Guess 1981 for Men

The name of this would suggest something wholly other to anyone told this is a woody chypre. It's thoroughly modern but, as someone who usually says as much with a pejorative tone, I actually love it. I shouldn't. I don't like freshies. I'm no fan of aquatics. I love this. It's so much cozier than typical offerings in the backrooms short-nap, grey-carpeted NPC bazaar of freshies, aquatics, and other florescent hum, office safe liminal scents. It does, however, remain liminal. Part new car. Part new construction public restroom. Part laundry room. Part doctor's office. But all entirely in a very pleasant way that still somehow manages to smuggle the airy husk of a chypre skeleton through the liminality, like a dead body wrapped in hotel casino carpet. It opens pure gin and tonic, as if the cedar planted a face hugger egg in the violet leaf and produced a juniper chest burster. Regardless, the strong, but fleeting citrus of the bergamot, pairs with that strange juniper quality and becomes a beautiful gin and tonic to say hello with. It builds from there into a strong violet leaf and ambergris aromatic aquatic wrapped around the faint whisp of resin, mossy wood, and a leather reminiscent of a new handbag, not dissimilar to a TFOL dupe. Really beautiful and satisfying, even if it seems like more of a quotation of a chypre than a true chypre. I really, really like this and I expect I may wear it a lot in the summer, although I find it to be a man for all seasons without a doubt. Not the best performer, but affordable enough to bomb yourself and your clothes with. So why complain?

Performance is lacking a bit, but you can get it for a song, and this little guy is actually pretty frickin good! Skews a bit mature, reminds me a bit of the Lalique Pour Homme line. I hadn't seen any reviews so I wasn't expecting much when I bought it second-hand for 8 bucks, but was really surprised! I'm starting to appreciate Guess a bit more for their fragrances after this and Seductive Homme Noir. Considering they can be often found at Ross, TJ Maxx, and the like, definitely worth the 20 bucks they can be found for. I've bought a lot worse for a lot more money, that's for sure!

Smells like nettle garden under a few cedar trees , infused with very realistic church incense , calm, sober, manly and intelligent . Austere and introspective. Nothing unisex , according to some votes.Very unique smell, somehow hypnotic . On me lasts 12 hours easily with 4/5 spritz - multi season and classic , even slightly futuristic .The bottle is simple but well made and looks beautiful , resembling some niche frags or classic apotheke glasses. with band like label on them . For 18 euro /100 ml this is great.

A predominately amber and violet perfume. Some background leather and woods too. It's very smooth and well put together. Reminds me a lot of Bentley Infinite Intense. Performance overall is moderate, the dry down is a mellow and smooth amber. Definitely a love from me - this stuff is really nice. I've just bought a second bottle. The price is great and this stuff is a gem.

Got sample of Mojave Ghost. While I think they share a few notes, they are pretty different especially in the dry down, IMO, enough that someone could love one and not the other. I like them both.

I really love this but it does lack in performance. Armaf's Untold is a much more powerful Amber perfume.

Almost five hours later and it still smells great on the tester strip. Will try on skin tomorrow.

I find this similar to Mohave Ghost.... wonderful rich comforting scent at a terrific price!

I have not had a fragrance like this in my collection before. Fragrantica categorizes it as "Woody Chypre" which I feel is not one of the more common scent categories. On initial blast, it gives a harsh vibe - I didn't appreciate this until I sprayed it on myself seconds before getting intimate with a girl and she immediately said it was too strong while her head snapped back...lol. But once that initial strong blast calms down, which takes a few minutes, to me this scent smells like a dark, intense version of a scent that Prada would make. You know what I'm talking about - that luxury soap scent that Prada is known for (check out "Prada Amber pour homme"). Take that luxury soap smell and add more smokiness, more wood and more leather and you get Guess 1981 for men. In my opinion, you can wear this anytime in the Spring, Fall & Winter but PLEASE don't spray yourself within seconds of interacting with people as the initial blast is too much. Last point: to my nose, the scent is linear - doesn't really change throughout the day/night. But for a linear scent, it's pretty good and unique. Check it out! Peace Edit#1: Remember that harsh initial opening I said this fragrance has? I can now articulate it better - it's a strong METALLIC opening - gives this fragrance a very COLD/Emotionless start. Keep that in mind.

