Reviews of Armani Mania by Giorgio Armani
Francis Kurkdjian said one time that this was his favorite creation for the designer/mainstream market. I kinda like it but i find Narciso Rodriguez for Him and Le Male much better fragrances.
But this one is funny cause it plays a semi modern tone in 2002. A woody and fresh masculine. Not sweet, not gourmand, not citric, not Fougère. Very dry, fresh and woody.
It starts off with a lot of saffron and a bit of something citric and slightly sweet but not juicy. They say mandarin orange leaf. I don't know for sure but it's probably that. The saffron is the key cause it gives this slightly metallic edge to the composition. After a while, the cedarwood became more proeminet, the fragramce became drier and the musk adds creamy-floral and soft sweetness to the overall scent.
It's not a complex scent but it's kind of unique. That fresh metallic cedarwood along with the white musk in the base works very well. Great for casual and office wear. I tend to wear it on summer nights. It's not a great performer, since it lasts around 3-5h max, and it just projects moderately, during the first hour, essentially. But thats why i enjoy wearing it during summer nights. I just need it to last 3-5h.
The smell it's unique and very updated so, if you like this woody scents that reminded me of lumber and hammers, you have a good option here. Funny enough, the saffron helps this one being a kind of a predecessor of Baccarat Rouge 560, that came out many years later.
Overall, a very enjoyable woody-fresh scent but since it's discontinued for a while, i will not pay much for a bottle of it. I'm glad i have it, cause i enjoy wearing it from time to time, but it's nothing groundbreaking or a must sniff.
3/5
But this one is funny cause it plays a semi modern tone in 2002. A woody and fresh masculine. Not sweet, not gourmand, not citric, not Fougère. Very dry, fresh and woody.
It starts off with a lot of saffron and a bit of something citric and slightly sweet but not juicy. They say mandarin orange leaf. I don't know for sure but it's probably that. The saffron is the key cause it gives this slightly metallic edge to the composition. After a while, the cedarwood became more proeminet, the fragramce became drier and the musk adds creamy-floral and soft sweetness to the overall scent.
It's not a complex scent but it's kind of unique. That fresh metallic cedarwood along with the white musk in the base works very well. Great for casual and office wear. I tend to wear it on summer nights. It's not a great performer, since it lasts around 3-5h max, and it just projects moderately, during the first hour, essentially. But thats why i enjoy wearing it during summer nights. I just need it to last 3-5h.
The smell it's unique and very updated so, if you like this woody scents that reminded me of lumber and hammers, you have a good option here. Funny enough, the saffron helps this one being a kind of a predecessor of Baccarat Rouge 560, that came out many years later.
Overall, a very enjoyable woody-fresh scent but since it's discontinued for a while, i will not pay much for a bottle of it. I'm glad i have it, cause i enjoy wearing it from time to time, but it's nothing groundbreaking or a must sniff.
3/5
Armani Mania by Giorgio Armani (2002) is a decent and discrete men's woody-amber musk that touched upon a template growing in popularity throughout the designer realm into the 2000's, a first-generation of the now-overpowered woody-amber genre with a then-youthful twist of musk. Gucci Rush for Men (2000) really helped propel this style as a stepping-stone off of forerunners like the mint and vanilla-powered Jacques Bogart Force Majeure (1998), itself eventually parroted by Cartier Roadster (2008) a decade later. Then you got a softer round two with stuff like Armani Mania and Versace Jeans Couture Man (2002), both which lean more into clean citrus, fresh musks, amber, and rounded subtle spices like saffron and cardamom than heavy woods or pepper. Versace would lean even harder into rounded spices and toss in tobacco to boot for Versace Man (2003), Yves Saint Laurent would dress these aromachems up in "oud" for M7 (2002), while Gucci would focus on the interplay between the "wood" and the "amber" facets of its woody-amber with Gucci Pour Homme (2003), effectively being an M7 Pt. II because both were under Tom Ford's control back then. Azzaro made the ignored but brilliant Visit (2004), and then Armani would spike its own punch bowl by hiring Olivier Cresp and Alberto Morillas to make the much more aggressive Armani Attitude (2007), seemingly based on the work done here on Mania by a young Francis Kurkdjian. About that; ol Kurkdjian said in an interview once that this was his favorite designer he'd ever done at the time, which really didn't hurt its legacy now that he's celebrated himself.
