MACY'S COLOGNES ARMANI CODE, 1 MILLION, THE MOST WANTED

These graphics are giving "graphic design is my passion." I spent too much time on these, so please say some nice things. I am a photography and graphic design-challenged person. 

I've reviewed the Parfum, and I wasn't a fan. Bright 'n bitter bergamot opening, herbaceous sage, and tonka bean that always becomes rancid with my body chemistry/the nature of tonka bean(?). 

According to the card, the main selling point for the EDT is the fact it's refillable. Brands are doing the bare minimum now. I discussed this issue when I reviewed Prada Paradoxe. No one care's that it's refillable. It's not ground-breaking anymore. Soap companies offer refills for public toilets. No need to brag!

It's a subtle perfume. I couldn't smell much at first, except for this weird rubbery initial whiff, so I sprayed another layer. The Parfum is warmer, and the EDT is lighter and brighter. I'm not getting much Lavandin in the EDT; it's mainly mandarin with a somewhat bearable tonka bean and a soft woodiness. It's as if you laundered the Parfum and dried it in the sun to make the EDT. 

If you want warm and spicy, go for Parfum. If you like light and fresh, go for the EDT. They share the citrus, cedar, and tonka bean DNA yet express vastly differently. The tonka bean is the most noticeable in both. The Parfum has better longevity and projection, but that's to be expected due to its nature and formulation.

The Parfum is more F/W, whereas the EDT is S/S. The Parfum is a suit. The EDT is an unbuttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the tie missing after a long day/on holiday. 

While I don't like them, I prefer the EDT because it's less in-your-face pungent.

I was very excited to try the Elixir after finding out the notes. There are more additional fragrance notes, which reads fruitier and more floral. The elixir edition lacks the plums and hazelnuts that were the marketing notes for Lucky. 

Remember, someone was paid for writing and translating this for the Lucky EDT: "Hazelnut craving. Cedar that captivates. A prune shot that bites. Exhilarating." 

My previous review likened Lucky to Abercrombie. I still stand by that now. Intense plum, hazelnut, and cedarwood notes. Very nutty. Reminds me of Shiseido's Fino hair mask.

The Elixir. Boozy, syrupy, and smoky opening. There is this difficult-to-describe plastic-like quality buffering the vanilla; it's like slow-release encapsulated retinol, but in this case, it's slow-release vanilla. This plastic quality is trying to fight the vanilla. The culprits might be rose and cedar wood. It's a little sour and musky.

Once the clouds of booze, wood, and smoke part, this is a vanilla-dominant fragrance. When it's a foot away from me, it's all I smell. If it's a vanilla fragrance you want, there are likely better ones out there sans the unpleasant plastic-y quality I mentioned. 

Once they have enough time to settle, they smell unisex to my nose. 

AZZARO THE MOST WANTED PARFUM

On the card: "A new rise in intensity for the man who wants to unleash his burning energy. A fiery Fougère, an oriental and spicy Parfum with an incandescent trail. Red ginger. Incandescent woods accord. Bourbon vanilla."

"Unleash his burning energy" sounds so suggestive and makes me uncomfortable in the worst way. Ick.

While looking for the notes on the Azzaro website, I came across this: "For him, life is a game. An insatiable player, he follows his own rules. He likes to be playful, create his own luck and defy his destiny again and again." 

A fuck-boy that likes to gamble with money and the chances of pulling out. That's what the marketing is giving.

I think I'm having my coming to Jesus moment: it's not the Tonka bean's fault; it's the wood that's the problem! 

There is a slight spiciness from the ginger, but it's barely noticeable. The wood notes smell smokey and incense-y. Sweet, smokey, aromatic, musky, grassy/earthy, and just the teeniest bit sour. 

I'm picking up on cedar and vetiver; I feel confident because it smells like Vetiver 46 by Le Labo and Costa Azzurra by Tom Ford. The pencil shavings are asserting their dominance and crawling up from below. It's an odd juxtaposition: sweetness and creaminess from the vanilla with pencil shavings.