Versace Eros vs Dior Sauvage: a 3ml wear test, and what to try next

The two note lists side by side

Both are Eau de Toilette originals listed for men, and both have later versions, which we come to towards the end. The table below sets the catalogue's notes and community votes next to each other.

The votes are the catalogue's community votes, not a promise about how either one behaves on your skin. Note how the occasions run against the time-of-day votes: Eros is voted for night yet listed for work, and Sauvage is voted for day yet listed for going out. That mismatch is a good reason to test rather than assume.

What the two note lists share, and where they split

Start with what the two lists have in common. Ambroxan is in both lists. It is an aroma ingredient used to give an ambergris-like note, with woody, musky shades, and it is widely used as a base note. In Eros it sits in the heart, and in Sauvage it sits in the base. Geranium is in the heart of both. Vetiver is in both too: Eros lists it in the base, and Sauvage also lists vetiver. Our guide to ambergris and ambroxan goes deeper on the ingredient.

A few shared notes do not make the two alike, because most of each list is different. Those differences are where the two part ways:

• Only in Eros: mint, green apple, lemon, tonka bean, vanilla and oakmoss. This is the fresh-then-sweet side.
• Only in Sauvage: pepper, Calabrian bergamot, Sichuan pepper, lavender, pink pepper, patchouli and elemi. This is the peppery, herbal side.

So the split is mint and vanilla on one side, pepper and lavender on the other, with ambroxan, geranium and vetiver in both. If you already know you dislike one of those two sides, you have your answer. If you do not, the test below is how to find out.

Reading each one from opening to dry-down

A perfume does not stay as it is on the first spray. The top notes are light and fade first, the heart follows, and the base appears last. So each list below is read in that order.

Versace Eros by Versace

Eros launched in 2012. It opens fresh and green: mint, green apple and lemon. The heart brings tonka bean, ambroxan and geranium. Underneath sit vanilla, Virginian cedar and Atlas cedar, then vetiver and oakmoss. Vanilla, aromatic and green lead its accords, and sweet and fresh are among them too.

It is listed for men. Community votes on its longevity lean long lasting. On sillage, its votes lean moderate. Winter and autumn are the seasons voters most often pick for it, and night is its time-of-day vote. The catalogue lists work as its occasion.

Dior Sauvage by Dior

Sauvage launched in 2015. It opens on pepper and Calabrian bergamot, then moves into a heart of seven listed notes. Lavender and two peppers, Sichuan and pink, sit there with vetiver, patchouli, geranium and elemi. Ambroxan sits in the base. Fresh spicy, amber and citrus lead its accords, so on paper its list is peppery where the Eros list is minty and sweet.

It is also listed for men. Most community voters rate its longevity long lasting. On sillage, its votes lean strong. Spring and summer are the seasons voters most often pick for it, and day is its time-of-day vote. The catalogue lists going out as its occasion.

The seven-day wear test with two 3ml decants

Skin, mood, weather and food all change how a scent smells, so a first sniff tells you very little. Test on your own skin, on a few different days, and give each scent time to move from its top notes to its base. Around 60 sprays fit in a 3ml decant, more than enough for this plan. Put the two decants side by side and follow these steps:

1. Day one, one on each wrist. After a shower, spray Eros on your left wrist and Sauvage on your right. Do not rub them. Let them settle before the first sniff, then leave them alone and come back later. Note the first minutes, the heart once the opening fades, and whatever remains late in the day.
2. Day two, swap the wrists. Put Eros where Sauvage was. If your preference changes, the wrist may have been the variable, not the perfume. If it holds, you have learned something real.
3. Day three, Eros alone, where the votes point. Wear it on a cool evening if you can, since voters most often place it in winter and autumn, and at night. Write down the same three things: the first minutes, the heart, and whatever remains late in the day.
4. Day four, Sauvage alone, where the votes point. Wear it on a warm day if you can, since voters most often place it in spring and summer, and by day. Take the same three notes.
5. Day five, swap them against the votes. Wear Sauvage in the evening and Eros by day. The listed occasions run the other way round, work for Eros and going out for Sauvage, so this is the day that shows whether the votes or the occasions fit you better.
6. Day six, the real setting. Wear whichever one you are leaning towards where you will actually wear it, whether that is the office, a dinner or a weekend. If someone spends the day near you, ask what they noticed.
7. Day seven, the evening read-through. Go over your notes. Which one did you look forward to wearing, and which one did you notice most when it had faded? Keep the one you wanted back.

