changing identity. The blend of woodsy, herbal, and citrus notes is pleasant and will be a crowd pleaser, maybe even a compliment magnet - it really does smell good..!! Performance is modest at best, lasting 3-4 hours on me at close to skin level. The only beauty of this - DKNY Men is office safe and offers flexibility to be worn to many events. My final tally is 3.9 stars out of 5 stars with a solid "like" for the Fragrantica community. For those starting to amass a collection, I would pitch maybe adding this - the price is relatively inexpensive, it smells good, and offers flexibility. For the more serious collectors, take a pass and save the money for more of a game changing fragrance. Enjoy your day and happy fragrance hunting...

Peppery high ozonic aquatic scent for the sportive and younger men but pleasantly there and very positive! I used it a lot after shower in Spain on vacation and i used a lot of sprays to get some sillage. Its a calone bomb as it produces the olfactory effect of a fresh seashore through intense marine and ozone notes, with slight floral overtones. I like it in summertime when you want to feel fresh after a hot day at the beach and you want to stroll down the boulevard! To be honest its close in the range of l'eau d'issey and Bvlgari's Aqua Not groundbreaking but none offensive.

Like some reviewers said here, DKNY Men reminds a spice version of Bvlgari Aqva without the posidonia note (marine grass). The spice notes (pepper) are similar to the pepper which is used on 212 Men. So, in my opinion, DKNY Men is a mix of Bvlgari Aqva and 212 Men. The bottle is made with heavy glass and the shape is simple but magnificent. Longevity is the main quality of DKNY Men. On my skin it lasts for more than 15 hours. Sillage is very good too. I recommend it for office and casual situations. My final rating: 8.25/10.

I like it a lot. I didn't know that the original is was discontinued but I like this one much better. It smells like paper pages of a good thick book :) I think I got citruses and herbs in the beginning, then pepper, and vetiver in the end. I couldn't smell any jasmine. The staying power is very good and it develops beautifully, step by step, changing all the time. Great fragrance, for sunny autumn days, I would say.

A new vibe to DKNY..is hard to find some words beyond the ordinary category " i like-dislike" because to me is something really abstract in this fragance. To me, is a nostalgic smell, soft, subtle, magnetic and something in the memory to be in somekind of deja vu aroma.. more than a fresh-woody category, i find a dusty-floral smell in some watery-cold atmosphere. An intimate, manly and captivating fragance.

Fresh spicy with a load of citrus/lime. It reminds me a bit of Issey Miyake's L'eau d'issey and Nautica (If we mix them both perhaps). The dry down is what I like most about this one. Really nice and sensual. I would have given it a solid 8 if the opening wasn't like many other summer scents out there on the market. Scent: 7.5/10 Longevity: 7/10 Projection: 6/10

I agree with the review below this one about putting this cologne as non descriptive, as I can't find the right description for it either, nothing special but not bad, although I got compliments (2) but maybe because I over sprayed it and made it more noticeable, I would say is for one of those days of ordinary routine, nothing else.

DKNY Man, Very Seductive, Mysterious, and Masculine. Perfect fit for getting dressed up when u wanna feel spiffy. A must buy for any collector like myself

got it as a gift its ok not something special it has a strong heavy sent to it kind of smokey? not something special tho

I love this fragrance on my husband. It always catches my attention when he eats it.

The pepper makes this one come alive. Heavy spice without any sweetness.

Its a lovely scent! The longevity and projection are okay too.

In regards to the comment below: No point arguing and throwing a fit over such subjective matters as fragrances. For that matter, I wore the original ADG almost daily for several years and I could easily mistake DKNY Men for it, as they are very similar especially in the opening.

Not a bad fragrance even if you can tell right from the start that reminds you something known already. It has a dry floral-woody overall feeling met before, not bad actually...just a little synthetic. For me it is all about bergamot-juniper-sage-pepper-cardamom-vetiver-cedarwood combination. Good staying power, pretty fresh-woody-spicy so even not wholly unique I will give this a 7/10 for now, based only on how reacts with my skin and nostrils. I'm pretty sure I won't buy one, but I could take it if it will be a present :) p.s. It has nothing to do with Bvlgari Aqua which I own for 2 years now and I love it. (that weird dry feeling on DKNY makes a lot of difference!). ☣☣

To quote Gertrude Stein about Oakland, California (but equally applicable to Donna Karan New York), There is no there there. An indifferent scent. Smells like too many other wood-n-pepper scents. Undistinguished. My wife made a stink face when I passed her the paper strip.

Nice simple gray-silver paper box; and the bottle is simple and nice as well. The scent is a watery spicey that yes, has something to do with Bvlgari Aqva, in the way how it smells. I think this is the better way to get a good picture about this scent.