The smell of Armani Mania is amusingly nothing like you'd think a fragrance named "Mania" would be; this isn't pungent, bizarre, or even remotely challenging at all. In fact, many of the contemporary reviews of the day in those early internet times of the still-small online fragrance community found Mania dull, boring, and low-powered. As you might suspect, this was the designer doldrums whipping boy of its era much like whichever Bleu de Chanel (2010) clone or Dior Sauvage (2015) smell-alike would be to anyone in the late 2010's. The opening is all about soft citruses rounded by saffron, with mandarin and tangerine coming to the fore. This is really an "oriental" fragrance made incredibly light and "occidental" in execution, something Kurkdjian would in time become well-known for doing with his own range of ambers and musks. Kurkdjian also seems to prefer transparent citrus and musk accords that weave through a perfume and come across chic rather than obvious or heavy, as he would do for MFK Amyris Homme (2012). The saffron here isn't MFK Baccarat Rouge 540 (2014) levels of smooth, but it helps segue into cedar and vetiver notes in the heart, neither of which themselves are very natural. At this point you'll notice the puffy white laundry musks with a pinch of dirt that Kurkdjian also likes to use in his own lines, suffused over skin with a slightly gummy amber that is held in check by the clean sparkle of the fragrance overall. The woods come and go, while sillage is close but long-lasting. This seems to have been advertised as an office scent for the Armani jet set, and that's exactly what it is. Best use would be for spring and fall if you had access to a stash, and although unerringly pleasant, this is the kind of fragrance you could actually forget you're wearing, just like some of the MFK Aqua range.
So of course, you may be wondering, why all the incredible hype after discontinuation? Why all the insanely-priced surviving examples on eBay? This stuff is up there with smaller sizes of the discontinued Tom Ford-era Gucci-PPR stuff, and yet is nowhere near the same level of interesting. Honestly, I think it really is just the fact that so many people wrote this off for years as being unworthy of their collector's zeal due to how common and unexciting it was, then immediately slapped themselves into a zeitgeist over its discontinuation once they realized that its actually a good fragrance and made by one of their niche perfume heroes (Kurkdjian). While I don't agree with the statements of it being a masterpiece or lady-killing compliment bomb, because Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit de L'Homme (2009) was exactly that within the same genre as this stuff, I can get behind the subtly and seemingly innocuous nature of Armani Mania being a hidden strength rather than a weakness. The overlooked Lanvin L'Homme (1997) from the previous decade was this stuff's secret inspiration too, just taken to Kurkdjian levels of finesse here, but this is a genre that overall isn't nor never was worthy of histrionics. Armani Mania is the epitome of functionality however elegant it may seem in retrospect, and the difference in tone of reviews before and after discontinuation make it clear folks who buy into the "Armani Mania" made by its disappearance don't understand that. Avoid the clown show and get a decant if you must know why this is or was Kurkdjian's one-time favorite, before making a really expensive mistake on a full bottle. Thumbs up.
