John Varvatos XX Indigo

The Scent of Effortless Cool This is the scent for when you want to smell like you’re on a beach vacation in Captiva, but you're really stuck in your 1-bedroom apartment pretending you’re living that dreamy beach life without any of the sand in your shoes or your bank account. XX Indigo kicks off with a burst of citrus and peppermint—equally fresh and bold. It’s that “I’m awake, I’m alive, and I’m ready for whatever” vibe. Then the red peppercorn adds a little heat, like that one friend who shows up to brunch and suddenly makes everything more interesting. The middle notes of cardamom and geranium bring just the right amount of intrigue. You’re cool, but people still want to know what’s going on behind that calm exterior. The dry down? Musk, patchouli, and a bit of wood. It’s fresh and grounded, like you’re ready for a night out or a spontaneous road trip—effortless, cool, and low-maintenance. It's like Versace Dylan Blue, but without that heavy incense that makes you feel like you’re walking into a monastery. THE BREAKDOWN: Longevity: 4-6 hours — long enough for you to look effortlessly cool most of the day Projection: Moderate — just enough to make people wonder how you’re pulling off “last-minute” so smoothly Smells like: Versace Dylan Blue’s laid-back cousin, but without the incense drama Best for: Gym sessions, spontaneous dinner dates, or just pretending you’re living your best life Rating: 7/10

First of all, this smells nothing like Dylan blue. For me, it’s very similar to the Jon varvatos original, but a little bit fresher version. It definitely has the John Varvatos DNA. I can even see similarities between this and Artesian too. For me, it’s quite a pleasant sent my wife likes it And I get over six hours even though the last hour or two is closer to the skin. The presentation; some think it’s tacky but I think it’s a nice looking presentation and it fits well within my collection. It has a decent atomizer. It’s loaded with a Notes, and it has a great smell, and like I said, it lasts a decent amount of time on me. I also think you could wear this most anytime and anywhere. It probably would do a little better in cooler months, but if you’re inside and air conditioning, it should be fine. I think the name indigo is perfect because this is a little bit darker version of I also think you could wear this most anytime and anywhere. It probably would do a little better in cooler months, but if your inside and air conditioning, it should be fine. I think the name indigo is perfect because this is a little bit darker version of a blue cologne.

I love everything blue in fragrances and I love American fragrances in particular because most of them are light on the nose and have innovative, non-imitation scents. John Varvatos is a fashion house that features innovative, high-quality fragrances at an affordable price. John Varvatos XX Indigo is a light, masculine fragrance that is acceptable to all and has above average performance. It relies on mint in the opening, geranium in the heart of the fragrance, and Himalayan poppy to give balance to the fragrance on a light base of vetiver and patchouli. A delightful, perfectly balanced fragrance perfect for spring and breezy summer nights. The bottle is of high quality and comes in a deep blue (indigo) color with a metal cap and a medallion with the John Varvatos logo. The scent of Himalayan poppy is very attractive, distinctive and completely unrepeatable. The fragrance does not resemble the famous Dylan Blue Versace except in the color of the bottle only. Final Rating: An unrepeatable, unusual, very enjoyable and deep fragrance that is worth trying and owning.

This one in my opinion is a classier, more refined Dylan Blue, and I absolutely love it! The opening is so good with loads of minty freshness and as it dries down it takes on that Dylan Blue profile but without any of the ambery incense. XX Indigo got unfair reviews when first released and as a result is slept on to this day. You can find it brand new for about $35 and at that price is an awesome pickup. Blind buy safe and easy to wear all year along even during summer. Performance is very good for being a John Varvatos fragrance as I could still smell it on my skin a good 6 hours after spraying, with little wafts here and there, this has just enough sillage. I detect hints of the original John Varvatos in this too which is an all time favorite. Overall XX Indigo is a really nice and underrated release if you're looking for a classy versatile blue fragrance available for a reasonable price.

Update: If you add orange citrus to JV Indigo you get Eros. I would not have guessed that. So presumably it would do the same with Dylan Blue. I used Dua’s Supernova Attar which is Roja Elysiumesque. Fragrances are fun. Instantly reminiscent of Dylan Blue right in the opening. Stays DB throughout but with a deeper, perhaps slightly smokey quality in the dry down not present in DB, giving it a leas shower gel vibe. I want to try the Silver now because how much closer could you get to DB? Apparently that one is even more DB.

