Missoni Wave
Missoni (2020)

Missoni Wave, released in the 2020 (after the previous more recent Missoni's success from its predecessor, namely the spicy/virile more classic brother Missoni Pour Homme Parfum issued in the 2017), is exactly what its "bleu breezy marine" type of bottle aims to evoke, namely a freshly crisp, refreshing, irony-metallic and breezy-marine "summer-time type of" fragrance. It is indeed a late spring/summer time-kind of a fragrance and could be an ideal choice for a gym time wear and summer outdoors day time use. It is cheapy and smells cool, dynamic, airy and sporty (yes somewhat synthetic in perception). Definitely a specifically masculine fragrance. The sea breeze effect (alonside the absence of birch and the less aromatic vibe) is the element which mostly makes Wave to diverge from the equally (or mostly) spicy/virile Missoni Pour Homme Parfum. Vetiver in the base, perfectly complemented with sea breeze and florals, is the further distinctive Wave's trait. Definitely I see the resemblances the previous reviews have underlined since especially the more expensive, realistic and nuanced Chanel Allure Homme Sport jumps quickly on mind with its elegant and fresh spicy/"blue"/aromatic "dynamism". In here I detect definitely a more pronounced spicy/marine synthetic vibe in comparison to the former. Citrus, sea patterns, light floral, aromatics, woodsy notes and soothing vanilla (overall synthetic on perception) produce a finally soapy energizing shower gel effect. A beautiful rosemary enhances the aromatic boisé general aura. Dry down is woody soapy with a mild floral spark and a notable vetiver. Not my genre of fragrance but definitely something appreciable for the price and its affordability.

With an apparent inspiration from several designer frags (Allure Homme Sport being the prominent example) Missoni Wave definitely brings the freshness in the opening. The 'citrus and sea' brightness quickly fades and the rest is a very balanced blend of patchouli, vanilla, sage, lavender, and rosemary that presents as less 'blue' than one might expect from the color, which is a win in my book. This a great warm season option and is very office worthy for any age. Keeping in mind that this is not an expensive scent and makes for an inexpensive option for those less into the blue/aquatic genre but wanting something in the category. Missoni Wave will give off shower gel vibes for some of you but for those wanting to add a fresh, inexpensive, 'less blue' aquatic for half the price of a Chanel and get the cool bottle as well this is a good choice. Thumbs up.

I wasn't a fan of Versace Pour Homme since it lacked sweetness, so I sold my bottle and started searching for something to fill the void. Chanel Allure Homme Sport is a great fragrance, but I couldn't justify spending that much for a creamy aquatic scent. Then I came across this one and found it to be a perfect blend of the two. It has that synthetic metallic aquatic smell that is prominent in Versace Pour Homme, but with a hint of sweetness added. I was also looking forward to trying Missoni Pour Homme, which is a replica of Bleu de Chanel, but I think I prefer this one. However, if you're not a big fan of the metallic aqua genre, you might want to skip this one.

Common fare
I was excited to try this, considering the first version was decent, and the presentation is decent as well. This is a standard salty aquatic, without much differentiation. Its got some herbs and lavendar, but i just smell generic ocean fragrance with a mandarin top that is all the rage. It seems to almost be missing some heart note component, like it feels poorly excecuted there. It does attempt to pull some the woods in and balance it, but that cant save it from unraveling as its underpowered center moves forward. The fractured patchouli smells a bit off, and probably could have been left out here all together to a better effect. It does smell good, and it is nice presentation. At discounters it can be a nice fragrqnce in a year or two, but now at retail less so. Averaging out to a neutral.

Missoni Wave (2020) is another "me too" scent similar to other things from more-popular brands, and it par for the course since their perfume arm was resurrected in 2015. Because they hadn't really released a new masculine in 20 years prior to Missoni Parfum pour Homme (2017), nobody knew what to expect of them anyway, so something in a familiar vein with a novel twist was welcome. Missoni Parfum pour Homme delivered exactly that as well, and was basically a richer, more mature, slightly more old-school take on the DNA found in Bleu de Chanel (2010), making it a really nice alternative for people tired of "blue" smells. Here with Missoni Wave, the brand seemingly doubles down on the "blue" concept, perhaps making up for the rather aromatic nature of its predecessor. Like with Missoni Parfum pour Homme, Missoni Wave wears its inspiration on its sleeve, and also like Missoni Parfum pour Homme, that inspiration seems to again be Chanel. This time around, Chanel Allure Homme Sport (2004) seems to be the primary target, but also because Eurotalia manufactures these for Missoni, perhaps a little bit of Chanel Allure Homme's cousin Versace pour Homme (2008) is in there too.

The opening of Missioni Wave is how you'd expect if you've smelled either Allure Homme Sport or Versace pour Homme. I had a rather bad impression of Versace pour Homme myself, so I'm glad to say it's more like the Chanel, but this will smell very familiar just like Missioni Parfum pour Homme does. Mandarin, bergamot, ozone, dihydromyrcenol, plus acetates and aldehydes all go whizzing buy, with various ionones in the beta form offering fruity woodiness to the heart. Geraniol and clary sage offer some metallic and aromatic dry freshness to counter the fruitness, while lavender and rosemary provide a familiar masculine hug. The big difference here between Missoni and the things it mostly strives to compete against is the base, which like with Parfum pour Homme, reads thicker and more mature. Missoni Wave has the same denatured patchouli richness as Parfum pour Homme, with a bit of oakmoss, ethyl vanillin, and vetiveryl acetate. Something creamy like javanol sandalwood provides the final smooth woodiness of the base, borrowing some perhaps from the base of the Chanel Allure Homme Sport Eau Extrême (2012) flanker. Wear time is appreciable because of the eau de parfum strength, so expect 10 hours, and summer is prime time for use outside of stepping from a nice hot shower.

For as level and even-tempered of a scent as this is, Chanel Allure Homme is still my go-to in this style. It doesn't smell like a cynical rehash of past DNA strands in an aquatic makeover like the Versace, was arguably the first to showcase this specific style, and even though this newer Missoni take on the style wears a little richer, also feels a bit more boring and dialed in. The thing that made Parfum pour Homme so good is that little bit of extra aromatic roundness from lavender, patchouli, and more oakmoss, and it's also in Missoni Wave, but here it serves to flatten the aquatic/ozonic freshness similar to how Voyageur by Jean Patou (1994) does with its heavy chypre base, minus the diffuse naturalness and niche-by-accident design of the Patou. Overall, this is a better value-for-money proposition than the Chanel, but if you can stomach the Versace take on this style, it appears even cheaper at discounters than Missoni does, so a bit of the competitive pricing edge Missoni had over the never-discounted Chanel with Parfum pour Homme is lost here. Cristophe Reynaud did well perfuming this, but I'm rather indifferent to the subject matter. You might want to catch this wave, but I'd rather just wave goodbye. Neutral.

Very fresh. This does have similarities with Allure Homme Sport, the eau Extreme version, and even Versace pour Homme. But the quality is not as nice as any of those. It has a cheap smell to me, similar to a shower gel, in the opening. The drydown reminds me of Thallium Sport. Feels best for mild to warm temps.

All that being said, this got a very favorable reaction from my wife, an instant like for her. Very fresh, clean and a little sweetness to her. I think this one is a little harsh up close but much better in the air, which would explain our reactions.

Excellent projection. Will get noticed and probably complimented.