Halloween Man X is a cologne for men released in 2019 by Halloween.
This house used to be called “Jesus del Pozo”, which made a little more sense to me than now when it just goes by “Halloween Man.”
Because really when I think “Halloween,” I just think of the holiday where you dress up in a costume, kids go out and trick-or-treat, and maybe people have Halloween parties and stuff like that. I don't think fragrances.
Now, maybe you say, “Oh, it's ‘Halloween Man,' like when you spray this on, you become something new.” I guess you could go that route with the name, but to me, it's a little bit goofy.
That being said, though, there are some gems in this line because you can get these fragrances cheap.
Halloween Man fragrances are heavily discounted at sites like FragranceNet and FragranceX.
Most of the time, you can pick up a bottle this size, which is a 4.2-ounce bottle, for under $35.
Presentation Details:
It's presentation time:
Box:
You can see the “Halloween Man X” size and concentration down at the bottom. Got X's on either side, nothing on the back. “Halloween” at the top, and then on the bottom, your badge code and your ingredient information.
Bottle:
This one does have a nice gradient where it goes from black to dark blue down at the bottom.
The cap does click into place, but it comes off easily, so if you have a habit of picking up your bottles by the cap, don't do that with this one.
The atomizer on this is good, the same as the other Halloween Man releases.
Then on the bottom, you have your sticker with your batch code.
There we go, presentation for Halloween Man X.
I do like this bottle; I like the dark aesthetic. It looks really good.
What does Halloween Man X smell like?
Let's first unveil the notes:
The top notes are Cardamom, Lavender, and Lemon.
Middle notes are Coffee, Whiskey, Cinnamon, Leather, and Mineral notes.
Base notes are Tonka Bean, Amber, and Incense.
When you first spray Halloween Man X on your skin, you're gonna need to let it settle for a second.
When you first spray it on, it does have that kind of astringent, alcoholic feeling to your nose.
So if you spray this on and immediately go in and smell it, it's not gonna smell nice.
Once you let that settle down, though, in my opinion, it smells great. I really, really like this fragrance. I'll tell you that right now, and I'll get into it more as we go on, but for me, this one is a winner.
This fragrance has a Black Jack Accord, which is specific to this scent. It's something that the perfumer made for Halloween Man X, and you can pick up that Black Jack Accord immediately once you let that settle on your skin. You pick it up right away.
The Black Jack Accord is made up of three notes: leather, whiskey, and roasted coffee.
Of those three notes, the one that I pick up the strongest in the Black Jack Accord is the roasted coffee. This has a prominent roasted coffee note.
Just being straightforward with you guys here, Halloween Man X is a synthetic type of scent.
This is not something that's going to come across like a nice, high-quality fragrance.
You shouldn't expect that because this is a fragrance you can pick up new for under $35.
But the roasted coffee note here is nice. It smells like a real roasted coffee bean. It's something that you can immediately pick out if you've ever roasted coffee in your life; you're gonna smell that here and immediately know what it is.
The whiskey in that Black Jack Accord adds a little bit of a slight boozy sweetness, but it's playing second fiddle to the coffee.
There's also a little bit of cinnamon and cardamom in here, and that adds a nice, warm, spicy backbone to that dominant, very prominent Black Jack Accord.
Between those two notes, the cinnamon and the cardamom, you're gonna pick up the cinnamon more. That one's gonna be more recognizable, and it's gonna be more of a featured spice in this fragrance than the cardamom is, but they do work together really well.
The dry-down:
As this fragrance starts to dry down, that whiskey starts to be a little bit more noticeable, a little more recognizable.
Initially, when you first spray this on, that coffee is just really the dominant note.
The whiskey is a real bit player, but as it dries down, they start to come a little bit closer.
So the coffee is still the thing that's most prominent to my nose, but that whiskey really starts to shine.
There's also a special mineral Accord that's in this fragrance, and that one I don't pick up as much. It's not something that jumps out at me.
That is the second of the two special Accords that the perfumer made for this fragrance, and that Accord is supposed to remind you of concrete in the city.
I do get a faint, salt-like mineral feeling with the vanilla-like tonka in the dry down, kind of melding together, but again, it's really faint.
As far as the two special Accords in this fragrance go, that one is completely overshadowed by the Black Jack Accord with the coffee, leather, and whiskey.
Once you do hit that dry down, that Black Jack Cord, the coffee in it, the edges of that coffee kind of get rounded off. It's like the coffee mellows out because it is a lot stronger initially. It is like a roasted coffee bean. It hits your nose pretty well. But once it hits that dry down, it's like it's just mellowed out, almost like you've let it sit there for a couple of hours, and roasted coffee and the edge is taken off.
There's still some sweetness once you're in the dry down again from that whiskey, just the slightest boozy tinge there, and then you have a semi-vanilla tonka that I mentioned before. You've still got some of the cinnamon from earlier, and there's also this light smokiness from incense in the dry down. It smells nice.