This fragrance will forever be the smell of the love of my life. It’s what my husband was wearing when we met and I still buy him new bottles when he’s running low. It’s so unique compared to other male fragrances that just smell like leather or smoke or other nonsense. This is citrusy, fresh, a little sweet, and by no means basic.

Very good affordable blue fragrance. Smells in the same family as Dylan blue and quite frankly I think I like it more. Got a 4.2oz tester for $28. Easy pickup for me.

John Varvatos did it again. John Varvatos XX Indigo is the third of the house I've owned, fourth that I tried. The house is known for good fragrances but not so great performance sadly, especially considering retail prices versus prices in brick and mortar discounters. This is not much different. To me John Varvatos XX Indigo smells like a blue take on the Creed Viking DNA. It opens with a minty pink pepper just like Viking but with some lemon added. I think I remember Viking having pink pepper with a slight lemon, but to this extent (with the lemon). The mid is somewhat spicy with the cardamom and some florals with poppy and a little bit of geranium. The base, all I get musk. No patchouli, no vetiver, just musk. The poppy is what gives this a real sticking out compared to Viking, other than it feeling like a blue fragrance (and not just in bottle.) John Varvatos XX Indigo is actually a nice fragrance to wear in spring, summer and fall. I can see it worn casually and in the office. It is a day scent and I wouldn't suggest wearing it at night unless this is a scent your partner likes on you. One downside is just like most in the John Varvatos line, it doesn't perform great. So I get about four hours from it with decent projection for an hour/hour and a half. John Varvatos XX Indigo is a nice fragrance. I rate it a 7.2 out of 10. XX Indigo maybe the lowest of the three John Varvatos fragrances I own, but it is still a nice cheapie pick up to keep an eye out for as it hits discounters. And I do enjoy it more than I did Artisan Pure, that stuff just flat burned nose hairs.

This is my second Varvatos fragrance and the first one which is 'like on first sniff'. Artisan Blu is the other one I have, which I also like a lot but I had to get used to it a bit, probably becasue I expected a blue fragrance but it is actually very green. However, now I can appreciate it a lot. There's another one in the line I am going to purchase, Artisan Pure. I have a decant of it and my first reaction was not very good. It smelled like mosquito repellent in my head. But also this one I learned to appreciate, the drydown is just lovely. Back to XX Indigo: Verace Dylan Blue is one of my top favorite fragrances and XX Indigo is realy playing in that same ballpark. For me this is VDB with a lot of peppermint added on top, which gives it a nice refreshing twist. I'ts about 65-70% similar to VDB. Performance and longevity are nowhere near to VDB, but that is with all John Varvatos fragrances I tried so far. Considering the pricepoint, that is not a dealbreaker for me. All in all a nice and quite unique scent.

First impressions- Opening is amazing, not really that unique but the mint gives it something that many other blue frags are lacking. I’m still getting a feel for it, but I don’t really like the heart notes as much, after the opening fades it becomes a bit synthetic, there’s some kind of really dense synthetic note that has a sort of thick, bitter candy apple-ish vibe (hard to really explain, sorry) that I strongly dislike, I detect it in YSL Y EDP and I detect it here, and to a lesser degree in others like sauvage EDP. I like the drydown and opening a lot though, it’s a bit too bitter/sour sometimes but it’s very fresh, clean, and a bit earthy, I definitely enjoy it. I feel it’s a quite bit more mature and refined than sauvage and Dylan blue, it feels more smooth and grounded and less shouty. That being said, I can definitely see why some label it boring and generic. I still like it though, but it's not a love.

I tried this when I was first getting lured back into fragrance collecting (aka hoarding), and I wasn't a fan. My excuse I'm sticking to is that my sense of smell was still recovering from a certain malady. Now that we're in warmer weather I've been revisiting all of my blue/green/freshie samples and have worn this one for a couple of days now. What a pleasant scent this is! It's not very challenging or forward, but it is pleasant, gently noticeable and just different enough to warrant consideration. As usual with JV, it fades quickly, so it's not worth retail, but when I can get 100ml in the $30s (or 75 ml in the $20s), I'll grab a bottle. What sets it apart for me is the mint note. It fits somewhere between Viking and BDC, not pretending or trying to be either. It's a nice, not-sweet, freshie that will work well for a quiet warm summer day when you want to enjoy a minty blue.

