Eros
Eau de Parfum, Versace (2020)

A very strong very masculine fragrance that actually performs like an Eau de Parfum should perform. 3 or 4 applications is all you'll need to last through the day and well into the night. This is NOT an office scent as it's way too strong for that. This reminds me of an 80s era frag that was worn while clubbing and dancing as the scent easily cut through all the cigarette smoke that at that time was everywhere and when men were men and women were not only women but feminine women to boot. This is a younger man's juice but I'm 52 and wear it on occasion, although my clubbing days are long gone and thank God for that as I don't miss it at all. That said this unfortunately is a bit overpriced but Versace is a quality name so I guess it figures. The wearer will easily get over 12hrs of juice time and as I've said before you won't need to reapply, unless, of course, you want to. This fragrance smells almost exactly like it's little brother, Eros EDT and that one is a beast as well. Thumbs way up on this one


9/10

Versace Eros Eau de Parfum (2020) doesn't reinvent the wheel for the original Versace Eros (2013) so much as it does a subtle trick of retuning it for a broader range of contexts and potentially broader appeal. Not that the original Eros needs broader appeal mind you, since it is one of the biggest sellers on the planet among men for Versace, perhaps their biggest since Blue Jeans (1994), which it could truly be seen as a sequel to, along with Versace pour Homme Dylan Blue (2016), but the Eros line has broadened its scope anyway. The key difference between the original eau de toilette and the new eau de parfum is simply rebalancing of near-identical note structures by Olivier Pescheux from the work of Aurélien Guichard, making the EdP a little drier, darker, richer, but less projecting. Saying Eros Eau de Parfum is more mature is probably the wrong stance to have, but it certainly reads more genteel and laid back, less like a "party" in a bottle, and more like a "cocktails after work" sort of a scent, where a younger guy can stil feel fun but also not feel so ridiculous. The bottles are near-identical except for the extra bit of text on the front, which feels like a bit of a cop-out too, especially since now you can mix them up by accident on the fly and the extra text detracts from the elegance of the original bottle design. Oh well.

The opening of Versace Eros Eau de Parfum is much the same, with sweet mint and citruses vying for your attention amidst a backdrop of bubblegum-like ethyl maltol and the supposed inclusion of a "candied apple note" to the mix. Comparing the opening side-by-side with the EdT reveals no apple to my nose, but it's whatever. The heart of geranium and ambroxan is saddled by clary sage in place of tonka, although the latter does make an appearance in the dry down as part of the base. This tweak affords a bit more aromatic nuance but again doesn't change the overall smell of the scent. Various claimed wood notes join vanilla and tonka also like the original Eros, but the woody aromachemicals are now favored over the tonka and vanilla, with patchouli replacing the silver of oakmoss and/or evernyl of the original to move the composition in a greener direction. Eros eau de Parfum is still sweet but now has powdery touches and a different kind of depth, feeling like it can tackle more relaxed situations the original could not. Best use is in winter, and this one has legs for romantic evening use beyond the clubber setting of the original, with closer projection and longevity that is longer, which is also expected. I personally don't see where a lighter application of the original couldn't serve in place of this slightly-muted EdP, but that would also require re-application.

People not at all on board with Eros will not have their minds changed by this eau de parfum, and many longtime fans of the original Eros may feel this is too similar to warrant inclusion alongside it, but if you felt the sweetness was just a bit too sticky, the loudness a bit too tacky, but the overall smell pleasant, Eros Eau de Parfum may be for you. I remember my first experience with Eros was a coworker so I know for a fact that people use it wherever they want regardless of its clubber notoriety, so maybe again this release is a bit redundant because at the end of the day people where what they want where they want to where it, I don't know. Bottom line here is Versace Eros Eau de Parfum is a reigned in alternative to Eros that will cost you a slight premium over it, much like Y Eau de Parfum (2018) over the original Y by Yves Saint Laurent (2017) for men, and as many designers see the success Chanel and Dior have with concentration tweaks or variants, releases like this will become even more common. If anything was to receive an eau de parfum "upgrade", it would be Eros though, since most of the other big masculines from Versace over the 21st century still being produced are already stonks strong and too punchy or sharp to really benefit from the process. Thumbs up.

Quite strong like the original and the scent is very close but it does feel a little darker and heavier. I am liking this more than the EdT, just smells more refined. Could be the marketing but I've never thought much of the original while this is starting to grow on me.

Big projection during the first hour and then calms down some but consistently keeps projecting in a smaller bubble.