Mediterráneo
Antonio Banderas (2001)

A super boring, uninspired, non-inspirational, middle of the road, lackluster fragrance, with poor performance. With the coolest thing being it's relaxing, spa-like bottle.

The opening takes me to one fragrance in particular, which is Sander for men, which is dubbed as a hidden gem in the fragrance world. Mediterraneo has a promising opening, Sander with out the sharp pepper, smoother and almost better, but don't hold your breath. Those intriguing top notes disappear promptly and I'm left with a very boring, soft citrus, with some floral undertones, and a light vetiver background. The base notes hit around the 1 hour mark, at which point, smells like a light vetiver, musk, and a very faint version of whatever the middle was. I don't get any amber in this as listed.

At the $18 i paid for my bottle, it will do just fine in the bathroom, and look nice. There's no point in putting it on skin again, since it doesn't perform like a fragrance should, and the only interesting part is the 5 minutes of top notes. I find an ivy note distinctive in the opening, despite not being a listed note. If you have smelled Sander for Men, you may also notice the similarities.

I am actually surprised this hasn't been discontinued, since far better ones like the entire Spirit line have. This one must have some loyal fans who keep re-purchasing it. After all, it has been around almost 20 years now. I think it may have been more interesting upon its time of release. For today's market though, and smelling it for the first time, most will probably agree with this assessment. A snorefest.. next!

A refreshing opening with bergamot, vetiver and ginger combining in lightness and brightness. At the begin of the drydown very briefly hints of an ozonic character briefly appear. Quite nice so far, but, unfortunately, the subsequent stages of development do not do justice to the agreeable commencing hour. The rest is composed of a mix of a dull musk with a rather bland and light peppery impression.

The sillage is soft, the projection limited and Inget around five hours of longevity on my skin. Overall a nice start - not brilliant but nice enough - with a poor finish. 2.75.5.

This starts out as a pleasant citrus, albeit with an ambiguous tartness inside. This heart is peppery and slightly reminiscent of fig, turning the blend with the citrus into an odd, green-olive-tinged summer scent.
Perhaps this was intended, but I'm not a fan of it.

I like it. Being a fan of lighter lower sillage scents this fits the bill. I get the bergamot based citrus opening warmed a bit by the not too dry or woody vetiver. The citrus blends quickly into a warm ambery note with perhaps a bit of light musk. It is not a complex scent, although, I can detect a hint of resin.

Projection is good at first then retreats, longevity for me is about 6-7 hours. The nice thing is this fragrance seems to be a good choice for public spaces and works in summer heat without being too cloying. And it does not hit me the way some synthetics do. It is a simple lightly citrus manly frag with a hint of sweet warmth without a floral note. And it is cheap, FWIW.

Pleasant scent, light and casual - nothing special. I give it an Eh!

I think it's a good scent. I heard from girls that it's very interesting and sexy... My girlfriend liked it very much on me!