Play

Ok, so Hawthorne are a bit of an odd duck. There is no one “Play” or “Work” fragrance. They are a direct sales company with a whole catalog of fragrances, but they don’t make it directly browsable. for things like favorite drink, your favorite night out, if you’re introverted or extroverted. Based on the your results with the quiz, they “match” you with one of their fragrances for “Work” and one for “Play”. In order to buy different fragrances you have to retake the quiz and give different answers. It may sound gimmicky, but it’s actually great for guys who don’t know anything about fragrances – it’s how I first got interested in fragrances! And I’ve maybe messed around with the quiz a few times so I could order different fragrances. They also have seasonal limited edition releases. Edit: as of spring 2022, Hawthorne has finally made a much of their catalogue browsable and available to order from their website without going through the quiz. So, here are all of the fragrances I’ve ordered from them as “play” scents. “Aromatic and Woody” by Olivier Gillotin. Notes of Italian cedrat, Haitian vetiver, and Canadian balsam fir. Very woody, and even a noticeable touch of petrol-ness. Definitely a manly cologne. Intriguing, but also still quite appealing. I’d say this is pleasant and I definitely enjoy wearing it, though it's not quite my favorite of the bunch. Seems to have a ton of projection. “Warm and Aromatic” by Quentin Bisch. Notes of bergamot, lavender, clove, tonka bean, vanilla, and cedarwood. Very mass appealing, very easy to wear. A rich, sweet , slightly dark cologne. Suitable perhaps for cooler weather as the name implies. I really enjoy wearing this. “Sophisticated and Aromatic” by Rodrigo Flores-Roux. Notes of smoked pineapple, petigrain, pine, vetiver, sea salt, and musk. And that first note should be a dead giveaway – it’s an Aventus clone. If you answer "Aventus" when the quiz asks you what your current favorite cologne is, it will match you with this. I’ve (shock and horror) never sampled Aventus myself, so I don’t know how close it actually is. What I can say is that this frag smells fantastic and high quality, and is the absolute favorite of a female friend of mine. “Botanic and Woody” by Olivier Gillotin. Notes of blue chamomile, mandarin, suede, rose, saffron, ylang ylang, vetiver, and cedarwood. Got this one as a “limited re-release” in the summer of 2020. And...I don’t know, this never clicked with me. It doesn’t smell offensive or low quality or anything, but it just lacks anything appealing to make me reach for it over my other frags. Also, I think this could be better called "Floral and Woody", as the rose and ylang ylang come through pretty clearly. But seeing how Hawthorne is a men's brand aimed at people unfamiliar with fragrances, they maybe couldn't name it that and expect their target customers to buy it. “Green and Airy” by Olivier Gillotin. Notes of cucumber, green apple, oakmoss, ocean wind accord, iris root, and Australian sandalwood. This was the limited edition release for the summer of 2020. And this one...I didn’t like so much. The opening is nice and fresh, but there’s something in the drydown that’s rather off-putting to me. Reminiscent of dried spit. Edit: I keep going back and forth on this one. That opening is actually really, really nice. A vibrant combination of apple and cucumber. It's just...the drydown, though. Metallic in this yucky spit sort of way. I really don't know what that could be coming from. I have been enjoying wearing it but it's not a favorite of people who I've had smell it. “Sophisticated and Spicy Oud” by Olivier Gillotin. Notes of Seville orange, Indian cardamom, clary sage, ozone, Egyptian geranium vetiver, and agarwood. This was the limited edition release for the fall of 2020. This one, I love. It’s dark and rich but also creamy. Fair warning, it is strong. I sprayed a couple times when I first got it and my housemate (who doesn’t care for fragrances in general) was complaining from across the main floor of feeling like there was pepper in the back of his nose. So it might not be the easiest frag to wear. But whatever. I love the smell of this. “Spicy and Aromatic” by Rodrigo Flores-Roux. Notes of lemon, lavender, cinnamon, tonka, cedarwood, and suede. Got this to show up in my quiz results by saying Dior Sauvage was my favorite cologne, so apparently Hawthorne thinks this shares a similar appeal. Whatever that appeal is, it doesn’t quite grab me. It’s sort of warm, sort of spicy, sort of smells a little old. Sort of a similar vein as “Botanic and Woody” where it’s not actively offensive to me but doesn’t hold much appeal. “Wild and Botanic” by Rodrigo Flores-Roux. Notes of thyme, saffron, cardamom, thuya, tolu balsam, coriander, vanilla bean, suede, and sandalwood. This was their spring 2021 limited edition scent, and – oh wow. It might just be my favorite scent of theirs yet. It’s rich and surprisingly dark for a spring fragrance, but it’s delicious. Just the right mix of sweetness, smokiness, leatheriness, and spiciness. I’m head over heels for it right now. And it reminds me of another favorite – “Dark Rebel Rider” by John Varvatos. It smells similar and shares several key notes. Turns out, Rodrigo Flores-Roux is also the nose behind all the John Varvatos fragrances. So he may have drawn from his Dark Rebel DNA when creating this fragrance. But I’m not complaining, this frag was certainly worth the purchase. Keep your eye out though if you’re reading this soon after I post it! They’re currently sold out but they may have a second batch or a re-release later this year. So there are a few clunkers for me in the mix, but also a bunch of really great frags. I think it's a fair price too - $50 for 50 ml. And they'll have seasonal or holiday sales where they cut the prices by 10, 20, sometimes even 30 percent. So if you want to save a buck before pulling the trigger you can get on their email list and watch for when they have a sale. On the other hand, they do mark up their limited edition releases to $60 (totally worth it for two of the limited editions I got). So, if you can't tell, I'm a big fan, and I think Hawthorne deserves way more attention in the fragrance community than they get. They have a good thing going. Edit: The summer 2021 limited edition was called "Warm and Oceanic Breeze", made by Rodrigo Flores-Roux. Notes of pineapple leaf, Sicilian lemon, bay leaves, "sand accord", and sandalwood. For a summer scent it eschews freshness for more of a warm saltiness, and the "sand accord" note is very appropriate. I enjoy wearing this one quite a bit, and it's not like anything else in my collection. Doesn't quite top "Wild and Botanic" as my favorite, but definitely a good release.