Its a pencil shavings cedar with dried up and used smell of incense and a smidge of sweet leather. This is by no means a sweet fragrance though. The amber is ambroxan or molecules of similar sort (ambrox, cetalox, etc) with a bit of methyl ionone gamma or some type of ionone, damascone total, beta, or gamma which gives a slightly wine fruity nuance (hence the color of the "juice" to match). The oakmoss (veramoss) is in the background which gives it the musty chypre-ness. Bergamot is just there to blend and create the chypre accord. Barely noticable, if that. The violet leaf sits way in the back but its there. More noticable than the bergamot to my nose. Its a very faint scent. I actually really love this and use it when I want something close to the skin that won't protect or choke anyone in tight quarters (think of a car or elevator). If you get it for $20 or less, worth it if you enjoy light fragrances. If not, then skip. The scent isn't anything to brag about but it is pleasant. If you're going to be out for an hour or two, it'll work fine. After that, its basically none existent on my skin.

How has nobody mentioned the similarity to Tom Ford's Ombré Leather? This smells like a flanker, with an extremely similar opening and mid. To me, Ombré Leather is all about a pretty feminine floral contrasted with intense photorealistic leather. Here with 1981 that pretty floral is slightly toned down, and some of the leather has been replaced with smoky wood. Otherwise they're identical to my nose. Even though this supposedly has violet and Ombré Leather has jasmine. There's gotta be some unlisted cardamom for how similar these are. Differences start to show in the dry-down. An aromatic cold feel appears with this one, as if there was a mint note in the base. I actually get the pickle reference if I think about it! But as soon as I don't, the pickle-ness disappears. Performance is weaker than expected, just like LNDL. That's where Tom Ford destroys this one. But for the price you can just keep spraying more.

I must be the only one who is not fond of this fragrance. Oh, how badly I wish I had not bought it. I don't even use it anymore. A tester version of it was on discount several months ago and I ordered it along with two other fragrances. Firstly, I liked it. The metal note + the woods seemed a nice combination. However, it was so weak I needed to overspray each time I use it. It barely reached the 2 hours mark and did not project at all. Eventually I stopped using it and left it on my shelf, collecting dust and taking up space. Now I tried it again. It hit me with a blast of alcohol and harsh metal, stronger than ever. After a minute it settled down and turned into an extremely light, barely there scent which is not at all impressive. To say something positive, it may be a good scent for someone new to fragrances or if you work in an office with a lot of people. This one seems fairly inoffensive and delicate.

I have to agree with Schmeal and Adrian below, this scent is beautiful, comforting, clean and fresh. It's a wonderful fragrance yet ephemeral and fleeting. The opening is almost a zesty dance of violet and bergamot, the cedar is present right from the opening, a noticeable Iso E Super note from top to bottom, the green oakmoss really ties everything together, the base is rich with a great leather note (reminiscent of Ombre Leather), with hints of frankincense. This is honestly a stunning composition, the massive flaw is the performance, utterly dismal. There is an aerosol body spray version that amps up the Iso E Super and actually has better longevity than the EDT version (I own both). I really wish that Guess would take their fragrances more seriously, because the scents are excellent in the few I have tried, but the performance is always shameful.

I decided to give this another chance. The scent itself is definitely not bad. Is it outstanding? I don't think so. However, it is very agreeable. I love the metallic note. It almost smells nostalgic as I have owned my bottle for a few years. What upsets me is the fact that it does not really last. I have to drench myself into this in order to get it to last. It needs to go, though. This is why I have decided to spray it on my clean T-shirts I wear at home before I fold them and put them back into my wardrobe. It stays longer on fabric and smells good.

