If you're anything like me, you might apply it all over and make day wear out of it, a task at which it satisfactorily performs in warmer months.

It smells a bit like Drakkar Noir, but fresher and it obviously doesn't perform as well, being that Drakkar is an EDT.The truth is, I am not convinced that Basenotes should ignore aftershaves in the context of additions to the directory.

Granted, guys who love older aromatics, chypres, powerhouses, and musks will probably hate this, so I'm not saying it's a must-have piece for any vintage fan, despite it's 1993 launch date. It provides crisp, dynamic, well-designed cleanliness that presaged many of the citrus/woody/musk ozonics that would arrive at the end of the decade. Clearpay lends you a fixed amount of credit so you can pay for your purchase over 4 instalments, due every 2 weeks.

The odd thing about this fragrance, though, is the inclusion of a massive dose of dihydromyrcenol: a fresh, citrusy (lime/bergamot), vaguely floral (lavender), vaguely metallic chemical that's extremely resilient and long-lasting and thus frequently used in both personal and household cleaning products. When I was in high school in the 2000s, I didn't even really think about shaving, but this was one of the primary scents that I used for antiperspirant. The product is honestly meant to be a finishing touch to a suite of Cool Wave-scented grooming accessories, so if true sillage and longevity is what you want, you'll have to use all the products in concert. As it settles on the skin it becomes somewhat more of a dry scent, which categorizes it as a chypre.

The citrus aspects last maybe 5-10 minutes and the aquatic / metallic character lasts quite a while longer than that. Cool Wave is a woody chypre: citrus up top, labdanum and oakmoss below, and various woods for embellishment. Cool Wave came on the heels of aquatics, ozonics, and "fresh" fougères, so it does give off a bit of a "focus group" kind of a smell where you can tell it was meant to appeal for folks that would probably use one of those, but it has a richer and drier backbone to accompany it's freshness that actually makes it a stand-out from other conventional 1990's company, which is an amazing feet for a commercial after shave. In the late '80s Gillette's market studies indicated that American men were putting more time and effort into grooming than Gillette previously realized, but most fellows weren't sure where to turn for a good cologne: it seemed "too personal" to ask friends about and there was not yet an internet full of opinionated blowhards such as myself.If hit by a bit of moisture as the day progresses, the dihydromyrcenol will occasionally re-assert itself with another unexpected burst of freshness. As Cool Wave dries down it begins to reveal its woody chypre side, with a heart of subtle patchouli and tobacco resting on top of a big smooth base of oakmoss, leather, pine, and musk. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The opening of Cool Wave is perhaps it's biggest claim to fame: a rain-soaked woods and citrus melange that imparts a dewy vibe in the beginning, not quite oceany like the packaging suggests, but certainly living up to the name. You might recognize it from fragrances like Drakkar Noir, Green Irish Tweed, Cool Water, Aspen, Bowling Greene, and a large percentage of "metallic" or "aquatic" perfumes on the market.