Mainstream Monday – Sniffing Popular Perfumes

I’m trying to spend some time this summer organizing and going through all my mess. I’m attempting to organize beauty stuff, which is not easy. I don’t have much space (oh, and I have too much stuff). I’m also trying to organize perfume samples (this is not easy because I still can’t figure out a system that makes sense). I thought I’d knock out a few Mainstream Monday: The Masculine Edition reviews. Today I’m sniffing two Hugo Boss scents from the 90’s:

Hugo Boss Boss Bottled

Notes listed include apple, citrus, pelargonium, cinnamon, cloves, sandalwood, cedar and vetiver. Launched in 1998. PERFUMER – Annick Menardo

Honestly, I got Bottled confused with HUGO so when I tried it, I was like “Wow, they really reformulated this”. And maybe they did but I think it’s because I was expecting an entirely different fragrance. Anyway, Bottled opens as aromatic apples…like apple-flavored gummy bears and Christmas trees. The evergreen is heavy on the citrus/lemon. Overall, this is a really synthetic apple/cinnamon/vanilla. A combo of apple, cinnamon and vanilla sounds like something you’d already know…it even sounds delicious. Stop thinking that. This smells like apple/cinnamon/grout cleaner until it dries down to a something sweet and more likable. The base is like apple pie, dry woods and a smoky vetiver. It’s super sweet which is funny because I thought that was more of a “new” thing in designer men’s fragrances (like Paco Rabanne 1 Million). I guess not. I just forgot about Bottled (even though it was really popular in my teenage years¹).

Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Apple pie and sweetgrass. It’s not bad, actually better than I remember. It’s aged just fine, still seems modern (even after 20 years!). It’s one worth trying if you like those super sweet designer masculines.

Hugo Boss HUGO

Notes listed include lavender, green apple, mint, grapefruit, basil, carnation, sage, geranium, jasmine, patchouli, fir and cedar. Launched in 1995. PERFUMER – Bob Aliano

Ah, here’s what I was thinking about. This one was super popular when I was a teenager². So many backpacks were packing this canteen-ish bottle. HUGO opens with the lavender linen spray and Jolly Rancher Green Apple that I remember. It’s cool, fruity and with lots of grapefruit-y evergreens.  Honestly, I love this opening. It’s like an apple mojito on ice (is that a thing?). The heart is fresh green basil, a mix of warm and cool spices and spruce. The dry-down is like that masculine “Ah, smell the fresh mountain air and evergreens. I’m so adventurous and rugged even though this sort of smells like household cleaner” bases.

Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Apple mojito and mountain spruce. Fresh and inoffensive. It’s really a great scent for summer.

I’m surprised because I think both of these aged fairly well. They don’t seem dated. I don’t know if that’s because men’s fragrances haven’t really changed in 20 years or if these were trend-setters. I love perfume but don’t really keep up with designer masculines. Anyway… I think if you’re a guy on a budget/a young man/or someone that doesn’t care too much about having a massive fragrance collection, you could rotate through both of these (fall/winter and spring/summer) and smell pretty darn good.

The 3.3 oz of Bottled retails for $79 at Nordstrom. The 2.5 oz of HUGO retails for $61 at Sephora. These can sometimes be found at discounters like Perfume.com.

¹Stop trying to figure out how old I am.

²I’m sure someone reading this had a boyfriend or was the boyfriend that wore these 90’s Hugo Boss fragrances.

*Samples obtained by me. Product pics from Ulta. Post contains affiliate links. Thanks!