John Varvatos XX Indigo is basically “summary in a bottle” — a classic blue scent at its core, but with a twist that sets it apart. You’ll get that familiar fresh, clean vibe typical of modern masculine fragrances, but it’s lifted by a cool minty edge. It’s definitely leaning masculine, and while it smells great upfront, the performance is where it falls short. On your skin, it sticks around for maybe 4 hours, quickly turning into a subtle skin scent with low projection. Not a powerhouse, but at €28 for 75ml, it’s hard to complain — especially if you’re into easygoing daytime scents that won’t overwhelm. Best for: warm weather, casual use, or when you just want to smell good without thinking too hard about it.

So i wanted to try JV for sometime now. I loved the Vintage, so wanted to try the Artisan blu or Artisan XX. So I went ahead and blind bought them both (lol). Around 27usd. TBH its a nice scent profile. Nothing greta or groundbreaking. Doesn't last long as seen with all JV flankers. Subtle projection. 7 to 8 sprays. lasts around 5 hrs or so. Opens minty, i also get mild pineapple notes in the opening that subsides within 10mins. Its a nice summer perfume. Good for the summer evenings. Performs well in closed spaces with AC setting even during the day. If ur a JV fan like i am; then go for it.

I use it in summer and winter. I bought Dylan Blue and Nautica Voyage DNA. It is ideal for summer. I sprayed it on my wrist once. The scent could be felt deeply until the next evening. But for full performance, you can spray 8 sprays and get full performance throughout the day. It is good for its price. yaz kış kullanılır dylan blue ve nautica voyage dna aldım yaz için çok ideal bileğime bir fıs sıktım ertesi gün akşama kadar koku derinden hissediliyordu ama tam performansı 8 sprey sıkıp gün boyunca tam performans alırsınız fiyatına göre iyi.

I don't get the comparison to Dylan Blue. Like at all. To me this opened bright and fresh, but quickly went sweet. Like carnival sweet. Like when you're walking by the food and snack stands. With the candied apples, cotton candy, kettle corn, ect. Not that it smells like any single one of those. The scent just reminds me of the smell in the air in those places. I really like it. It just seems to sit a bit close to the skin, and after about an hour it's really close.

Scent: 6.5/ 10 Longevity: 5/ 10 Sillage: 5/ 10 Versatility: 8/ 10 Uniqueness: 5/ 10 Quality: 7/ 10 Presentation: 7/ 10 Price: 5/ 10 Just alright, typical Varvatos fragrance, terrible Longevity and nice skin scent. Good gym fragrance I always recommend trying decants before blind-buying full bottles, this fragrance and 900 others available at www.scentswithsense.com

I'd gift this to a man I wanted to be intimate with because it would probably drive me a little wild. I ended up with this as a sample and spritzed some on myself to test. Apparently I'm a sucker for blue fragrances since I think this is incredible. Fresh and green with deep woodsy musk. Clean and masculine.

What I get: It Opens up smelling a bit like CK Eternity and dries down to something really close to Dylan blue but it’s definitely a pleasant scent. Do I think it’s worth retail? Definitely not but it is a good smelling fragrance.

Smells like Dylan Blue with some added mint. A nice mature masculine scent. Performance is moderate so I recommend overpaying. Good for the price, but I prefer Dylan Blue because of the performance. I give it a 6.5/10

WTH? An average score near 3.50?! Should be closer to 4.00. This is very nice and way better than half the mediocre fragrances out there. Unique and pleasant.

Would've been a "love" if it wasnt so heavy on mint.

In the dry down this is quite a pleasant smell with very little projection. If you want to smell pleasant without offending anybody around lunch time spray this on just after you get out of bed. I could swear I get a subdued coconut or coffee note late dry down. The opening has a strange chemical note that reminds me of something in Montblanc Legend, though in Legend it's like 20 times stronger and had me washing my hand multiple times trying to get it off. With this it's giving me a slight twinge but it's manageable. It opens very fresh. Aromatic is definitely the right word to describe. Make me think of air freshener on an airplane or in a freshly valeted car from a rental company. It's definitely not a high quality fragrance, there's nothing natural in it like say Hermes frags or Penhaligon's. Nor is there anything really well blended but super punchy like Louis Vouiton. But for 20 - 30 euro you get decent performance and a decent scent. However you'd really just want to connect with it. Get a sample and try it out, might make a good cheap daily driver for someone. Projection: 6/10 Longevity: 6/10 Quality: 5/10

