Gucci Guilty Essence Pour Homme

⚠️ A little caution: This cologne causes olfactory fatigue very quickly for me. I can only smell it on myself for the first 1-2 hours, and then my nose completely stops picking up the scent. BUT... everyone else around me can still smell it! I was genuinely surprised. For example, one day I sprayed it around 8:00 AM before work (just 4 sprays: one on each side of my collar, and two on the back of my neck). That evening, around 7:00 PM, I went out for dinner with my girlfriend. She immediately complimented me, saying, "Your cologne smells so lovely!" She said this even though I couldn't smell it at all anymore. (However, when I took off my shirt, I could still catch a faint trace of it.) As an Asian person, I think this might be well-suited to the Asian nose, or perhaps my skin chemistry. I have received many compliments from people in the office asking what cologne I am wearing (but of course, I didn't tell them! 😉 I don't want everyone in the office smelling like me!). Scent comparison: Gucci Guilty Essence smells very similar to Gucci Guilty Black. However, I feel that the Gucci Guilty Essence causes my nose to become accustomed to the scent much faster than Gucci Guilty Black. With Black, I could always detect a faint hint of it throughout the day. With Essence, the olfactory fatigue hits fast, yet people nearby can still definitely smell it on me. Final Verdict: I truly love the scent of Gucci Guilty Essence. It makes me feel clean, fresh, and slightly sweet with a noticeable green undertone.

This fragrance gets a lot of hate and I can understand where it's coming from, but personally I love Gucci Guilty Essence. It is a simple fragrance that is executed very well. A dark green fougere that is very patchouli forward. Combines an aromatic lavender, herbal green patchouli, white florals, and a classic cedar base. I love GGE because of how versatile it is. You can wear this in literally any situation, any season, any time and you will smell well put together. For this reason I bought the 6.7oz bottle. Quickly becoming a main contender for my daily fragrance. Does it reinvent the wheel? No. Not every fragrance has to be some complex, thought provoking experience. GGE is a perfect example of a dumb reach. I see quite a lot of reviews saying GGE has poor longevity and sillage. Keep in mind this is an EDT concentration. I put 7 sprays directly on skin and got nearly 12 hours of performance in a 90F factory. I've worn EDPs with much worse performance. HEAVILY slept on fragrance. Gets a ton of unwarranted hate. I love it. So sue me.

The name change really fits it now - it takes the "essence" of the original and adds a bit of character to it, unlike GG Absolute or GG Oud where it's a completely different thing. To my nose, this basically smells like the discontinued Intense flanker, but instead of the amber and chocolatey patchouli, it focuses on the coriander, lavender and cedar, making it a bit fresher and greener. It's quite redundant if you already have the original EDT or the Intense though. Great for everyday wear, it's fresh, safe and masculine, I'm sure no one will dislike it. The performance isn't as bad as people say/have said about Guilty Black, it should last 6-8 hours on your skin and project for an hour or two without any issues. This used to be expensive, but as of now it hit discounters, so it can be a worthy pickup if you are looking for something different than the ambroxan-heavy and candy sweet designers released today.

Gucci has re-released Gucci Guilty Black as Gucci Guilty Essence. Same fragrance and notes, with a slightly different bottle and a new name, Essence. I get a mainly lavender and patchouli fougere, it smells fresh and clean with its cedar base holding it all together. This is definitely a "men's" fragrance. However, I find it rather unoriginal and generic, especially considering that most of these Gucci Guilty fragrances have the exact same scent profile. I like it, but it's far too expensive to justify buying at retail and prices even on discounters are still ~$90. I would see this being a great fragrance for someone just getting into the hobby, someone who just needs something that smells fresh and clean without needing to impress. It'd be excellent for office wear or as a daily driver dumb reach.

I wear this at work. I spray on skin and on clothes. By the time I get to the office, it’s already just a memory of itself. It’s very discreet for the rest of the day but I still catch faint whiffs here and there, especially if I’m walking up flights of stairs etc. That’s what it excels at. It’s so weak it won’t ever bother anyone, but when people pass me by or get close, they catch hints of it. Even though there aren’t any notes of mint, lime or white rhum, the opening always reminds me of a freshly made mojito. I love it.