Note Pyramid
Hugo Reversed
Set against the rest of the Hugo line, Hugo Boss Hugo Reversed Eau de Toilette 125ml is the dry one, and the one that behaves least like a standard citrus opener. Grapefruit leads, and it is the bitter sort rather than the sweet pink kind, all peel and pith. Bergamot follows a half step behind, rounder and a little floral, taking the sourness off the grapefruit without making it pleasant in the obvious way. Rosemary is the material that gives the fragrance its character, a hard green herb, almost camphorous, the smell of a bush rubbed between your fingers in hot weather, and it keeps the citrus from going soapy. Vetiver then closes everything, rooty and dry, with the faint smokiness it picks up in the base of a masculine scent, and it is what stops this reading as something you splash on and forget.
Four materials, arranged top to bottom with nothing hidden, so the structure is easy to follow. The citrus burns off within the first half hour and the herb and the root take over for the rest of the wear.
At eau de toilette strength it is bright and moderately lasting rather than heavy, and the 125ml bottle gives you plenty to use freely in warm weather, which is where this works best: daytime, offices, hot commutes, anything where something sweeter would turn sickly by lunchtime. It launched in 2018, it is aimed at men, and it reads cleanly rather than dressily.
The company behind it is a German clothing group whose origins lie in a 1924 workshop in Metzingen, the town it is still headquartered in. Men's tailoring built its reputation, and perfume has been a licensed business since 1984, latterly under Coty.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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