Description
John Varvatos truly provides something unique and characteristic to the world of perfumes. I really like his fragrances, bottles, and his unconventional but elegant fashion style that he intertwined into his collection of perfumes. It is unique, contemporary and of high quality. Commercial, yet so special. It plays on shades and materials, which is reflected perfectly in his latest composition, Artisan Blu. This year, Varvatos provides contrast with marine masculine fragrance, which is wearable, comfortable and sophisticated.
According to the official announcement, top notes feature bergamot, lavender, basil, bitter orange and chayote (edible fruit from the family of melons and cucumbers). The heart corporate geranium, palmarosa, iris, orange blossom absolute and clary sage, while the base combines cedar, patchouli, pine, resin from pistachio and tamarisk wood. It was characterized as aromatic-citrusy.
John Varvatos Artisan Blu arrived in sales in early 2016, and is available as 125ml Eau de Toilette.
alenyshka – :
Well, it was the first perfect day to wear Blu in South Florida. I’d consider 70-80 degree weather to be ideal for this fragrance. WOW! I had a great day. This is a true fresh water marine type of fragrance infused with a pine green. Envision a forest next to a fresh water lake with tons of lavender flowers and the aroma of spices. There is nothing common about this fragrance as one reviewer stated. One thing I love about the Varvatos line is they are not cloying in the least when worn at the correct temperature. I would consider this a spring or situational fragrance, preferably a nice 75 degree day like it was in South Florida yesterday. This is my most uplifting fragrance! I prefer wearing it outdoors. So beautiful! Just carry around a decant sprayer to reapply. It’s not that tough to keep a decant in your pocket.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
75 degree day outside ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ivybigtorrent.org – :
Blind bought at Marshalls.
The opening is nothing interesting—very common.
But the dry down is where it can be unique. It’s more aromatic and mature—probably from the geranium and cedar. It smells like an upper-middle class household with lots of oak and maple built-ins and no lights on during a warm summer day.
zhw109speagoessenda – :
I haven’t had the chance to wear/smell all of the Artisan line, though this one is the best from what I have tested. That said, this isn’t a high praise. Hype on Artisan Pure is crazy, and the regular Artisan is a blistering chemical peel. The “ocean” vibe from this tames down the citrus blast, and makes it tolerable, however I don’t recommend this at all. Give it a test on your skin, but don’t blind buy like I did. Thankfully I only bought .5 oz…
артём2000 – :
This fragrance makes me sick on my stomach. Like Artisan Aqua, it starts out smelling nice and I really enjoy it. The mid and base notes are where it starts to turn sour. I once woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I had to throw up. The smell of this fragrance was all around me. Needless to say, I won’t be getting a full bottle.
popperssy – :
I may be completely off but the top notes of this really reminds me of ferrari radiant bergamot!!
fly_2011 – :
A nice soapy/fresh scent with short longevity. I get 2 maybe 3 hours max. Non-offensive and has a really nice bottle. Decent unremarkable office scent.
That being said, if you can get it for under $30,it is worthy of a purchase….But Lanvin’s Oxygene is in the same realm. It lasts longer and is cheaper.
BeiseHice – :
This is a cheaper alternative to the very beautiful Aqua di Parma Colonia Club which is one of my favorite fresh manly scents ever. Smells more than 80% the same with very good quality.
Green rather than Aquatic, very cooling, classic sophisticated colonia with masculine mint and lavender notes.
The difference here is that colonia club has higher quality ingredients with far better projection and longevity.
Di_gfufi – :
Soapy, mineral, fresh, comforting and elegant!
Great for close encounters, after a quick shower on a hot day or after a gym.
Completely natural ingredients, no artificial notes as in some blue-aquatic type cologne like calone, hedione etc. You can compare it to highest quality mineral gel with some extra spin.
Recommended for 30+ users, because of pine and cedar oldschool vibe. Minus points for longevity and sillage if you care about this in this type of fragrance, I think it does perfectly what it was destined for. 8/10
Beware sillage/longevity: 1 hour detectable – 2 hours close to skin then gone.
JZeka – :
I love this scent. It does smell very “soapy” but in the best possible way. The longevity could be better, as it tends to fade within 3-4 hours, but The sillage for the first couple hours, at least on my skin, is fantastic. If you apply a bit of moisturizer after showering (I always do in the summer, damn ashy skin) it is quite strong. I catch frequent whiffs with only 4 sprays. The original John Varvatos is my favorite cologne but not my signature as the scent dies within 2 hours, but this is a much higher concentration. I’d highly recommend it.
bas665 – :
Reminds me a lot of Tom Ford Costa Azzura.
