Bentley for Men Silverlake
Bentley (2020)

Bentley for Men Silverlake by Bentley (2020) has a smell which is impossible to ignore, if only because what it smells like is also quite impossible to ignore. Acqua Di Giò pour Homme by Giorgio Armani (1996) is fairly iconic now, and its up-market higher-concentration flankers have garnered a cult following with few exceptions, until eventual discontinuation and replacement. Thus, it seems only fitting that Bentley would squeeze in on that market with its take on the profile most commonly-found in Acqua Di Giò Essenza (2012) and to a lesser extent, Acqua Di Giò Profumo (2015). These days, one may instead seek out Acqua Di Giò Parfum (2023) as the ostensible replacement for either, as it sits somewhere between them both; but if you don't have the kind of ridiculous coin Armani wants for the newest iteration, Bentley has you covered, it seems.

Now, this may not officially be labelled a clone, and it is not perfectly one for one to any member of the Acqua Di Giò family, but damn if it isn't super close. The biggest points of separation for me are the increased violet leaf and mint elements, declared in the note pyramid by the brand. The rest of the scent is the same ozonic citrus accords up top, the salty mineral elements of the Profumo or Parfum versions of Acqua Di Giò pour Homme, and the aquatic base note that uses ambroxan plus a heap of dry woody notes to keep the scent from being sweet like your average youth-oriented aquatic. Bentley for Men Silverlake just adds the greener elements of the violet leaf and mint, plus some sage and pink pepper in there. Performance is pretty good, so there's that too.

As a lower-cost alternative to the now-discontinued Acqua Di Giò Essenza or Profumo (although the latter wasn't when this first released), Bentley for Men Silverlake delivers where it counts in a similar fashion to Bentley for Men Absolute (2014), which satisfies for the fans of the erstwhile Gucci pour Homme (2002). We know that last one was even perfumed by the same perfumer behind the long-gone Gucci, although no official perfumer is signed to this particular life-after-death copycat of a hyped discontinued modern fragrance; I'm sure its not Alberto Morillas, as he's too much of a rock star in this field nowadays to be associated with brands like Bentley, even though Jeremy Fragrance somehow had the man on speed dial. Nonetheless, a decent if not entirely original fragrance, sold at a good value online, and no real complaints. Thumbs up