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Overall Impression:
This is one that I enjoyed from the opening to the mid to the dry down, and again, for that price, it's an absolute winner in my opinion.
The Halloween Man line has some winners in there. The original Halloween Man, a lot of people enjoy that one, similar to 1 Million.
Halloween Man Shot, a lot of people liked that one as well. But just hands down, straight up, the entire Halloween Man line, if I could pick only one, it is easily Halloween Man X. This one is my favorite from the line, period.
That's nothing against those others in the line; I'm not crapping on all of those, but this one's just better.
It's more unique. That Black Jack Accord really works for me. It's three notes that I enjoy, and they all work together.
There's nothing here that smells out of place; nothing comes across really screechy to me.
Again, the ingredient quality here is not like you're going to find in a Chanel or Dior, but it's also a third of the price of a lot of those fragrances. So, I can't hold that against it.
This one's mainly going to be that coffee, whiskey, leather, and then cinnamon and tonka, kind of in that order, almost. That's what you're gonna get the most.
I did notice a couple of people online made comparisons to Versace Eros and Uomo Salvatore Ferragamo with this fragrance. I don't see it.
If you break those fragrances down side by side; they are completely different. Uomo does have that tiramisu kind of coffee note going on, but again, when you compare the two side by side, substantial differences.
I will say that if you like those fragrances, you will most likely like this one, but they're not the same.
Performance and Seasonality:
Projection for me in the first hour and a half is really good. It pumps out strongly, with no issues whatsoever. After that, it starts to sit a little bit closer to my skin, but this is still a fragrance that, in my opinion, performs above average.
Longevity for me, overall, within the six to seven-hour range, unless I went heavy, then I could get a little better, and if I wanted to go light, just a couple of sprays, then it would last a little bit less.
This fragrance is going to be one that's situated a little bit more for fall and winter just because of the nature of the notes.
So, you've got that coffee, whiskey, leather, cinnamon, Tonka, all these notes working together, and those notes in general work better in cooler weather. So just by the nature of the makeup of this scent, it's going to be a little bit more of a fall and winter fragrance.
Day or Night Wear?
This one's geared more toward nighttime wear than daytime wear.
I mean, that's just the way that the fragrance is marketed here; it's the note setup. I mean, look at the bottle, the whole thing is supposed to be reminding you of the night, right?
The Black Jack Accord, the concrete of the city, all that stuff is supposed to conjure up the imagery of being out on the town.
But realistically, wear it whenever you want. As far as being worn in casual or formal situations, it leans more toward casual. But of all the Halloween Man fragrances, this is probably your best bet as far as something that you could wear formally.
Now, I wouldn't go heavy with it, but it is something that in certain situations, I think you could pull off. It wouldn't be my first option, but it could work.
Final Thoughts:
There we go, Halloween Man X, this one surprised me, a lot better than I was expecting. If you like the notes that I've mentioned, especially the coffee in your fragrances, you should check this out.
In my opinion, one of the drawbacks of this being a Halloween release is that it's not going to be as easy to find as a lot of other houses' fragrances. So, it's not going to be as easy to test out in a store. But the positive is the price.
So, if you do blind-buy it and you don't like it for whatever reason, you're not out all that much. Like I said earlier, easily, my favorite Halloween release.
Again, the original Halloween Man, similar to 1 Million, Halloween Man Shot has drawn comparisons to Valentino Uomo Intense, Halloween Man Rock On, and Halloween Man Tattoo (terrible names), but those are decent releases as well.
But this one, in my opinion, is above all of those. This is one I'm legit gonna be wearing in the fall and probably winter too.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the dominant note in Halloween Man X?
The dominant note in Halloween Man X is roasted coffee, and it's a standout feature of the fragrance.
It captures the essence of freshly roasted coffee beans, making it a coffee lover's dream.
Is Halloween Man X an expensive fragrance?
No, Halloween Man X is known for its affordability.
You can typically find a 4.2-ounce bottle for under $35, making it a budget-friendly option.
How long does Halloween Man X last?
Halloween Man X has good projection in the first hour and a half, leaving a noticeable scent trail.
It typically lasts around six to seven hours, making it suitable for most daily activities.
What sets Halloween Man X apart from other budget-friendly fragrances?
Halloween Man X distinguishes itself with its unique Black Jack Accord, featuring roasted coffee, whiskey, and leather.
While it's an affordable fragrance, the quality and distinctiveness of the coffee note make it stand out in the world of budget-friendly scents.
Can Halloween Man X be worn in warm weather, or is it strictly for fall and winter?
Halloween Man X's warm and cozy notes make it best suited for cooler weather, such as fall and winter. While it can be worn in warmer seasons, its character shines in the chilly months.
Is Halloween Man X a long-lasting fragrance, or will I need to reapply throughout the day?
Halloween Man X offers good longevity, typically lasting six to seven hours. However, it's important to note that fragrance longevity can vary depending on individual skin chemistry and the application method.
