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Prada Luna Rossa Carbon is a men's cologne released in 2017.
It's classified as an aromatic fougère fragrance.
It has a very strong similarity to Dior Sauvage.
In this article, we will determine if Prada Luna Rossa Carbon is better than Dior Sauvage or not, and whether you should choose this one over Sauvage.
Let's begin first with the presentation.
The Box:
So, looking at the box, you can see it has a matte finish that transitions into a textured finish at the bottom.
It includes details such as the name of the house, fragrance size, and concentration.
There isn't much information on the sides or back, and the top features just a stripe.
On the bottom, the ingredients and batch code are punched into the box.
The Bottle:
I've always been a fan of the Luna Rossa bottles.
This one is no different.
The bottle looks very cool and has a matte black finish at the bottom where it says “Carbon,” the name of the house here with the red stripe on the back.
You will find your batch code; it's etched into the glass right at the top.
On the bottom, there's no sticker; this is printed onto the bottle, as you can see there.
The atomizer does come with a little plastic cap when you buy this new, but honestly, I just throw it away. It looks better without it, and sprays very well.
That's the presentation for Prada Luna Rossa Carbon. I like it.
What does Prada Luna Rossa Carbon smell like?
Here are Prada Luna Rossa Carbon notes:
The top notes are Bergamot and Pepper.
Middle notes are Lavender, Metallic notes, Coal, Watery Notes, and Soil Tincture.
Base notes are Ambroxan and Patchouli.
I want to clarify this a little bit. Many fragrances get compared to Sauvage, just as there are comparisons to Blue de Chanel and scents like Mr. Burberry.
While it's true that these fragrances can share a similar style or fall within the same category, when I say that Luna Rossa Carbon bears a strong resemblance to Dior Sauvage, I mean they genuinely have a very strong similarity.
It's not merely that they are in the same ballpark; they are remarkably alike. The top notes of bergamot and pepper in this fragrance are very reminiscent of Sauvage—very, very similar.
Although not as spicy, it leans a bit more towards freshness and cleanliness.
As the fragrance progresses, it becomes ever so slightly powdery, just a tiny, tiny bit. These are a couple of differences in comparison to Sauvage.
To me, this fragrance comes across maybe a little more refined, a little more laid-back, and a little more relaxed than Sauvage.
Right away, you can tell that Ambroxan is the main note, just like Sauvage. It's metallic, but it's refreshing, it's fresh, it's super, super ultra-easy to wear, and that's where Sauvage caught a lot of hate.
And if this fragrance catches any hate, that's probably what it's going to come from – from being super similar to Sauvage and being ultra-easy to wear.
One thing that this release has, which Sauvage does not, is that touch of lavender that has been a mainstay of the Luna Rossa line.
You do pick up a little bit of that in Carbon. It's not a ton; it's not an overwhelming amount of lavender, and it's not even really what I would consider one of the main notes, given that Ambroxan, that metallic note, and bergamot off the top are so overwhelming compared to most of the other notes here.
But you do pick up that nuance of lavender, which kind of keeps this in the Luna Rossa line. It's nice, honestly; I enjoy it.
There are also notes of soil and coal in this fragrance, so you would think that it would come across maybe harsh or dirty or earthy, or something like that.
But it doesn't. You can pick up a little bit of what they're passing off as soil and coal, but you pick it up more if you smell close to where you've sprayed on.
So if you spray on the fragrance, and 15 minutes later, put your nose close to where you sprayed, smell pretty deeply, you can pick up that little nuance of, like, turned soil. It's not dirty; it's hard to kind of describe it, but if you smell it, you'll know what I'm talking about.
That being said, in the scent cloud around you, nobody's going to be able to pick that up. It's something that you pick up closer in.
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How long does Prada Luna Rossa Carbon last?
Longevity for me is pretty good; it's not insane.
I get around 8 hours, but I'll take that.
That's perfectly fine with me.
Projection is a little more moderate than with Sauvage.
With Sauvage, I can get some really good projection going; it performs well. Luna Rossa Carbon is a little bit more understated than Sauvage, but at worst, it would be considered a moderate to slightly above-average performer. And that's at worst.
When to Wear Prada Luna Rossa Carbon?
Season-wise, for me, this is going to slot into those super versatile fragrances, just like Sauvage.
So I could wear this year-round, honestly.
It's also one you can wear day or night because Sauvage works well as a night-out scent, and it works well as a casual fragrance or in the office or something like that.
So this is an all-season fragrance.
And, if it smells so similar to Sauvage, you can guess it does get you compliments. It gets compliments fairly easily, just like Sauvage does.
So if you wear Sauvage and pull compliments, it'll be the same with this one.
If you're looking for a compliment Couture versatile type fragrance, you should check this one out because it will not disappoint you there.
The only thing I can really criticize about this is that it very obviously has taken the Sauvage DNA, made a few tweaks here and there, and then been released as basically Prada's version of the Dior Sauvage fragrance.
It's really well done and really nice; I can't fault it on anything except for that.
In Conclusion – Prada Luna Rossa Carbon is better than Sauvage?
Like I said, it's a more refined, laid-back, slightly more fresh, slightly more clean version of Sauvage.
It has a little bit of a lavender undertone, and there are little changes here and there, but it's super similar.
So if you like Sauvage, you will like the Luna Rossa Carbon.
Is it possibly a redundant purchase if you own Sauvage? Yes, it is.
So, I would recommend checking it out first if you can, you know, just to see if it's something you want to go full bottle on.
But if you don't have Sauvage, honestly, at this point, I'd rather be wearing Luna Rossa Carbon.
So if you don't own Sauvage, maybe check this one out first.
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