I have Warm and Aromatic! Like rp64 said, it's a modern gourmand fougere with cedarwood, vanilla and lavender made by Quentin Bisch. It's super good, very smooth and warm. Definitely a scent for fall and winter, but I live in Miami so I'm gonna try to make it work on our rare chilly nights and 2 week long winters. I love it because it smells very classy! It's not really spicy though it has cloves, just a really round smooth scent. Note that Play isn't one specific scent, it comes from a pool of 10 distinct scents made by 3 master perfumers. Fragrantica needs to clear this up and separate the different scents, not pool them into Work and Play. 5/5 ー🎅

Spicy & Aromatic is my Play scent. Custom frags are rare and should be unique to the individual. These notes are not cheap nor synthetic. They use high-quality oils to blend them together depending on the individual. I wanted a Play scent that has fresh tobacco leaf, vanilla, and a hint of scotch whiskey. I’m not surprised to see that my master perfumer is the same nose behind the famous Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille. This somewhat reminds of JPG Le Male actually Age: 25+ Scent: 4 stars

I have a "modern fougere with cedarwood, vanilla, and lavender made by Quentin Bisch"...I really like it, and they will send you free samples of others if you're not happy...overall, a great experience -just got Mandarina Duck Black, and the Hawthorne that I have smells close to that

