Aventus has a lot more depth. Esencia EDP does an excellent job in capturing the aura and feel of Aventus, but it’s very linear, no where near Aventus’ sophistication. Really love this fragrance. I found out about it by successively selecting my favourite notes on the 'Perfumes' tab here, until only one fragrance remained. Imagine yourself anchored in a green luscious forest and all of a sudden you are part of a time lapse experience in where you go through spring, summer and autumn of that forest. I was going for a meeting with my manager, and when I entered his office, my nose immediately went “is that...Aventus...?!!”. It was very pleasant, and definitely fills a room!

When we finished eating, i put my mask to hide some embarrasing, went to the table and asked... “buenas noches! some of you guys have a beautiful perfume and i would like to know if it’s cool water?” One looked to the other saying “i don’t wear perfume today” (crazy guy lol), and the other said it’s esencia de loewe. I'm not that kind of person who throws around statements such as "best ever", "best of" ," top three", "best of its kind" because i firmly believe that each and every perfumer puts his or her best effort and knowledge into every single one of their creations. So it would be unfair to other green creations if go over board with praise for this Loewe's creation.The first spray vaults us to great heights (think leafy green tree tops) with a smooth lavender and a beautiful pine note, some tarragon and petitgrain and the smallest bit of basil. The extra fresh and herbal opening gives way to a spicy mid that gets slightly soapy.(that nutmeg note is so good!) The florals float in with a nice rose and jasmine that get a minty fresh push from the geranium. The base runs sweet and slightly earthy with some tonka, vetiver and patchouli. As for the dry down, imagine an artisanal shaving soap that was kissed with the slightest bit of incense. This is standard Loewe: rich, bold and beautiful. This is not an aventus clone and it also does not imitate mont-blanc's take on Aventus as some here claim. This thing is quite natural smelling in comparison to MB explorer, and it also goes on it's separate way in the dry down, maybe more then a bit.

I never worned Aventus or aventus like fragrances in the sommer cause i found them to be somehow cloying, this one tough, actually does ok in sommer. Hot weather makes it a bit sweater and for whatever reason the darkness turns airy. It lingers for a long time on skin and projects more then 6 Hours for about an arm lenght. Don't get me wrong, this fragrance is a take on Aventus, but it is managing to project a similar scent with different notes that are easy to peak on if you bother. It is darker and not smoky, yet still reminds you of that aventus. I assume that some of the initial spray had gone stale in the sprayer tube and this was what I got. Update 5-6 weeks later I received my own bottle. I was very disappointed as my first impressions were very different from those experienced with the airport tester including a very poor longevity. I have erased and replaced what followed next, rather than leave up an incorrect and unintentionally unfair appraisal of this fragrance.Imagine all the ingredients were kept in containers around this large cauldron brought out to prepare a rich and complex mixture of the many many notes indicated above. Then imagine a cat walked on that shelf and all the containers fell into the cauldron, breaking and mixing up. That's what this fragrance smells like - complete chaos. It isn't a composition, it's a concoction. It's like of Roja's parfum colognes went from their jazz roots and turned punk. It's everything, all at once, altogether. And it is all of that in the best way possible. I've smelt many perfumes - but very few quite as unique yet pleasing as this one - pleasing being the key word. It is not challenging to appreciate or difficult to wear. Even to this day. It is all things to all men - except during the very high summer heat :)... This sits on my shelf as a unique designer along with Narciso Rodriguez For Him - unique versatiles that show that you don't have to be safe like all the blue fragrances out there to be easy to wear... The next phase is lively with many different notes rising and falling. But, for me, the main players are bergamot, petitgrain, neroli and jasmine underpinned by iris and rose. I was eying out this fragrance for a while now and now that I've got it I'm annoyed at myself for not having bought it so much earlier.

Technically Esencia is a chypre. Of chypres you have leathery (Polo), woody (Yatagan), fruity (Mitsouko), fresh (Pour Monsiur), citrus (Eau Sauvage) and so on. Then there is the fougeres, and there you have amongst others the aromatic genre (Loewe pour homme). The spicy ones are usually orientals (with bases of vanilla, amber, incense...). But Esencia is neither of those. It is an aromatic chypre! To me it has almost nothing in common with Polo or Yatagan, but much more with aromatics. The opening has a touch of the loo cleaner/air freshener combo about it. But after a couple of minutes it settles down and the pine and fir notes become history. Very pleasant smell though nothing ground breaking even for someone not so experienced like me. Unfortunately, performance is poor on my skin and at €75 for 50ml or €150/ 100ml I'd rather look at other options until I find it (heavily) discounted.

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This is very masculine in a similar vein to Azzaro PH but it's more refined, less rugged. It's masculinity comes from the fresh green notes, herbs, berries and woods, rather than musky animalic notes, so you can actually wear a fair amount of it and take advantage of its 'powerhouse' nature without feeling that you're cloying the air around you with crotch notes or schmooze vapour. The closest thing I can compare it to is the fizzy green opening 20 minutes of Bogart Signature that I always wished lasted longer. This fragrance does exactly that - cranks the juniper and galbanum up to 11 and keeps it pumpin' for the whole show. Really feels like it's all bright green top notes that turn into a fizzy, juniper soap. But that's the thing - it's a sour juniper and not the resinous sappy kind. Just a heads up.

Then i said... uhm this is not aventus, it smells a bit “mature”... i got it! It’s cool water... or green irish tweed. And waffs coming through my nose every single second. My bottle of Esencia Loewe is nearly full simply because it's not my vibe. This is no comment on the quality of the fragrance; it's an interesting scent which evolves in an equally interesting manner. Update: worn it some more, lasted about 3h and became a skin scent way too early. This was in Spain, at 20+ degrees. Unacceptable at its price. Such a shame. Update: ended up getting a bottle on a good deal. It's starting to pop up discounted on some retailers. After several wears, and especially now with the colder weather this part of the world, the longevity issues are quite evident.The result is Loewe-style spanish aromas (wide, juicy, medium strong but lots of flavors), with a refreshening top and a GREAT drydown. Fougeres are easily my favorite type of fragrance to wear. This is a problem, simply because there are so many damn good fougeres out there to try. Does Loewe Esencia standout? Hell yes! For the simple reason we stay on the upper end of the stem of the fern; Loewe Esencia is so perfectly green. I was sitting at a terrace here in Spain, 9pm having tapas. We were the last table in the terrace, nobody next to us. Inspite of the four notes listed here, this still smells like Aventus (the OG or the cologne, don't really know or care)