First impressions: Definitely reminds you of Dylan Blue or Bvlgari Aqva Atlantique. (BWT, "reminds me of" doesn't mean it clones or even just imitates a scent. Get a grip). VDB with pink pepper in the first 30 minutes. But all along that cardamom/patch/vetiver are creating that something very much like that tamarind and sweet-date accord in John Varvatos (2004). This I noticed as it begins to dry-down. Then, I also pick up a suede and popsicle-stick scent that takes dominance in the dry down. So, in the VDB and BAA vibe family. Comparing all three: 50-60% similar to VDB. 60-70% similar to BAA. XX is definitely sweeter and has it's own thing going on the dry-down. If you really like the other two, XX should be a pass for you, you won’t be impressed here. (For those reminded of Eternity, yeah, that same geranium/suede combo. Didn't think of that till I saw the reminds me of bar).

I like the presentation, the dangling medallion gets in the way while using the bottle but it looks nice. For me this is more of a business fragrance. The base notes, especially the musk, really define this fragrance. The mint and citrus notes provide a very subtle freshness but no real sweetness. So this fits the more day to day formal attire. It is safe all year round. It is not off putting but I doubt it will be a compliment generator. I'd say this is more for those that are fans of JV as it doesn't really have a lot to separate it from other such fragrances.

Dylan Blue without the incense mixed with Parfums Belcam version of YSL Y; mainly, a fresh/blue-shower gel/sweet frag but gets bright-musky, soft-spicy & has a hint of greenness from the mint + geranium that comes out more as it dries; also, has a hint of floralness but the musk covers it up; Ambroxan is definitely in the composition, can't detect the vetiver, patchouli or cardamom. Sillage'/Projection is medium, not a room filler (mainly within arms length). Has good longevity stays on clothes 10+ hours.

Was really hoping for more with this one. Definitely not bad but seemed like a less desireable Dylan Blue. The opening was great but there was a dry down note I just was not liking. If you want Dylan Blue on the cheap you could always try this one.

I was so excited when I saw this fragrance features mint prominently, but I feel like it's kind of...muddy? Like all muddled and like wet musty clothes smelling, not fresh and bright like I expect mint to be. Disappointing.

Opening just bunch of all .... Very mainstream. Drydown close to JV x NJ but smoother little JV twist You might like. For the summer, early spring and autumn. Noting unique. Ideal for the office. You can skip as reduldant.

it smells spicy and minty, also a little bit woody which makes this perfume more masculine

This is the summer version of Korloff Pour Homme.

Peppermint sauvage. pretty boring & not my style.

This is unwearable for me because it smells like Old Spice Fiji (a deoderant I wore way back in high school). When I'm not smelling that, I'm smelling Axe or a generic 2-in-1 body wash for men. Synthetic "fresh" smell. This smells like an athletic club locker room, sweat, steam, and all. XX Indigo is a boring fragrance that says, "I am a man. I'm clean because I showered today and used the cheap, grocery store brand body wash that I've been using since my mom bought it for me as a kid." I can't shake the feeling that this is what my dad smelled like 15 years ago. It's just so boring. Personal Notes: This gives me a headache after 10 minutes.

This smells similar to versace dylan blue, but less sweet with added patchouli and vetiver. What this really reminds me of (and why I bought it) is the long discontinued brut actif blue. That probably sounds like an insult to indigo, but it is not. I loved all things actif blue but it has LONG since been discontinued. I have looked for it but have not purchased due to actif being way too hard to find and way too expenisve when you can find it. So it opens up fresh, minty, a bit sweet, blue of course. The patchouli is immediate and prominent. As the scent dries down the earthy tones remain while the mass-appealing top notes calm down. This is a more mature, masculine take on an exhausted genre of blue fragrances. Just so happens i LIKE the blue fragrance genre, though I know many of you cannot stand them. What you are left with in the far drydown is a minty patchouli with remnants of the spice from the pink peppercorn and subdued, sublte sweetness. The projection in the beginning is strong, for the first hour. Settles down and gets clos to the skin after 2 hours and it stays that way. It is the usual varvatos longevity, a bit better perhaps. I bought for a solid discount given i had rewards points, but I would bet this hits discounters pretty fast. I will always own this and really enjoy it, as I also enjoy the John Varvatos house. They do interesting, different stuff and even when they go mainstream and follow trends, they tweak it to make it masculine. Check it out for yourself. This will probably the longest review indigo gets, but I wanted to leave something for those looking for a review and not a quick dismissal.