Nice and fresh summer scent. One of the better ones I have tried.
Marine citrus, lavendel and drift wood. Quite different and interesting.
Fantastic on hot summer evenings.
Only wish the longevity was longer. Currently approx 4h on my skin.
Good stuff for a bargain price. I got my 75 ml sealed bottle for 25 Euros incl freight.
Влад999 – :
I dont get any “blu” notes from this whatsoever. It’s a very green scent for sure. Performance is awful. nearly zero projection and longevity, even when grossly oversprayed. Shame because this is quite a nice fragrance.
I get Citrus, a little spicy, some green notes and a bit of lavender. The bottle is absolutely a work of art, but not enough for me to spend money on this fragrance
Fulgeflellons – :
Artisan Blu is a very solid fragrance but I think Artisan green would have been a way more suitable Name !
This fragrance has a very nice opening that’s bright,citrusy,fresh,aromatic but because of the pine and lavender in this it’s also very green and this also is VERY soapy ! In fact, I’d say this smells extremely similar to Sung Homme Which is compared to Irish Spring soap. ( Artisan Blu however is a more modern,better blended,less synthetic version of Sung Homme)
Blu is very linear as a scent but in the drydown the bright citrus dies down and it becomes even more green,rich and aromatic! It’s in the drydown that this really reminds me of Irish Spring Soap. The pistachio in the drydown gives this a nice touch and sets it apart from a lot of other soapy scents.
I’ve always wanted a scent that emulated Irish Spring and I finally found it so for that I’m very pleased 🙂
Performance— a lot of people complain about performance with JV scents but I’ve never had that problem and all JV scents have lasted me at least 5-8 hours. This however lasts 3-6 hours with good projection for an hour but after that your only left with a decent scent bubble that also leaves nice projection. Which makes this a perfect scent for work as it’s very inoffensive and doesn’t project loudly but still is noticeable.
Overall rating —- 7.5 out f 10 ! Great scent for casual and work use that I really,really like but unfortunately I can’t say I love it as it’s not unique.
Sidenote— I may be wrong but if your looking for a scent that will get you compliments I’d possibly look elsewhere. This is a scent that will have you smelling very pleasant but people will think the scent is only soap.
I like this smell but sadly enough my fiancée did not 🙁
Anatolia – :
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: John Varvatos is the best designer house in the market! I could go on and on – but I’ll spare you with my bromance. As with most Varvatos creations, this too is ahead of its time. Artisan blue is such a pleasing smell. To me, it’s all about the contrast between citrus and pine. They play well together – the citrus takes the tinge away from the pine and creates a smooth, uplifting smell. I see so many people concerned about longevity – and who am I to judge – but to me, longevity isn’t important. I’ve never once sprayed something and actually calculated how long the smell lasted (not a knock on those who do) – if I can’t smell it, I’ll just spray more! I’m tellin ya… this is just simply the perfect warm weather scent. It’s perfect. And it’s $30. Golf clap to you, mr Varvatos.
JachJagreeKig – :
Artisan Blu in one of my favorite summer freshies. To my nose this is a very bright playful citrus fragrance, that has an ever so slight powdery sweetness to it. This is perfect for a hot sunny day. Grab an atomizer for this one if you plan to wear it all day, as it is a JV fragrance, and the longevity is lacking.
borislee – :
Sprayed this on at a local Edgars. Lasted about an hour. Nice scent but poor longevity
sachko074 – :
Very clean and refreshing scent with decent longevity on my skin.
waric – :
I got this in a sample from ulta. Smells sexy. I wish I had a male in my life to buy it for and give it to lol
Bace4ka – :
I expected this one to be a little more “blue” and aquatic but what I’m mostly getting is a sparkling citrus fragrance. It’s not bad–it smells very much like Sprite to me, as if you opened a fresh can and put the spout toward your nose. It’s a bright, sort of fizzy lemon lime scent definitely intended for summer, but without much of an aqueous texture or oceanic smell. It smells nice, and I wouldn’t mind using this if I wasn’t really into fragrances. Let’s say I was just a guy who had been gifted a bottle o Artisan Blu for Christmas or something; I’d certainly like it and it could function as my warm weather option. But it’s nothing amazing. And being really into fragrances I just find it kind of generic and a little boring in the end. There’s nothing that makes it stand out, but on the same hand, there’s nothing particularly wrong with it either. It’s another decent summer citrus with the added good fortune of being housed in a cool bottle. A mild thumbs up. 6.5/10.
