Mackie for Men
Bob Mackie (1993)

Well at least it isn't 'Vic Mackey for Men', as I don't want to smell like a crooked LA strike team cop(Michael Chiklis in The Shield). I may adjust my neutral rating but so far it's a thumbs up for the opening, neutral middle, and thumb's down for the base. Keeping in mind this is a $12 'freshie' from 1993, which I spent $16 and got the body wash combo it's basically the same price as Aspen, which I will totally recommend over this. The opening sits between Aspen and Cool Water, not as 'green' as Aspen and not as 'blue' as Cool Water. The lime/grapefruit/mandarin is actually a superb fresh opening that I really like. It's where Mackie goes after that that is the issue. It's like the opening is nice ocean boardwalk, then the middle is walking into a bowling alley that hasn't been remodeled since 1993, and the base is walking into the lounge of said bowling alley that smells half a decade older. I love the opening, I can kind of dig the 'dated' smelling middle as an unintentional artistic olfactory time machine. I know they didn't create this thinking it would be a time machine fragrance 30 years later but it somehow smells like 1993. I think if that was the sum of Mackie for Men I would go thumbs up even if it's for early 1990s bowling alley potpourri. As another review mentioned it tends to dry down into a base that is a bit sour and less pleasant, I guess it turns into a 'stale freshie' at the end, which doesn't give Mackie for Men much versatility or practicality. As someone that really loves Cool Water and Aspen I wear those in public and work settings when I would NOT recommend doing so with Mackie. If you are going thrifting at Goodwill or hitting some garage sales this makes an excellent choice. At it's bargain basement price it's something to blind buy with a sense of adventure and low expectations. Pleased with the purchase, but neutral on the overall fragrance.

Well now this one is interesting. A blind buy for me but one of those few occasions where it came up trumps.

Comparisons....at least in the opening to CK Eternity for Men are bang on though I would agree that this is softer. Take this and add Steroids and you've got CK Eternity for Men....in the opening. That does soon subside though.

Andrewthecologneguy draws an interesting comparison to Cool Water and I will take that one step further (get ready to groan). There is an element of the start of this that reminds me why I fell in love with Green Irish Tweed all those years ago and why I'm so I'm embittered about what they put in those gorgeous black bottles these days. Yes it's a Floral thing but it almost dances with your senses and I've convinced myself that there is a resemblance there. It might just be my nose but never-the-less, that's my story and I'm sticking too it.

Yes, if you enjoy Eternity, Cool Water and any of those 90s fragrances that are linked to those you will almost certainly find some enjoyment with this as surely as I sit here now, typing this with it wafting up from my chest.

To my nose I echo a similar view that this has kinship to Eternity for Men though I consider Mackie to be a softer scent. This has a similar bitter-green base of aldehydes and vetiver but with a little lime in addition. The heart is very floral of violets and a breeze of powdery lavender and this gives the softness to it.Sandalwood just like Eternity but I get more in this fragrance.

I wouldn't really call Mackie for Men a teenage scent because it doesn't smell as young as the average fresh scent. It's not sweet or fruity to me. In fact I think the bitterness and violets throw a little overcast on this bright green and powdery fragrance...it smells more of suit and tie.

This smells like something I've encountered floating in the air in a few thrift stores and old movie theaters. Primarily a cheap, artificial lime married to a vaguely floral, Glade-potpourri smell that doesn't bring to mind any of the notes listed in the pyramid. Not at all masculine or sexy, or even very human. It reminds me of the Arm & Hammer scented bags we used to buy for our old Kirby vacuum cleaner so that the exhaust didn't smell too much like wet Labrador Retrievers. It's not a disgusting smell, but that's not saying a lot.

Back in the early '90s, this was my signature scent. Trying it again twenty years later, I still find it a pleasant wear. It's not so much my style any more, but that's part of the appeal - it's unlike most of my wardrobe today. It's in the same boat as Eternity, XS, Pleasures and other aromatic citrus fragrances of the period, but I prefer Mackie to the others. The candied sharpness that characterizes Eternity and Pleasures is present at the start of Mackie, but is quickly buffed to a shine and while it cannot be called natural-smelling, it is at least plausible. It has pretty good longevity, too, for this type of aroma.

Reviews so far are right on: sweet, green, citrusy, fizzy, and inexpensive. There are some fragrances you can't go wrong with, this is one of them. Caveat: It is CoolWater like, which for some might be a bad thing. It actually would fit as one of the CoolWater flankers...Summer Fizz maybe? Thumbs up for bargain price and quality of juice.