Zero Interest and No Plusses (Diesel: Zero Plus Masculine, Eau de Toilette)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	Diesel: Zero Plus Masculine, Eau de Toilette
Date:	04/08/07 (471 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Its usually cheap to buy; funky looking bottle; very tactile to hold.

Disadvantages: Not a nice fragrance; too much pine and talcum powder. Very flammable. Scent sticks to clothing.

Red Diesel or Zero Plus Masculine has been for me, a rather challenging product over the years. Given and received both as gifts to friends and from friends, it still remains a mystery to me as to what age group the producers have in mind for this product. Many versions exist of Diesel Zero however, from a green bottle marketed both for men and women and a further Red bottle similar to the man’s one for women! How confusing! I used to think that Red Diesel/Diesel Zero was no more than Old Spice but having smelt it on other people; I’m starting to think otherwise now.

The packaging is a delight for some, and cheap for others. Including a plastic glass like top with a frosted clear plastic bottom, the whole product either looks like a hand grenade or a time capsule. Without this rocket like dome cover, you wont be able to keep the bottle without a top as no top comes with it – so don’t throw away this gimmicky dome as it has a use! It couldn’t be anymore masculine in its design if it tried.


** Prices & Other Versions of the Brand **


I have seen Red Diesel Eau de Toilette in the form that I bought at Semi Chem for the low price of £7-99 75ml reduced at Semi Chem for example from £13-99. Other prices such as Boots charge up to £14-99 whilst city dwellers who find this brand hard to resist shouldn’t even bother going to House of Fraser’s or John Lewis as the price is extremely marked up to £35-00 and beyond.

Other versions of this same red bottle, namely for 75ml come in a cheap flat like package that can be thrown away because guess what, this package has an additional pull off metal top that goes with the bottle. If you don’t like the idea of the dome, which frankly I think is a waste of packaging even though the whole thing is recyclable, look out for the flat pack instead.

I have yet to see what else is available in this scent such as body gel or anything as much as Christian Dior supplies for Fahrenheit for example. Only one other article has caught my eye and this was a body deodorant and a small tube of all body “bargain” wash which TJ Hughes had just before Christmas. Price for this was £15-00 reduced.


** What’s Red Diesel Like Then? **


The first swoosh of spray from this spray bottle reveals a very similar talcum powder like scent, knocking on the door of a mild Evening Primrose with a bit of Johnson’s Baby Powder, but as soon as the scent allows the air around you to circulate I would say that the final smell is very woody.

There is pine here too but sadly no sandalwood whilst I do believe that there are elements of what I term as fresh like fruit almost like Lychees. Too perfumery for its own good at times then, but it depends on how much you use in one go. Thoughts that occur to me at this time are peppery and not sweet. I do have to mention that the first time you spray this on your hand for testing analysis, there is an awful amount of alcohol that is present before you are even allowed to detect the scent.

A quick glance at the bottle reveals that Alcohol content is a whopping 82% for the whole volume!! There are no prizes to guessing then that this product is highly flammable.


** The Bottle Itself **


The bottle is a beautiful item to hold; very tactile, even. The outer casing which cannot be removed is a an “Ultra Red,” casing which is delightfully soft and smooth – no matter how many times I have used this to apply, it is one of very few aftershave bottles I have dropped – it seems to grip skin very well and looks like it is sweating if you use it in the bathroom just after a shower like a champagne bottle taken out of the fridge. I use the term “Ultra Red” because in actual fact it is a clear see through red which allows the proper undercover casing of the all metal bottle to shine through.

Original bottles of Red Diesel came in chrome like paint on the bottle similar to Limited Editions of Fahrenheit but they were taken off the market very quickly and replaced with this Ultra red colouring.


** Using the Scent **


Apparently this is a scent that is best used for evening time and social occasions. Whenever I have worn it, people around me do remark how fresh I smell and many people ask me what it is that I have on! Having said that, I do prefer this scent to D&G for Men because as stated already, the latter is too understated for me and I like to be able to mix and match other scents for combinations of aroma.

I have had this product now for a couple of months and it rarely gets used. For more formal occasions I don’t choose to use this. Here is why;

If you spray this scent directly to skin, about 3 inches away I find the woody fragrance sits on skin and stays there all day but it seems like it looses its freshness. It doesn’t ever lose its scent but it almost appears as if it gets stale but not in a heavy sweaty kind of a way. It’s hard for me to pinpoint what I am actually trying to say about the properties of this scent here; maybe it leaves its impression but not its imprint.

If however you spray more directly away from the body I find there seems to be more freshness to the scent than allowing it to just stick to one patch of skin. Like the former direction then, it keeps fresher when you direct the spray further from you than near you – this is what I have found, anyway!


** Conclusion **


If you like heady scents that last for ages, then this is a product for you that is entwined with woodland scents such as pine and then more pine. It is a very fresh scent but it depends on how you apply the scent to skin. Further more; it clings to clothes too which can be disadvantageous the next morning! For a heavy Eau de Toilette for men, Red Diesel is the one for many but not for me.

Would I buy this Eau de Toilette again? Sadly no. I have already tested the Green version for men AND women and feel that this is a better all round scent. This is not another Fahrenheit for me, not another product that I wish to pursue other applications in and will probably wince the next time someone gives this to me as a gift!

For the reduced prices though, it is hard to resist a bargain the first time around. And that, with its funky look may well be the key for its existence and fan base. Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2007

Marbert Cosmetics
Düsseldorf
CH- 8952
Schlieren

www.diesel.co.uk

Summary: One to give if you're in a rush for a gift. You might lose a friend though.