The smell of Armani Mania is amusingly nothing like you'd think a fragrance named "Mania" would be; this isn't pungent, bizarre, or even remotely challenging at all. In fact, many of the contemporary reviews of the day in those early internet times of the still-small online fragrance community found Mania dull, boring, and low-powered. As you might suspect, this was the designer doldrums whipping boy of its era much like whichever Bleu de Chanel (2010) clone or Dior Sauvage (2015) smell-alike would be to anyone in the late 2010's. The opening is all about soft citruses rounded by saffron, with mandarin and tangerine coming to the fore. This is really an "oriental" fragrance made incredibly light and "occidental" in execution, something Kurkdjian would in time become well-known for doing with his own range of ambers and musks. Kurkdjian also seems to prefer transparent citrus and musk accords that weave through a perfume and come across chic rather than obvious or heavy, as he would do for MFK Amyris Homme (2012). The saffron here isn't MFK Baccarat Rouge 540 (2014) levels of smooth, but it helps segue into cedar and vetiver notes in the heart, neither of which themselves are very natural. At this point you'll notice the puffy white laundry musks with a pinch of dirt that Kurkdjian also likes to use in his own lines, suffused over skin with a slightly gummy amber that is held in check by the clean sparkle of the fragrance overall. The woods come and go, while sillage is close but long-lasting. This seems to have been advertised as an office scent for the Armani jet set, and that's exactly what it is. Best use would be for spring and fall if you had access to a stash, and although unerringly pleasant, this is the kind of fragrance you could actually forget you're wearing, just like some of the MFK Aqua range.
So of course, you may be wondering, why all the incredible hype after discontinuation? Why all the insanely-priced surviving examples on eBay? This stuff is up there with smaller sizes of the discontinued Tom Ford-era Gucci-PPR stuff, and yet is nowhere near the same level of interesting. Honestly, I think it really is just the fact that so many people wrote this off for years as being unworthy of their collector's zeal due to how common and unexciting it was, then immediately slapped themselves into a zeitgeist over its discontinuation once they realized that its actually a good fragrance and made by one of their niche perfume heroes (Kurkdjian). While I don't agree with the statements of it being a masterpiece or lady-killing compliment bomb, because Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit de L'Homme (2009) was exactly that within the same genre as this stuff, I can get behind the subtly and seemingly innocuous nature of Armani Mania being a hidden strength rather than a weakness. The overlooked Lanvin L'Homme (1997) from the previous decade was this stuff's secret inspiration too, just taken to Kurkdjian levels of finesse here, but this is a genre that overall isn't nor never was worthy of histrionics. Armani Mania is the epitome of functionality however elegant it may seem in retrospect, and the difference in tone of reviews before and after discontinuation make it clear folks who buy into the "Armani Mania" made by its disappearance don't understand that. Avoid the clown show and get a decant if you must know why this is or was Kurkdjian's one-time favorite, before making a really expensive mistake on a full bottle. Thumbs up.
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Clean and powdery with notes of cedar and soft musk. Very inoffensive but not completely boring as it has a vegetal-herb note that keeps it interesting. I don't see anything listed in the notes that would suggest that other than tangerine leaves but someone else mentioned basil and that seems closer to what I'm smelling.
It comes off as simple and cheap, maybe something I would expect from a bargain brand.
Projects nicely into the 3rd hour on my skin and clothes. Hangs around as a skin scent after that for most of the day.
It comes off as simple and cheap, maybe something I would expect from a bargain brand.
Projects nicely into the 3rd hour on my skin and clothes. Hangs around as a skin scent after that for most of the day.
A pleasant neutral....