I have been collecting Hawthorne fragrances since they launched, and I have tried nearly all of them. My experience purchasing from Hawthorne has always been enjoyable. Hawthrone's fragrances are of good quality, and the company, on the whole, is fantastic. They have exceptional customer service, and the guys at Hawthorne want to make you look and smell great. That said, here are my thoughts on some fragrances by the house of Hawthrone. -- Best For Spring -- "Sophisticated and Aromatic": (Smells like Aventus by Creed) This opens with a slightly green, sweet, and citrusy accord backed by smoky woods. The fresh opening isn't overpowering or overly synthetic, and in terms of Aventus clones, this does a fairly good job of coming close to the inspired fragrance. The now all-too-familiar combination of the fresh citrus leaves and smoked pineapple sticks around on my skin for about 30 minutes before the wood vetiver moves to the forefront. The smoke here is subtle and doesn't ever play a major role and as things start to dry down, this becomes more of a fresh, woody scent. While this is likely intended to be a clone of Creeds Aventus, this smells more like Mont Blanc Explorer, which is also a clone of Creeds Aventus but a less smoky take on it. I don't get incredibly good performance out of this either. It lasts on my skin for about 3-4 hours but a bit longer on my clothes. This is a very versatile fragrance that could be used in formal and casual situations. It's office friendly but appropriate for a night out with the guys. It doesn't have that cozy, romantic appeal that would make it the best choice for a date night, but some ladies out there will absolutely love this. If I set aside my biases about this style of fragrances and judge it for what it does, it smells great. Rating - 3.5/5 -- Best of Summer -- "Warm And Oceanic Breeze": The opening is bright, lemony, and full of citrus from the Scillian lemon. It's backed by a green freshness and supported by a base of sandalwood. As it starts to dry down, the citrus starts to become less pronounced but never goes away entirely and always sits at the forefront of the composition. I don't smell "sand" necessarily, but I do smell some white florals that give it a clean and soapy (yet salty) vibe which becomes more pronounced in the mid. As it heads into the far dry down, the woodiness of the sandalwood comes out more. I get a moderate to intimate projection here. This isn't a very loud fragrance, and as it heads into the dry down, it starts to sit pretty close to the skin. Longevity is about 4-6 hours on my skin which is pretty typical from my experience with Hawthorne fragrances. My overall assessment is that this is a unique fragrance. I don't have anything quite like it in my collection. It would work great for high heat days or relaxing by the beach. Definitely for casual daytime situations in warm weather. It doesn't have excellent performance and projection, but that isn't an issue if you are okay reapplying it. That said, while it is unique, it isn't incredibly interesting to my nose, and I can't see myself reaching for it very often. Rating - 3/5 -- Best for Fall -- "Sophisticated and Spicy Oud": This is perhaps my favorite of the bunch. The opening is yet again fresh but from clean, white florals, bitter orange, and clary sage. It's a citrusy and subtle floral opening that smells delightful and sophisticated. There is a warm, spicy behind it all that comes from cardamon. I detect no oud, nothing dark, animalic, or funky. Just clean, warm, spices. As this dries down, the citrus and florals fade and you are left with a sweet, warm, and ambery base that sticks around on my skin for about eight hours. While it smells familiar, I don't think it's a direct clone of anything. Someone once said that this is a LADDM clone, and smelling both side-by-side, I can confirm that it is not. They both have cardamon which I think is why they might smell similar, but they are different fragrances. And it wouldn't really make sense for Hawthorne to clone LADDM when they could go after other more popular fragrances. If anything, it smells more like La Nuit de L'Homme by Yves Saint Laurent, which again is likely due to the cardamon. If you like La Nuit, then you will enjoy this one too. This doesn't break the mold, and the fragrance isn't overly complicated, but this would make a great casual daytime fragrance in the fall or winter. Rating - 4.5/5 -- Best For Winter -- "Dark Suede": The notes listed here are; a whiskey accord, green fig, cashmere wood, and sandalwood. The fragrance opens with a surprising amount of green freshness from the fig, spices, and some synthetic woods from the cashmere. Behind it all is an ambery, slightly boozy backdrop that helps blend everything, so it's nice and smooth. And the opening starts to fade into the mid, the green freshness of the fig dies away, and the sweet whiskey accord and sandalwood become more pronounced. It remains this way through the remainder of the fragrance. Given the note breakdown, I expected this to be much darker and richer. But it's a fresh, spicy, amber fragrance with a touch of rum. Overall it's pleasant and one of the more unique offerings by Hawthorne. This could easily pass for a signature fragrance because it is relatively easy to understand yet different from anyone else. Despite the name, this could easily be worn in the spring and on cooler summer nights, so I don't think it's restricted to fall and winter. I wouldn't wear this in the dead heat of summer. Rating - 4/5 "Warm and Aromatic": (Smells like Eros by Versace) This might be the sweetest offering by the house. The note breakdown includes lavender, citrus, tonka, and cedarwood. As this fragrance opens, you get a heavy amount of lavender and tonka with a touch of bergamot and mint to grab your attention. That citrus quickly fades away, and you are left with a sweet vanilla and woods scent with a bit of spice. In particular, I detect a little bit of cinnamon. There is amber and a bit of something heavier in the background, possibly patchouli. This is a clubbing scent from Hawthorne, and while they describe it as a "modern take on the classic fougère," I don't think that is all the case. Yes, there is lavender, but that's about where the similarity to the classic fougère genera ends. But what this would be perfect for is a younger guy in his teens or early twenties looking for a date night or clubbing scent. Even in your early 30s, this will smell a bit juvenile if you are a little more mature. But his fragrance will resonate with younger women who think this smells incredible. Overall, it's a fresh and sweet fragrance. It works best in the cooler months because of that sweetness. Do not wear this in the hot heat of summer; you will choke someone out with all that tonka sweetness. Rating - 3.5/5 "Smoky and Earthy": This has been one of those fragrances that I didn't think much of at first, but the more I smell it, the more I appreciate its depth and complexity. Now "Smoky and Earthy", isn't the name I would give it. This is Earthy but also something else. There is a green, deep woodiness to this that I love. It's like being in the heart of a forest after it rains, and as the wet Earth starts to warm up, that woodiness is what this fragrance captures. It opens with the fresh green scent of clary sage and cypress. That mixes seamlessly with the gaiac wood and Indonesian nutmeg to give it a spicy and woody backbone. As it dries down, the green facets of the scent fade, and the spices and woods move to the forefront, with palo santo wood as the star of the show. I find this scent to be incredibly calming and grounding. I like to wear this one on a cool winter day when I am at home making grand plans, or spending time with my family. It's a beautiful scent. It's certainly won't be for everyone and it's not something most people would wear for compliments. But it's unforgettable all the same. Rating 4.5/5

