Aquolina is a relatively unknown fragrance company whose only products are the brother and sister scents Blue Sugar and Pink Sugar. While Pink Sugar is an overwhelmingly sweet, candied perfume, Blue Sugar “man’s-it-up” and presents a heady, sexy cologne that still retains the flirtatious sugary notes that its sibling is known for.
Before I was 14, I never wore cologne (and honestly, rarely even more than a basic deodorant… Shhh!). Those awful Axe Body sprays that smell like a boy’s locker room when the janitor has gotten lazy never appealed to me, and so I just went around smelling faintly of soap and fresh water (ironically, now some of my favorite base notes in colognes). But Sephora changed that. Sephora changes everything, really.
I went in just looking for a hair product to tame a style that would now be called the eponymous Bieber (I shudder looking back on pictures of me then… What was I thinking?), and walked out with two sample vials of colognes: Juicy Dirty English and Aquolina Blue Sugar. I tried Juicy’s first, as I’d actually heard of them, even then, and was instantly reminded of why I hated Axe. It smelled like sweat, musk, and aggressive machismo. That one went immediately in the trash. So the next day, I dabbed a bit of Blue Sugar on my wrists, went out, and fell in love. I returned to the mall a few days later to purchase my first cologne ever.
Housed in an attractive, blue tinted cylindrical bottle, Blue Sugar holds its own visually next to the likes of Dior’s Fahrenheit and BANG by Marc Jacobs on my vanity. I rather enjoy the simplicity of its design; no gimmicks (looking at you, PLAY by Givenchy), nothing belying more than it is.
Even now, the scent’s progression from Top Notes to Base Notes is still a journey I take pleasure in, and it certainly hasn’t gotten old. Throughout the entire thing, notes of caramelized sugar wrap themselves sensually around the others, caressing and embracing rather than smothering. Have you ever been to an authentic candy shoppe (yes, spelled with an extra “p” and an “e”; that’s how you know it’s authentic) while the mother and son duo were mixing a giant vat of sugar to turn into those sweet, little caramel chews? This aspect smells near exactly like that: flirtatious, slightly insolent, and sexy in a boyish, rustle-your-hair kind of way.
Some relatively light citrus notes predominate the first half hour or so, calling forth more grilled lemon with its slight smokiness (perhaps the cedar mentioned in the description) than fresh, invigorating grapefruit. This cleanly dissipates into a mix of lavender, ginger, and licorice with patchouli providing a nice binding (rather than being a true base note). The licorice-y notes, enhanced by an undertone of star anise, exude a purely sexual aura: heady, sensual, and intoxicating. It’s one of those notes rarely done well in colognes, but when it is (as here), it’s near impossible to not inhale deeply while closing your eyes and feeling your limbs slowly succumb to gravity’s pull. This isn’t a feral, rough sexuality; it’s one that draws you in and embraces you, perhaps caresses your neck and whispers sweet nothings into your willing ear.
The projection is rather strong, extending maybe a foot away from the body. People will know when you enter a room, and will be drawn inward by this alluring permeation. I’ve had others inch slowly towards me from a seat away, and attempt to surreptitiously smell my neck, though I always notice. You will definitely smell this when you turn your head quickly, or bring your hands up to fix your hair.
But what of lasting time to this? An amazing 12 hours. With three spritzes (one on each wrist and another at the base of the neck), I can still detect this from even a couple inches away after a long day of work, and even working out. It does fade rather well, reducing in strength in a slow, lovely progression rather than in awkward stages as some other fragrances do.
Although it is much more masculine than its sister, Blue Sugar is definitely not the most testosterone-fueled cologne out there. It’s a slightly confusing scent in its presentation: the caramelized sugar notes want to lend it a boyishly flirtatious manner, while the licorice evokes more passionate sexuality, and the combination of both makes me question just what—or for who—this cologne is.
Overall, Blue Sugar is an insolently sexy cologne, and a rather unique one in the world of men’s scents. It brings together the sweetness of boyhood and the tender, lustful touches of a date in dark leather and with an exotic name. It deserves a place in the collection of any cologne collector who can figure out how to tailor its mildly confusing nature to their personality.
