Quintessential 80s

Armani Eau Pour Homme was released in the mid 1980s, and it certainly evokes that era. It opens with a strong candied lemon and green citrus scent. After an hour or so, it enters a phase of old school floral notes (hard to distinguish anything specific other than perhaps carnation) and sharp lavender. After a few hours, those notes give way to nutmeg, cinnamon, oakmoss and vetiver. Musk and woods are listed as base notes, but I don't get much of that other than perhaps a bit of cedar throughout. There isn't a real woody feel to it at all for me. It's very 1980s masculine and sharp.

This isn't a scent designed to draw attention at social gatherings. From my perspective, AEPH is very pointedly designed to remain present but not distracting for something serious and focused. It would work if you were taking your long established other half out to an upscale restaurant for a pleasant evening, but probably isn't one to wear if your aim is to encourage some extracurricular activities afterwards. It is unapologetically masculine, but more of a boardroom masculine than masonry or lumberjack masculine.I purchased mine secondhand for quite a bargain ($45 after shipping). It's the older formulation, as evidenced by the black rubber bottom. I'm not sure I would pay the going rate (MaxAroma is the only discounter I see the new formulation at for $100USD), but it's been discontinued and that tends to spike asking prices.

This isn't a bottle I will seek to repurchase based on the cost and the fact that it's a strong like but not a love.It's difficult for me to quantify a fragrance in numerical terms, so I'll grade this as "Nice, but probably not worth the current asking prices."