Blade5551989 – :
Pay attention here, you will save yourself a lot of time and money:
Even with a early 2016 launch, JV artisan blu was ahead of its time…it is not an aquatic, but rather a marine scent. The difference between the two styles being marine adds herbal spice, driftwood style wood accord and saltiness.
Here’s why…this has the same drydown of Tom Ford’s new Oud Minerale, and similar accords to Creed’s Viking…both $400+ offerings.
JV blu is better than both, by a mile. I own TF by the way and tried a week long sampling of Creed’s.
While JV goes on a bit bitter, it dries down within 30 minutes to then become a rather linear scent that is fresh, salty, substantial in the base and lightly spicy. It’s fresh without being citrusy or sweet. Blu is, what the niche perfumeries tried to get out of their ‘marine’ and ‘mineral’ offerings, but they fell short by over-engineering.
You get none of the synthetic weird rubber accord as TF Oud Mineral, and none of the overly spiced and old school notes of Creed’s Viking.
Longevity for a fresh watery scent is impressive. Solid 8 hours on skin, 6 on clothing. Projection is good for this style for 2 hours, then becomes closer. I’d call performance impressive, overall. Similar to Creed but less in your face, while the TF Oud Mineral is a beast all day.
Another aspect people don’t get is JV offers their large size in 4.2 vs. 3.4 fl oz. With a scent like this you can overspray and not overdo it, while increasing longevity and projection, as needed. VALUE!
The best marine mineral scent on the market, in what could be one of the most striking bottles ever.
EDIK_S – :
Sprayed this at a shopping center, about 2 sprays on arm, absolutely loved the smell however it was gone after 2 hours.
Did not get to test at a pulse point as i was testing others the same day.
Jv needs to make an intense version and i’d buy it, nobodys questioning the scent, it is beautiful, but im not spending my hard earned cash on a 2 hour scent
valan4ik – :
This was gifted to me as it was not on my radar, but I love it. Plus it was gifted by my wife and she loves it. The bottle is the best in my limited collection; quite impressive presentation. Kind of makes me want to reach for it and hold the bottle. The smell is fresh and soapy like others mentioned and has an herbal touch that is reminiscent in fresh aquatics. I also get some white floral (not listed) which I love. The cedar dry down is a ok, I’m not a huge fan of cedar as it seems so redundant these days. Overall, I enjoy this a lot. I think this house makes really good smelling fragrances and is underrated in my opinion.
orindycokeddy – :
I hate that I just can’t buy this. It’s masculine, different, just so good. A scent that is unique but you somehow feel you know. Performance is terrible like the entire line. Thanks a lot! Your not taking my money…don’t be mislead by samples as they are stronger to deceive you
igorek011076 – :
I love this one from JV and I’d put it in running behind Prada Amber as my favorite soapy scent. Like others have said, it grew on me. Ultra cool presentation, quite unique. Feels sturdy and well made.
The scent is soapy and blue but I can’t say I would describe it as aquatic.. It’s strange. It possesses some qualities of that genre but ultimately is a freshie. Fairly linear as well but that’s not bad. It’s a nice safe scent perfect for daily wear in the office, school, wherever. Not date like, formal or sexy though.
Longevity is… underwhelming. The good news is you can bathe in it and nobody will be offended. I’m gonna say 5 hours tops with moderate sillage. For the price you can get this bottle, not bad.
San08 – :
I really like Artisan Blu. It’s about half a soapy scent and half smooth, cool aquatic. I thought it was just okay the first time I tried it but it’s growing on me. Gets compliments from the wife every time I wear it.
As typical for JV, it requires a few extra sprays and projection is on the lighter side. I like wearing this at night to smell fresh before bed.
The bottle is amazing.
Blak_2009 – :
Smells like soap and incense (latter probably from the patchouli). Enjoyable. It is dark, heavy, brooding, perhaps better for night than day. Not fresh like most aquatics. That’s not bad, just is.
Good sillage and longevity. Not sure I would get a full bottle but I definitely like it.
SHколя – :
If like Tom Ford Neroli Portofino and don’t want to spend that kind of money,this is a pretty good match to it. I sprayed it today and knew right away that it was like a Tom Ford Neroli.
