Tommy Hilfiger True Star Aftershave

Four years ago, when I saw the wonder of Enrique Iglesias on card board form, all 6 feet of him in a black and white photograph placard wearing a white shirt, denim trousers and a glint of a full opened hairless chest staring down at me from the shelf at Christmas time in House of Frasers, I wasn't exactly taken in. Even the beautiful Beyonce has got in on the act now thanks to Tommy Hilfiger with their latest product "True Star Gold," for the ladies. What did attract me instantly however was the scent of True Star for men's aftershave, which I had received as a sample in a magazine.

As a wearer and massive fan of Fahrenheit, I was initially looking for something which was a good half measure in between; possibly a different scent, possibly something completely different to the strong accents that Fahrenheit consists of.

The Price, The Product & The Promise

Now in 2012, House of Fraser's and many other department stores like Debenhams have followed suit in no longer making this product available to buy in-store. Fashion certainly dictates current practice and since the demise of the late great Whitney Houston, the only familiarity we have of Enrique Iglesias at the moment is the duet that he did with Miss Houston, seemingly being played on a loop.

There are quite a few variations to this scent and was released in the UK originally in 2005.

• 100ml After shave balm; this is an alcohol free formula and retails around £18-00 to £22-00.

* 100ml After Shave Splash £18-00 and upwards.

• EDT (Eau de Toilette) 30 ml Spray, retails from £20-00 to £28-00

• EDT (Eau de Toilette) 50 ml Spray, retails from £35-00 to £41-00

• 100 ml True star body and hair shower gel and 50 ml EDP aftershave, retails from £67 and upwards.

• 100 ml True Star Aftershave balm and 50ml EDP aftershave pack, retails from £35 to £45-00 dependent on stockist.

All aftershave differentiated in weight and sizes are of the spray type regardless. The shower gel comes in a squeezable shower flip up tube whilst the aftershave balm is a white creamy liquid contained in a similar glass bottle.

What Hilfiger promises and the claims:

"...Tommy's newest cologne is inspired by the untamed passion, talent and boyish charm of Enrique Iglesias. A soft-spiced wood fragrance, True Star Men's opening attraction begins with the cool crispness of a pink grapefruit, blended with mysterious tones of black liquorice. The fragrance builds with a modern softness from saffron and sandalwood..."

General Design

The price you pay however doesn’t just reflect the quality of this scent. A lot of thought has gone into the bottle. Whilst I don’t really care what the aftershave comes in, Mr Hilfiger has certainly worked a little magic on this product:

Firstly, the aftershave bottle is a dark grey glass item which feels cylindrical to hold, but it actually has a curve put into the shape. The top of the aftershave is a chrome bottle top with the words "Tommy Hilfiger" travelling horizontally from top to the bottom in the middle, as if it was a stature. "True Star and Men," are additionally printed on the bottom of the front of the bottle and underneath it is a tiny little white star, just to leave you in no doubt what the scent is really named after!

What Does It Smell Of?

There's myriads of constellations going on here in what really stands out in the scent department. Whilst there are hints here of an overall citrus explosion going on to enforce freshness and longevity of the aftershave, (lemon and grapefruit especially) I find that True Star's main appeal is the fact that I think it smells more of leather than of actual sandalwood or liquorice. There's quite an explosion of fruity, hunky scents from the moment the liquid emerges from the bottle.

I love both additives latterly but I also adore the smell of fresh leather type soap such as Cussons "Imperial Leather," which has a good contrast of sandalwood and leather type scent. True Star has this appeal in addition to the other contrasts but the root level isn't citrus, but of the Saffron. Now I know from my cooking skills that Saffron doesn't have a very strong smell. The taste of Saffron is quite metallic on my palate however and this kind of taste and smell reaction is similar to the Saffron which has been added here.

Strength, Delivery & Downsides

True Star however has a lot more going for in terms of scent because whilst one squirt is never enough from the push down spray, the fragrance has a very open texture to it in terms of scent appeal. Women have commented that it smells quite unique and delicious, and whilst I agree it is unique, it doesn't appeal overly sweet to me despite the fact that I can smell a little Vanilla in the roots of this scent too.

That said, it means then that True Star could well be pigeon holed, and regulated to only special occasions or romantic occasions where the intention is more than just a night of passion.

Unfortunately the sting in Tommy Hilfiger's new spray for men is the fact that it isn't particularly long lasting on its own. I'm a big fan of Christian Dior's Fahrenheit, so it is of no surprise that I prefer aftershaves to be long lasting. I find when using a couple of sprays from True Star in the morning means by midday the scent has truly died off and dissipated. That could well be a good advantage for some consumers who don't want a strong, overpowering scent though.

However with the use of this aftershave in the shower in the mornings, it seems to react magically with the hot steam of the shower slowly evaporating, giving it extra strength compared to just adding the aftershave in a cold room, away from the bathroom.

When I bought myself this fragrance again for my birthday in March, I found it very hard to find in the UK, eventually having to go through EBay.co.uk to find it. It seems to be a very rare fragrance. Prices of this product keep changing too which can be a bit of a downside but since this has a lovely reminder of Acqua di Gio by Armani I'd say it is worth seeking out.

Final Thoughts

Forget Enrique Iglesias for a moment, because ideally you're not going to buy this product because of his adorable look on the front cover of the box (unless you're an obsessed fan) that this fragrance comes in, or get taken in by the appeal of the singer just because this aftershave carries his name on all front advertising by Tommy Hilfiger.

If you like the appeal of leathery scents, coupled with citrus nodes and an overall fresh scent, then True Star by Tommy Hilfiger could well be the scent for you. The only downside is that it's not particularly strong for just one application to get away with when in use. I have continued to buy this product though because I like the scent of the woody leather after-tones mixed with the fruit and it gives me a complete departure from stronger aftershaves I'm more accustomed to. It might not give you the same sex appeal as Mr Iglesias, but True Star by Tommy Hilfiger is enough to stand out a little. Thanks for reading! (c)Nar2 2012.