Balmain Homme Balmain 2015

In recent months, I have dealt with several Balmains and have some comments waiting for their completion. Balmain Homme had to be the first, as the new fragrance is not a statement that brings me to my knees in awe. For me, it is a meaningless number. Just a continuation, no matter what comes and regardless of how good or high-quality something is. The main thing is to bring something new to the market. This is how this fragrance sits in my thoughts. I felt nothing positive about it. A clear knockout criterion for many labels. I fondly remember Carbone de Balmain, for which there will later be a much more positive comment.

Well, how should I begin?
Balmain Homme smells to me like a failed clone of Sauvage, with such a flat interpretation that one must praise Sauvage to the skies. It is also somewhat reminiscent of the classic men's fragrance from Hermes, as there is no shortage of spices here. However, this earthy warmth, like in Terre, does not even come close to the surface. It feels far too dull and bloated. Only in a minute's time, I think to myself that Terre is being imitated here, but the attempt completely failed.

The beginning of the fragrance spreads very hollow, metallic, and somehow distinctly flat-woody on the skin. The spices roll in quickly, with enormous force. But this is quickly intercepted and seeps into the wet ground. So, totally unspectacular. The fragrance feels arbitrary, gray, and is actually only made for everyday wear and not for special occasions.

Slowly, a somewhat more pronounced peppery note makes itself known. However, this is not long-lasting. Rather, it is just a brief immersion in the strong spice material. Wood is always present, but not more than a flat appearance. A shame, I think. Leather, I can hardly catch a whiff of here. It is for me a slight tease for the nose, like when I briefly enter a furniture store and catch a whiff. The habituation to this, as we know, happens quickly. So, no present leather scent!

Throughout the entire duration, I cannot shake the thought that there was an attempt to bring warm earthy tones to light, heated by the desert sun. Furthermore, a gentle tone of sweetness that indulges itself with the earth in a pairing. Far from it - because the slight earthy note in this perfume is much more wet and has nothing to do with dryness. Instead, the fragrance becomes sweeter the further it penetrates into the heart. Slightly chocolaty, albeit not very delicious, it becomes. A combination of pepper and chocolate would certainly be very exciting and extremely interesting. But the pepper is stifled in its infancy, and the chocolate seeps through the fragrance only slowly. It feels very contrived to me and has nothing to do with the delights of the confectionery industry. Perhaps, only of the stickiest kind!

After three hours, the scent is at its end. It feels somewhat powdery, again lukewarm woody, with a sweet, plastic quality. Dryness is attempted to be hinted at again. It is supposed to smell masculine, desert-like here. For me, it is more of a bland aftertaste of crumb cake.

It is durable, the new Balmain. It holds up bravely for seven hours. But that doesn't help it either. For my husband, it is also not a candidate for purchase. Because in his eyes, the fragrance is a meaningless new release that simply exists to be placed on the market. Just to have something new. Disappointing.

For me, Balmain Homme is the epitome of the lost luster of the house. They could have spared themselves this. Soon, the new Balmain will come to the H&M house, which makes me even more skeptical. This cannot end well. Perhaps for the sheer masses who have nothing to do with quality and are simply satisfied with such meaningless scents. Some surely think they are hip if they buy this...

Well - only dead fish swim with the current!