Its Fresh and light. Perfect for morning and day.
karo666 – :
Sampled today for the first time. Awful, synthetic mess that has nothing in common with any Tom Ford.
dcartool – :
Box presentation 10. Bottle presentation 10. Scent 9. Sillage and longevity TBD (I just got it). Please do not stop making this stuff.
Update: Sillage and longevity seem about normal. I haven’t received any comments yet but I get whiffs of it and absolutely love it. It is now my favorite and signature scent. It smells blue and green, if colors had smells. I also get a soapy shower gel vibe.
Update 2: The soapiness started becoming too much so this is no longer my signature or one of my top favorites. I still enjoy it but can not wear this too often.
nikitohka – :
not much a fan of the drydown but my god this stuff wont wash off my skin. cant believe people are saying this is weak
sanya143 – :
All I heard was how weak this fragrance is, but this sample I have from nostrum is like an EDP or something. I sprayed molecule 01 on my arm and then this .. Not sure if its the molecule 01 but the scent has been going strong off my arm now for hours.. Its a really great scent I have no idea why there isn’t more love for this. Its fresh, yes.. But its done so well. Its ultra fresh, soapy clean but has a back bone to it that gives it some kind of depth within the fresh genre. Its super soapy clean but in the best way possible. I am scared that if I buy a bottle of this it won’t be as potent as this sample.
This smells like a bar of irish spring soap on steroids..with some added citrus and this cool tart vibe. It also comes off masculine. Soapy fresh is super generic, but for some reason this fragrance does it in a way that is better. You know every JV fragrance I have tried I really enjoyed. I keep looking past this house simply because everyone says the performance is pure shit….. yet when I try them like dark rebel i find quite the opposite. Does this house spike up their samples ? Will the performance be horrible if I buy a bottle?
scent 5/5 – For a fresh soapy clean.. this is probably one of my very favorites
Menesmoolve – :
So I saw this great looking bottle and decided to sample it. Applied one solid spray on my forearm. Let me tell you that this one can pass as a edp instead of an edt. It emanates quite nicely and gives off a wonderful sillage. The drydown is very similar to dior sauvage. Oh this one lasts quite a while. I even washed my forearms after the gym and I could still smell it quite well.( after about 4 hrs) Enjoy!
ruslan_kot – :
Nice and fresh, aquatic. The dry down is like Bvlgari Aqva Amara
ramzess – :
I dont understand what kind of people think Artisan Blu smell like Mandarino di Amalfi Tom Ford… this fragrances smells different.. i dont like Artisan Blu
alexei62rus – :
I bought this because i got a huge price break and I absolutely love the bottle. I had smelled it over the summer and thought it was worth spending 20 dollars on.
I have to say, i really enjoy this. Very soapy, clean, citrus, like freshly washed linen drying in the sun scent. I cant wait to wear this in warmer weather because it will be incredible. I own the original artisan aqua which i also really enjoy. Artisan aqua is more herbal, woody where blu is a lighter cleaner version.
As with the original aqua, I get excllent longevity and sillage. I love varvatos scents but lets be honest, most of them last an hour or two. Platinum, dark rebel, rebellion rider, even oud all vanish. Aqua and blu last a good solid 5 plus hours on me, and i have dry skin that devours fragrances. Who would think the 2 summer scents would out perform their “heavy hitters”?
I love varvatos fragrances, i have just about all of them and i will probably go ahead and just get their entire line. Get this heavily discounted and enjoy, its an excellent, uplifting fragrance.
patrik1985 – :
This is straight up a mandarino de amalfi clone, even the basil note is there, this smells slightly more soapy and less sparkling than Tom Ford MDA. Considering mandarino doesnt last long either this wouldnt be a bad alternative for those on a budget, Mandarino smells better for sure and im getting it for christmas.
ilay82 – :
I stumbled upon this scent while shopping for myself. I was instantly taken in by the smell. While some may think it’s bland, as a woman, I found it intoxicating. Maybe I’m just plain and boring, but to me, this is a must have scent for men. The longevity is about 4 to 5 hours and the sillage is moderate. It is not overpowering, but definitely noticeable. I asked my husband to buy a bottle because it smells so yummy.
I tend to be a sucker for cedar and patchouli. Maybe that’s why this appeals to me so much.