MBTI: ENFJ Who is it: the cute surfer guy you that hits on you at a beach cocktail party and you remember him fondly later in life 🥥🌴🌅🌊 I feel like this is the vibe that Beach Hut by Amouage tries and fails to hit. Smells like citrus, mint, salt and a faint scent of sunscreen. The vetiver is more prominent when spraying on fabric. 🥥🌴🌅🌊 Scent profile feels like a pretty basic male mint-citric scent, perfect for warmer season, but the quality of ingredients and the blend is what catches my eye. If anything, I'd say it reminds me of a blue male shower gel, but a very high quality one. It's very mint and vetiver heavy, but never overwhelmingly so. The drydown is slightly woodsy sweet, but still very refreshing. It lasts for a decent amount of time, usually projecting for 2-3 h on me, and then staying around for another 5-6 hours. 🥥🌴🌅🌊 It's a very good quality inoffensive scent for daytime year round, but it really shines in the summer heat. I think most people would like it and consider it clean as well as pleasant. Perfect for a summer beach date or a cocktail party, as it has a "fizzy" quality to it. 🥥🌴🌅🌊 Personally I'd like it a lot on a man, it seems very unlikely to cause nausea and the drydown is comforting, like a fuzzy blanket on a windy afternoon.

Woke up this morning and thought to revisit some of my JV frags and about 10-15 minutes after spraying this one on my forearm, I kept thinking this smells similar , not the same , but similarly reminds me of pasha de Cartier parfum. Never tried the OG pasha, but something here takes me there on its own, side by side I know they’ll stand apart. I got this JV frag about 6-7 months ago and I’ve only wore it maybe twice and I’ve circled back to find this more pleasant than I originally thought. As with mostly ALL frags , ya gotta give em time . Time to develop and fully understand. AND NEVER TAKE ANYONE ELSE’S (OPINION) AS THE FACTS . especially if the person crying and complaining about anything regarding a fragrance didn’t even purchase a full bottle and just going off what they get from a small PLASTIC sample sprayer. To be fair ,.. there may be a layer combo that gives this the Pasha vibe , as I forgot that I first applied few sprays of artisan pure (white wicker) couple hours before this one. That could be leading this down the pasha de Cartier vein . Very pleasant. Nothing offensive. Nothing to complain about unless you’re just a broke ass crybaby.

Picked this up at Marshall's for 45$.. I had been waiting for this and the other new JV's to hit the discounters, finally they showed up. Well, let me say, that even at 45$ this is absolutely not worth it. I know Varvatos fragrances are noted to be weak performers, but I have almost all of them, and never had a problem before. However, Indigo (and XX Artisan silver bottle) have almost no scent at all. It's like they forgot to add the essential oils to the alcohol. It's not just my nose, I have tested on family and friends who are extremely sensitive to fragrance, and they too said there is barely any scent at all. Maybe I got a bad bottle.. IDK.. Very sad.. the bottles look super nice, but alas, these will be returned. I'd rather spend the money on some middle eastern frags that perform. Come on John Varvatos, you can do better than this. Give us a reason to buy your new fragrances. By the way, your older ones like Dark Rebel, etc. Are excellent...

Pretty interesting scent overall. I get a bit of a minty iris. Slightly chemical undertone. Overall - I’m very pleased with the uniqueness of the scent. It’s not as immediately pleasing as some of the others from this house, but you won’t smell like anyone else. I find it to be very nice. 6/10

I was pleasantly surprised when this arrived, smells great and has decent longevity and great value in the 125ml bottle. As has been mentioned by other reviews it's very similar to Versace Dylan Blue and Bvlgari Aqua Atlantique, so if you like those you'll almost definitely like this.

Not sure about the smell. Blind bought after original JV, loved it, it is unique. Also had a bad experience with JV Artisan Blu. This is a packed bottle. Don't have the courage to open after red reviews that the longevity is not much. Will give it as a gift.

Can't understand how nobody mentioned that this is a 90% clone of RL Polo Blue. It's so obvious, even the bottle color and shape are a blatant copy of the old father of all blue frags. At the current prices, get the OG.

Yeah it’s pretty much dylan blue but a little fresher/mintier. Not bad, nothing special tho...

Versace Dylan Blue but more minty in the opening with average performance.

This is the mix between (Dylan blue + la nuit de lhomme Edp)