So yes, as one of the first reviewers said you take their quiz and then you get suggestions for two that they label 'work' and 'play'. Within those categories, however, are several different kinds of scents based on the concept of a work appropriate, general crowd pleaser style and a play scent. The play scent seems more like a date night or semi-formal to formal scent. Kudos to them for not bothering to read the website since this was clearly lined out in the process. IF you take the quiz, don't put what you've been wearing or they'll send you their version of the same thing is what I'm finding. Myself and a co-worker both took the plunge and especially for the Work scent we got their exact version basically of what we'd been wearing. I'd been VDB for work. I got their aquatic for work. Their aquatic is a very pure aquatic with no depth, no pepper, no maturity. It also fades to a skin scent after 2 hours and I have the skin that normally will hold scents longer than the average wearer (based on what I read in reviews). In 4 hours it's down to needing to be nose to skin to smell. The plain aquatic nature of it doesn't really evolve, very linear. I didn't like it, contacted the company and within 3 days had samples of what I assume are more Work scents, they weren't labeled as such. I got Citrus and Woody, smells like a toilet puck at first, then a nice dry down after over an hour and then within a couple hours no projection whatsoever. So that's a no for me. I got woody and aromatic. A little stringent at first but then mellows out. After a while it smells like soapy patchouli/sandalwood. It smelled like the patchouli/sandalwood essential oils my hippie mother would wear in the 80's with a touch of soap to smooth it out. Not pleasant on me at all. It's a no. I also got spicy and aromatic. Almost floral wood chips? Hard to pin down. I do wish they listed notes for more of their stuff. Very dry woody smell, on the spicy aromatic. And more spice/oil smell on the woody aromatic. I'll give the spicy aromatic a few more days but it's definitely not worth $50 for a bottle. Now the Play scent, I got warm and aromatic and oh my. THIS one lasts a solid 4-6 hours and then dwindles to a very, very pleasant skin scent. This would indeed be a great date night scent, as it projects long enough to get attention, about an arms length away, and then when it's 'get closey' time it won't be too much. Maybe a vanilla/whiskey/amber/citrus? Again hard to pin down notes but this one is great. Needs some field testing, I need to get out more anyway, but I love it and will likely replenish this singular scent when it runs out. A long review but there were several products to dismiss and one of note at least. I'd say don't bother with the process and stick to other scents but if you decide to try it, there is a small breakdown of some of the available work scents and at least one play. Good luck!

I ran out of my usual colognes Santal 33 and Jazz Club and figured I would try Dark Suede, one of the special release Play colognes. $60 less 15% and what a pleasant surprise. Very high quality nice layers of boozy notes. Potent, masculine, adult, unique. Really really like it. It is definitely a Winter in Manhattan fragrance. Will definitely buy another fragrance from Hawthorne. Such a sexy fragrance. Three women asked what I was wearing last night.

I never smelt their perfumes, and I'm sure I never will. Their website takes you through a series of questions so that it picks the perfect perfume for you. And once you finish the quiz it suggests you take both of their perfumes. The only two that they have. Like wtf, do they think we are idiots? I also haven't found any note breakdowns.

To me, this is just like Bleu de Chanel edt. It has 4-6 hours longevity on me. I got it for a great price so I'll use this up before my more expensive BdC. It's a good scent.