Artisan Blu

Thought of as a clone to Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi, it opens with a herbal citrus blast that quickly dries down into a smooth, slightly soapy, and plant-like woody/marine base. Perfect for the 5k I'm about to run. It'll be gone by the end of it though.

This I s an ok fragrance for me and it’s mainly because of performance. It goes to a skin scent on me pretty quickly. It’s masculine and pleasing and for the price the quality Is good. But it’s like a lot of people say it is a weak performer so 3/5.

I liked this smell, big turn off is the longevity, doesn't even last 30 mins. Puff its gone. I wouldn't waste money on it. I wear and layer with another. Anyone is Bay Area Hayward want it, $20, sprayed a couple of times. May 28th 2026.

This is in my top 5 summer cheapies all time. Only downside to this fragrance is longevity but the scent is perfect for them hot days. I do agree with others though it is way more of a green than a blue.

Artisan Blu is a pretty unique fragrance, just like every other release in the line. First of all, who decided to name a green, herby, aromatic, and spicy fragrance “Blu”? I’m not saying there are no blue vibes here, but it still feels slightly like trolling. Anyway, the scent itself is very decent. It’s not generic, but rather soapy and powdery in character. It also performs very well in the heat and is simply pleasant to wear. Although, to my taste, it leans a bit too heavily into the herbal side and is also slightly more expensive than the other Artisan fragrances. That’s why I personally prefer the original Artisan and Artisan Pure. The sillage and projection are solid, pretty much on the same level as Artisan Pure. The bottle design is also magnificent. It’s genuinely beautiful, and I always feel tempted to place John Varvatos bottles somewhere visible because they work almost like decoration pieces. Overall, it’s a respectably good fragrance, and if you love herbal scents, you’ll probably enjoy it even more than I did.

Sharp beach-scented bath soap initially, but turns very delicate. I’d register it as unisex. Powdery. Reminiscent of a sandy lakeside cottage.

Living in coastal Queensland Australia this has become my one of my favourites for moderate warm weather, with all the other fresh or blue generic sweet fragrances it's a very unique, masculine, fresh, soapy, pine needle, citrus scent. I'm nearly through my 125ml bottle and will definitely get another at only $49 Australian.

I really like this one. My favorite in the line is Artisan Pure but this is nice. Starts off very green and soapy but once it dries down it gives me the same vibes as something from the Polo Blue line, similar to deep blue Parfum or the Parfum. Definitely spring, summer and early fall. Great, safe for any occasion. Dressed up or down. Longevity and performance is nothing amazing but still a solid 6 hour fragrance. Signature scent worthy. Recommend for anyone just wanting an easy dumb reach.

surprisingly solid. The sillage and projection pinch way above its weight class.

Tughraal, I have only tried XX and I did not like it ar all! I plan on buying Blu and based on the reviews it's a good choice. I also have Pure, it's amazing.!

Hi guys. Can't get any samples where i am, so need to blind buy ... which would be better - Artisan blu or Artisan XX ?? Edit: Got it. Nice & fresh. Wearing it at 40 degrees C. Doesn't last very long & stays close to the skin during the day. Got this for 30usd. Edit 2: My friend loved the frag so much, he just flicked it away 🙄. Try 4/5 sprays on ur clothes. Performs better in the evenings & indoors. Doesn't last much outdoors.

First of all it is not a genernic blue fragrance in my opinion it is quite unique it has a masculine greeness that represent the rocker vibe most JV frags gave. The performence is better than other artisans. I get 6-7 hours I love the smell of it on clothes. Signature scent worthy.

Another blind buy. Recommended by a friend and a disappointment at first so I put it behind the others on the shelf. Wind forward 6 months and what a difference time makes. Sprayed it on last night and was surprised to find it had matured into something beautiful. Crisp and fresh, invigorating even, not cloying at all like some high end brands. It's not a work of art but it feels like something hand made or even custom, something an artisan would concoct for you on the spot. For the price it is more than great value just allow it to macerate.

Lavender, Basil!? & Water Bomb : This Does that Overproduced water fragrance the best (Green and blu fragrance) The fresh basil shines through incredible (mostly naturalistic) ingredients. Nice amount of Greenery especially if u blind eye the Lavender bomb 💣 & iris Let’s face it B***** Love Basil Pasta it’ll likely remind her of that and hopefully her triggered hunger will be paired with you. Suffers poor longevity especially the Realistic notes unfortunately… but if you know anything about JV you accepted the poor longevity before purchasing. It’s cheap enough to carry around the bottle / decant and re-apply ALL throughout the day.. This fragrance turns dim and boring fast unfortunately, however still worth re-Buying if you ask me (I’m Biased For JV) Keep a Decant and Re-Spray every few hours. I just barely mostly prefer the artisan XX teal (depending on occasion Of course)

If you like pine, you'll like this.

Salty cotton and minerally water. Great versatility as a quick gym or errand-running scent. You won't want to use it for much more than that as it won't last long enough for much more than that

Going for a walk in a Mediterranean breeze after getting a fresh cut. I would love it more if the initial opening stays a bit more. 20 minutes later its just a fresh aquatic screechy generic fragrance without the cleanliness soapy nature, its almost feels like the barbershop scent just fleeted off after you took a swim in the high heat for 4-5 hours straight. Since this is a linalool heavy from top to base, the performance is as to be expected. However, i would rather this to be more projecting and make the top notes last a bit longer for this price. Otherwise this is just an uninspiring aquatic fragrance you smell on the local market. I wouldn't recommend to buy this if you're looking for good performing freshie, i would recommend if you're a fragrance enthusiast and would rather sophistication over trendiness perfumery.