Armani Mania suffers two main problems, in my opinion. The first is its performance: It simply doesn't project or last all that well. And while it's not the kind of scent that calls for beastly projection, it's probably too dialed-in here. I have a friend who used to invite my wife and I over to watch movies. He had a nice TV and a surround sound system. But he insisted on keeping the volume so low that we had to strain our ears just to hear it. It's like squinting your eyes when you're barely able to see something. We were squinting with our ears. It drove me crazy, every spoken word falling right between the threshold of audible and inaudible, every explosion a staticky tinkle that sounded more like someone shushing me than a bomb going off... "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? WHY CAN'T YOU TURN THE VOLUME UP?!" I wanted to shout into the tense, imposed silence. And that's what I want to shout at Armani Mania when I'm wearing it, "Turn the volume up!" It's too quiet, and not in a good way, just an unsatisfying, itch-you-can't-scratch, incomplete sort of way. You crave more but you never get it. The second problem involves its development, or lack thereof. The first third of Mania is great, a beautiful fresh blend of woods and light citrus notes, some white musk giving it a pleasant ozonic fuzz. But then it doesn't really develop at all or even stay solidly linear long enough to be satisfying. If Mania's first 45 minutes persisted for 3 or 4 hours I'd be fine. But it doesn't. Instead, around the one hour mark it becomes a pretty bland, uninspiring cedar smell. The fresh spritely goodness from the opening is gone but there's really nothing that emerges in the base to take its place and keep this one fun. So then you get boring, been-there-done-that cedar for another measly hour or so before Mania completely craps out into a thin veil of woods and white musk, nothing more than a skin scent if that. Ugh. Mania had so much promise. The beginning is really wonderful, but it neither holds nor develops and instead peters out like a dying car on its last lap. Putt putt putt putt putt......that's the sound of Mania, petering out at 2 1/2 hours.
While I give this a neutral I have to be honest and say that it's a positive neutral. I like Mania. I even love it for a little while, it just suffers from a couple serious issues. But when it's first applied, it really smells nice, maybe the nicest "fresh woods" scent I've smelled. And that's really what it is, fresh woods. Think of a much better version of Mr. Burberry or something, Kumkat Wood minus Mancera's perfumey nonsense to ruin it. Also, it holds up on fabric so if you spray Mania liberally onto your clothes you'll have a better ride. But that's kind of like me pushing my closer to the TV so I can hear it while watching movies at my friend's house--it kinda works but shouldn't be necessary. Therefore I give Mania a 6.5/10 in the end--still neutral--but on its positive side at least.
Armani Mania suffers two main problems, in my opinion. The first is its performance: It simply doesn't project or last all that well. And while it's not the kind of scent that calls for beastly projection, it's probably too dialed-in here. I have a friend who used to invite my wife and I over to watch movies. He had a nice TV and a surround sound system. But he insisted on keeping the volume so low that we had to strain our ears just to hear it. It's like squinting your eyes when you're barely able to see something. We were squinting with our ears. It drove me crazy, every spoken word falling right between the threshold of audible and inaudible, every explosion a staticky tinkle that sounded more like someone shushing me than a bomb going off... "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? WHY CAN'T YOU TURN THE VOLUME UP?!" I wanted to shout into the tense, imposed silence. And that's what I want to shout at Armani Mania when I'm wearing it, "Turn the volume up!" It's too quiet, and not in a good way, just an unsatisfying, itch-you-can't-scratch, incomplete sort of way. You crave more but you never get it. The second problem involves its development, or lack thereof. The first third of Mania is great, a beautiful fresh blend of woods and light citrus notes, some white musk giving it a pleasant ozonic fuzz. But then it doesn't really develop at all or even stay solidly linear long enough to be satisfying. If Mania's first 45 minutes persisted for 3 or 4 hours I'd be fine. But it doesn't. Instead, around the one hour mark it becomes a pretty bland, uninspiring cedar smell. The fresh spritely goodness from the opening is gone but there's really nothing that emerges in the base to take its place and keep this one fun. So then you get boring, been-there-done-that cedar for another measly hour or so before Mania completely craps out into a thin veil of woods and white musk, nothing more than a skin scent if that. Ugh. Mania had so much promise. The beginning is really wonderful, but it neither holds nor develops and instead peters out like a dying car on its last lap. Putt putt putt putt putt......that's the sound of Mania, petering out at 2 1/2 hours.
