Call me insane, but I actually thought this one would turn out to be all right. The advertising campaign and the packaging are so gloriously over-the-top, I began to believe it would be a no-holds-barred powerhouse, an Antaeus for the 21st century. Even the official list of notes boded well, although I learned not to trust those years ago. Regrettably, Eros is about as dull and predictable as they come. In fact, you could probably use it as a text book definition of everything that is moronic about mainstream, masculine perfumery. There’s a brief moment when its green apple note suggests it might be aiming for the unfussy appeal of the original Hugo (and that, at some stage in its development, someone tried to take the ‘god of love’ concept seriously) but beyond that, it is generic freshness extraordinaire (cheap mint, pine and lemon) with the de rigueur slug of abrasive, ambery woods and an all-pervading fog of illegibility. At least the advert is worth several chuckles…
[Review based on a sample of eau de toilette provided by Versace in 2013.]
Persolaise.
PS Don’t forget you’ve got until Monday night (UK time) to enter this draw for a sample of the new perfume from Marni.
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I would LOVE to smell an Antaeus for the 21st century.
Rosarita, me too. But I think a mainstream house would release such a beast only in an 'exclusive' range (see Dior's Leather Oud, for instance).
sad! How great is the ad campaign for this? So Versace.
Susan, agreed. Vulgarity can be appealing if it holds its head high and makes no apologies
Green apple note? Yikes. I guess I do not have enough muscles for this.
Victoria, perhaps it's a very heavy apple…
Guys!!! Come on, it really isn't THAT bad! (chuckle) Seriously, it is a big step better than "1 Million" (not difficult, I know) and it has some of the juxtaposition of a "Xerys" (Givenchy late 80ies) and the unashamed sexiness of Alain Delon's "Iquitos" (mid 80ies).
…but I admit it should have been even better…I take it, too many focus groups and trend-tracking digital models have taken a bold directional move towards a more commerically 'safe' one.
That is what you get when the focus is on the bottom-line.
Each to their own
But in all honesty, I really do think this stuff is pretty awful. At least 1 Million is wearable.
[…] efforts from Versace and Issey Miyake. The former’s Eros Energy – a flanker to the original Eros from 2012 – may resort to predictably boorish patchouli cliches in its base, but its opening […]