The notes are the point. A scent you liked in the first minutes and tired of by the evening is a different answer from one that only came together at the end.

A season and occasion test table

The community votes and the listed occasions give you a place to start for each setting. The table below turns them into a starting point for the test, not a ruling.

The last two rows pull against the evening and daytime rows, which is exactly why day five of the test swaps them. If the votes and your skin agree, you have an easy choice. If they do not, trust your skin.

Which one to try next, after the test

Whichever you kept, each has later versions in the catalogue. The first three below follow Eros, and the last three follow Sauvage. Each gets a short note here, since the deeper comparisons live in our guides to Eros and Eros Flame and to the Sauvage family.

Eros Flame by Versace

Eros Flame is an Eau de Parfum from 2018, credited to Olivier Pescheux. It keeps lemon at the top but adds mandarin orange, pepper and chinotto. Geranium, rose and pepperwood form the heart, and the base lists sandalwood, Texas cedar, patchouli and oakmoss alongside vanilla and tonka bean. Voters most often place it in autumn and winter, and at night.

Eros Eau de Parfum by Versace

Eros Eau de Parfum dates from 2020. It keeps the mint and lemon at the top, adds candied apple and mandarin orange, and lists geranium and clary sage in the heart over vanilla, cedar, sandalwood and patchouli. Voters pick it for all four seasons, and for both night and day.

Eros Energy by Versace

Eros Energy is an Eau de Parfum from 2024, and its list opens on six citrus notes. They are grapefruit, lime, blood orange, lemon, mandarin orange and bergamot. Its heart has white amber, black currant and pink pepper, and musk, oakmoss and patchouli make up the base. Voters most often place it in summer and spring, and by day.

Sauvage Eau de Parfum by Dior

Sauvage Eau de Parfum dates from 2018, with François Demachy credited as perfumer. Its list starts with bergamot, puts lavender, nutmeg, anise and Sichuan pepper in the heart, and closes on vanilla and ambroxan. Against the original, its list adds anise, nutmeg and vanilla. Its votes cover all four seasons.

Sauvage Parfum by Dior

Sauvage Parfum followed in 2019. It opens on bergamot and mandarin orange, includes sandalwood in its list, and finishes with olibanum, tonka bean and vanilla. Mandarin orange, sandalwood, tonka bean and vanilla are all new against the original. Voters most often place it in autumn, winter and spring.

Sauvage Elixir by Dior

Sauvage Elixir launched in 2021. Its top lists cardamom, cinnamon, grapefruit and nutmeg, with lavender alone in the heart, and licorice, amber, patchouli and Haitian vetiver sit in the base. Voters most often place it in autumn and winter. Most community voters rate its longevity long lasting, and eternal is the runner-up vote.

Wear it before you buy the bottle

Notes and votes give you two names, and seven days of wear give you the answer. Each 3ml decant, at around 60 sprays, covers the whole test: Eros is €7.83 and Sauvage is €8.10. Once one of them has earned its place, move to the 10ml size, which holds around 200 sprays, several weeks of everyday wear. A 10ml decant of Eros is €22.86, and of Sauvage €23.40.

If you are new to decants, our page on what a perfume decant is explains how they are filled and what to expect. If you are shopping for something else that you cannot smell before buying, how to choose perfume without smelling it has a method that works for any scent.

The bigger picture: Eau de parfum vs eau de toilette (and extrait): what changes, and which strength to try.