Emporio Armani Stronger With You Tobacco

Today we're looking at the newest (at least in the USA) flanker in Emporio Armani's Stronger With You line; Stronger With You Tobacco. Now I own almost all of the fragrances in the line, just missing a few. It is a very solid fragrance line and probably deserves more hype than it gets. Up until now, SWY Intensely has been my favorite of the line. Will SWY Tobacco take the crown? Let's get into it and find out; Scent: The opening is warm, smoky, and spicy. The primary notes I get are tobacco, pepper, cinnamon leaf, and chestnut. The strongest of the notes are the tobacco and cinnamon leaf. Right off the rip the tobacco hits my nose. It's warm, slightly sweet, and carries with it an intense photo-realistic smokiness reminiscent of burning pipe or hookah tobacco. Upon smelling it I was immediately reminded of the tobacco note in one of my favorite fragrances; Parfums De Marly's Herod, sans its mysterious cherry note. Right underneath is the cinnamon leaf building on the warmth of the tobacco but adding the sharp and distinct spiciness that only cinnamon can offer. Up next is the chestnut and pepper notes. The chestnut is the calling card of the Stronger With You line, and SWY Tobacco is no exception. The chestnut confers a warm, nutty, slightly sweet tone that compliments the cinnamon leaf very well. Lastly, the pepper notes, both black and pink, offer a bit of fresh spiciness on the backend that serves to add a bit of contrast to the warmth of the opening and tickle the nose. I also get whiffs of a piney, citrusy accord from the elemi, but it's fleeting. The dry down is sweet, smoky, and warm. The primary notes I get are tobacco, bourbon vanilla, chestnut, and cinnamon leaf. The strongest of the notes are the bourbon vanilla and tobacco. The tobacco still has the same warm and intensely smoky accord from the opening. Meanwhile, the bourbon vanilla has emerged in the dry down to provide a solid punch of sweetness with a touch of booziness on the back end. This is followed by the chestnut and cinnamon leaf. The chestnut still carries the same signature warm, nutty tone from the opening, no changes there. Lastly, the cinnamon leaf is still present in the dry down with the same warm spiciness, but much more mellowed out than it was in the opening. Performance: Initial projection in the first hour is very strong and can easily fill a room. Sillage matches this energy with a dense and heavy scent trail. After a few hours the projection and sillage were unchanged. At the 7-8 hour mark the projection was still 4-6 feet and the scent trail was still noticeable. The fragrance lasted at least 12 hours before becoming a skin scent. When to wear: Stronger With You Tobacco is a fall/winter fragrance best suited for evening wear. This is a fragrance that best fits formal or special occasions. Date nights, anniversaries, or anything you would wear a suit and tie to. Blind buy: I wouldn't recommend this as a blind buy to someone simply because they love the SWY line. Yes it does have the strong connections to the line through the chestnut and vanilla, but the intense smokiness from the tobacco is a stark contrast and will only appeal to people that really enjoy tobacco. However, if you like sweet tobacco fragrances like Herod or even Initio Parfum's Narcotic Delight, this would be a safe blind buy. Final verdict: Stronger With You Tobacco was an instant hit for me. I love tobacco, especially smoky, photo-realistic tobacco that smells like a burning pipe or hookah. That's what this fragrance has. It's warm, sweet, alluring, mature, buttoned-up; everything a man could want from a fragrance in this category. The performance, in typical SWY fashion, is potent; atomic level projection and sillage for at least the first 3 hours, and continuing on in some capacity for at least 12 hours until dissipating. Like the rest of the SWY line, versatility is not what this fragrance is made for. It works well for special or formal occasions in the cooler months, but that's about all you'll get from it. When it comes to mass-appeal, typically the SWY line is pretty well known for that. However, the addition of the strong tobacco note in this fragrance makes it less so than it's brothers. A lot of people will still think you smell great, but some will have trouble with the smokiness from it. The bottom line; SWY Tobacco is a win for me. There's really nothing critical I can think of about this fragrance, it just fires on all cylinders for me. I will definitely be getting a bottle of this when I can, and I would recommend any tobacco lovers out there to give this one a try. Scent: 10/10 Longevity: 10/10 Sillage: 10/10

