Reviews of Armani Privé Eau de Jade by Giorgio Armani

A rather ordinary beginning. Peppered bergamot. Slightly bitter. Yes, it is peppery though not exquisitely so. The Neroli isn't particularly strong. In fact, this fragrance has no intensity whatsoever on my skin. After the top notes, it completely falls away. Way too delicate for me.

The redeeming quality is the base. The bourbon vanilla note is quite nice. Still, a little too late for a better review. At times I swear I smelled cedar or leather. Disappointing overall.

The fresh bergamot-lemon-neroli opening blast is not very brightly fresh, but a touch subdued. The bergamot is the most prominent of the triad, and the three are vivid enough to convince in their interaction and in their joint result. A lovely set of top notes.

The second phase is heralded by a the appearance of a oeppery and darker undertone, accompanied by a collapse-like nigh complete disappearance of the other compounof this frangrance, but soon a pleasant, albeit very sundued vanilla arises. This is a nice vanilla but nothing exceptional.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection and eight hours of longevity on my skin.

A good start into a summery scent , but the second half is uninspiring to say the least. Good quality ingredients but less than original. Based on the opening and the overall good quality of ingredients - above the usual Armani level - hence - just - a positive score - by the skin of its teeth. 3/5.

Regardless of what Armani may claim in the accompanying olfactory pyramid for this fragrance, the opening of this fragrance smells like lime to me--a nice, bitter, three-dimensional slice of squeezed lime, with peel and pith included. Then the lime breaks apart. I smell something faintly like finely ground black pepper, which feels diffused in that weird way that says "cashmeran." Then there's an equally diffused neroli, its edges further trimmed by a distinctly woody, somewhat synthetic vanilla base that rises from beneath. The effect seems somehow like a darkened, muted type of transparency, or maybe translucency, but not with the softness of gossamer--rather, with the stiffness of a metal screen.

I think I understand the Armani aesthetic well enough to know what's going on here--in general, take exuberant "natural" notes and submit them to a rigorous tamping-down to the prescribed house shades of greige. This can work with some fragrances: incense, for example, generally holds up well under the Armani treatment. On the other hand, a freshie (like this one) seems almost beside the point, since it doesn't really smell fresh for long enough to matter. I don't mind a bit of metal in my green scents, but I prefer them brighter, crisper, and livelier than this. Eau de Jade isn't an awful perfume, but it's not doing anything to justify its price tag. And this style really is the cutting edge of 2004.

This stuff is great. Neroli is the main factor in this gem. If you are a neroli fan, you should love this. The vanilla calms the neroli down nicely. A nice citrus note in there also. A different take on another neroli gem....Neroli Portofino. 8/10

A great Armani's performance on the classic eau de cologne theme. Really a well made piece of green/hesperidic/musky accord and a real Ode to bergamot imo. At the beginning Armani Prive Eau de Jade seems to be "ostensibly" not a complex fragrance "di per se" (yet in texture and evolution); on the contrary this scent is actually really articulated (you can notice it along the way) sounding incredibly elegant and distinguished. The opening is really effervescent. This fragrance is effectively really zesty, so lemony, freshly hesperidic, slightly medicinal (the typical bergamot's undertone), green and dusty (in a sort of peppery/rooty way vaguely in to a 7 de Loewe's style- considering all the differences). After an initial greenish/spicy "by bergamot mastered" blast the note of neroli jumps over the stage as surrounded by a sort of dry piquant and herbal/cedary sparkling aura. The wet-rooty spiciness anyway quickly morphs down while a blooming up dry down starts smelling really musky and more than vaguely soapy (with a smoother classic eau de Cologne's vibe a la Mugler Cologne or "waving" in to an Askett&English/4711's style). The dry down is wonderfully soapy-musky, slightly smoky and woody. I detect fantastic musky-balmy/cosmetic nuances (mostly orangy-vanillic with some vetiver's twists). In this final phase the aroma is impeccable, warm-intimate (a touch of ambergris in the blend?) and multifaceted with something vaguely leathery-seasoned (smoky) as undertone. A really sensual and "warmly molecular" dry down catchs our pleasure till the end of the game. Thumbs up.

