Acqua di Giò Absolu

This review has been a long time coming. Today, I am finally taking a look at Giorgio Armani's Acqua di Gio Absolu. I first encountered this fragrance as I was browsing my local Sephora one day. The golden, ambery color of the liquid immediately stood out from the rest of the Acqua di Gio lineup and drew me in for a closer look. When I sprayed it, I was immediately struck by how different it was from a typical ADG; it was sweeter, punchier, and simply better. In that moment, I knew I wanted it; but I had other fragrances on my radar at the time, so I had to hold off. Not long after, it was unfortunately discontinued, and I couldn't find it anywhere. That was at least a year ago. Now, after searching far and wide, I have finally managed to acquire a bottle, and I can give it the proper review I have been wanting to give it for so long. Hopefully, it was worth the wait. Let's get into it. Opening: The opening is a lively blend of aquatic freshness and bright fruitiness. The primary notes I discern are sea notes, bergamot, grapefruit, and pear, with the sea notes and bergamot being the most prominent. True to the nature of the ADG line, the aquatic character is front and center after the initial spray. It’s clean, watery, and a bit salty, calling to mind the aroma of ocean spray. It's very similar to the marine accords you'll find in other designer fragrances like Light Blue or Invictus Aqua. Trailing just behind the sea notes is the bergamot, delivering a sizable dose of citrus and fresh aromatics. Bergamot and sea notes famously work well together, and this fragrance is no exception. Next up are the grapefruit and pear. The grapefruit lends a slightly bitter, rindy accord to help bolster the bergamot and drive home the fruity citrus theme. Lastly, the pear lingers in the background as a sweet and fruity nuance; it's not too dissimilar to the pear note found in JPG’s Ultra Male, but it is much more reserved and subdued. Dry Down: The dry down transforms, taking on a more structured, woody character while retaining its aquatic and sweet core. The primary notes I get are woody notes, sea notes, tonka bean, and pear, with the strongest of these being the woods and sea notes. The non-descript "woody notes" rise to prominence in the dry down, providing a sturdy and masculine dose of woods. There's a dry and clean tone to it, so if I had to guess, I would say cedarwood is the note used here; although it lacks that "pencil shaving" accord that some stronger cedar notes have. Behind the woods, the sea notes remain a key player. They retain the same watery, salty, and fresh accord from the opening; however, it has been dialed back a fair amount to let the woods take shine through. This is followed by the tonka bean and pear. The tonka bean imbues the dry down with a warm and sweet accord to add some depth to the composition. Not so much that it takes on a vanillic character, but enough to give it some noticeable richness. Lastly, the pear does persist into the dry down, remaining a sweet and fruity background note. I also pick up on a slightly balsamic, ambery quality that I attribute to the presence of amberwood. Performance: The initial projection is very strong and can easily fill a room. Sillage matches that intensity with a heavy but clean scent trail. After about three to four hours, the projection was remarkably unchanged. At the seven to eight-hour mark, the projection was surprisingly still reaching out around four to six feet, and the scent trail was still easily noticeable. Ultimately, the fragrance lasted around twelve hours before finally fading away into a skin scent, demonstrating outstanding performance for such a fresh fragrance. When to Wear: Acqua di Gio Absolu, like the rest of the ADG line, is a spring and summer fragrance that works wonderfully in the daytime. It is, however, quite a bit sweeter than the other ADG's, and this makes it equally suitable for evening wear as well. At its core, the ADG line is a very casual fragrance line, and Absolu is no different. This would be a great choice for outdoor activities, the gym, maybe even for a night out at the clubs, but I wouldn't select it for a formal event, a special occasion, or the office. Blind Buy: If you appreciate sweet and aquatic fragrances in the style of Hawas or Invictus Aqua, Acqua di Gio Absolu is a safe blind buy for you. However, do not blind buy it just because you like the rest of the ADG line, because even though it has the same core DNA, it is quite different. Final Verdict: When I first smelled Acqua di Gio Absolu, my nose didn't have the same level of experience it does now; I just hadn't encountered as many different scents. Now that I'm trying it again, it makes sense to me that it would smell like an Invictus or Hawas flanker. Even so, that's not to diminish this fragrance at all, because I still think it smells absolutely amazing. Personally, I think this blows other similar fragrances like Invictus Aqua or Hawas out of the water (no pun intended). It expertly executes the sweet and aquatic DNA, and it packs a serious punch for a "freshie" when it comes to performance. I honestly can't understand why Armani would have discontinued this, as it was a great contender in the arena of a very popular scent profile. In any case, I'm glad I managed to acquire a bottle. I'll just have to use it sparingly, I suppose. Scent: 10/10 Longevity: 9/10 Sillage: 10/10 Versatility: Average Mass Appeal: Very high Gender: Masculine Value: Fair

