If I could only ever wear one aftershave ever again it would have to be Bvlgari Pour Homme, this aftershave and I have some serious history going back now nearly twenty, yes twenty years.
Casting my impending old age to one side I’ve spent those heady years seeking out other fragrances from Bvlgari, some excellent while some have left me wondering what the hell they were thinking! Bvlgari Man is a fragrance that a former colleague called the “Stephen smell” as I wore it every day for a year but it may be under some serious competition now that I've had my sniffing tackle around Bvlgari Man in Black Eau de Parfum. I first smelt this my friend Alan at his recent birthday and was hooked yet didn’t go out and buy a bottle until recently. One question I’m asking myself constantly now is, why the hell did it take me so long to pick up a bottle for myself as it is lovely.
Before you think that’s it, if you read on not only will I give my thoughts on the fragrance, but being the oh so generous person I am, I bought two bottles so that I can share the fantastic nasal overload experience with one of my readers.
Bvlgari are a luxury fashion house, and their fragrances don’t normally come cheap - I remember paying well over £80 for my bottles of aftershave from the brand in the past but guess what, the price has come down quite a lot over the years. I paid £55 each for my 60ml bottles but you can pick them up online from places like Amazon for anywhere from £30-£45 so it really does pay to shop around. I opted to buy mine from The Perfume Shop as I received a Michael Kors bag for spending over £100, which will become my gym kit bag.
Having smelt this on my friend at his party and on a friend at work after recommending it to him I had a good idea of how the fragrance would evolve over time and what it would be like after finally drying down, but when peeking at the notes I was still surprised, particularly by the Tonka Bean as to me this fragrance doesn’t seem to have the sweetness that usually comes from such a note.
The notes to Bvlgari Man in Black are:
- Head: Rum & Luminous Spices
- Heart: Tuberose, Orris Root Absolute & Leather Accord
- Dry-down: Benzoin, Tonka Bean & Guauacwood
As soon as it left the atomiser I knew I was onto a winner - a strong blend of rum and spice that immediately started to fade down to a subtle hint of spice. I confess that within seconds I couldn’t detect any obvious hints of rum but the spice was warm and not too overpowering. Bliss. It started to evolve within minutes as it was absorbed by my skin and again, I couldn’t pick out the all of the notes but the tuberose (it’s a flower used as a note in aftershaves and perfumes) combined with the spice and leather note was almost heavenly. This post in fact has taken much longer than normal to write as I’ve spent at least twenty minutes sitting back and continuously smelling the fragrance on my wrists.
After around five minutes you have the final fragrance and this is how it smells for a good ten to fifteen hours after applying. It remains really subtle but as you walk or move around you will pick up hints of the floral spice that comes from the top notes. I cannot stress how much I really like this fragrance.
This is not too dissimilar to Black Orchid by Tom Ford (and much cheaper), it has hardwearing notes that make me want to continuously sniff away at myself. While with Bvlgari Pour Homme it dries down and I can’t smell it (yet everyone else can) I still get hints of this on my skin some ten hours later. It’s just quite possibly one of my favourites. It has a beautiful blend of notes that produces a masculine and spicy fragrance that will have people asking you what you are wearing and where they can get some from. It’s immense and well worth the purchase price. Only a little goes a very long way given it’s strength and I for one will not now be without a bottle of it in my collection, in fact, this may well indeed become the new “Stephen smell”. It’s not going to knock Pour Homme of it’s perch as my favourite but it is pulling at it’s ankles from second place.
Perfect for daywear, nights out or special occasions you really should put down what you are doing now and pick up a bottle for yourself or the man in your life. There are a few mandatory entries which must be completed, otherwise your entry will be null and void. Ensure that you are over 18 or have your parents permission because I will need your home address and finally owing to the prize on offer, this is a UK only giveaway.
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