Arrogance Uomo Arrogance 1987 Eau de Toilette

I've been putting off the comment about Arrogance Uomo all week. This scent is simply elusive; just when you have it, it’s gone again. I’m almost at a loss for words.

I pulled Arrogance Uomo off the shelf at Beauty Affairs in Düsseldorf. Amidst all the expensive and noble fragrances stood this distinctly cheap-looking bottle: Yes, it is indeed dark gray hard plastic, adorned with a tiny ribbed pattern that is presumably meant to resemble crocodile leather.

To the connoisseur, this looks immediately familiar: Trussardi Uomo, whose container looks almost identical. And Trussardi Uomo is the cornerstone for Arrogance Uomo. I have a special relationship with Trussardi Uomo. In the early nineties, when people were dousing themselves in Cool Water en masse, I fell for this dark, noble, and quite masculine Italian scent. I believe I already mentioned that I primarily wore it with a leather jacket. Back then, I really enjoyed smelling a bit "older" - it somewhat emphasized my natural authority!

Trussardi Uomo was probably released in 1983. It’s not a clear leather chypre, but it’s also not a proper aromatic fougère. More on that perhaps another time. In any case, by 1990 it was almost out of fashion again. Arrogance Uomo apparently appeared a few years after the Trussardi fragrance, and its exterior gives the poor impression of a cheap fairground copy. When you hold both bottles side by side, you almost want to throw Arrogance Uomo away.

But then the surprise: Arrogance Uomo surpasses the scent of Trussardi! Yes, I have no objections to such imitations.

The first impression confirms the closeness to the Trussardi scent - it’s the same style, the same feeling. It takes a minute or two for the differences to emerge. In Arrogance Uomo, a slightly bitter spiciness is added as a secondary note, which makes this scent appear a bit rougher. Later on, Arrogance Uomo develops into a scent note that I - but I’m not entirely sure - consider to be a dark, quite masculine musk variant (musk ketone?). With that, Arrogance Uomo moves a bit away from the Trussardi scent, towards another, quite wonderful perfume - Rodier pour Homme. There, too, this masculine-musk-like note is present - quite pronounced, in fact. Moreover, at one point I briefly sensed a hint reminiscent of shaving soap, which brought to mind the good old Tabak Original.

The latter has fallen into disrepute mainly because its wearers usually overdo it. This is due to the strange phenomenon of numbing one’s own olfactory nerves, which is characteristic of that perfume. Well, Arrogance Uomo has to do with that too. I sprayed the scent on and perceived what I’ve described here subtly around me within a few minutes. To feel something more precise, I smelled my sprayed wrist - almost nothing! It took hours for a little scent to reappear at that spot. Instead, I only occasionally noticed the cloud that must have formed around me: With a gust of air or a turn of my body, Arrogance Uomo briefly announced itself in my nose, only to disappear again in the next moment.

Did my surroundings perceive Arrogance Uomo just as fleetingly as I did? How does one evaluate something like that?

I see it this way: perfumes with these characteristics keep a secret. They do not lay themselves bare before you and wait to be dissected. They elude you, and it is a gift, a brief moment of joy, when Arrogance Uomo occasionally makes itself known in your nose. I think such a scent can remain interesting longer than many other perfumes.

Arrogance Uomo smells forbiddenly good. In the list of ingredients, I read among other things: Evernia Furfuracea (tree moss) and Evernia Prunastri (oak moss). Real oak moss is no longer used nowadays, so my bottle must be somewhat older. I googled Arrogance Men a bit. Right now, the remaining stocks of this rare perfume are being sold off, some for under €20. A - reformulated - new edition does not seem to be in sight. So it’s time to grab it, and quickly. At this price, I especially recommend to fans of Trussardi Uomo to take a chance on a blind buy; you won’t regret it.