While I give this a neutral I have to be honest and say that it's a positive neutral. I like Mania. I even love it for a little while, it just suffers from a couple serious issues. But when it's first applied, it really smells nice, maybe the nicest "fresh woods" scent I've smelled. And that's really what it is, fresh woods. Think of a much better version of Mr. Burberry or something, Kumkat Wood minus Mancera's perfumey nonsense to ruin it. Also, it holds up on fabric so if you spray Mania liberally onto your clothes you'll have a better ride. But that's kind of like me pushing my closer to the TV so I can hear it while watching movies at my friend's house--it kinda works but shouldn't be necessary. Therefore I give Mania a 6.5/10 in the end--still neutral--but on its positive side at least.
Although I do like the wisps of saffron that appear, overall I find Armani Mania to be a bit of a generic, woody-musk EdT with little depth and longevity. Basil appears to come out to me, although it's not officially in the fragrance triangle.
Armani Mania seems crafted for laid-back, casual occasions for anyone young at heart. It's not offensive to me, but it just doesn't connect with me as it might someone else.
Armani Mania seems crafted for laid-back, casual occasions for anyone young at heart. It's not offensive to me, but it just doesn't connect with me as it might someone else.
The saffron in this scent turned a lot of Iranian heads while I was living in the UAE. North Indians find the saffron in this scent appealing too.
I'd probably buy it again if I can find it in India and if it has a matching deodorant.
I'd probably buy it again if I can find it in India and if it has a matching deodorant.
Reviewing Armani Mania is tough for me, as I want to approach it somewhat objectively.
Let me start by disclaiming that I absolutely adore Mania. It's such an elegant, understated scent. It clicked with me, right from the very first moment I smelled it.
However, I'll attempt to be objective - even though I am at heart a completely subjective reviewer. I always try to approach all fragrances with the goal of giving an impression of what the scent is like, but the verdict is always subjective - my personal take on the scent.
To give some background, Mania falls in to that woody style that was quite popular in the late 90's and early 2000's. Gucci Rush for men was one of the first that set the template. Versace Man turned it upside down with sweet amber, tobacco and saffron. Gucci Pour Homme I made it dark and austere with incense and a woodsy overload.
Mania however, takes the playful route.
It opens with a peppery mandarin orange and a boatload of saffron. The saffron is right there from start to finish, and it's beautifully done. It's not the most complex saffron rendition, but it captures the essence of the scent of fresh saffron flowers.
The mandarin and saffron notes are joined in the mid by the 2000's mainstay - cedar. It's an obviously synthetic rendition, but it works perfectly here. I also get a hint of smoky vetiver, giving it some depth in the middle.
The base is a fairly uneventful musky amber. It's very subdued and is in the background. I get the impression that it's really only there to make sure that the cedar and saffron persist, and it joins those two in a great unison.
However, I must approach this fairly. It isn't all rose-y red and spectacular. Mania certainly has it's flaws.
1. It's synthetic. Much like Versace's The Dreamer, they are both created in a hyper-synthetic mold. In The Dreamer it works perfectly, as the scent comes across as being quite futuristic. However in Mania, it seems cheaper. That's not to say that the scent smells cheap, but the ingredient quality is surely lacking a bit. The mandarin and saffron aren't especially distinctive, and I do get the idea that Mania was made to a budget.
2. Mania can come across as too reserved. Compared to Code, Mania is more grown up and understated. But it's almost too understated. I don't want it to cut through the room, but Mania is very close to the skin. Some may like this, I don't mind it, but it'd be interesting to see what Armani could do with a intense version of this.
All in all, I consider Mania to be a phenomal scent. The longevity is quite good too - 7-8 hours.
Rating: 8.5/10
Let me start by disclaiming that I absolutely adore Mania. It's such an elegant, understated scent. It clicked with me, right from the very first moment I smelled it.
However, I'll attempt to be objective - even though I am at heart a completely subjective reviewer. I always try to approach all fragrances with the goal of giving an impression of what the scent is like, but the verdict is always subjective - my personal take on the scent.
To give some background, Mania falls in to that woody style that was quite popular in the late 90's and early 2000's. Gucci Rush for men was one of the first that set the template. Versace Man turned it upside down with sweet amber, tobacco and saffron. Gucci Pour Homme I made it dark and austere with incense and a woodsy overload.
