Drakkar Essence

Surprisingly I really liked this, I feel if this was sold by a more popular brand that doubled the price or added a zero to the retail price (cough cough parfums de overpriced marley) everyone would be raving about how nice it is. Not a masterpiece by any means but still a lot better than a lot of bargain bin colognes out there. It's another one of those similar to Axe Phoenix body wash but this is more citrusy and not as linear. Usually you'd think the axe reference is a bad thing but it's a cheap reference that is similar and I do like Phoenix. The mint is blended in so well I didn't know it was there, Hopefully It's definitely more of a sports fragrance to me. I'd say younger crowd under 30, middle school , high school, something to get someone into cologne or a quick holiday gift. It's a lot easier to wear than some colognes in my collection as well. I could see people clubbing or having intimate moments with this and I feel you will get this boost of confidence wearing it. I hope they continue to make it in the following years as the current fads popping up are getting silly people claiming they would apparently rather smell like Starbucks coffee shops or some poorly blended borderline body odor smelling oud and rose. It's not overly strong or powerful so an office scent you could pull off for sure. It may last 4 or 5 hours if you're lucky if sprayed 3 or 4 sprays on. The bottle looks great and does a fine job of explaining the scent. Question is would I buy another bottle? Absolutely. I've smelled and bought scents for 2 to 5 times the money I didn't like this much.

Well here's a pleasant surprise. I rarely have time to review anymore but something struck me with this fragrance. The bottle is nothing fancy but the sprayer is quite good. No collar on the sprayer, don't even care. It was like 20 bucks. Upon first blast, I get a very shower gel vibe. Citrusy, minty. However, it smells nearly identical to an actual shower gel I've used. Duke Cannon's Naval Supremacy. It smells great! If you haven't used it and are in the market for one, I'd recommend it. As I would this fragrance at such a price. As it dries down, it becomes more in line with lavender, woodiness and a touch of sweetness from the tonka. It's really not reinventing the wheel but it's quite pleasant nonetheless. Longevity is not awesome but maybe around the 6 hour mark, becomes a skin scent in 2 tops. That's not horrible for what it is. Anyone could wear this, could be a great signature office or casual scent. Might not stack up in the cold, I would go spring/summer. Price is right. All in all, I rather enjoy it.

Good blue designer scent with solid quality ingredients that give it some bite and decent performance. The mint & grapefruit are upfront and captivating in this, making it hugely versatile and all season friendly for sure. Extremely fresh at the beginning before entering a nice spicy manly drydown. I love that deep blue bottle too whose colour is a good reflection of the scent 💙. To me it smells juicier but quite similar to Aqua Quorum which is one of my favourite ever scents. I'm not sure why it was undeservedly available for a relatively short time, and is now becoming rare. A solid 8.5/10 and a clear recommendation from me if you can find it.

I've owned two bottles of this fragrance and it's good, but not great. It has decent performance on my skin, the smell is not offending and the grapefruit comes through nicely which I do like. What's not great is that it doesn't feel exciting, like its already an outdated fragrance. Price is decent for someone who is just starting out in the fragrance game but if you've been in it for a while you can definitely find something better.

This is my extended review of Drakkar Essence. Drakkar Essence was a fragance that intrigued me since I did like Drakkar Noir. I sampled this cologne for the first time at a Target back in May. I liked it back then and purchased it on sale for $18 for a 1oz/30ml and its 2.7oz deodorant stick. For me, I found it to be a scent that while it is very new, it's old at the same time. I liked it from the moment I tested it but I couldn't put a finger on the why it was familiar, then I saw it on an Amazon review... the reviewer called it a mix of Drakkar Noir and Polo Blue. After reading that it clicked and I have to agree with that. Then I realized upon buying it, it was more minty than Polo Blue. It may not be a long lasting scent due to the mint but otherwise is set in basic notes. I find the mint gives you the option to use it as a nightime scent (similar to Drakkar Noir) but with the daytime sensibilities and seasonality of an aquatic (like Polo Blue.) If you like both scents or want a Drakkar Noir for daytime, this maybe the fragrance for you. That said, while I like the scent, my main knock on this fragrance is its short life of about a 4 hour cologne. This I think is mainly due to the mint. That said, the sillage is pretty good on it. The price is a little high for this juice so I can't see getting it for the typical pricing you see in the department stores but I will seek it out when I need it and hope for a sale. That said, it is a three season scent that can be used for sure in spring and summer, as well as be pulled off in fall, given it isn't cool and snowy. Rating wise, I would have to give Drakkar Essence at a 7.2 out of 10, mainly because Drakkar Noir a 7.5. It's a nice revision for the modern day but not the best minty aquatic I have, that goes to Cool Water Night Dive (even though they are NOT alike.)

