Giorgio Armani’s 2007 coffee-and-cardamom fragrance by three perfumers, in a lighter-shaped bottle that won a FiFi Award.
At a glance
Armani Attitude is a Giorgio Armani eau de toilette launched in 2007 and credited to three perfumers: Annick Ménardo, Alberto Morillas and Olivier Cresp. It opens on coffee and lemon, moves through cardamom and lavender, and settles on cedar, patchouli, amber and opoponax.
It is remembered as much for its bottle, shaped like a cigarette lighter, as for its scent. It has since been discontinued.
Creation and context
Now Smell This, Fragrantica and Parfumo all date Attitude to 2007 and credit the same three perfumers. Now Smell This, reviewing it on its spring launch, noted that each had worked for Armani before: Ménardo on Emporio Armani City Glam, Morillas on Emporio Armani White, Sensi and the 1995 Acqua di Giò. Cresp was already known for Thierry Mugler Angel.
The bottle was designed by Fabien Baron, according to both Now Smell This and Parfumo. Its black flip-top case recalls a cigarette lighter, and the design won the Fragrance Foundation’s 2008 FiFi Award for Best Packaging, Men’s Prestige, as reported by Global Cosmetic Industry and Cosmetics Business. Cosmetics Business credits the glassmaker Gerresheimer with the award-winning “lacquer-black glass flacon”.
The campaign used a single model. Now Smell This calls him Attitude’s “The Thinker” model and questioned how either the lighter bottle or the advertising related to what was inside it.
Fragrance Help’s original archive entry for Attitude noted that it had limited distribution.
The composition
Armani has not published the formula. The structure below uses the materials named by both Fragrantica and Parfumo; the Now Smell This review describes the same progression.
Now Smell This found the lemon-and-coffee opening strong, then picked out cardamom and lavender clearly before a smooth base with a “coffee-amber” aroma. Parfumo classes the result as woody-spicy; Fragrantica’s description calls it “very sharp” and “intense”.
Why it matters
Attitude is not a landmark in perfume history, but it is a useful example of how designer fragrance worked in the mid-2000s. Three well-known perfumers were credited on one mainstream launch, and the packaging carried at least as much of the launch as the scent. The FiFi award went to the bottle, not the juice.
Its use of coffee is also worth noting. In the published pyramids coffee sits in the top notes beside lemon rather than in the base, and Now Smell This found the pairing sharp rather than sweet; the sweetness arrives only with the amber and opoponax of the drydown.
Since it left the market, reviewers on Fragrantica and Parfumo have been kinder to it than the launch reviews were. One Parfumo reviewer writes that “back then it was probably the best you could get out of Armani’s line”, and Fragrantica notes that several reviewers were puzzled by its discontinuation.
Reformulation and editions
Now Smell This records Attitude at launch as an eau de toilette in 30, 50 and 80 ml sizes, priced at $39 to $65 in the United States, and reported that it was “widely available now at department stores”. Fragrantica and Parfumo both list it as discontinued; neither gives a date or a reason, and no reformulation is documented.
Bottles still appear on the secondary market. Because the case is distinctive, check that the flip-top works and the atomiser is intact before buying; Now Smell This commenters noted at launch that some store testers had lost their lids.
Wearing it today
Expect a sharp lemon-and-coffee opening, a cardamom and lavender heart, and a smooth, sweet-woody drydown. Now Smell This found its lasting power mediocre, staying close to the skin after the first ten minutes, so apply generously and reapply if needed. Test it on skin rather than paper: the coffee and lemon read very differently once the base begins to show.
Despite its spring launch, it suits autumn and winter, casual evenings and cooler days best. If you enjoy coffee in a fragrance but find modern gourmands too sweet, Attitude is worth sampling if you can find it.