Aramis 900 Aramis 1973 Eau de Cologne

*This is a review of vintage Aramis 900.

Aramis 900 (vintage) opens with an absolutely gorgeous rose note laced with a dash of relatively subdued bergamot which still remains in the background into the heart as the scent transitions to its spiced woody floral middle consisting primarily of very fine carnation and lily-of-the-valley florals melding with coriander and rosewood support joining the now subdued rose. Strong oakmoss from the base makes its presence known early in the scent's development, growing stronger as the scent reaches the dry-down, forming a classic chypre structure. Dirtying up the latter stage further are base notes of well-controlled civet and earthy patchouli, joining the now starring oakmoss rounding out the key final players. Projection and longevity are both excellent.

When I first applied Aramis 900 (vintage) and smelled the rose and carnation tandem I immediately thought... Hey, this smells just like vintage JHL. Those who know my tastes well know that vintage JHL is definitely a top 20 scent for me and I hold it in the highest regard... Aramis 900 (vintage) changed course a bit though in the middle of the development phase, as the coriander added an almost herbal dimension to the scent, and then the oakmoss came on strong (definitely get the vintage formula, as they won’t put this amount of oakmoss in a scent anymore), mixed with the patchouli and very mild civet... Then I thought, this smells quite similar to vintage Devin (a scent I liked but didn't really love)... I guess the comparisons to JHL and Devin should not surprise anyone, as the same nose made all three of these scents... Bernard Chant, of course. The aspects of the composition that I did not care as much for in Devin actually work well here when mixed with the stronger carnation and rose implementation from JHL, now forming a much more complete overall composition and structure. Now *this* is the kind of woody/herbal floral chypre one can really latch-on to, and it is so ridiculously inexpensive even in its superior vintage form. I still prefer vintage JHL that keeps the earlier part of Aramis 900's notes for most of the duration, but make no mistake; I love Aramis 900 (vintage) too, earning a strong 4 to 4.5 stars out of 5 and a very strong buy recommendation.