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Top Review
I was never a Tom Selleck type, and yet...
‘Él’ must face comparison with ‘Kouros’, certainly. Especially those who have been familiar with the old YSL classic for quite some time, perhaps even decades, will not overlook certain similarities, or rather, will not be able to sniff them out.
However, ‘Él’ is truly not a mere copy; Rodrigo Flores-Roux is simply too good a perfumer - he doesn’t need to copy. But anyone who looks at the inspiration for this fragrance will quickly understand that one simply could not overlook ‘Kouros’.
The idea was to develop a fragrance duo that connects to the hedonistic scent language of the 70s, when the distinction between men’s and women’s fragrances was still largely present, and both genders vied for dominance in terms of erotic vibes. Animalic chypres were mainly found on the shelves for women, while no less sexualized fougères adorned those for men. Caron’s 70s version of ‘Infini’, ‘Weil de Weil’, or Piguet’s ‘Futur’ can be mentioned as representatives, as well as ‘Paco Rabanne pour Homme’, ‘Azzaro pour Homme’, ‘Jules’, increasing in the number of animalic additions and ultimately culminating in ‘Kouros’.
Arquiste’s ‘Él’ and ‘Ella’ connect precisely to these fragrances and paraphrase them into a modern scent language without tipping into modernism.
When I smell ‘Él’ today, I actually wish that ‘Kouros’ had smelled just as wonderfully dark-green, herbaceous-aromatic back then, with that great dry honey note and the incredibly sensual, mossy civet base. Perhaps I wouldn’t have hated it with such fervor, as I did when every second person smelled like it (the other half smelled like ‘Antaeus’, and I belonged to that group).
It did smell somewhat similar, at least to some extent. Perhaps not quite as green, and not quite as herbaceous, but the honey, the laurel, the civet - the intersection is indeed striking!
When I compare the fragrances today, I notice that Rodrigo Flores-Roux’s scent is much more clearly contoured, less blurred. The individual notes breathe more freely, everything feels airier, fresher, less stuffy. Even the animalic components of the base unfold more loosely, as if they had escaped the tight context of the famous ‘Animalis’ base from ‘Synarome’, which shaped so many animalic fragrances, not just ‘Kouros’.
Oh, this animalic aspect!
Today, I could just dive into it, but that’s probably a matter of age, or rather, of getting older.
Just as it is said that good food is the sex of age, it could very well be that one only becomes truly receptive to animalic fragrance eroticism over time, right? In any case, I have yet to meet anyone under, let’s say, 30 who has been enthusiastic about animalic fragrances. As a young person, one probably prefers freshness, cleanliness, and sweetness, raving about the ‘performance’ of the ‘beast’, hoping that the newly acquired fragrance is a ‘beast’ - very much in line with the SUV-ification of fragrance culture.
But ambiguous, somewhat sleazy-sensual animality: Satan, begone!!
Admittedly, I felt similarly back then when I first encountered an erotic fragrance offensive like ‘Kouros’ at the age of 16 - an affront! I found it outrageous to let the pants drop so lustfully - how modest I was.
I probably would have preferred Le Galion’s ‘Sang bleu’, but such a ‘Kouros’ freed from the blush-inducing dirt did not exist back then. Yet today, I miss exactly that eroticism in ‘Sang bleu’ - who would have thought?!
As much as I appreciate fragrances that clearly flaunt animal secretions today, I am cautious about wearing them more than in a homeopathic dose, as I know how hard they can be for many people to endure.
Arquiste’s ‘Él’ now offers me an irresistible quantum of that: not too much, and not too little, combined with a bit more herbaceous green notes and fresh rose geranium, so I actually think: ‘Él’ should please everyone!
But beware: the image of a guy with a gold chain in his thick chest hair, a thick mustache and a bronzed complexion, his shirt open to the navel and jeans so tight that everything is outlined, along with a lascivious smile and a suggestive glance - that is ‘Él’.
But that is not me.
I am not a Tom Selleck type, never have been. But I always liked him. Magnum was just a cool guy. His machismo: cheerfully ironic and gallant, his erotic aura: simply stunning.
Yet even though I am not a Tom Selleck type, I still find that I can wear a fragrance that evokes the image of such a man-man.
Breaks are necessary; they make things interesting!
Perhaps a dark, velvety rose scent would suit him, Tom Selleck, better; who knows?! That would also be a nice break.
‘Él’ is certainly a highly successful reminiscence of the joyful hedonism of the late 70s and early 80s, before the AIDS horror struck, and with it began the Biedermeier of the Kohl/Thatcher/Reagan era.
Especially in these unfortunate Corona times, I like to remember that, even if my own modesty (a Bavarian expression, I know, but I love it!) kept me from indulging too carelessly in sensual pleasures back then - thankfully!
Today, I wouldn’t stake my hand on that anymore. But now I have ‘Él’, the substitute drug: hedonism ‘in a bottle’, so to speak.
An exceedingly beautiful one, by the way!
