When I reviewed the Pink Sugar fragrance back in 2007, I noted that it had been a top-seller at Sephora since shortly after its launch in 2003. It's still a top seller, and in the interim, it shot past Thierry Mugler Angel and J Lo Glow to become the most-reviewed fragrance at MakeupAlley. You'd think there would have been a long string of flankers by now, but Aquolina has been relatively conservative, mostly sticking to new formats — everything from solid perfume to hair perfume to shimmering perfume roll-on. Enter Pink Sugar Sensual, which launched last year but took a good long while to reach the US. As you might have guessed from the advertising, it's meant to be the sexy, grown-up version of Pink Sugar.

Pink Sugar, for those of you who have never smelled it, is pretty much what it sounds like: a blend of red fruit + cotton candy. On my skin, it smells most unfortunately like red fruit + cotton candy that's been scorched onto melting plastic, but no matter, plenty of other people (including quite a few perfumistas) love it. I can see the charm of the original Pink Sugar, even if I don't love it — after the strawberry wears down and before the sugar notes melt and char, it's a perfect gourmand comfort scent for someone with a sweet tooth: a bit of musk, a bit of caramel sugar, nothing fancy or complicated...

Aquolina has introduced Pink Sugar Sensual, a new flanker to the line's popular Pink Sugar fragrance, which originally launched in 2003.

Pink Sugar Sensual is a gourmand fragrance...

The musky floral was developed by perfumer Victor Rouchou, and features notes of lemon, plum blossom, peony, lily, jasmine, mimosa, iris, gladiola, heliotrope, sandalwood, patchouli and amber musk. Ambre D'Oro is designed to be essentially linear...

In case Mom has been extra-extra good this year: Annick Goutal's Mandragore Eau de Parfum in a 100 ml limited edition, numbered butterfly bottle, handpainted by French artist Caroline Rennequin. $250 at Saks...

Given the immense popularity of Pink Sugar, the only surprise is how long it took Aquolina to come up with a follow-up fragrance for men. Blue Sugar launched late last year, and takes its cues from Pink Sugar's blend of caramel and vanilla. Other notes include bergamot, tangerine leaves, star anise, ginger, licorice, patchouli, lavender, heliotrope, coriander, cedar and tonka bean.

So, how to do a cotton candy fragrance for men? Well, for starters, tone down the berries. Then, amp up the woods and spices, and add an extra dose of patchouli to give the whole thing a darker cast. That pretty much sums up the story of Blue Sugar, which manages to retain the caramelized sugar-candy vibe of Pink Sugar without feeling at all girly...

Aquolina launched Pink Sugar in 2003. It made the list of the top 10 perfumes at Sephora almost immediately, and is still firmly entrenched in the top 5. Pink Sugar, in case you couldn't guess by the name, is geared towards a relatively young market, and promises to "take you on a journey through the pleasures and flavors of childhood with a playful blend of vanilla and caramel". Other notes include bergamot, Sicilian orange, raspberry, fig leaves, lily of the valley, licorice, strawberry, red fruit, barbe-a-papa (cotton candy), musk, sandalwood, tonka bean and powdery notes.

Anyone who reads here regularly knows I am not usually a big fan of sweet fragrances, and the first time I tried Pink Sugar on a test strip in Sephora some years ago, I was rather horrified. My notes read "burnt cotton candy with strawberries", and that is about how I remember it. But I rather liked last year's follow-up scent Chocolovers and was curious to try the new Blue Sugar for men, so revisiting Pink Sugar seemed in order...

The long awaited Blue Sugar fragrance for men from Aquolina is now up on the Sephora website, although it doesn't appear to be in stock yet:

Aquolina's first foray into men's fragrance opens with a delightful harmony of caramelized sugar and vanilla...

A blast of sweet citrus in the opening settles fairly quickly, leaving behind only a hint of orange. The early dry down smells otherwise remarkably like the makings of a nutty chocolate malt just before you add the milk. It is very sweet, but be warned if you happen to be looking for a deep, rich chocolate perfume: the hazelnut and vanilla are as pronounced as the chocolate, and as with a real chocolate malt, the smell is closer to chocolate syrup than a dark chocolate truffle...