The products: Azzaro Wanted Eau de Toilette and Wanted by Night Eau de Parfum
The new Azzaro Wanted by Night campaign is… pointed. It’s sexy in a mass-market-typical, in-your-face kind of way. Think bright, clear gin and gun cylinder-style flacons in an ash-brown duffel. The incredible amount of confidence that radiates off of this campaign convinced me not only to give these scents a try, but to switch my anniversary gift from [REDACTED FOR FUTURE USE] to a gorgeous leather duffel bag at the last minute.
(We made it an entire year!)
Azzaro’s Wanted by Night imagery is everything you could hope for in a tongue-and-cheek fragrance campaign. This is what women call him, it coos, with mixed blue and orange lighting. It talks about “his pedigree,” with a little bandage glued over model Nikolaï Danielsen’s eyebrow. It promises that he “obeys his every desire. Forever in motion with invincible fire.”
The Azzaro Wanted by Night notes
Designed around the idea of the perfect cocktail, Azzaro Wanted by Night lists itself as being a woody-oriental-spicy flanker to the Azzaro Wanted’s “woody-citrusy-spicy” beginnings. (More on those scare quotes in a few.) Created by perfumers Quentin Bisch and Michel Girard, Wanted by Night highlights top notes of white cedar and fair trade natural cinnamon, heart notes of red cedar and cumin, and base notes of Atlas cedar and cypress.
It isn’t often that I see fair trade ingredients used in mass-market fragrances, making this one pretty unique. The cinnamon essential oil used in Wanted by Night is sourced from a protected network in Laos through a partnership with iconic fragrance manufacturer Givaudan. It’s an exclusive botanical variety produced just for Azzaro.
The Azzaro Wanted and Azzaro Wanted by Night experiences
Azzaro Wanted (2016, Fabrice Pellegrin) is, truth be told, far more boring than Wanted by Night. Its note listing is gargantuan: top notes of lemon, ginger, lavender and mint; middle notes of Guatemalan cardamom, juniper, apple, and geranium; base notes of Hatian vetiver, tonka bean, and amberwood. The results bristle, with an overwhelmingly lemony initial spritz.
It’s not a bad fragrance, but it’s the polar opposite of what I love to wear. I see it pinned down pretty frequently as a Paco Rabanne Invictus clone (which I can’t confirm), and it makes its “woodsy-citrusy-spicy” promises feel flimsy. It definitely has woodsy and spicy notes, especially in the drydown, but its body is overwhelmingly clean.
On the other hand, Azzaro Wanted by Night smells like a totally different take on the same concept. It’s a good flanker: similar appeal, with very different practice.
Wanted by Night is as warm as the amber tones of its bottle, with a fuller body than the original Wanted. To me, it smells a little bit like a spicy apple pie, especially in the first 30 minutes – like the blend of spice and citrus brings up memories of fall festivities in years gone by. But something about its body is a little thin, for an Eau de Parfum. It clings to the skin more than its notes suggest that it would, making it woodsy but still wearable.
At the price point of an EdP, I’m not thrilled by its intensity. As a person who loves scents that make you want to lean in, however, I love it. It’s just strong enough that one small spritz will scent you deliciously, without (as so many scents marketed towards men do) filling an entire elevator with eye-watering fumes.
The Azzaro Wanted by Night verdict?
Azzaro Wanted is a solid “next, please” from me, but I’m enjoying Wanted by Night. It’s spicy and sexy, and wears close enough to the skin that I think it would be a great pick all year round.
If October isn’t too early to start adding things to Christmas lists… this is a good one to start with.
Availability: $82 CAD (50 ml) and $102 CAD (90 ml) at Hudson’s Bay, Jean Coutu, Shopper’s Drug Mart, London Drugs, Brunet, and Uniprix. In the US: Macy’s and Ulta.
