My favorite season is here! I live up north so fall to me is a true season with leaves changing bright shades of red and orange, temperature getting to around 50 degrees and the sun setting around 6:30. But it’s also football season, hoodie, and jeans season, nighttime firepit session season as well as fall fragrance season. Time to start putting your freshies away or store them in your gym bag because the warm, spicy frags of fall are in! Here are my top 5 date night frags in no particular order:
1. Tom Ford - Ombre Leather Parfum
Starting off with the most expensive one of the bunch this fragrance screams its namesake and isn’t afraid to show it. This is the one fragrance I can vividly remember the second I unwrapped the box, before I even opened it, that leather scent was seeping out of the box and smelled so smooth like I had just opened the door of a Maserati. The warm undertones of the woods and tobacco with that mixture of the florals that this parfum version has is truly something that you should try if you haven’t already. Tom Ford fragrances are top performers and Ombre Leather Parfum is no exception. This fragrance will last all day into the night, but if you spray early in the morning as your scent of the day, add two or three more sprays before you go out on your date.
2. Prada - Luna Rossa Black
This flanker in the Luna Rossa line was released in 2018 and was also recently marked as discontinued, however, it’s being hyped a lot for some reason lately and is also still readily available at Decant House. If you know anything about the Luna Rossa lineup, the Black version is the sixth flanker in the line and vastly rated as second best to Carbon. Now I’ve done a side-by-side comparison experiment, at home, with adult supervision…minus a lab coat, and I’ve come to a fascinating conclusion; Luna Rossa Black smells very similar to Luna Rossa Sport. I know, it will take a moment for that to sink in but try it yourself. It’s not a dead ringer, but I’m just saying, if all else fails and Luna Rossa Black was gone tomorrow, never to be seen again, Sport would be a viable replacement. Back to the review.
The main notes in Luna Rossa Black are amber, woods, musk, and powder along with an undertone of patchouli which is one of my most favorite notes in a fall fragrance. The warmth from this fragrance is perfect for a cool night out and the performance is more than enough to last through the night. After my testing with Sport and Black together, both were still present on my skin the following morning, so you’ll be good.
3. Jean Paul Gaultier - Le Male Le Parfum
I don’t know why, but I feel like everyone hasn’t just slept on Le Male Le Parfum, they’ve gone full blown Rip Van Winkle on it. I don’t think it’s on purpose, I think by design most people have gravitated towards Le Male or Ultra Male. Both of those fragrances are deemed the kings of club fragrances and their projection is other-worldly, so I can see why. But Le Male Le Parfum is in a league of its own and I think the best of the flankers. This fragrance is warm, spicy, powdery with strong hints of vanilla. Rounding out these warm fall notes are floral notes of lavender and iris that add brightness like a cool, crisp fall morning. While Ultra Male was designed to get you noticed, Le Parfum will want your date to get closer to you. Projection is still a beast with Le Parfum, not as strong as Ultra Male, but good enough to get complimented.
4. Yves Saint Laurent - La Nuit de L’Homme
A few years back before I started my collection, I remember using Banana Republic Classic along with Acqua di Gio (EDT) and a fragrance called Gravity. If you don’t remember Gravity, look it up, it was semi-popular in the 90s, I was young, don’t judge. Anyways, as I got older and my taste in fragrances started to change, I asked my wife in a Macy’s to find me a new fragrance to use. After circling around the entire men’s section for about 30 minutes trying everything, we landed on YSL La Nuit de l’Homme. It was her absolute favorite of the bunch. Not only was she right, but that was a lesson that I would learn and use going forward. Remember, it’s not always about what we as guy’s think, it’s more about what the ladies think. We may find a fragrance we all agree on that would be the most male-centric fragrance but if the ladies don’t like it, it’s got to go.
La Nuit de l’Homme is warm and spicy like the rest, but the powder that comes off of this one is also present with a bit of lavender and vetiver. If you’ve never tried this one out, and I know there’s like a TON of flankers of this one, give the OG a try. You, and your lady friend will not be disappointed.
5. Rochas - Moustache EDP
I saw this on a YouTube channel from a fragrance reviewer, and while it’s not general practice, the bottle is what sold it for me. I know, I know, horrible buying skills, but I figured for the price it was going to be a win/win for me, so I went for it. It’s like a bottle direct from the 70s. That glass bottle looks like more of a work of art than the fragrance that’s within it. No beating around the bush here, this fragrance really slaps. Vanilla, amber, woods, spices, patchouli, it’s all there and it’s not overpowering but it’s strong. Longevity on this will get you about 8+ hours and I can’t emphasize enough how good it smells. Give this one a shot.
There you have it! My top 5 that I’ll definitely be wearing this fall on those cooler nights out. What’s your favorite fall fragrance? Comment below! See you in the next review!