Literally avoided this gem at my local Ulta for weeks because I thought it was aftershave. Because the color of the juice. I immediately thought it was going to be another old man scent because of its appearance... Boy was I wrong. So one day I was back in my local Ulta, and was checking out the Acqua Di Gio line. And finally decided to give Absolu a spray. When I tell you I froze in immediate shock, and kept looking around in disbelief. I couldn't believe that it took me so long to find out about this masterpiece. I immediately spray it on my wrist, and could not stop smelling and retesting it. After I was finally done sampling colognes, and headed home. I was so eager to see the reviews online. I immediately rushed to Fragrantica to read the reviews. And when I tell you I couldn't stop smiling ear to ear. After reading comments that encapsulated everything I was thinking and feeling. And seeing words like "Underrated" "Hidden Gem" "Masterpiece" "Perfect" "Balanced" and "Versatile". In nearly all the comments. That let me know I wasn't alone in what seemed like over zealous. Ok let's discuss the hate and comparisons. If you're new to the world of fragrances. Just know that a lot of Collectors and Enthusiasts have buyers fatigue. So anytime a new fragrance doesn't push boundaries or offer something new or unique. It's automatically put at a rating disadvantage from seasoned critics. But may be loved by the general public. And for comparisons, Absolu is what would be categorized by most as "Generic" or a "Mall Scent". Meaning its sole purpose is to be mass appealing. Which it is, but what makes Absolu so special is its balance and quality. Don't know where all the Incivtus Aqua comparisons are coming from at all. They smell completely different, barely even relatable in terms of smelling alike. There are tons of generic mall scents that are in a similar vien as Absolu. Like YSL Y EDP, Jimmy Choo Man Intense, Invictus Aqua, and Coach for Men. But all these smell extremely synthetic and artificial. And work better for younger crowds like teenagers and young college students. Meanwhile Acqua Di Gio Absolu can work on people age 5 to age 50. Absolu's balance, quality, and versatility is bar none! There's just no comparisons. I don't think I ever used this word to describe a fragrance before, but Acqua Di Gio Absolu is Perfect! From its note balance, breakdown, and year round versatility. Never smelt something so good from beginning to end. Absolu reminds me of a sunset at the end of a perfect day growing up in the Summer time. Absolu is such a timeless masterpiece. If you know about Alberto Morillas then you know he's like the Michael Jordan of Perfumers. He has legendary fragrances under his belt. And will probably go down as the Greatest Perfumer of all time. And in my personal and honest opinion Absolu is his Crowning Jewel. I don't care what anybody else says. Is Absolu blind buy worthy? 100% Yes! If you don't initially love it, trust me it will grow on you! A 10 out of 10 Masterspiece and a must own in my humble opinion.

