Bijan Men Bijan 1981 Eau de Toilette

*This is a review of the vintage juice.

Vintage Bijan for Men opens with a gorgeous but all too brief splash of fresh herbal-laced bergamot before transitioning quickly to its key heart notes of very powerful oakmoss (most likely not replicated in the current version due to its recent restrictions), coniferous fir, honey and patchouli, with a significant carnation floral undertone used for support, along with herbal notes like sage and rosemary among many others. Leather and musk in the base both easily make their way to mingle with the heart notes, creating a very complex accord that is an amalgamation of these and many other notes; too many to mention. The overall accord is quite the extremely complex and dense mixture of coniferous and mossy green, herbal and soapy aspects, floral and almost earthy leathery. Projection and longevity are stellar.

Vintage Bijan was a blind buy for me, and it is a great one. It is super-powerful, so a little goes a long way and over-applying is all too easy and not recommended unless you are looking to call attention to yourself in all the wrong ways. This is one where I am glad I have a "splash on" bottle instead of the spray, as it is much easier to regulate the amount you apply that way (and I can't emphasize that a little goes a long way again strongly enough). The accord contains so many notes that it would be all too easy to screw-up the composition, but I find the complex combination of the soapiness with the oakmoss spiked coniferous herbal floral leather bomb works quite well and is extremely "masculine" smelling to my nose. Bijan for Men has major 80's powerhouse written all over it and it is quite amazing. I could definitely see others being put-off by its strength if over-applied (do you notice a trend to my warnings?), but when used in moderation vintage Bijan for Men is highly recommended and I give this classic powerhouse winner an excellent 4 stars out of 5.