Evoke Gold for Him

To Buy or Not to Buy?

If Evoke Gold were a character in a movie, it would be the guy who tries way too hard to be cool but ends up embarrassing himself. He's wearing an ill-fitting suit and spraying on way too much drugstore cologne.

Olfactory Experience

Evoke Gold opens with a blast of soapy neroli, quickly followed by a harsh, almost acrid black pepper. The cardamom is present, but it's more like the dusty remains at the bottom of the spice jar rather than the fresh, aromatic pods. The heart attempts iris, but it lands closer to powdered makeup, complete with a slightly stale, waxy undertone. The geranium adds a metallic tang that clashes with the makeup accord. The promised mate is barely discernible. The base is where things truly fall apart. The cedar smells like hamster bedding, the patchouli is thin and screechy, and the amber adds an unpleasant, synthetic sweetness resembling cheap hairspray. It bears a faint resemblance to its inspiration in the opening, but the drydown veers into distinctly unpleasant territory.

Wear time & Sillage

Longevity is surprisingly decent at around 5-6 hours, but the projection is weak. It sits close to the skin after the first hour, barely projecting past one arm's length initially. I tested it at the office, and after two hours I found myself reapplying, more out of boredom than necessity. It's ultimately undetectable by lunchtime.