Armani Acqua Di Gio Eau de Toilette

So fresh and so lean

I received an Armani Acqua Di Gio gift set for Chrismtas and to be honest my first thought was not another aftershave. I now have a massive collection of them with some I wear all the time and some I bought on spur of the moment that I have never used again.
As I had no familiarity with Acua Di Gio I assumed this was because I must have tried it in the shop and decided I didn't like it. Oh how wrong I was. I can't believe I have never noticed this aftershave before and it is quickly becoming one of my favourites.

History

Acqua Di Gio was first introduced in 1996 and I was surprised to discover it has been the number one best selling mens fragrance in America for years. I knew it must have been popular because I have seen the adverts but I had no idea it was that popular.

Notes

Aqcua Di Gio contains top notes of Jasmine, Rosemary and Hespiradic notes.
The middle notes are Persimmon fruits and Marine notes whilst the base notes contain Cedar, Patchouli, White Musk and Rock Rose

The Scent

As soon as I tried the aftershave it was love at first sniff for me. There is something that is just so familiar about it that I actually find it comforting and I know that when wearing it I am not going to stand out too much and there is no way that anyone could ever find this smell offensive.
The scent is actually very generic and similar to a lot of other aftershaves on the market and at first smell it could actually be mistaken for Issey Miakie however it isn't quite as intesnse and is a lot more subtle than that.

I find it absolutely ideal as an everyday any occassion aftershave and I know that it will it in just as well at the office as in a nighclub.
Telling you that I find it generic might put some people off but I really don't think it should because although it may be similar to other aftershaves doesn't make it smell any less good.
As soon as you spray it you are hit with a light citrus smell and this soon develops into a more musky fragrance but still with that waft of lemon behind it. The words fresh and clean are used far too often when describing aftershaves but it really does work well for this one as that is exactly the feeling it gives off.

Although it is subtle it actually gives off quite an intense smell from just a couple of squirts and lasts for hours on the skin. Throughout the day I will still be able to smell the aftershave which is important to me as I don't wear an aftershave for other people's benefit but rather my own.

Although I wasn't very familir with the aftershave I soon found out that nearly everyone else in the world seems to be and when I wear it I always receive comments from people saying how nice I smell and that they can tell I am wearing Acqua Di Gio. I do have some much moe distinctive aftershaves that I enjoy wearing but for me I have to be in the mood for a particular scent whereas with this I can just squirt it on when I am not particularly bothered by what I want to wear.

Despite the fact that it is so lovely and innoffensive there are two things that put me off slightly and that's the fact that I get a real feeling of teenager with this aftershave. For some reason I can't shake off the fact that I can see teenage boys bathing in bottles of this before they leave the house and that's not really the image I want to projet to people.
However this is my little quirk and not the fault of the aftershave.
The second thing is that I really don't like the design of the bottle. Some people may call it classic but to me it is just boring and old fashioned looking and it could really do with an update however as it sells so well Amani probably don't want to mess with it.

Availability

Well as it is so popular you can buy it pretty much anywhere that sells fragrances either online or on the highstreet. It comes in both 50ml and 100ml bottles and surprisingly to me at least since it is so popular it is right up on the more expensive side of aftershaves. Currently at boots a 50ml bottle will cost you £42.89 which seems way over priced to me for a 50ml bottle.
If you really like it and want to douse yourself in it then you can also buy the various different accompaniments for it such as all over shower gel and aftershave balm.

My Verdict

I would definately recommend this aftershave to people simply based on the fact I personally think it smells so nice. Yes it is generic but there is a reason it is so popular and sometimes it is nice to have a go to aftershave that you know you will like no matter what mood you might be in.