This is a very soapy blue, I'm fact it smells like herbal bath soak and soap. It's not unpleasant but it's not sweet and fairly dense smell to it. I think the bottle is probably the star here. Notes and comments on here are all over the place - it says it may not be suitable for formal occasions - it's the most "formal" scent I own. It screams office, formal engagement, job interview etc. I get about 4 hours of longevity. It's kinda ok, but I'm keeping it more for the bottle design than the fragrance really, I have other blue fragrances that I prefer but this has its place. If I was going to a funeral, this is what I'd wear:).

Mediterranean barbershop. Sea, pine, aftershave. Peak masculine. Throwback + modern. Very grounded. Clean, clean, clean, clean Drakkar+AdG+Mandarino

Nose Note #644 Yes, it smells like a bath soap, it has a lot of bitter bergamot and a mixture of bitter herbs. There are dozens of similar bitter blue fragrances. Bleue Issey Miyake and Mr. Burberry are kind of in the same direction, but ultimately they are very different. You may as well say that Platinum Egoiste is also similar to this. But man how nice this is. Very manly, very fresh, nicely bitter, smells very natural. It feels slightly soapy. So it's not literally a bath soap, this was said just to give you an idea of a very nice bar of soap, premium quality. A soap that's more the ingredients than the soap. Personally, I'm really into this line of fragrances. This is almost perfect for me. Performance is just about average, not impressive. But the scent feels "professional". Wonderfully crafted fougere. 8.8/10, maybe it's lacking something that would make it more special, but as it is - it's beautiful

Awful. Smells like cheap Turkish bath soap in some Turkish hamam where you go for a body scrub. It’s overpowering and reeks of cheap detergent.

Beautiful fragrance and exceptional classy bottle design. Very good quality fragrance at the price point - 125ml @ $60 AU. I'm honestly not sure why many on here consider JV fragrances to be "weak" or "lacking performance" They do exactly what they are meant for. Not every fragrance needs to fill a room or punch ppl in the face as you walk by. Both JV Artisan Pure and Artisan Blu lasts well through a gym session or a lunch with the family - what more can you want? I cant believe ive waited so long to pick these up.

This is absolutely wonderful and I never want to be without a bottle. Aquatic, green, old school soapy like drakkar. The pistachio note (that no one mentions) really comes off on my skin and that's what makes this an all timer.

Pretty generic freshie for summer. Other than the poor longevity I have no complaints with it especially the price I got it for (22usd for a 75ml)

its quite beautiful, it would be great for a holiday, manly but not overbearing, fresh like holiday air, clean like a fresh shave, good vibes. the type of smell that would compliment all types of relaxing and fun activities, sunbathing, walking along the beach, shopping, exercising, ECT. and for the price i really dont have anything bad to say 🌴🌆🏃

My first experience with a JV fragrance, was very pleasantly surprised. The scent is really smooth, greenish, refreshing to my nose really good for warm weather. The only disappointment is longevity, maybe 3 hours before a very close skin scent. I have 60+ bottles at this point, but this is one I am seriously considering getting a backup bottle of I enjoy it that much. It's absolutely a steal at $21 I got it for, makes me want to discover more from the house!

I bought this way back when it came out almost, when i had just started collecting. I liked it but for whatever reason i just forgot about it. Nowadays in the high heat id typically wear things like amouage beach hut man, xerjoff fiero, creed erolfa or my vintage bottles of either kenzo pour homme/eau sauvage/new west ect. So i pulled this out today, having not worn it for years. The decorative webbing around the bottle is dusty as hell after being forgotten so long. This fragrance is amazing! Holy crap lol i cant believe this didnt impress me when i first bought it. This is one of the most awesome summer masculines ive ever smelled. So to get it out of the way, yes its a john varvatos with all that goes along with that. Including the not real great performance, although in heat this will give reasonable projection albeit not last forever. This does not smell cheap at all, and when i looked up new bottles it appears its the same ~$25 usd i paid 5 years ago at discounters or ebay. The sharp herbal grassy citrus opening with the bitter orange and bergamot is quite natural smelling and even has a touch of old school to it. It dries down more woody when the citruses fade and you do get the pine and some polite patchouli as well as even a light sense of the pistachio note listed, which makes this even more interesting. The dry down is *sort of* reminiscent of well done ambergris accords from the past, but with a twist or two, giving a quasi-marine air vibe. really suggest people try this if they're looking for a summer masculine high heat fragrance, this exists at a perfect intersection of quality, old school class, mass appeal and the craziest aspect... The price is dirt cheap.

Fresh shaving cream meets Mediterranean air. Great freshie. I don't have issues with longevity (8+ hours). Sillage not sure yet. Ingredients quality seems better than what you pay for.

Ok, listen. I own a bottle of Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi and It's one of my favourite summer fragrances. I bought this one hoping it would be moderately close. So here's my honest take on it. Artisan Blu is by no means a dupe or clone of Mandarino. At its core, this is a soapy, clean, green masculine fragrance with a splash of mandarin thrown in the mix. If the thought of smelling like mandarino mixed with shaving cream sounds appealing, then by all means, check out Artisan Blu. But if you want something that sits close to the original Mandarino, this is not it and you will probably be disappointed if you buy this expecting it to.

The note listing and reviews make this far more complicated then it is. Its a very clean zippy bar of soap scent - like Prada L'Hommes iris but made even more fresh and soapy. As simplistic as that is - its honestly the only cologne in my collection that unapologetically smells like a literal bar of 1990s bar of Irish spring - I miss when smells like this were the norm - so over all this modern sweetness. Wear this when you want to smell extra clean and not like cologne.