Mania however, takes the playful route.
It opens with a peppery mandarin orange and a boatload of saffron. The saffron is right there from start to finish, and it's beautifully done. It's not the most complex saffron rendition, but it captures the essence of the scent of fresh saffron flowers.
The mandarin and saffron notes are joined in the mid by the 2000's mainstay - cedar. It's an obviously synthetic rendition, but it works perfectly here. I also get a hint of smoky vetiver, giving it some depth in the middle.
The base is a fairly uneventful musky amber. It's very subdued and is in the background. I get the impression that it's really only there to make sure that the cedar and saffron persist, and it joins those two in a great unison.
However, I must approach this fairly. It isn't all rose-y red and spectacular. Mania certainly has it's flaws.
1. It's synthetic. Much like Versace's The Dreamer, they are both created in a hyper-synthetic mold. In The Dreamer it works perfectly, as the scent comes across as being quite futuristic. However in Mania, it seems cheaper. That's not to say that the scent smells cheap, but the ingredient quality is surely lacking a bit. The mandarin and saffron aren't especially distinctive, and I do get the idea that Mania was made to a budget.
2. Mania can come across as too reserved. Compared to Code, Mania is more grown up and understated. But it's almost too understated. I don't want it to cut through the room, but Mania is very close to the skin. Some may like this, I don't mind it, but it'd be interesting to see what Armani could do with a intense version of this.
All in all, I consider Mania to be a phenomal scent. The longevity is quite good too - 7-8 hours.
Rating: 8.5/10
Nice. I really like the tangerine note in this one. I get some light woods and a light musk note. like this one for outdoors. Might not be too good for the office. A nice flanker of the original. Nice job! 7/10
Guilty pleasure. I admit this is clearly utterly synthetic, kind of cheap, with a ridicolously crap persistence...but I like it - for the first thirty minutes (which is nearly the entire life span of Mania) I actually almost love it. It smells like something Comme des Garçons could have come up with, and in that case it would surely have got more praise. Basically it is a really simple, almost geometrical cold blend of icy white cedar, violet, saffron (for once, I get a real smell of saffron, even if for really short) and crisp, slightly watery musk. The notes are conventional, and so is the blend somehow: but they get a treatment here which makes them smell metallic, fresh, transparent, really contemporary and slightly different from, for example, other pencil sharpener scents. Saffron probably gives some spicy twist which makes Mania smell a bit more unique, but also musk plays a role in providing a really peculiar sort of watery-metallic feel underneath the spicy woodiness. Also I get a sort of rubbery vinyl-like feel resembling to synthetic leather, really subtle and oddly fresh like the rest for the notes. Shortly a different more modern, more aloof take on a spicy pencil shavings fragrance, in the same league of Montana Graphite and Balmain's Carbone crossed with the synthetic transparency of many Comme des Garçons fragrances. This is a bit like a really common piece of glass, just positioned in a slightly different way thus reflecting things differently. Nothing new and nothing great, but it works good and it's worthy a sniff for me.
6,5-7/10
6,5-7/10
Utterly uninspiring, bland and weak fragrance. A meager copy of Bvlgari PH, but on a lower scale in terms of quality. Nothing more to say, would be a waste of energy.
Really pleased with Mania. It was a blind buy though well worth the risk! Many reviews I've read have put Mania down saying it's nothing special, but I disagree - I really like it. In the opening I get a sweet hit of what I can best describe as fresh lime and vodka with a tad of aldehydes. Soon after it calms down to a persistent velutinous fabric and leather vibe; reminiscent of a brand new car interior with leather seats or a new tailor shop full of new suits. Mania evokes images of virginal luxury cars, a modern gentleman in a suit an tie, a very new office suite. This fragrance holds the Armani signature that takes me back to the mid-late 1990s, maybe it's the amber note that attains this mawkishness. Yes, the notes in this fragrance are simple however wearing this fragrance I regard it as sophisticated, interesting and suitable for use at the office or during a night out. Would I use it for a date? Yes I probably would. Longevity is decent, minimum of 5 hours and sillage is not tenacious but modest. Bottle design is awesome, modern and minimal, adequately suiting the fragrance itself. Overall I give Mania 8 out of 10.
