Man EDT by Hugo Boss

I have a kind of mixed bag history with Hugo Boss aftershaves. I love Just Different but simply could not stand Dark Blue. Thankfully, today I get the chance to write about Hugo Boss Man, an aftershave that has been in my collection for just over two years (it entered the collection as a Christmas gift in 2013).

In the interests of openness and transparency I will at this stage point out that my bottle (pictured below) was getting a bit low and had sat in my wardrobe for some time. Fragrance Direct offered me a sample and I jumped at the chance, receiving a 40ml bottle. Not only could I get my nose around something a bit fresher than my own, it also allowed me the opportunity to test the longevity when stored away for months on end. 

You can buy a 125ml bottle (I have a 100ml bottle) with a gift (it’s a Hugo Boss branded portable speaker) from Fragrance Direct for just £32 here. Until 5 February 2015 you can also get an extra 10% all Hugo Boss products at Fragrance Direct by entering the promotion code BOSS10. 

£32 however puts this squarely in the budget category as far as my aftershave collection is concerned and to be honest, considering how good the fragrance is you can’t ask for better value for money. 

Personally I alternate my aftershaves, I find it a bit dull to wear the same fragrance day in and day out but my bottle took a pounding for a good year and there is still about a fifth of the bottle left - a little goes a long way.

The notes to Man read like a fruit salad, with apple and grapefruit sitting at the top - my initial expectations were of a fresh and light fragrance that warmed on dry down. The full notes are:

• Head: Green apple, Grapefruit and Bergamot
• Heart: Jasmine, Geranium, Lavender and Patchouli 
• Dry Down: Musk, Fir Balsam and sandal

Man dries down quickly so trying to pick out notes and how they blend is quite tricky, you can’t instantly pull out either the apple of grapefruit when it is first applied. Yes, it’s refreshing and the absence of burn when spraying it on is always welcomed, but the fragrance had me puzzled - don’t get me wrong I like it, but if I had to liken it to anything it’s like burying your head into a fruit bowl and taking a long deep smell. If anything, the bergamot provides the over-arching blast of sweetness to counter the citrus.

The balance of the top notes was welcome, but as I said, it dries down almost immediately - after that initial blast you only just get hints of the lavender, making it smell and feel slightly warmer. As it warms you get a very earthy floral aroma for just minutes until it settles down to the lovely fragrance that will last hour after hour. The musk really kicks this into masculine territory and the woody base notes in my opinion could only be improved slightly with a touch of amber.

An utterly unique fragrance, I can’t liken it to any others (which is rare) - it is warm, earthy with hints of a floral fragrance. Nice!

Unlike some of the more potent aftershaves Man will not leave a massive scent trail behind you - yes people close to you will be able to smell it, and from experience 99% of people like it.

So how did my new sample differ from the bottle that has sadly been neglected? They are exactly the same, my 100ml bottle hasn't deteriorated in the slightest, which means that you can have this in a collection for years without the fear that the day you come to use it the smell will leave you gagging. 

Hugo Boss Man is a lovely fragrance that dries down to be uber-subtle making this perfect for daywear, nights out and romantic occasions. It would make a great gift and I am yet to find someone who doesn’t like the fragrance when I wear it. 

The sample was gratefully received, it reminded me of everything that I used to like about Hugo Boss Man. I have a number of favourite aftershaves that I have to decide to chose from each morning - Man has just made my decision making even harder. 

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Luna Rossa EDT by Prada

Launched in 2012, Prada Luna Rossa was an aftershave that passed me by for a good eighteen months until a sample arrived for me to try. 

Let’s just say it didn’t take long for me to moan and groan, huff and puff until a 50ml bottle appeared as a gift to cheer me up - it was a record time actually after extending my bottom lip out and mumbling something along the lines of “but I never buy any new aftershaves any more“.

The first blast of Luna Rossa had me hooked. 

This is what the marketing blurb says about Luna Rossa:

‘Prada introduces a new masculine fragrance in Sept 2012, named after the sailboat and the sailing team "Red Moon" or Luna Rossa, which participates in the American Cup competitions. The new fragrance, considering its name, draws its inspiration from the world of extreme sailing, prestige, marine nature and passion for innovation and victory.

The composition is developed around the main note of lavender by perfumer Daniela Andrier of Givaudan. Intensity and freshness of accords are emphasized by the use of classical notes in new, innovative ways. Those notes include lavender absolute and bitter orange in the top, clary sage and spearmint in the heart, and ambrette absolute and ambroxan molecule in the base.

Bottle design is inspired by modern sailboats, signed by Yves Behar. The fragrance is available as 50, 100 and 150 ml Eau de Toilette. The nose behind this fragrance is Daniela (Roche) Andrier.’

So you have the basic notes in the blurb but here they are at a glance:

• Head: Bitter oranges, Lavender
• Heart: Clary Sage, Spearmint,
• Dry-down: Ambrette, Ambroxan

When I first smelt Luna Rossa I have to admit that an in depth analysis was not undertaken, I was simply blown away by the fact that I loved the overall first impression and how it evolved on my skin over time to the dry down. It was immense, and considering I expected something cheap and nasty (on a par with Gucci Rush which regular readers will know I use as a benchmark for filth) to say I was smiling was an understatement. 

I have seen some describe this as having almost herbal top notes - personally I’m not sure what they are sniffing (aftershave or stronger) but it didn’t and has never been my experience. 

The oranges provide a fresh blast of citrus, its very sharp initially and is by far the most over-riding note, and remains so for a good five minutes. It is fresh and screams young and vibrant. Within the first five minutes of putting this through a full analysis (i.e giving it a long hard whiff every five minutes before getting people to smell me) I thought to myself that this would make a great summer fragrance - this thought process didn’t change, even though as it blended and dried down it did.