So Guess 1981 is a nice fragrance! Whether it is Synthetic, I do not know! But what I can tell you is that it smells very close to Dior Sauvage! And I have Sauvage Parfum. On a scale of 1-10, this is a 7.75/8.00, to what Sauvage is! This is just my opinion! I heard a few people say, that this doesn't last long on their skin. I don't know why that is for you! But I will say 3-4 sprays, should carry you 6-7hrs. It then tones down! I was still smelling this 9hrs later, when I got a gust of wind...Don't overspray this one! 3-4, and that's it...

Smells incredible, performance is terrible. Fruity sweet violet and citrus opening as it defies down the cedar and leather come forward with some amber notes. It's balanced very nicely. It only lasts about an hour with light projection. I actually have the body spray version of this that actually smells better and gives better performance. I wish they made an EDP of this. It's so strange that Guess makes some frags that smell so good but are always let down by poor performance.

Can confirm that after trying both, the aerosolized can version does in fact perform better and is actually a bit nicer than the edt. I’d suggest picking up that version if you’re able to. With that said I still get really good longevity from the edt as well. Spray your clothes, it'll help with performance. I'll say this though, you’d be making a mistake if you passed on this one regardless of price or performance, because this is a true gem of a fragrance.

I first tried this at night and almost could not detect it on my skin. The next morning I reapplied and felt like daytime was much more suitable for this one. In fact, I kind of liked it as it seemed understated to me. Unfortunately, the second day I wear this, my wife tells me I gotta stop wearing it because it is annoying her. I didn't even think she could smell it! Oh well, bye bye 1981. On second thought -- I am saving this one just for me.

Very nice fragrance, I get a lot of the smokiness from this fragrance. Compliments my skin and style very well. Kind of strong for daytime wear but is perfect for evenings and going out. As with all GUESS? Men's Cologne's longevity just okay, it will last on my skin for about 4 hours. I have always been a fan of GUESS? Cologne and as a fan this one does not disappoint.

An interesting fragrance. It's the kind you have to wear a couple of times before you fully make up your mind on it. it has a youthful vibe, but isn't juvenile. The initial blast IS strong, but it mellows nicely. can see myself wearing it year round, except for the hottest summer days when it may be a little cloying. definitely runs casual. longevity good.

my bf wears this. so good!! even though it's not listed in the scent pyramid, it smells like freshly cut grapefruit (not bergamot). the spice doesn't smell too "old" or cloying either. I feel like the main accords listed are quite deceiving because this is certainly a freshie and isn't heavy.

Seems to be one of the forgotten Guess fragrances. People only talking about the flanker that came out recently - called Guess 1981 Indigo. But the original deserves a little love too: Check out my new review on the original on Youtube: The Scentrovert

Guess 1981 does remind me a lot of Power by 50cent. They have a similar note break down...but Power by 50cent is more herbal to me and it tends to last longer on my skin. Overall both are decent for the price l recommend trying both out.

I find this to be such a cozy familiar scent. It's fresh and clean without being soapy or overly citrusy. Warm but not spicy. Just a nicely balanced, all around solid fragrance. Old school charm all the way.

If you want something safe, buy this. It is the perfect price, very affordable. It is weak, may have to carry it with you and spray some more throughout the day if you want the scent to keep staying on you.

Inoffensive, fresh, understated but stands out among my collection. I wear this primarily as a base layer for other fragrances to give them a unique boost. Smells like a more defined flanker of another 13.

great fragrance, smells like: you're in an arab bakery. fucking shit performance does not last long or project at all disappointingly. So hard buy but very cheap.

funny how the byredo fans are trying to downvote the mojave ghost, although they are really very similar and they know it. snobbish hearts.

I am not sure what this smells like, it doesn't really remind me of anything else I own. But I find it pleasant in its own way.

SOTD It is a very versatile scent. It is clean, soft, and soapy fresh. I would definitely recommend it to young people.

