Artisan Blu

Remember when you were a kid and crayons came in packs of 8, or maybe 16? Now there are boxes with 152 crayons with colors like Purple Pizazz and Mango Tango. Included is a color that would best describe Artisan Blu...and that isn't Blue, nor is it Green, but rather the combination of them, Blue Green. The opening is decidedly much more green than blue, with an almost Irish Spring-like quality. As it settles down, there is a salty/citrusy blue-like calmness to this fragrance that overcomes the initial sharp herbal opening. It's hard to describe in terms of specific notes. There's lavender, but it's some of the most subtle I've encountered, and the Orange Blossom helps connect it to Artisan. The sad news is like every John Varvatos fragrance, projection and longevity is lacking. If you can get 6 hours out of it, consider yourself lucky, as most of the scent is gone in four. Get the biggest bottle you can as cheap as you can and just keep spraying.

Actually surprised I liked this. It is a barbershop scent with hints of lavender that are reminiscent of Drakkar /cool water and all the other 70s and 80s barbershop scents. I am not usually big on lavender or iris but this is not bad. It has a modern twist and is lighter in the lavender area than earlier scents like this. Smells clean and has a nice green under the citrus to bring out the fresh factor. Not iris heavy but it’s there. Reminds me of a cool blue aftershave. Has a touch of modern blue and old school mint and lavender with green to tie it all together. Would say it’s a over 30 scent for daytime use but performs lighter than I would like. Typical JV , great blends with weak performance. It’s cheap though. Reminds me of a more sweet lighter brighter Luna Rossa Carbon.

I sprayed this on a tester strip with little interest on my way home. Later in the evening I caught notice of something nice and curious. I looked around, picked up the tester strip, and smelled it again. The drydown surprised me. This is the John Varvatos? I don't remember it smelling like this, I thought curiously. What even is this note? Neroli? Vetiver? Is this reminiscent of TDH? No, something else. I kept smelling it and it smelled so familiar. "Wow" I thought in shock as it instantly dawned on me. Mandarino Di Amalfi of all things! I decided to come to Fragrantica and share my amazing correlation; no one will even believe me. I arrive and check the "This perfume reminds me of" to see "Mandarino Di Amalfi" with one-hundred and thirty-four thumbs up. Okay they got it.

Artisan Blu is not your typical aquatic or blue fragrance; it incorporates some interesting "fantasy" notes. The opening is enjoyable if not overly applied. If you're an over-sprayer, the opening will end up smelling like a citrus window cleaner (Windex). As the fragrance progresses you get a delightful combination of refreshing aromatics that contain just a tiny amount of sweetness for the summer air. As it dries down, some of the "fantasy" notes come into play and provide a nice touch to a relatively mundane fragrance. The fragrance remains reasonably consistent for the wear, approximately 6 hours. Overall, OK. Remember that it could do much worse with other run-of-the-mill warm-weather fragrances.

This is an amazing classic Mediterranean fragrance! I am a huge fan of most JV offerings and this one does not disappoint. Clean, fresh, and bright, it just punches well outside the price point (through discounters of course). I highly recommend, I don’t find any performance issues, perhaps my body chemistry is just lucky with Varvatos because I have never had the issues that are the constant nagging factor, and thank god I tried some of the line before reading reviews otherwise I might have missed out on some truly fantastic blends. Very versatile scent, might lean towards mature, but it’s fresh enough that anyone could run with it. Wish I found this one out sooner, really well crafted. Cheers all.