Versace
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The Italian citrus explodes with synthetic brilliance, lemon's sharp bite immediately tempered by mandarin's honeyed warmth, whilst candied apple introduces that distinctive cough-syrup sweetness. You're enveloped in a cloud of candy-coloured brightness—almost edible, definitely noticeable.
Clary sage emerges as the composition's backbone, introducing an herbaceous dustiness that prevents the fruity sweetness from becoming cloying. Geranium adds a slightly peppery, floral dimension, and for a brief window (perhaps 2-3 hours), this fragrance achieves genuine complexity—the fresh accords working in genuine harmony with the sweetness.
The base notes fail to materialise convincingly. Patchouli and sandalwood appear as ghosts, barely perceptible, whilst vanilla offers a pale, distant sweetness. Leather and cedar suggest depth that never truly arrives, leaving you with lingering wisps of candied apple and a faint herbal whisper before the scent retreats almost entirely.
Eros Versace presents itself as a fractured gemstone—brilliant and sharp-edged rather than polished. The Italian citrus duo of lemon and mandarin arrives with an almost aggressive brightness, immediately colliding with candied apple's synthetic sweetness to create something closer to a confectionery than a traditional cologne. This is where the fragrance's personality crystallises: it's unabashedly artificial in the most seductive way, a deliberately constructed fantasy rather than anything remotely naturalistic.
What prevents this from becoming merely saccharine is the clary sage that emerges beneath the fruit—herbaceous and slightly peppery, it cuts through the sweetness like a blade through silk. The geranium adds a dusty, slightly green dimension that keeps the composition from cloying. This is a fragrance for those who appreciate tension in their scents, the push-pull between syrupy gourmand tendencies and aromatic restraint.
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3.5/5 (75)