Written by Sam
Sam is a 17-year-old, oddly tall guy whose love of all things skincare, makeup, and fashion started when he entered the modeling world at 14. Since then, he’s established himself as a freelance makeup artist in the theatre and fashion worlds, and started his own blog to preach the wonders of orange eyeshadow, Asian skincare, and designer fragrances to the masses.
Wow Sam , great writing! Makes me want to go out and buy one right now!
Sam’s a gifted writer, isn’t he? And get this: this was only his second fragrance review ever.
Karen,
REALLY?? Only his SECOND fragrance review? GIFTED I’d say! Kudos to you both… but first to Karen, for recognizing (and even more so, acting on) talent like this!
You described this cologne so sensually that I am compelled to take a trip to Sephora for a whiff, and I can’t even stomach the smell of Pink Sugar. I would rather smell like a woman than confectioneries.
I’m old, despite the great writing all I could think while reading this was ‘ohhh so adorable!’.
Seriously though, good to see a young man who is confident and comfortable enough to do write-ups like this. Good job!
Sam, I am an instant fan (of yours, not Blue Sugar). I have subscribed to your blog for more doses of your fabulous writing. Karen, thanks for featuring this guest post!
I’m an English teacher in addition to a beauty junkie, and I know good writing when I see it! Bravo, Sam. =)
No kidding, right? I almost couldn’t believe his age when he told me.
What a fab description! I can’t decide if I want this for my hubby or myself.
I totally want to smell Blue Sugar now,
wow, so talented! you can write and model 🙂 followed your tumblr, looking forward to more posts there 🙂
and come to think of it, maybe this would make a good female scent too, because it seems to have subtle sweetness.
Oh, there is nothing subtle about the sweetness haha. It’s well balanced by all of the other notes, but it’s certainly a “sweet” scent! Definitely not for every guy…. But I love it
Ummm, I think based on the description of this cologne, it will be yet another addition onto my List of Standards To Be Kit’s Man. And the candidate number falls yet again!
But no, seriously, Sam, you’re awesome. I love seeing guys who aren’t like “HURR I MUST SMELL LIKE MAN AND BACON AND AXE!!!”… I’m allergic to Axe, anyway! *angry face*
This is a wonderful article! Even being a girl, I’m so tempted to try it out. 🙂 Wonderful writing!
This is definitely one of those fragrances that can be worn by women looking for something a bit more “boyish”. Pink Sugar is much too sweet for me, and lacks the depth of progression and complex notes of this one, but if you like the general idea of Pink Sugar, I’d check out it’s brother product instead!
Good Lord can you write! I almost want to eat this cologne as opposed to just wear it…and I’m a female. But I’ve never resisted wearing a scent just because of it’s gender specific marketing. Great job. I’m totally sold.
This sounds like a nice perfume. I’d love to give it a sniff. Nice writing there, Sam. Now, the jig is up.
Love the way you write Sam, while readig your post I could actually smell the scent. I don;t think i wuld be able to stand the pink sugar one but I would definetly want to try the blue one myself before I giving it to my boyfriend, or maybe just keep it for me .. jmmm!
I love the sister scents of Aquolina: Pink Sugar and Chocolovers. There are some great men scents out there, sometimes they are even better than women’s scents. I would love to sample this one, occasionally I like to wear men’s scent, as long as it is not too musky or aggressive.
Wonderful writer? In to make up? My age? We should be friends Sam. 😀
Off to read your blog now!
Not a fan of Pink Sugar, but that totally made me want to go check out Blue Sugar.
This was an excellent review, Sam. I’ve yet to smell Blue Sugar, but even if I had, I would not have been able to describe it as you have. You clearly have a gift for both writing and identifying scent nuances. Very well done! 🙂
I LOVE Pink Sugar and just ha to look up her brother once I found out there even existed one and just HAD to comment on your commentary/review. In my humble opinion: GREAT WRITING! Really well descriptive, totally drawing the reader in, HAVETOHAVEIT kind of a writer for advertising that every manufacturer would like to have on their staff. I just wanted to let you know that. And I now will be following your other writings/reviews on the web!
Thank you!
Blue sugar is terrific!