I get the citrus and spice but not so much wood. I feel this scent is very common and corporate. It would be perfect for the office. I relate it closely to one of the FCUK's

DKNY Men is amazing on many levels. I first caught a whiff of it when I was working a flight back in 2009. It had just come out, and a gentleman, well-dressed, was wearing it. There was the most amazing fragrance filling the cabin. Light, airy, slightly sweet, like very ripe plums or peaches hanging from trees in a grove somewhere. It was the most refreshing and energizing aroma I had ever smelled. I passed by the gentleman during my beverage service, and as I got closer, I noticed the peppery spiciness underneath the fragrant sillage. That masculine spiciness stayed close to him, but the sillage!....absolutely superb! Freshness x10. I was unable to speak to him to find out what he was wearing, and I've been searching for it ever since. Somehow I read about DKNY Men, and thought I'd try one more time to find my elusive scent. Alas, I believe this is it. I ordered a tiny sample bottle, and the minute I opened it I knew this was THE ONE! I LOVE this fragrance. I quickly ordered a fill-sized bottle after receiving my sample. I'm sitting here typing my review as I bask in the fragrance, sipping a cup of organic Earl Grey tea, and the fragrance of this delicious tea compares slightly to the aroma of the DKNY Men. This is a thoroughly modern scent as others have noted, and pretty much unlike anything else out there. It stands alone. Both fresh and spicy at the same time, it's just the type of fragrance I like. Sophisticated up close with the pepper, cedar, and vetiver, but aromatic and ripe-fruit fresh in the sillage. Fantastic! Can't believe I finally found it! ***UPDATE: The fragrance I was looking for turned out to be Hugo Boss Bottled Night.

I wore this in my 20s as a signature for 2 or 3 years and recently repurchased it to see if it really is as good as I remember. And yes while my expansive collection has introduced a handful of signature-worthy loves that surpass this, DKNY Men remains in my opinion an excellent, sophisticated, versatile signature fragrance for the suited-up man who works at the office and is headed out for drinks later. To me this fragrance gave some insight about how 80s mens chypre powerhouses would have developed into the 21st century before the DNA was stamped out for good in this price segment, toning down their big citrus opening with the slightly bitter freshness of juniper, introducing the airy spiciness of pepper alongside vetiver and finishing off with a patchouli trail that carries the violet-led floral heart. Having described it this way, this is a fragrance best enjoyed as its own thing rather than pointing to its components. It would be remiss of me to not mention the subtle role of calone in this fragrance, a reflection of the lingering influence of AdG over fresh fragrance releases in 2009. I wouldn’t say this is a copy, and certainly when I wore this 15 years ago I felt it was far more sophisticated than the easy-breezy AdG. It wasn’t until the release of the more mature and buttoned-up AdG Essenza 3 years later in 2012 that AdG became more comparable to the DKNY, though Essenza made much heavier use of calone, which could get nauseating. The soft inclusion of calone in the DKNY is merely a signpost that tells you something about the time this was released.

When i first sniffed this when it first came out i dismissed it as watery rubbish. However, the lover of a bargain, as i am, i won this on ebay for £10 for 100ml. I intended to put it straight back on there as soon as i got it but after trying it out for a few days, i fell in love. Even though it is a very modern scent there is a note in there that smells like a cool fragrance my grandad used to wear in the 80's. For some reason i feel really manly when i where this even though it is a soft overtly synthetic scent. An absolute winner and i total suprise.

There're so many cheap pepper-and-cedar 'fumes out there which this juice reminds me of that my first impression was "rather cheap" and "unoriginal". And that impression lasted throughout the lifetime of the scent on my arm. Not something that I'd revisit, much less buy. It's just too simple at a time I'm yearning for cleverer, more complex perfumes. Blame it on Jicky Pure Perfume!

I am not sure I would call it unique, but it smells similar to others. Although it does have something about it that makes it special. I bought it this weekend and wore it to a party last night and got many compliments. I couldnt smell, but others assured me it was there. It comes off very fresh, but ends with a spicy, but tame kick. Again, nothing unique, but far better than most.

This fragrance has a intoxicating blend of bergamot, mandarin, juniper and clary sage. I've worn this fragrance during the hot days of summer and it's held up pretty well! It projects up to 2 hours, and the longevity lasts till 7 + hours. Another fragrance that should be talked about more in the fragrance community, signature scent worthy.

I agree with urobian. There is something special about this fragrance that you can't put your finger on. The first time I smelt DKNY Men it reminded me a lot of my city, Chicago! Though, it's ironically made by Donna Karan "New York". lol I like it, it's mysteriously different.

My son picked this up and tried it this afternoon when we were in Kohl's. It's really nice and I was surprised that it wasn't as harsh or as mainstream as I would have expected. Not a fan of the other male DK offerings, but I'd give this one another shot.

I am using it for last few months, the smell at start is good but it goes some where in the air after an hour or so. It seems as you never took it on. Too poor in Longevity. You may try DKNY Be Delicious Men instead of it .... it is a far better choice

well balanced out trendy scent and the green woodsy herbaceous drydown really gives this some masculinity and uniqueness. this is highly reccomended

Too bad that they discontinued the original formula. This new edition is very similar to Chevignon Brand that I have already owned.

Back in the days i was thinking this may be the best fragrance ever, now even if i had it i wouldn’t use it .

The younger, sportier son of Cool Water. Fresh, clean, and overtly masaculine-but without that harsh edge.

Smells very much of cedar and juniper. Longevity and Projection are good. I prefer the original, by far.

nice fragrance but gets lost btwn chanels,diors,hermes of the world..

I love it, smell bit different but good.

It smells of Herbs to me - I like it