Eau de Jade opens with a strong and textured citrus accord (aromatic, aristocratic, fresh and sweet, with notes like neroli and bergamot), pepper which at first smelled like juniper to me, and a darker base which comprises a range of nuances spacing from mossy-hay notes, to licorice and leather - a modern, satin, soft kind of leather. Despite being quite conventional, it is really pleasant, complex and powerful, with an enjoyable, vibrant richness all over. It kind of reminded me of Eau de Gloire by Parfum d'Empire, less earthy, less raw and less chypre, and more zesty and sophisticated, but somehow the "mood" is that one – citrus notes on a mossy-musky base. Not the most natural around, but too much organic naturality won't be "glossy" enough for this type of Western elitist concept of luxury, so it works the same – it's classy, perhaps pretentious, but nice. The evolution is quite close to zero, meaning that more than evolving it just becomes lighter, softer, more velvety and warmer, losing (obviously) in freshness and liveliness.

7,5/10

This is an attractive scent.
It starts with a very good trio of bergamot, orange/neroli and pepper. The pepper has a good bite, and the scent is crisp and appealing. At this point it has a sort of green tone and so 'jade' is an appropriate name. Gradually the orange notes get a bit woodier, and the scent takes on a creamy-soapy character. There are dusky hints and something a bit like iris or smoke. Intriguing and appealing.

I have to admit it took some time to grow on me. I found it hard to see past the citrus opening but as I am sniffing the middle notes at the moment I really start to love this fragrance and may just end up buying this baby!

Simple juicy lemons and simple sneezingly hot black or white peppers. When peppers gone you got only lemon. It is flat no better than many more complicated lemons like Eau des Merveilles by Hermès or Erolfa by creed or Suivez-Moi by Fragonard or any hundreds or more bergamot lemon colognes....

To me... after an hour or so... it smells just like L'eau Par Kenzo pour Homme by Kenzo...

Jade is a sparkling scent that reminds me of Bulgari's Blv Notte Pour Homme & somewhat of Azzaro's Chrome. I get a slightly metallic feel - which is not off-putting in the least - it keeps this composition bright and edgy! Because of the two previously mentioned associations, for my taste I'd say it leans toward the masculine...but in truth it is completely unisex. On a woman, it seems more 'fresh' than metallic. Not florally or aldehydic. Interesting. I'm enjoying the bergamot/neroli blend, sort of compelling - thumbs up!

Lovely, absolutely lovely. The mingling of the floral notes with the pepper is attractive and enchanting all the way down to the very light and boozy base. Outstanding longevity and wonderful diffusion.Highly recommended.

What's so prive about it? That's what I found myself asking as I put on Eau de Jade from the Armani Prive collection. Average-smelling, this is an unspectacular citrusy cologne with a hint of pepper. I certainly did not find it worthy of its high-end retail price of $100+. I couldn't even justify spending $30 on it at Marshall's.

Neroli. One of my favorite notes. I love Neroli Sauvage by Creed and Castile by Penhaligon's. This is a peppery neroli. The drydown is boozy like Paul Smith London. I don't get any vanilla, though. Kinda meh but not terrible.

Pretty dull. I had hoped for a more sparkling and refreshing bergamot-based cologne, but instead I hardly get bergamot at all. I'd say this is a neroli-dominated fragrance, soft and sweetish and vaguely reminiscent of cleaning fluid. Neroli has such an artificial scent, even when it's perfectly natural. It can work in a rich, heavy, oriental/gourmandy fragrances but I don't think it works at all in supposedly refreshing colognes.

Very soft fragrance. The bergamot/neroli/vanilla notes begin with fine milled soapiness that evaporates into crisp freshly pressed linen smell. The middle notes add soft pepper + Iris for a powdery dry finish that is similar to Divine's L'Homme d Couer. A softer and more refined relative of Armani Mania but with more softness than spice. Eau de Jade is a sublte refinement.

Wow - beautiful, for man or woman. The citrus is explosive, the bourbon and vanilla finish this off so clean. The dry down comes fast and stays for a long time. Like the others in the Prive collection, the charm in this scent is in its simplicity and directness. Honest from beginning to end, extremely pleasant and romantic. My wife took one wiff of this on me and loved it!