MaXiM666113 – :
I was out-and-about this afternoon and dropped by the local Macy’s to sniff some new releases. Against my better judgment, I agreed to be sprayed with John Varvatos Artisan Blu. Not so much for my fear of being doused with a terrible scent (that’s happened many times) but because I was enjoying my afternoon with A*Men Ultra Zest.
Blu just seemed like a boring, run-of-the-mill, designer scent when first applied; a pleasant enough aromatic with a bit of citrus, fresh spices and a acquatic type feel. Sadly, this fragrance developed a bit of a sour undertone within minutes of blending with my skin. It wasn’t bad by any means…just not very enjoyable.
Performance was not very good; it lasted 3-4 hours on my skin and sat somewhere between soft and average. Overall, I’ll stick with John Varvatos and Varvatos Vintage. Both are great scents…this one is a disappointment.
ramilsazan – :
Guys dunno if anybody else noticed this, NO OFFENSE, but have you noticed that US company perfumes’ scents usually great but don’t last more than an hour? What’s this trend?! D&G the one EDT & EDP (Procter&Gamble)… TF Neroli Portofino… All John varvatos line… Carolina Herrera CH Men..
sanja-ilin – :
I have tried fragrance several times and it’s in line with other varvatos fragrances that I have tried. Beautiful scent, the pine and cedar give this scent a masculine vibe, keeps it from being a run of the mill fruity aquatic. What’s its downfall is the weak longevity and projection. In this case, I would say the bad guy is the longevity as it had a tiny bit of projection, albeit lower than average. After an hour or so, the fragrance was hardly detectable. Maybe dousing yourself in it would garner a decent showing. I would purchase it at a discounted price, it’s a nice scent and the bottle is gorgeous but it suffers from performance issues like other JV fragrances. If JV scents had even decent performances, I would have several in my collection. They would be up there with Dior and Armani, possibly even better.
germagster – :
It does seem like we are all playing the waiting game. To pay over a hundred dollars for this fragrance is complete and utter overkill.
Looking at that $39.98 discounted price on some of the websites sometime soon.
demaTeams12 – :
I’ve noticed a recent trend in spring/summer scent, green minty fresh soap scents. This reminds me of Colonia Club. I swear there is mint in this. Definitely smells like a soapy sea scent for sure. Standard JV smell with JV performance to max although I did get about 4 hours of longevity which is fine for a spring/summer fragrance. Give it a couple months and it will hit online discounters for about $30 for 4.2oz!!
delisafar – :
good scent..remind me the sea.
cisca – :
In true varvatos style this smells
like a varvatos fragrance nice and
fresh, but as with all varvatos frags
there are almost no logevity or projection,
and this is no exeption, i loved it but it was
gone in a couple hours tops at least the projection
was gone after a few hours, to bad great frag tho.
EdizeZedcew – :
I had the chance to smell this at nordstrom a few days ago and took a sample home with me. I am very surprised at how much i love this fragrance from JV. I am a fan of all of his scents. The only downfall as everyone already knows is the longevity. This one isnt so bad in that department considering its a warm weather scent. It reminds me quite a bit of bergamotto marino by GF. Both beautiful and do quite well. Ill test this a bit more as the warm months approach.
fantoma – :
John Varvatos, enough with the endless list of exotic ingredients in your fragrances. Just give us a decent scent that will last ok. You can make some fine fragrances in your own right. No question. Why do they always have to lacking in lasting power. Insufferably so for many serious perfume lovers out there. In the past, as way of experiment, I sprayed JV artisan on myself for 10 squirts (approx. 1ml of juice) and after 2 hours there was no trace detected anywhere. Really that bad.
Before I would pass it off as just a poor element in design. Now, after too many similar experiences with JV colognes, I just feel shortchanged and will look elsewhere. There are many good ones too.
SchizoLiza – :
Looooove it….
True innovative meaning of blue from JV
10/10
illinobrihoox – :
I do find they project to a degree, it’s just the longevity for me.
karpik_y – :
Even though their fragrances may smell amazing, what is the point of wearing a fragrance if you and others cant even smell it?
Sesh – :
So balanced and beautiful!
Glom – :
I second the comment that JV make a lot of great smelling fragrances with ZERO longevity. Such a tease. Smell so good But they just don’t last.
xxx-bf-xxx – :
Interesting set of notes. I’d love to try it, but how much do you wanna bet that this one has the signature Varvatos horrible projection/sillage and longevity. They really need to fix that. Every one of their fragrances has it to some degree. A lot of them smell really good too but they don’t last at all. I have a feeling this will be the same.