#294 in my "Tour de Fragrance" You know at this price that even though it's labeled "EDT" it's going to be "Cologne" potency at best, more likely a "fraiche", but this is, surprisingly, an actual EDT in strength, unlike 1981 Los Angeles which is pointlessly weak and generic. There's actually a woody/leathery/ambery scent in here. Not an instant skin scent like 1981 LA, some projection. Still pretty much the definition of generic, but it's definitely a notch above real trash like Cremo, Jaguar and Yacht Man. I'd still save your money for a better leathery scent. For a really good Arab similar for the Tom Ford "Tuscan Leather", I recommend Rasasi's "La Yuqawam", which is usually around $55. If that's out of your budget, "Toscano Leather" by Maison Alhambra goes for $25. For $60 Montale's "Aoud Leather" is also a really nice choice as well that I know you'll enjoy. I just think you're better off saving your cash for better quality and performance than you get from this, or any other Guess fragrance.

It’s not bad smelling, just extraordinarily average. There are much much better fragrances out there.

I really enjoy guess 1981 Los Angeles, and so thought I would try 1981. I am regret to say this may have been a mistake. I find 1981 kicks off with a high metallic note, and to be honest, not much behind that bar some ozonic tinge. As others have mentioned a very average fragrance to me with no real scent profile. With this in mind, I find no real circumstance where I would be reaching for this. In my personal opinion, I would avoid. Again to reiterate, 1981 Los Angeles is one of my favourites. That fragrance has a bold, plum, note warms, and some depth again for the price. This one simply does not.

This scent has all the staying power of a 17-year-old boy on his first hot date. I had to spray this literally 12 times to get anything like a smell from it and within 30 minutes it was gone. Putting my nose to my skin gave me just the BAREST whiff of the metallic notes but after an hour of wear in an air conditioned room, I may as well have not even bothered to spray it on at all. This is a hard "do not recommend" from me.

Everyone likes this cologne except me it seems. I got home and put it on and honestly, I personally can't get past one thing. It smells like pickles. I've asked everyone and they don't smell it and always say mmmm I really like that. I want to like it but I've burned that association of 1981 with pickles in my brain I guess.. It's a great deal though and I'm sure a good 95% of people love it.

Smells like the hand soap we had a my elementary school... very soapy.

Literally worst cologne I have ever used. Saw someone on this forum compare this to Gucci pour Homme (2003) and wow... That was soooo far off base. This cheap stuff smells only of alcohol. I hate wasting anything but this is going in the trash. Just as others have said, this is very weak and only smells faintly of metal through the scent of rubbing alcohol. Do yourself a favor and skip this. Oh and if you were looking for a close replacement for Gucci pour Home, closest is Bentley Absolute as most wise folks have pointed out.

The scent is so fresh and clean, l love it, but the performance is terrible, it last on me less than an hour. It's very cheap, but for the price there are better options tho.

The forgotten brother. Guess 1981 I bought it out of sheer curiosity. Much is said about its more popular siblings, but this one caught my attention powerfully. The minimalist bottle, the grayish-lilac color of the juice, the name.... It seemed to hide a secret. When I read that it supposedly mimics a niche fragrance (Mojave Ghost), I decided to buy it. I was about to discover something interesting The smell. Unexpectedly, it hits all the keys you already read in other reviews: It's 100% synthetic, it has moss, it has sweet, it has metallic, I would even say a bit of suede (instead of leather). Of course, all these elements in low concentration. They are not taken to their extreme, as we are accustomed to today's fragrances. This offers an interesting balance. Many reviewers on Youtube don't know how to describe it. Some say it smells like esoteric store, others say it smells like pickle, others claim it smells like metal. I would say it smells "new". In the same realm of smell that the inside of an iPhone case might have. That kind of synthetic, yet pleasant smell. It also has a hair product vibe, like hairspray or hair gel, just as pleasant. It's simple yet complex, very linear, on my skin it lasts like a bitch and projects fairly. Good for air conditioners, I think not so much in heat, I'd have to keep testing. I haven't smelled Mojave Ghost, but I think and have smelled some similar perfume (Zara I think). However, NO ONE around you smells similar. So, if you are on a limited budget and want to stand out, go ahead. You will stand out. I don't think it's made for seduction, I don't think it's made for sports, I don't think it's made for the office. It's a blank canvas, you skin the brush. 22 YEARS AND OLDER. Ironically, and following the pseudo-scientific meaning, this perfume is the true and authentic INDIGO child of the 1981 family.

