Gillette Cool Wave
After Shave, Gillette Series (1993)

like drakkar noir
replace the pine with aldehydes, the bergamont with orange, and remove the cinnamon

It's an aftershave, so you can't really expect too much in the way of performance, and it costs $5 retail, so you have to go in with expectations that are in line with something that costs $5 at Walmart. It's not the greatest fragrance of all time, but for what it is, it's so damn pleasant. When I was in high school in the 2000s, I didn't even really think about shaving, but this was one of the primary scents that I used for antiperspirant. I never really remembered what it was called, but when I bought the aftershave last year the scent brought me back to high school, and I remembered getting it in the clear antiperspirant gel for many years, even past high school. I don't ever remember using Wild Rain or the Arctic Ice versions which were released about the same time as Cool Wave, but if I smelled them perhaps I would be able to recall.

Anyways, this is a nostalgic scent and it does it's job as an aftershave. It smells a bit like Drakkar Noir, but fresher and it obviously doesn't perform as well, being that Drakkar is an EDT. They're not a one to one match, but that's the closest thing that I can really compare it that is relevant to today's fragrance users. Highly recommended.

Tried it for the first time and all I can say is it smells like sporty moisture...if that makes any sense. Mostly water with a very weak generic sport scent.

Been using Gillette Cool Wave for about 15 years and always get compliments from both sexes. It has a nice fresh smell and is just plain enjoyable. The price is perfect at $4.86 at Walmart and about a buck more at Publix when it is in stock. One sad thing I have noticed is that over the years fewer and fewer stores are stocking the product and replacing it with some kind of gel or electric shaver product. The Walmart stock runs out fast and the third party advertisers on Amazon are out of their minds with the prices they charge. What a waste of advertising space. Can't wait until Proctor and Gamble start selling it online.

Gillette may be more known for their razors and the catchy "The Best a Man Can Get" slogan, but if one ever takes a look at their deodorants, shave creams, and body washes, one will find this popular scent as a selection among them. Yes, this began life as part of an aftershave series called "Gillette Series" and one can expect a similar if slightly above-average longevity from it's castor oil-infused fragrance compounds, but it's really quite respectable, and even good considering. Cool Wave came on the heels of aquatics, ozonics, and "fresh" fougères, so it does give off a bit of a "focus group" kind of a smell where you can tell it was meant to appeal for folks that would probably use one of those, but it has a richer and drier backbone to accompany it's freshness that actually makes it a stand-out from other conventional 1990's company, which is an amazing feet for a commercial after shave.

The opening of Cool Wave is perhaps it's biggest claim to fame: a rain-soaked woods and citrus melange that imparts a dewy vibe in the beginning, not quite oceany like the packaging suggests, but certainly living up to the name. The dry down becomes something a bit richer and drier than that opening, with hints of leather and probably vetiver, not unlike Coty Preferred Stock (1990) but dialed down and not sweet. It's residual musk note comes out in the end and allows this to cling on skin far longer than otherwise. If you're anything like me, you might apply it all over and make day wear out of it, a task at which it satisfactorily performs in warmer months. The product is honestly meant to be a finishing touch to a suite of Cool Wave-scented grooming accessories, so if true sillage and longevity is what you want, you'll have to use all the products in concert. Granted, guys who love older aromatics, chypres, powerhouses, and musks will probably hate this, so I'm not saying it's a must-have piece for any vintage fan, despite it's 1993 launch date.

Cool Wave is a reminder that traditional after shave lotions can be executed in a contemporary manner, and although most of the others in this series have died away, Cool Wave remains relevant as ever. It provides crisp, dynamic, well-designed cleanliness that presaged many of the citrus/woody/musk ozonics that would arrive at the end of the decade. Try saying that about any old aftershave, I bet you can't! Besides, despite everything said, you really can't beat the asking price here, which places the stuff at retail amounts lower than Tag, Axe, Bod and Old Spice aerosols for a 3.4oz/100ml GLASS bottle of something that is easily higher quality and longer lasting, while still -just- being an aftershave! If it isn't the best a man can get (and I doubt anything is), it's at least one of the best values out there.

The truth is, I am not convinced that Basenotes should ignore aftershaves in the context of additions to the directory. I am glad that this one is up there. I emptied out 3 ml from my bottle today, post a Sunday afternoon shave. I actually used it as a scent itself. This is the prototype fresh citrus-woods-musk, with a hint of some green and aquatic elements. Very fresh, bracing, with a subtle herbaceous undercurrent and leathery nuances. It has a reasonable oomph for an aftershave, and persists at well over three hours. There is a vague mossy element in the far dry down, together with a musk note. The first half hour is almost glorious, but even thereafter it continues to provide satisfaction. Yes, this can effectively be layered with fresh fougeres and chypres. I have myself done that successfully with vintage Cool Water. However, I've fallen for the simple charm of Cool Wave, and often prefer to wear it just by itself. Relative to the price and quality of other personal fragrances, the price of Cool Wave is surreal. I purchased a 100 ml bottle at about $6. I actually prefer the splash -
precisely because I can splash it on with abandon. One of those simple pleasures of life.

4/5