Hugo Boss Alive
3.7
Overall
Accords
woody
fruity
vanilla
warm spicy
cinnamon
powdery
Notes Pyramid
Top
Madagascar VanillaPlumCinnamonAppleBlack Currant
Heart
Jasmine SambacThyme
Base
Woodsy NotesSandalwoodCedarOlive Tree
Community Verdict
Pros & Cons
- ✅ I absolutely LOVE this scent. The opening is sharp, always makes me sneeze. I would also say the opening it fresh, gives the idea, that the fragrance would be fresh, but not at all! The dry down smells heavenly to me, edible. Kind of reminds me of a bakery of sorts? But not even that. It lasts long on clothes, unfortunately I didn't notice it project well or last too long. But for it's price - it's a beautiful scent. Would recommend to everyone.
- ✅ This is a Beautiful scent. And call me crazy, but it has a similar dry down note as the Armani Code EDP (2024).
- ✅ Boss Alive is one of my all-time favorite fragrances. There’s something so empowering and uplifting about it — a perfect balance between sweetness, warmth, and elegance. The fruity top notes draw you in with a soft sparkle, while the woody and vanilla base gives it depth and sensuality. It feels effortlessly feminine, modern, and confident — like a quiet kind of strength.
- ❌ The melange of notes here just smells a bit off. Like, I smell the apple but it's a soft, mealy Red Delicious apple rather than a juicy, crisp apple. The vanilla is the strongest component. I like what the perfumer was trying to do with the addition of cozy plum, cinnamon and thyme but it just falls flat on my skin, like the notes should have been more bold.
- ❌ another car refreshener i am sorry
- ❌ Straight musky, a bit masculine, generic and cheap. Rating: 0/10
- ❌ Alive, despite being composed by a perfumer I really admire, is a disappointment. A floral-fruity sweetened with vanilla, it smells very generic despite some interesting listed notes. It isn't unpleasant, but is totally banal, and it appeals to me less than other designer releases I've smelled recently. It smells fairly cheap and synthetic, but is a safe, sweet, girlish scent. Vanilla is present from initial spray, adding sweetness throughout. It is synthetic and syrupy, but is also thankfully light and restrained. The fruity notes are sweet and candy-like, reminiscent of jellies or similar. Apple is perhaps the most prominent fruity note, sweet rather than crisp, followed by plum, rounding it out with juicy sweetness. The plum is non-boozy here - just synthetically sweet and rather flat. A hint of cinnamon complements the apple, but it is so subtle that it barely makes an impact. As it develops, clean but synthetic jasmine emerges, adding a sweet floral undertone to the sweet fruity notes of the opening. It is slightly plastic-y, but not repulsive to my nose in the manner of Mugler Alien. The vanilla remains, permeating this scent with its syrupy sweetness. Some dry synthetic woodiness creeps in as it dries down, fading to a vanilla skin scent. Sillage and longevity are moderate. It is a feminine warm-weather scent. Alive is so banal and non-descript that I have to presume that Annick Ménardo was restricted by budgetary constraints (and perhaps a tight brief on creating something to appeal to as broad an audience as possible). It is not my thing anyway, but is not even a particularly good scent in its own right. Alive but barely breathing. 2/5.