I truly love and prefer to spend my money on winter/fall scents, and am not a fan of the summer season. Too hot; give me a crisp fall day instead of the humid souplike summers here in Memphis. That said, I needed a new fragrance to wear this summer. My Ralph Lauren Safari just wasn't cutting it, and that was the lightest scent in my small collection. So until I found something that I really wanted to be my signature for the summer (which turns out to be the wonderful Varvatos Artisan Acqua despite the longevity issue), I bought a small bottle of Essence at Target for around $20. I think Essence is a bit underappreciated. Sure, it's not the ubiquitous 80s powerhouse its older brother was, but it's a solid frag for the warmer (and even damn hot) weather, and I can also imagine it performing well in cool weather. It hits with pulp-bursting grapefruit dripping into mint. I can't particularly smell the mint on its own, but i can sense its contribution to the citrus. This mint-enhanced citrus hangs around for quite some time before drying down into a softer musk fairly reminiscent of brother Noir. On my somewhat oily skin, it has decent projection and great longevity. It seems to stick to my skin even when the humidity has me sweating, and that's a great thing to a recent Southern transplant who spent the first 40 years of his life in mild southern California. It's nothing exciting, but it does what it does very well and it's growing on me each time I wear it, which is usually at work where I manage a large antique mall which frequently has me performing physical tasks like helping customers move and load furniture purchases. Very happy with my $20 purchase and might even buy another when this one runs out.

#58 in my "Tour de Fragrance" of 250 scents in 250 days. Back in 1982 when Drakkar Noir was first introduced to the market, I liked it a lot. I like all the barbershop scents. But though college age women agreed they wanted to have sex with the sweaty, hairy-chested kickboxer in the uber-macho Drakkar Noir commercials (or failing that, with the Bowflex guy), they soon began to mock you for wearing a fragrance that smelled of baby powder yet promoted itself with such machismo. In a year every coed at the college recognized the scent instantly, and by '84 you couldn't give it away. Still, I tried Drakkar Intense a couple of months ago with trepidation and was happy with both the scent and the price. Given that, I purchased a Mini-Drakkar Essence and got around to trying it today. There's no hint of Intense's muskiness nor Noir's baby powder in this, but OH BABY is there grapefruit! And I like it.... while it lasts, which is not long at all. Too weak to merit the price given that it's a skin scent in a couple of hours and not even that in four. $65 for a 100ML bottle to smell like grapefruit for an hour or so? Get some Ocean Spray Ruby Red for $4.19 a half gallon and drizzle it on your chest.

I always have been a big fan of Drakkar Noir, so I was very interested in trying out this new Drakkar Essence.. I finally ran into Drakkar Essence at Macy's so I sprayed it on the tester strip and sniffed it out.. This is my first impression of this scent.. Essence opens up with lots of mint and blended with the grapefruit it makes a very fresh opening.. The lavender comes and joins the party and not long after so does the sage along with the sweet woody notes.. The minty lavender sage vibe last a while and it does bring to mind scents like Le Male or Versace Eros but it still is different.. I can not help but to think of Curve also.. The woody notes, tonka, and musk create a nice sweet vibe and eventually when Essence dries down you really get something that smells a whole lot like Curve! It is not very unique but it smells pleasant.. I am sure that if the younger crowd give this a chance it will be a hit..

