Aqaba for men

Remember Colors for Men? Surely you've seen it on a shelf at a local drug store or discounter. When first launched, this was a "yes!" scent. In fact, there's a bottle in my fragrance cabinet right now that I wear about once a month despite my general disdain for anything I once wore in high school. Colors for Men was all bright citrus and oriental lower notes, certainly Benetton's take on Drakkar Noir. Twenty years later, 2009: Colors ain't what it used to be (the women's version is a completely different aroma altogether, what happened there?). It's close enough to the original 80's launch to still find pleasure, and it really doesn't feel like a $10 US scent (ok, more like a $25 US scent). Anyhow, I’ve long pined for a fragrance like Colors for Men - a more upscale version, better ingredients, more refined. 
 


Now, back to Aqaba. Some fragrances immediately conjure images for me, perhaps due to the bottle and name, or perhaps just due to the aroma itself and my associations. Aqaba conjures images alright! Imagine a garden pond at dusk reflecting colors of a changing sky, deep purple and burgundy irises peeking into the water, a burning orange sunset...get the picture? This scent is neither the garden nor the sky but the glistening surface of the pond, ripples emanating like waves of cloth fluttering in the wind. Next, we move inside to a room with tile-covered walls (think Patsy and Eddina in Marrakech at Humphrey's villa; I know at least a few of you get this allusion), a dimly lit room, candles burning in worked iron chandeliers, white petals dangling from green stems, plush woven rugs, sweetly-smoky hookahs, silk pillows, empty bottles scattered across the floor still releasing honey-ambered fumes from their now imbibed blends....everything dims as the night edges on until the midnight sky sparkles with diamond stars and sleep beckons. This is the setting for my own olfactory journey that is Aqaba Men. 
 


Now, the aroma….Honeyed cognac with a twist of lemon and a vanilla bean, stored in a buttery leather pouch and kept in a bag of jade and navy colored velvet. Aqaba Men is smooth and well-blended: warm and deep enough for cold weather, yet somehow not so cloyingly sweet that it can’t also be enjoyed in warm weather. And my reference to Benetton and Drakkar? Same family, but these were the princes of yesteryear and Aqaba is the King of now. In fact, after recently sniffing Drakkar, I’m prepared to state that the good ole’ Noir just isn’t what it used to be either, another composition likely destroyed by the auspices of using different ingredients to preserve affordability. And the lemon and leather accord was far more subtle than I had recalled.

After a powerful opening with all the major players present, Aqaba Men is sweet, slightly woody, leathery, but buoyed by a well-tamed citrus. Next the vanilla strengthens and a dewy green note appears, decreasing the original POW! of the opening. The scent then swirls and melds into a velvety drydown. I could swear I detect a hint of chamomile and some juniper (think gin and tonic) somewhere in there with the soft leather. The longevity is satisfactory though the scent does tend to run out of steam after a couple of hours. To end, I think I could give up every other scent I own just to enjoy this Aqaba man.  

Author: Marlen Harrison (perfumecritic)
Fragrantica Writer

Creator and Editor of PerfumeCritic.com, Marlen Harrison was also author of Basenotes.com's ADDICTED column and one of the community's moderators. Marlen has been a regular contributor to NowSmellThis blog, BeautyAddictMag, and The Washington Blade. He is currently completing his PhD in English Composition and TESOL and teaches at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.