This is probably tied formy favorite of the limited edition flankers. I love the Sandalwood flanker as well. I like all of them, but this one is very, very good. To be honest, I've always been a bit of a sucker for this warm, ambery SWY DNA. When I first smelled this line, I thought 'this is too sweet'. And maybe some of the others are, but the leather, sandalwood, oud, and Amber are all dialed back enough that the excess isn't a factor anymore. Even the Parfum, which I am a recent fan of, has enough of the sweetness dialed back but it retains the density and character I like from this line. I find that Tobacco (despite what some reviewers say here) outdoes many offerings that exist in the same space. Niche OR designer. Is there tobacco here? Of course! Does it compete with other tobacco fragrance out there today? Also, yes. But this is fragrance land, folks. There are hundreds of tobacco fragrances, and there are also hundreds of people that each have differing tastes. @JusttheFactsMan says it lacks longevity? WHAT?? This stuff lasts on me until I wash it off. Granted, it only projects for two or three hours but it lasts an easy 10+. The only review here that contains enough detail and context on this fragrance comes to us from @TheDogfatherHTX, who provides a concise assessment of this fragrance that mirrors my personal experience. As usual, order a decant. Always sample. Unless the fragrance is inexpensive, which this one is not. But it has skyrocketed into my top 25 without much effort.

Without exageration, my favourite fregrance to ever be made that ive ever had the pleasure of smelling, it fills a small room and it says on skin for the entire day, spray it in the morning and you dont even have to worry about cologne even in rain or scorching sun, the smell is amazeing, tough to me it gives unisex and not masculine, so if you're looking for something manly it might not be the call, also it gives off a smell akin to rubbing alcohol for the first dozen seconds when you spray it, not sure why but it tames quick so it's not that big of a deal but it still bothers me that it doesn't have a nice opening. Its such a shame fragrence companies will launch such great things just to make them limited edition... in about less than a years time, if you want one you want one you're gonna have to go on ebay and buy at an extreme chargeup with the gamble that it might not even be the real deal... such a shame Armani would make such a masterpiece, but only one batch. The feel of exclusivity is not worth the price of countless never getting to experience it, and those who did will not be able to get more of it. From the lens of both buisness and reputation it is downright idiotic. I think thats the best way i can put it, and i truly hope that one day designers will stop makeing so much stuff limited.

Alright, let’s be real. My nose is basically a tobacco expert, so when I say this isn't quite the tobacco hit I was expecting, trust me. It's more peppery and spicy than smoky and rich. The tobacco? Kinda meh nothing special. But the burnt chestnut and vanilla? Now that is pretty awesome. You can definitely tell it’s got that SWY vibe to it. If you already have any of the flankers, you’re not missing out here. Is it overpriced? Yeah, kinda. But I get it, it’s discontinued and hard to find, so I get why it’s a bit pricey. In the future, it might be a little treasure for your collection. Do I regret buying it? Nah, not really. I just want to stack up on tobacco scents. Was it what I expected? Eh, sorta, but I was hoping for something with more punch. This is more like a tobacco training wheels situation for me. It feels... incomplete. Scent: 7.5/10 (Could have been a 10/10 masterpiece, if only that tobacco had more of a voice instead of peppers.) Longevity: 8.5/10 Sillage: 8.5/10 Overall: 8/10

When i think of a smooth tobacco smell. STW tobbaco comes to mind. This is the only tobbaco frag I want, The peppers,amber and woods make this a brilliant masculine scent. On paper instantly gives you floral and sweet however let it sit for a few hours it gives you a strong and masculine tobacco (first time i smelt it i was quite shocked how the smells change after it sits) The way i would describe this frag is You wake up from a nice nap after school and you go to make some food then your dad calls you outside as your having a family gathering, you walk outside and you smell your lovely trees and flowers nearby, your uncle who is smoking greets you all these things combine to make in my opinion the best STW out there. This fragrance is excellent something i will pick up later down the line. i think its very old school however and should only be worn if you are over 16 as something that becomes so masculine in a matter of hours can ruin a school frag vibe