I don't know about the rest of you guys (and I mean 'guys' in the original, ballsy sense of the word), but isn't it always the same at Christmas? You get around 35 gallons of various after-shaves, colognes, eau de toilettes and general whiffy substances.
It used to be that when you opened your prezzies come Christmas morning, a solitary bottle of Old Spice was about your lot....maybe even some 'splash it all over'
Brut. But that's back in the days when men were men and only nancy-boys resorted to girly nonsense like dabbing on perfume for men or using hot water to shave.
Nah, a quick splash of ice-cold water and a vigourous rub-down with a crinkly towel usual does me after a scrape at the old whiskery chops.
However, since after-shaves and perfume for man are gifts that require very little forethought, in common with most men, I have a heavily cluttered shelf creaking and groaning under the combined weight of past Christmas presents.
One of the offenders is a small bottle of ACQUA DI GIO by ARMANI, nothing if not pretentious.
The bottle is pretty ordinary and basic, with rounded edges and frosted glass and ACQUA DE GIO and GIORGIO ARMANI flashed across front and back. Actually, I quite like the design of the bottle - it's quite minimalist and not over-elaborate as some similar products can be.
THEY SAY:
"Born from the sea, the sun and the earth, and created by a man who embraces nature's contrasts as he finds harmony in them. Inspired by the Mediterranean island haven, Pantelleria, the scent is decidedly masculine and modern with a transparent, aromatic, woody scent."
Aye, right!
The contents of the bottle are clear and almost colourless, with just the faintest hint of pale green to let you know it's not water...or vodka (not a mistake you want to repeat too often). But looks aren't really the most important factor in describing a product of this type, are they?
No.
The most significant factor in deciding whether to buy (or use) a perfume for men is the.....erm...fragrance. In other words, what does it smell like?
On opening the bottle and taking a good, long sniff, the first thing to say is it's not over-bearing, it's extremely subtle. This may be a good thing as usually the cheaper, nastier fragrances can be...shall we say...ripe?
However, after a moment or two a fresh and clean, very light citrus scent makes an appearance. It seems a little herbal - something like a pot pourri almost, and there are definite floral tones....I would say jasmine, but don't quote me. There's supposed to be a woody scent to it but I don't really sense it - maybe a touch of pine resin-like quality, but it's very faint.
Hmm, it's a little sweet and flowery for my liking - not particularly masculine at all.
One thing I will say about it though, and that's the staying power it has. Just a tiny dab of this will last all day, even after a hard day's shopping and a hefty session of housework, it still lingers.
I had a look around the shops and saw the 50ml bottle of this in Boots for a penny under thirty quid but I'm sure it's possible to get a better deal than that. I hope so. I wouldn't like to think that whoever gave me this had splashed out that much on some 'man-perfume'.
30? If anyone reading this is thinking of buying me something like this for Christmas I'll make a deal with you. Don't bother, and we'll split the cash 50/50....thirty quid for a bottle of smelly stuff, whatever next.
To sum up, It's a nice bottle and it smells OK, but it's a bit expensive. It's also a little bit on the non-macho side of the smelling fresh scale for this reviewer. It might impress your man if you treat him to a bottle of this come Christmas, but personally, if I'm going to be given a bottle of anything, it better be a bottle of Belgian beer....Foxsake! I could fly over to Brussels for a beer at that price!
Would I buy it again? - Only if I stood too close to the microwave and frazzled my brains.
Learn more about this author, Andrew H Brown.
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