On its own merits, the scent is excellent for a beach day. It is overworn by the teenage Hollister crowd, so it may associate with a younger audience. However, at 23 I still spray this occasionally during the summer and it gets complements when applied conservatively and allowed to dry down. Projection: 1-2 hours of projection with an arms length. I only made 1 spray on my forearm. So think it is pretty good! This afternoon, as I was sniffing different perfumes at my local mall, this fragrance immediately caught my attention. Somehow the bottle of Hollister Wave reminded me of Nautica's Voyage. So I thought, yeah why not smell it. I sprayed once in my forearm, and BAM! I fell in love with the scent! As the other reviewers said, this scent will hit you with an blast of yuzu at the opening. But blended in a really smoooooth way.

It's nonchalantly good. It's one of those colognes wore by a non-collector. That you ask what are you wearing? And they say "Some Hollister stuff." And you're thinking damn what Hollister stuff smell like that? And you wonder is that person lying to you. 😂 Funny enough the bottle is just labeled Hollister California. So once you disregard the box you could easily forget the name of the stuff. I first bought Hollister SoCal in college. At the time, I was about 19 years old and actually wore clothes from the store. SoCal was and still is the scent that is sprayed on the clothes. Even though I don't wear Hollister anymore, I still wear the cologne nostalgically. This is a summer cologne that reminds me of the beach - not the water itself, but the experience of basking in the sunlight on a hot but relaxed afternoon. The juice and opening are a little weird at first. Smells very sweet and synthetic at first. But then dries down to this alluring sweet masculine musk. Its longevity on skin is actually decent I get about 6-7 hours. But it's a skin scent for its entire life cycle. The silage of Wave 2 is with in about arms reach. But in all honesty it makes the cologne that much cooler. Because it mysteriously and charmingly takes you by surprise.The floral notes are much more defined in Wave 2 in comparison to the original Wave, which will likely be the point that makes up your mind over if you like or disconnect from this fragrance as everyone's beach locales vary on where you live and everyone has different beach memories; I live in the north of England so don't have lush floral coastlines, and my strongest beach memories are of lotion and fruity drinks. The scent opens with a very tropical hit of coconut and melon. There may even be a small hint of citrus in the top notes. As it dries down, I get the deep woody scent of coniferous trees (perhaps pine or spruce) mixed with vanilla sweetness. The basenotes are my favorite aspect of the cologne because the sweetness is balanced by the deep earthy scent of driftwood dried and heated by the summer sun. It lasts relatively long on my skin - about 6-8 hours before it becomes a skin scent. This is a nice variation among my summer scents though, since I don't usually go for the aquatic and salty ones. Great for use at the beach with that salty beachy sea salt vibe in it. Scent: A bomb of Yuzu in the opening. Citrusy, Aquatic and somewhat fresh on my skin. Really good for Spring and Summer. But on my country, It can be worn anytime of the year! And yes, It is generic but done in a really nice way. It is one of the typical "freshie" scents in the market so it is nothing ground breaking. I also believe, just like Dylan Blue, ladies would love this scent! I know this because my girlfriend gave a huge nod and said that Dylan Blue is a sexy beast of a fragrance.

This is a great value for a clean, interesting shower scent. It holds well with a light spray in my experience. It starts out very zesty and zingy, and becomes more "Hollister store" unisex as it develops. I personally feel this smells quite expensive as freshies go, rather than smelling like a typical citrus body mist from the drugstore. My favourite part of Wave is the solar accords that develop with the floral notes. I'm not sure how best to describe the 'solar' accords; it's like when clothes come out of a dryer and the fibers are all warm, it's more of a feeling of mild heat than a distinguishable scent. A simple blend of musk and sandalwood accompanies the solar accords for the final drydown. Whereas, Pure Game stays mostly linear throughout, Wave becomes less citrusy and instead becomes greener. Maybe because of the bamboo leaf which makes a difference. I can definitely smell the tonka bean at drydown and some salt but not much. Just a really good fragrance, I'm starting to realize I just love fragrances with this note composition. A musk base cologne. With a generic masculine smell, with a touch of sweetness.After 20-30 minutes, I sniffed this fragrance again. And I immediately thought "gosh! this fragrance somehow smells like Dylan Blue (the fragrance that I was dying to have!), only brighter". I'm sure it is because I've been sniffing Dylan Blue for sometime now and i can't afford it yet. It is pretty expensive here in my country. I was soooo disappointed that I have not found this frag earlier! I would've not bought Montblanc Legend Spirit (which is still a very nice fragrance)! Fragrance: 8/10 Similar, yes, but beautiful and unique enough to merit a staying-place in my collection. I can't wait to try this one when it's warmer! Performance: Moderate to better on all counts (though I become anosmic to it before others are unable to smell it). I think if I'm honest with myself, I will hardly ever reach for this as I am a gourmand lover at heart, but I respect it and it almost hurts me a little to resell it. If it weren't for the strong presence of patchouli after it dries down, I would probably keep it. And to be clear I think the patch fits very well here; I just have never liked it.

The sillage is also in the moderate range which means it's a subtle, pleasant , non-intrusive scent for those around you (that's not a suggestion to unload the whole bottle on yourself in one go, don't be that guy haha!) The floral notes are clean to the point that I'd almost describe them as being soapy; other perfumes that I have/had/tested which contain hibiscus have also been clean, but there is no orchid or poppy on me.This is a very good frag! It's fresh, zesty, vibrant and coastal but not juvenile. It has just enough depth and complexity to make it a worthy frag without going too complex. It's an easy wearing EDT that's perfect for summer and all that entails. This fragrance is perfect for in-formal, everyday wear or for smart casual events, day or night. It's not what you'd call a seductive scent, but it's a scent that does draw compliments from both men and women. Reminds me very strongly of the white tea Solinotes fragrance (The Blanc), at least in the top/mid.

They are still in the same category, citrus, fresh, spicy/woody. But at drydown they both go in different directions. Going by the scent notes I thought that I'd really enjoy Wave 2, but I've found that the strong floral notes do separate me from the beachy memories that the fruity opening brings. I really enjoy the beachy feel of the base, but the lingering florals do take me out of the 'beachy haze' a bit. UPDATE: I've had this listed but not sold yet, and something possessed me to pull it out again today. I immediately de-listed it. This is SO nice! Hollister Wave is warm, sweet bottled sunshine. I love the odd yet realistic quality of a fragrance that is warm but remains sheer and delicate. Both the carambola and quince are easily discernable, sweet, ripe, and deliciously juicy here, which is precisely what I had imagined beforehand.Age Group: As I've said, for me this smells like Dylan Blue but on the brighter side. More like a younger Dylan Blue. So I can see this fragrance worn by Teenagers to Adults in their 30's