All work and lots of play have meant no time for Ciao. Nearly a year since my last review and almost...
All work and lots of play have meant no time for Ciao. Nearly a year since my last review and almost as long since I've read anything... Where to start?
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Hugo Boss hit the fashion market a good few years ago now, famed for expensive suits and contemporary gentlemans fashion. It's not just clothes though, over the years Hugo has released occasional scent, beginning with "Boss No. 1" back in 1985. There must have been something of an "aftershave boom" in the late 1990s and through into the new millenium as there was a constant stream of new scents being released by most of the big fashion houses.
So it was that, in 1999, Hugo Boss released "Dark Blue" onto an unsuspecting world.
Following on from the wildly successful "Hugo", Dark Blue had a lot to live up to. Hugo, alongside Eternity for Men, had become something of a staple for men aged around 20. So where would Dark Blue fit into the picture? It was squarely aimed at the nightlife, party-people market. The dark-blue glass bottle, designed by Peter Schmitt, is shaped like a cocktail shaker complete with metal lid - a clear indication that this is an evening fragrance for people that like to party.
The scent itself is surprisingly old-fashioned, reminding me of aftershaves that my dad used to wear, but with a slight twist. It's definately spicy, in fact it's vaguely reminiscent of Old Spice - but there's a subtle difference. The smell is quite crisp and lively with a top-note mainly of ginger, with lime and cardamom. The middle note comes through fairly quickly and lasts all the way, and is a blend of floral, spice and wood in the shape of geranium, sage and cypress. The base-notes are of patchouli, cedar and vetiver giving it a distinctively woody smell. All of this combines to give a reasonably different and well-balanced scent, but I find it a little sweet and over-powering. It reminds me at times of "candy bracelets" and "lemon sherbet", not the sort of thing I want to be smelling throughout the day.
The bottle I have doesn't have an atomiser so it's a case of splashing it all over, but in measured doses as it is a rather potent scent. This is probably great for nightclubs where it will have to compete against a mixture of dancing and alcohol, but it's not too helpful if you are planning to wear it in the daytime. I generally find that scents intended for the evening tend to be heavier and more potent but with slightly less staying power than others and Dark Blue is no exception. Nighclubs, pubs and parties are what this fragrance was designed for and it does a good job of fitting the bill. It comes on strong and stays there for a good few hours, but if you were to put it on first thing in the morning before going to work you'd probably find it's worn off by mid-afternoon at the latest. Wear it with your best "pulling shirt", some trousers (of course) and a smart pair of shoes for a night on the town and you'll be well away.
What's the verdict? Well in the 5 or so years that I've owned a bottle, I've probably worn it less than a dozen times. You'd be hard pushed to tell that the lid had been taken off the bottle. It's not that it's a particularly horrid smell, I'm sure there are folks out there on which it smells great. But it certainly doesnt suit me. So I'm sure that I'll have it in my olfactory "arsenal" for another 5 years without needing to replenish it's supply -- and probably longer than that too.
It's available at the usual range of highstreet (Boots, Debenhams) and on-line retailers (escentual, fragrancedirect) for the fairly hefty price of £30 for a 75ml bottle, with little variation between retailers. Would I recommend it? Of all the scents I own, it's the one I am least likely to recommend but as with all scents, it's a matter of personal taste.
Pictures of Hugo Boss Dark Blue Eau De Toilette
My Bottle of Dark Blue
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Jul 30th, 2005
(Jul 31st, 2005)
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