The "Mania" continues...
It has been a while since last using Armani Mania... What a pleasant surprise..!!
Mania is a successful blend of floral, fruity, musk, and woodsy notes that I truly enjoy. It opens with a burst of the floral and fruity notes then settles close to the skin with woodsy notes and musk finish. In my (humble) opinion, Mania breathes "class" like a fresh laundered shirt, but offers great flexibility to include wearing with a comfortable pair of jeans and that favorite t-shirt. Additionally, given the fruit and floral notes of the fragrance, the target time(s) of year may be Spring and/or Summer, however, if your body chemistry allows the musk and/or woodsy notes to project, Mania could be worn any time of year or for any occasion. Very well done Mr. Armani..!!
Longevity and projection/sillage are moderate, making it ideal for an office setting, but sufficient some 4-6 hours later saying, "gee, I still smell Armani Mania". It lasts much longer on clothing. While I haven't had favorable comments from the opposite sex, i.e. the "Wow Factor", it has the potential. Not sure how many of my female employees feel comfortable saying, "gee boss, you smell great today..!!". To reiterate, Armani is a "class" scent that has great potential for the "Wow Factor".
Similar to the fragrance, the bottle is a classic design. I am drawn to the clear glass bottles to allow the user to see the clarity of the fragrance. The "smoky" color of the fragrance, and perhaps tint of the glass, adds to the positive mystique of the fragrance. The packaging is also well done.
A check of the online pricing of Mania, shows that it is still moderate to medium pricing (in the $50 - $100 USD) range. For that price and the quality of the scent, it is highly recommended to add this to your collection.
Out of a possible five (5) stars, my evaluation of Armani Mania comes in at 4.4 stars. Great fragrance...
Daily I.M. - Ride the wave and don't ask where it goes...
It has been a while since last using Armani Mania... What a pleasant surprise..!!
Mania is a successful blend of floral, fruity, musk, and woodsy notes that I truly enjoy. It opens with a burst of the floral and fruity notes then settles close to the skin with woodsy notes and musk finish. In my (humble) opinion, Mania breathes "class" like a fresh laundered shirt, but offers great flexibility to include wearing with a comfortable pair of jeans and that favorite t-shirt. Additionally, given the fruit and floral notes of the fragrance, the target time(s) of year may be Spring and/or Summer, however, if your body chemistry allows the musk and/or woodsy notes to project, Mania could be worn any time of year or for any occasion. Very well done Mr. Armani..!!
Longevity and projection/sillage are moderate, making it ideal for an office setting, but sufficient some 4-6 hours later saying, "gee, I still smell Armani Mania". It lasts much longer on clothing. While I haven't had favorable comments from the opposite sex, i.e. the "Wow Factor", it has the potential. Not sure how many of my female employees feel comfortable saying, "gee boss, you smell great today..!!". To reiterate, Armani is a "class" scent that has great potential for the "Wow Factor".
Similar to the fragrance, the bottle is a classic design. I am drawn to the clear glass bottles to allow the user to see the clarity of the fragrance. The "smoky" color of the fragrance, and perhaps tint of the glass, adds to the positive mystique of the fragrance. The packaging is also well done.
A check of the online pricing of Mania, shows that it is still moderate to medium pricing (in the $50 - $100 USD) range. For that price and the quality of the scent, it is highly recommended to add this to your collection.
Out of a possible five (5) stars, my evaluation of Armani Mania comes in at 4.4 stars. Great fragrance...