SHOOT! I was thinking about ordering A 3.4 ounce from Macy's.com, even to the point where it's in my shopping bag and all I need to do is check out. Was hoping for a powerhouse fragrance like the good old 80s Noir type fragrance to go "boom boom boom" to but with a little more maturity. I'll still look around before I pulled the trigger, and maybe go by to get some samples and not open the box. But for $64 a 3.4 ounce bottle is not terrible, I'm just incredibly interested with the lavender and mint combination. The Tonka Bean drydown is probably going to be very similar to all the other ones out there. Thoughts from anyone else?

I totally agree with Jason Elliott's review. This is nothing special, especially considering the EXTRA special fragrances that Guy Laroche shared with us once every decade or so. However: for a safe, office friendly, long-lasting scent that won't break the bank: this is worth a try. I caught a 50ml bottle for around $10 and I am extremely satisfied. It's in the same family as Aqua Quorum (a favorite), to my nose. Given what others have said about this juice, a blind buy may not be wise. But if you can try it, do so. You may be pleasantly surprised! Well worth it if you can find it below retail.

This and Sedley do smell a bit similar as the votes suggest, but the similarities are miniscule. Sedley smells a bit darker, more nuanced, higher quality... That's not to say that this isn't a great fragrance in it's own right. For the price you can find this at, it's a great scent for the Spring and Summer. Bright Grapefruit and Mint notes lead the way for a great warm weather scent. For those who prefer musky over aquatic in their summer staple, this is a good look.

I like it but at the first sniff the musk really stood out smelled a little like almost musky arm pit but then it settles down to a nice light fresh showered scent its likeable and safe any age could sport this 7/10 I'd buy it but when its cheaper I wouldn't pay full retail for it I'll wait until the smaller stores get it and online retailers this fragrance would be great for spring and summer a change up

Nothing much to experience here. A grapefruit driven concoction that's not worthy of the Drakkar Noir name. There are worst flankers out there, but you ultimately walk away feeling like this offering is a hasty cash grab by Guy Laroche's house and nothing more. Look for Essence at a Retailer clearance shelf in the not too distant future. Probably sitting right next to Horizon.

Not bad - but not especially good, either. It begins very astringent and sharp, then settles down, more or less, to the same fougere vibe as the original Drakkar. But I'm pretty sure I prefer the original. Longevity on me is not good; in about an hour it becomes a very subtle skin scent.

Doesn't smell a thing like Drakkar Noir (to me, anyways) but I like it. Great warm, and even *hot weather* scent. Very fresh, and doesn't smell like every other 'blue' fragrance. Not a powerhouse by any means but it wouldn't be as good if it was.

First fragrance that I own. Fresh minty citrusy scent. Performance is ok

Nice & clean & freshy scent for summer hot days🎆 good release👍♥️

Is it bad? No, not at all. It has a unique sharp/soapy opening that's quite nice but, when all is said and done, it really doesn't do much that Navy, Ocean Dream, Giorgio's Wings, or dozens other blues didn't already do. Except for that fleeting opening, ESSENCE doesn't have anything to really set it apart. In fact, COOL OCEAN by Axe does much the same thing. If you can get it for cheap, great. But don't expect much. Unless you are a Guy Laroche completist, you really aren't missing anything. Also a better buy than Drakkar Intense but that's not saying much.

Ugh.. I feel like I just covered myself in a fresh fruity deodorant with a hint of Drakar DNA. At least it is not unbearable, but I doubt that I will choose to do it again.

Tried this one at Target last fall. I went to target with the thought of buying this one, as I liked the Original Drakkar. At first spray, it smelled very synthetic/detergent like, I did three sprays, I had some basic shopping to do so I thought I'd come back after the drydown. Well after 15 minutes it was pretty safe to say, this is a synthetic dud. Surprised Guy Laroche put this one out, Original Drakkar still has a good name. This is a very poor offering though. If detergent was one of the ingredients listed, I'm pretty sure detergent would be the top ingredient chosen.