This ones interesting. I love it, but it’s an odd fragrance. More complex in its construction than I was expecting for its $20usd price tag. It’s got a warm inviting almost reminiscent feeling to it. Kinda smells like my old blockbuster video store. Don’t ask me how or why, it’s just does. It smells like coming home. I can’t really pin point any of the notes outside of the violet leaf, cedar and olibanum . The rest of the notes work together to create a body around the 3 previously mentioned notes. Just an all around great fragrance. I’m working on my 3rd bottle as we speak.

I saw a 30ml of this on sale for $8.00 😱 so I pulled up the page here & decided to buy based on the notes and reviews. I do get the metallic/alcohol burst in the beginning. But it settles and the violet leaf & bergamot are quite lovely! After dry down, the leather and wood scents come through, at this point I feel it's more generic and I prefer the opening much more. Overall I'd say this is an inoffensive scent although I'd agree the longevity isn't so great and it's mostly a skin scent. It seems this is better suited for spring/summer, so I will see how it performs then.

This is the only incense-centric fragrance I can think of in this price range. Smells really great. Performance is bad, as you would expect. Update: I think I judged the performance on this one too soon. With a slightly liberal application, it projected enough to get me a compliment in the morning and continued to do so for probably 2 hours, and stayed a skin scent for a solid 5 or so hours. I think this is my favorite modern cheapie I've ever bought.

The Smooth Ambergris in this one makes you forget this is a cheapie. This is my freshen up/deodorant spray for anywhere I sweat after a long day. It is a Well rounded fragrance that has good potency for 2 hours. It has mild longevity: 2-3 hours(which is exactly what I want). Nice on the skin versus the clothes. This is uniquely smooth and underappreciated. I got a deodorant spray of this as well and it is my favorite way to apply it under my shirt.

bought this off fragrancenet on impulse after i found out my 65 year old widowed mother got taken to hospital by ambulance after a seizure induced by a hit off a joint. i wanted to smell like violets but masculine. it’s fine. i’ve been using it as linen spray. that said, it reminded me of why i don’t blind buy. violets + pine = something nauseatingly medicinal. my $30 lesson about compulsive spending

A bit like a fruity version of Metal Rain by Banana Republic, and by extension in the Silver Mountain Water family. The star of this is the violet leaf. The ambers and leather are not overwhelming and it comes across as a masculine, clean and fresh violet scent suitable for warm weather despite the leather and amber. Underrated.

This smells identical to 1981 Indigo Women. Slick move by the designer. Got me thinking because i own indigo women, wow so they created it in 2017 then a year later launched indigo flankers line and made the women's frag identical to it while making the men's indigo version a whole different scent.

I adore this smell. It smells clean, a bit metallic and floral. I smelled the popular Man Eau Fraiche by Versac one time, and this Guess 1981 reminds me of that. Perhaps this is an inspiration? It seems Guess are more affordable versions of expensive popular designer frags.

Very nice soapy,ozonic, oakmoss woody and leather fragrance. To me this smells as though it's a tom ford fragrance, not a guess fragrance. This is a very versatile smell that you could wear to the office or on a date

Very nice smell. Has the same kind of vibe as La Nuit de L'Homme...but smells not the same. Strong projection the first hour. Pity it does not last that long...about 4 hours I can smell it. But I like it...

This really does smell exactly like pickles, it's a weird-but-good metallic sweet combination. I much prefer Guess Seductive.