Daily I.M. - Ride the wave and don't ask where it goes...
Armani's Best FragranceI've come to realize this is one of my top 3 favorite scents, with GIT an TDH being the other two (in no particular order). I just bought a bottle recently after being without this frag for probably about two years (it was my signature scent for awhile) and just love it! A lot of people complain about it lacking a certain something but to me there is a real level of refinement in Mania that you don't see in a lot of other frags. In my opinion, if YSL L'Homme wasn't imbalanced on the sweet side, there are some similarities to Mania. I always get compliments when I wear this one, and it's appropriate for pretty much any situation I can think of. The longevity could be a bit better, and it's not a silage monster. But I've been getting more into frags that project around my 'personal' bubble. The thing with Mania is you get the amber and moss in the drydown but it still stays fresh with the cedar and vetiver in the mid notes. Very well done. Also, I think for designer frags, Armani makes some pretty good products. I used to wear APH and ADG a lot in the past. I still own a bottle of APH that's a great winter more so than summer frag for me. Overall, Mania is great, balanced, clean, masculine fragrance. Never buy blind!!Pros: Smells great, balanced, compliment getterCons: Longevity could be better"
Armani Mania is a cedary musk, notably synthetic, slightly ambery and a bit citrusy/herbal at the beginning. A sort of barely intoxicating, woodsy and spicy (saffron, pepper and cinnamon in my opinion) temperament starts soon rising from the background. The juice smells finally smooth with a shadowy tangerine/patchouli musky-ambery vibe (virile, fresh/warm and boise). A pleasant but a bit common evening fragrance.
I used to wear this back in 2004, when I was living in Tokyo - I'd say this fragrance carries a lot of nostalgic value for me, as it reminds me of these good times! I used to get many compliments wearing it, I found that I could wear it in various situations as well...I was thrilled to find this in an airport duty free earlier this year (it's difficult to find anywhere else!) and snapped it up! I still love this scent. 8/10
Great clean and masculine scent. It projects well and I put on at 6am and still be detected by others at 9pm although I can't always smell it after that long. One of my favorites.
This fragrance reminds of La Nuit De L'Hommein in a very good way. This smells awesome!
I like Mania, but only just. I get a lot of pepper with it even though it is not listed in the notes. That, and cedar. Pretty simple scent and not nearly the best option for either of those notes. That said, I like pepper and cedar, so it is tough for me not to at least like Mania, even if I still see it as a disappointment. 2.5 to 3 stars out of 5.
Simple and playful with a little twist. Wore this in my younger years and have fond memories of it. Not a sophisticated scent but effective.
This is canali plain and simple. I dont know which came first and dont care. I have canali so ill stick with that.
Basically.. a weaker version of Emporio Armani He, with a little more citrus. Actually.. once the alcohol died down int he opening, I knew I was smelling tangerine mostly, I come over here to BN, and there it is, in the top notes.
As others have stated, projection is pathetic. Longevity is ok.. I have gotten up to 6 hours with it, but ya really gotta dig your nose into it, to smell it. Go with Emporio Armani He instead of this one, it is similar and much much better.
As others have stated, projection is pathetic. Longevity is ok.. I have gotten up to 6 hours with it, but ya really gotta dig your nose into it, to smell it. Go with Emporio Armani He instead of this one, it is similar and much much better.
Rubbish... no projection, no longevity.
if you like the musky drydown of this, opt for 212 Men instead.
From Francis Kurkdjian, creator of Le Male, did not expect that he created something so underwhelming.
if you like the musky drydown of this, opt for 212 Men instead.
From Francis Kurkdjian, creator of Le Male, did not expect that he created something so underwhelming.
Fairly expensive, very poor sillage and longevity, and a bad blind buy. I know that this and Code are popular fragrances, but they're just not my cup of tea. I'd take a bottle of Paco Rabanne XS over both Mania and Code any day of the week. This is a scent that needs to be tested before bought.