Not only good food is the sex of age.
However, ‘Él’ is truly not a mere copy; Rodrigo Flores-Roux is simply too good a perfumer - he doesn’t need to copy. But anyone who looks at the inspiration for this fragrance will quickly understand that one simply could not overlook ‘Kouros’.
The idea was to develop a fragrance duo that connects to the hedonistic scent language of the 70s, when the distinction between men’s and women’s fragrances was still largely present, and both genders vied for dominance in terms of erotic vibes. Animalic chypres were mainly found on the shelves for women, while no less sexualized fougères adorned those for men. Caron’s 70s version of ‘Infini’, ‘Weil de Weil’, or Piguet’s ‘Futur’ can be mentioned as representatives, as well as ‘Paco Rabanne pour Homme’, ‘Azzaro pour Homme’, ‘Jules’, increasing in the number of animalic additions and ultimately culminating in ‘Kouros’.
Arquiste’s ‘Él’ and ‘Ella’ connect precisely to these fragrances and paraphrase them into a modern scent language without tipping into modernism.
When I smell ‘Él’ today, I actually wish that ‘Kouros’ had smelled just as wonderfully dark-green, herbaceous-aromatic back then, with that great dry honey note and the incredibly sensual, mossy civet base. Perhaps I wouldn’t have hated it with such fervor, as I did when every second person smelled like it (the other half smelled like ‘Antaeus’, and I belonged to that group).
It did smell somewhat similar, at least to some extent. Perhaps not quite as green, and not quite as herbaceous, but the honey, the laurel, the civet - the intersection is indeed striking!
When I compare the fragrances today, I notice that Rodrigo Flores-Roux’s scent is much more clearly contoured, less blurred. The individual notes breathe more freely, everything feels airier, fresher, less stuffy. Even the animalic components of the base unfold more loosely, as if they had escaped the tight context of the famous ‘Animalis’ base from ‘Synarome’, which shaped so many animalic fragrances, not just ‘Kouros’.
Oh, this animalic aspect!
Today, I could just dive into it, but that’s probably a matter of age, or rather, of getting older.
Just as it is said that good food is the sex of age, it could very well be that one only becomes truly receptive to animalic fragrance eroticism over time, right? In any case, I have yet to meet anyone under, let’s say, 30 who has been enthusiastic about animalic fragrances. As a young person, one probably prefers freshness, cleanliness, and sweetness, raving about the ‘performance’ of the ‘beast’, hoping that the newly acquired fragrance is a ‘beast’ - very much in line with the SUV-ification of fragrance culture.
But ambiguous, somewhat sleazy-sensual animality: Satan, begone!!
Admittedly, I felt similarly back then when I first encountered an erotic fragrance offensive like ‘Kouros’ at the age of 16 - an affront! I found it outrageous to let the pants drop so lustfully - how modest I was.
I probably would have preferred Le Galion’s ‘Sang bleu’, but such a ‘Kouros’ freed from the blush-inducing dirt did not exist back then. Yet today, I miss exactly that eroticism in ‘Sang bleu’ - who would have thought?!
As much as I appreciate fragrances that clearly flaunt animal secretions today, I am cautious about wearing them more than in a homeopathic dose, as I know how hard they can be for many people to endure.
Arquiste’s ‘Él’ now offers me an irresistible quantum of that: not too much, and not too little, combined with a bit more herbaceous green notes and fresh rose geranium, so I actually think: ‘Él’ should please everyone!
But beware: the image of a guy with a gold chain in his thick chest hair, a thick mustache and a bronzed complexion, his shirt open to the navel and jeans so tight that everything is outlined, along with a lascivious smile and a suggestive glance - that is ‘Él’.
But that is not me.
I am not a Tom Selleck type, never have been. But I always liked him. Magnum was just a cool guy. His machismo: cheerfully ironic and gallant, his erotic aura: simply stunning.
Yet even though I am not a Tom Selleck type, I still find that I can wear a fragrance that evokes the image of such a man-man.
Breaks are necessary; they make things interesting!
Perhaps a dark, velvety rose scent would suit him, Tom Selleck, better; who knows?! That would also be a nice break.
‘Él’ is certainly a highly successful reminiscence of the joyful hedonism of the late 70s and early 80s, before the AIDS horror struck, and with it began the Biedermeier of the Kohl/Thatcher/Reagan era.
Especially in these unfortunate Corona times, I like to remember that, even if my own modesty (a Bavarian expression, I know, but I love it!) kept me from indulging too carelessly in sensual pleasures back then - thankfully!
Today, I wouldn’t stake my hand on that anymore. But now I have ‘Él’, the substitute drug: hedonism ‘in a bottle’, so to speak.
An exceedingly beautiful one, by the way!
Not only good food is the sex of age.
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11 Comments
Thank you!!!!!
Seriously, great comment, really immersive.
Only the erotic aura of a Tom Selleck completely passed me by. Possibly because I saw him later and not during his time.