Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Aftershave: The Scent Intense for Him by Hugo Boss

The Scent Intense by Hugo Boss is a very new aftershave into the ever growing collection and I only first got my sniffing tackle around it for the first time on Sunday evening after returning from an eventful week away. That said, it had an instant impact and while other aftershaves can sit on the shelf for months, just like my previous post I feel almost compelled to write almost immediately about this offer from the Hugo Boss stable.  
The Scent Intense for Him by Hugo Boss
The Scent Intense for Him by Hugo Boss
The Scent Intense for Him by Hugo Boss
Marketed as an irresistible and unforgettable fragrance for him, you can pick up a 50ml bottle of the aftershave from Debenhams for £54. That price places this in the mid-range in my opinion and when you read further on about how long lasting and noticeable to others this is it actually represents good value for money.

  • Head: Ginger and maninka fruit 
  • Heart: Green cardamom and lavender
  • Dry-down: Black leather and vanilla
A couple of sprays and "wow, that's not what I expected" - instead of a heavy, warm spicy offering that I'd expected just three sprays and the room (and my skin) was awash with a beautiful blend of spice from the ginger offset by the lighter fruity smell from the maninka fruit - yes, it's warm from the start but it calms down quickly, becoming more floral as it works through the heart notes. The lavender is actually a note that flits in and out as you move around - it isn't a static fragrance it's constantly evolving and from time to time you'll pull out one of the notes yet minutes later it'll be gone.

Fear not however, once it settles down some twenty minutes later you are left with one hell of an intense fragrance that'll blow your mind (in a good way). Combining a mild spice with light floral notes and then slapping leather into the mix should make this super masculine and very heavy on the nose but it doesn't, and that's because the vanilla provides a little bite of sweetness as it gradually rests into a heady blend of warmth with longevity to rival much more expensive brands. 

This lasts on the skin for well over twelve hours making it perfect for daywear around the office and then onto a night out. As a plus point, the sillage (the fragrance trail you leave behind) is I'm reliably informed so nice I found a few people leaning in to ask what that cool new fragrance was. Result.

It's the boss - lovely! 


RECOMMENDED



For information:
  • This product was provided to me as a PR sample.
  • I have not been paid to write this post. 
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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

AFTERSHAVE: Nuit de Megeve by Eight & Bob

When the missus handed me a 20ml bottle of Nuit de Megeve Eau de Parfum by Eight & Bob my initial reaction was "who the f**k are Eight & Bob" - I'd never of the fragrance or the brand and given that it's taken about six months for me to write down my thoughts I gave this one not a second thought until I pulled out all of the aftershaves I hadn't yet written about (there are over fifteen - when do I start classifying this as an addiction?!?)
Nuit de Megeve by Eight & Bob
Nuit de Megeve by Eight & Bob
Nuit de Megeve by Eight & Bob
Nuit de Megeve by Eight & Bob
Knowing nothing about the brand, the fragrance, the notes, nothing I went to take a peek and do a little research into who Eight & Bob are and where you can pick up a bottle. It turns out that 1, this stuff isn't cheap - £130 for a 100ml bottle of it from John Lewis here and 2, it's actually a unisex fragrance for both men and women.

Normally I find reading about the history of a brand quite tedious, but the story behind Eight & Bob is really quite interesting - I won't ruin it here, but it involves a Parisian aristocrat and a young John F Kennedy in 1937. You can check out the history here

The notes to Nuit de Megeve are:
  • Head: Grapefruit, petit grains and clove buds
  • Heart: Tonka beans, orris and black coffee
  • Dry-down: Vetiver, tobacco and musks
After a spray or two the first thing that struck me was that it was far, far too feminine for me - it was an instant "nope" from me and as the fragrance triggered my memory this reminded me of my Auntie Sue (in a good way - she has great fragrance tastes) but I didn't want to be smelling like a 60+ female. Initially thoughts were not positive, but it was obvious from the fragrance that the sweetness of the grapefruit on the nose was a little too sharp for my liking. It is a rather heavy fragrance despite the citrus head notes but thankfully these don't last and the fragrance evolves quickly and alters so much that I had to fundamentally change my assessment after fifteen minutes.

The sharpness of the citrus dries away quickly and it becomes a much smoother level of sweetness as the vanilla like note from the tonka bean blend with the coffee to make this much warmer, and in turn, much more masculine. 

Within thirty minutes you are left with the final fragrance and this is where my love for Nuit de Megeve really explodes. The vetiver and tobacco provide excellent balance to the sweetness and tones it down to more of an earthy warmth. Lovely!


Even though it gets more masculine it sits perfectly as a unisex fragrance - not too light and not overly heavy on the musks and earthy notes. 


Once dried down this is in a word - lush.

What really amazed me about this fragrance was it's longevity on my skin - it's quite possible the most hardwearing and long lasting of any aftershave I've ever tried before. A couple of sprays in the morning and you can still detect it on pulse points some 24 hours later - that's astounding. 


When testing this out I sprayed my wrists and then a couple of hours later had a shower - even after a good scrub in the shower I could still pick up hints of the tonka bean and vetiver. Wow! 


Expensive, yes, but worth every penny. Sadly, this introduction to Eight & Bob is going to seriously destroy my bank account over the coming years. Since I started writing this post I've had the chance to wrap my sniffing tackle around a few other offerings from the brand and like this they just ooze luxurious quality. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

For information:

  • This product was not provided to me as a PR sample.
  • I have not been remunerated or incentivised to write this post. 
Like what you see? You can keep up to date and follow Beautykinguk.co.uk using the various social media below:
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