Decibel by Azzaro

Very interesting aroma, rich and original this Azzaro dB. It doesn’t smell like Dior Sauvage Elixir to me, which is a beast. The crowd says nonsense and gets bored. The dB has a quirky scent, like a vinyl record scented with sweet licorice. It reminds me of the legendary ‘purumoro’ (an 80s-90s sweet treat shaped like a black bar with bitter licorice flavour) due to the combination of lemon, heaps of aldehydes, licorice, violet and incense (these last notes are soft, mind you, not as noticeable as in other perfumes or Arabic fragrances) and a vanilla, tonka and amber finish. Attractive and original design, a microphone, which gave it a rock ‘n’ roll touch. Naturally, it was aimed at young people (though really, my grandfather could pull it off) and lovers of Pop music (if you’re a fan of The Strokes, even more so; worth noting Julian Casablancas announced it and was in the double packaging photo). It’s a men’s fragrance with personality, cool, charismatic, nocturnal, seductive and cheeky. It had a good price (30-40 euros for 100ml) but had a flaw: its performance, somewhat disappointing. Short duration (2-3 hours on skin) and a short trail. Well, if you were out and about, you’d grab a pocket decant, reapply, and be done. As happens with many perfumes. Unfortunately, this Azzaro dB is super-discontinued and has been for some time. It sold poorly and the house Azzaro dropped it a few years later. To get it nowadays, you need the internet or a small perfumer with outlets/old stock. It might be worth paying more. Be careful, don’t pay more than 50-60 euros/dollars for 100ml because it’s not worth it and there’s a lot of scammers and metah smokers in the vintage or discontinued perfume trade who go crazy with the prices. If it didn’t have the defects I mentioned, it would have been a cult fragrance, meat for hypesters or constant nostalgic rehype. Did you get what you wanted? Of course, and from the most cannon girls. They didn’t wear this until the cats, unlike the most famous commercial perfumes of the day.

Smells of vinyl at first, very original, but after a while it fades to leave tonka and licorice, which is quite pleasant. It doesn’t remind me of Lolita Lempicka, CK One Red, or Loewe 7. It’s a designer niche with a unique scent, a bold and striking gamble.

Rich for evening wear, ideal for a melomane. Smells of vinyl and a turntable; synthetic yet well-executed. I used a sample and loved it; if I see it again, I’ll buy it.

It doesn’t resemble Loewe 7; I struggled to find it, as it might be discontinued or simply not stocked because it’s not a bestseller. To my nose, it’s incense, licorice, and lemon. Longevity and projection are moderate; I tested it for a few days and it lasted through the morning.

9th July 2017. Confirming my previous comment: an intense and pleasant initial explosion, but it lasts as long as a sigh. It’s winter; perhaps it would be different in summer. For now, it’s a great disappointment.

June 2017. I tried it last night. Wonderful initial explosion: sharp, intense, original, and strong. After a while, I felt nothing, only a faint trace when bringing my nose close. It also doesn’t persist on clothes. I expected that potency to continue, but it didn’t. I like strong and persistent perfumes, so for me, it’s a disappointment. Longevity is scarce, with a strong trail initially and then nothing.

Something citrusy and sweet at the start, then lots of incense, too much incense for my olfaction, even though I’m a lover of this note. In the end I gave it away. I bought it because I like perfumes that smell like incense, but I was wrong; the incense in this fragrance is too synthetic, strident and intense. My nose got saturated and I couldn’t pick out any other note until an hour had passed, when the incense note finally settled somewhat and the fragrance became warmer and more breathable, but the first hour of the perfume is deadly. For people who like very intense perfumes, for cold climates and for night wear.

A bit muddled at first with that citrus and licorice blend giving it a cloying, synthetic edge, but within minutes the incense takes over. By 6 hours the incense gives way to tonka bean, and by 8 hours it’s just vanilla with residual tonka. I didn’t really pick up on the vetiver or violet. The trail is heavy for a few hours before moderating, lasting around 12 hours on skin. If you’re considering this for younger people, it’s confusing and strident at first, then loaded with tonka; it works well at night in polluted cities. Better suited for winter or cool evenings.

At first it smells artificial, like plastic or a vinyl record, but once that note fades, the incense comes through.