This will be my favorite review to write. This was one of the first bottles I bought when I started collecting. A couple years back I scooped up one of the last bottles of Absolu that would be at discount value through blind luck. A few days after I bought it I found out of the recent discontinuation, and I went back to buy another bottle, only to find that everywhere was suddenly out of stock. When I was 18 my parents bought me an Acqua Di Gio sample set with 10ml vials of Absolu, Profumo, and the EDT. My Lord. Absolu was my clear winner, along with my girlfriend’s favorite. Every time I wore it I felt so happy. This is one of the only scents even to this day that I truly love. I think about the original gift my parents got me (the most memorable gift I have ever received, and what silently started my love of fragrance) every time I get a whiff of this. Backstory aside- it opens up very sweet with the ADG dna in the background. Pear and bergamot jump out for the first hour or so. Then the sweetness starts to turn into a cedar-tonka-citrus blend, and more of the ADG marine vibe with the water and sea notes come out. Performance on this is great. I get easily 8-10 hours of projection ~4ft and it stays pumping the whole time. Towards the end of its lifecycle, the sweetness drastically fades and it very closely resembles Profondo. Such a strange thing but I feel like the fragrance does a 180 degree turn right before it starts to fade, and I love it! It almost restarts the smell of the scent because I think it’s amazing how perfumery can do such a thing, so I always keep smelling my clothes and waiting for it to make that turn at the end. This is my favorite of all time for good reason. Performance is great. It is mass appealing. Spray and go type fragrance for me- dress down, dress up, doesn’t matter. It is 100% worth the money even with the current markup after discontinuation. Do not settle for an Invictus or Hawas release that people compare this to. They are liars. The sweetness in the opening is the only thing similar between these fragrances. Very quickly, Absolu takes a stronger marine accord with the sea/water notes that the other two are not as prominent in, and it stands apart big time. I am writing this tonight as my 4.2oz backup bottle for life just arrived. I hope to never run out of this stuff. So much so that I may go order another bottle right after posting this.

******************************************* Stop the jumping on the HATE TRAIN ******************************************* Like most people, I listen to the negative Youtuber review by Jermy Fragrance, MyMickery, Kelvin Samuel and completely dismiss ADG-Absolu. Thus, I was completely caught off guard when I finally sample it @local Macy. I am lost for words how Amazing it smell. ABSOLU is better than 2016 + 2018 Invictus Aqua; its even better than the overhyped ADG-Profumo which is saturated with too much INCENSE that turn off women around me with a strong distaste. Girls say I smell like 1990 douche bag smoking a cigarette then spray ADG to cover the smoke. After sampling various cologne from Sauvage, Versace Dylan Blue, every Invictus, and every PB 1 Million, I keep coming back to ADG-Absolu. It is Fresh...yet Sweet. This is the Aqua Di Gio for the NEW GENERATION without smelling like a cheap lemon furniture polish that the original 90's ADG does on me. I agree with(bsimps) review. You can't trust Youtuber reviews, trust your NOSE instead. Don't let the blind-hate-train deter you from this fantastic release. 2 spray of ADG-Absolu sample lasted 8 hours on my skin. Wow, that is 3 hours longer than the 2016 Invictus Aqua on me. Performance - for a freshie - is nothing less than AMAZING. My only criticism is the rather HIGH price of most Armani Fragrances. If price isn't a concern, ADG-Absolu is my #1 choice for Spring/Summer fragrance, and it managed to knocked off my old favorite Chanel Allure Homme eau Extreme and as of now, it is my Top 5 best smelling fragrance I'd ever smell!

I may have reviewed this before but I've grown to really love this and changed my like to love. The pear and apple in the beginning keep it lightly sweet and fresh in the opening with the amber wood and patchouli in the background keeping it balanced with a little darkness and depth. Dries down more woody with the marine notes coming in giving you a driftwood type feel with remnants of the fruits in the background keeping it slightly sweet. This has become my favorite ADG for daily wear scenario while Profumo is still the pinnacle of the line but is more situational for me. Sillage and projection are decent with a nice scent bubble around you but not a room filler. I usually go six sprays in cooler weather (70 degrees and below) and four when warmer (70-85 degrees). Not quite light and fresh enough for South Louisiana in the middle of summer but perfect for 85 degrees and under. Absolu is clean, fruity and fresh with a slight dark and woody edge Scent: 8.75 Enjoyability to wear: 9.5 Longevity: 7-8 hours Projection: arms length