Personally I didn’t detect even the remotest hint of lavender until after around fifteen minutes, it is there but so subtle and soft you really struggle to pick it out. It provides a good counter balance to the sharpness of the orange making it much warmer. Still no hints of herbal though. 

After around twenty minutes you start to notice that the sharpness of the orange top note has completely gone, leaving a warm citrus - lovely. However, at this point the whole fragrance has altered to become slightly heavier on the nose, the sage is evident but again, the warm citrus is the dominating fragrance. 

After an hour to me this became more of an earthy, masculine fragrance. The oranges started to fade and the dry down notes became evident. I would have put this down to either cedar wood or sandalwood but no, it is all down to the Ambroxan.

Now, I don’t claim to be an expert on this kind of thing, I just say what I smell, but I was intrigued and played around on Google to find out what this mystery note is. I was quite surprised that the response I received from Google wasn’t that technical. Ambroxan is a key element responsible for the odour produced by ambergris. Ambergris is well sought after and is produced by the digestive systems of whales - it sounds vile but the waxy substance is used in a lot of high end perfume and aftershave as it provides a long, hardwearing and almost sweet fragrance (it also means they don‘t have to add alcohol to the fragrance that dries out your skin - there, you learn something new every day). 

These dry down notes provide an excellent base - it turns this once fresh and citrus fragrance into one that is quite sweet, even after five-six hours. That sweetness that you would associate with Joop, Uomo by Valentino or Eros is balanced by the light musk of the Ambrette.

Only a few sprays - three at most are needed to make sure you stay smelling from dusk until dawn, and I say this as Luna Rossa is perfect for nights out as it is so hardwearing, leaves a slight trail which means others will be able to smell it and it will give you the self confidence that you smell amazing.

50ml of this baby will set you back around £35 so it isn’t going to break the bank and when you consider the fragrance, how long it lasts and the compliments that you’ll receive you can’t ask for more. 

Taking the price, the lovely fragrance and the fact that it passed the sniff test with friends and family then I have to say you shouldn’t look any further. It would make the perfect gift for Christmas, Valentine’s Day or birthdays. 

It’s true what they say, the Devil really does wear Prada (and he wears it regularly)!

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For My Beardy Beloved - The Blade Shunners Beard Kit

When it comes to picking gifts for blokes for Valentine’s Day I’m guessing it’s pretty tricky. I know I’m a nightmare to buy for so today I’ll be showing off the For My Beardy Beloved - The Blade Shunners Beard Kit.

The kit by male grooming peeps Menrock was sent to my other half and in the absence of any signs of a beard on her it was passed to me to give it a try. Over the last twelve months I have been growing a beard on and off, I go through phases where I like the beard but then it gets too long, looks messy and feels itchy and wiry. 

Add into the mix friends who point out the one or two white hairs in my beard constantly and threats of having the hair pulled with tweezers - yep, the razor tends to come out!

At the moment I haven’t shaved for nearly four weeks and have the start of a pretty decent beard I think so there was no better time to have this appear in the house. So what is the beard kit? Well, to be honest it makes the perfect male grooming gift for anyone sporting a beard - it has not just Menrock beard wash, it also has a beard balm, moustache wax and a beard comb. As a nice touch my box also came with a mini pack of Love Heart sweets as a nod to the upcoming date.

The pictures below show the products that come in a stylish little box. You can buy the kit for £22.10 from Amazon here if what you read inspires you.

This is what Menrock say about the kit:

‘Growing stubble is easy... you just dodge the razor! However, maintaining the follicle forest is a different story. This ace gift boxed beard kit (the 'For My Beardy Beloved' box to give it its proper title - yes we are pleased with that one!) contains everything a blade shunner needs to keep his beard in tip-top shape. 

The kit includes both a Men Rock Beard Soap (100ml) and the lovely 'a little goes a long way' Men Rock Soothing Beard Balm (100ml), some gorgeous Men Rock Sandalwood Styling Wax and a little pack of Love Heart Sweets. It's everything you need for perfect whisker formation and comes gift boxes with a little pack of thank you Love Hearts as standard.’

For me the first thing was to get the lids off the balm, wax and wash to have a good sniff. I expected subtle earthy tones from the Oak Moss but what I got was something more like sandalwood - with such a strong fragrance, almost over-powering, in an instant I had a flashback to a barbershop in my youth, the smell was identical. I love the smell, and the fact that it doesn’t linger is a massive plus as it doesn’t alter the fragrance of other products. 

If you don’t like earthy, mossy or sandalwood then steer well clear - you have been warned.

The beard wash is brilliant - it lathers up well, has the fragrance mentioned above and doesn’t dry out my skin. In fact, in the days that I have been using it I have noticed more of a shine to my beard and it feels smoother. Applying the balm after washing is really easy and it spreads across the face without an hassle, drying into the beard almost instantly. 

After using both for a day or so (one wash of the beard and two applications of the balm) I have noticed subtle differences to the feel of my beard. There is no itch around my neck and chin (and its due considering the length) and it still feels smoother. I have to say it does still feel a little wiry but I expect that to change as I use the product more.

I smiled when I was presented with the box, smiled more when I opened it and realised that it contained beard balm (a product just that day I had said I had wanted to try) and am still smiling after using it. In gift terms you can’t argue with that, particularly as it won’t break the bank at just over £20.

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*Hopefully in a few more weeks I will be able to use the comb and wax to style some beardy weirdy shapes!  

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