Bvlgari pour Homme Bvlgari 1995 Eau de Toilette

What a baffling composition. I am told that twenty-three notes are present. Of course, we all know that notes are mere metaphors, but in the extremely bizarre case of BVLGARI POUR HOMME, the metaphors clash head-on with my experience.

Aldehydes? Certainly not. Bergamot, well, okay, yes, I suppose, since it is present in 33% of all perfumes. Maybe I can conceive of this as a tea scent. But the rest? They may as well say that this perfume contains unicorns and elves, since I smell them just about as well!

None of this is to say that there is anything essentially wrong with BVLGARI POUR HOMME. It's nice. It's light. It's polite. It's clean and keen. It's the perfect scent for the twenty-first-century open-cubicle office. Indeed: it smells to me rather like just pressed and starched long-sleeved cotton Oxford shirts complete with linked cuffs and button-down collars!

Bias warning: I was completely blown away by this scent. I expected something decent, but received something outstanding. I promise not to spill too much drool on your keyboard nor to be overly fanboi, but prepare yourself for the happy adjectives!

Bvlgari Pour Home goes on a smoky and a little bit resiny. Within minutes, it smells even better -- the smokiness amps; the psuedo-resins turn sweet; and the smell of new clothes appears. All of this is definitely masculine. Maybe there's a touch of cumin in here; there's a slight warmth. If you want to smell like a gentleman, this is it. Moderate silage -- two feet at best.

By five hours, it is down to little more than a skin scent, but it still smells great -- smoky, musky, slightly sweet in a resiny way. At nine it is absolutely seductive in a sense of power and refinement. This is the scent that a CEO would wear relaxing in his office with a view over the bay at the end of the day -- masculine power, poise, refinement, and strength -- all without using stereotypical notes or being crude or carnal. The only negative is its lack of silage, which I am forgiving just this once.

Every guy should at least sample this.

There are some scents you get, experience and can't wait to review, to gush words of praise and tell the world from the rooftops. When I first encountered BPH, it was almost a decade after its release (2006) and I bought it scent unsniffed, from an online retailer after reading the reviews of parfumisti far wiser and experienced than myself. It was an obviously well-made woody floral musk fragrance: clean and fresh without the tsunami of calone most newer men's scents of that era contained. Flowers musk and woods are deftly entwined, without too much sweetness or spice, and only enough citrus to tease out the freshness of the prevailing tea accord.

A slightly above average cologne with decent longevity and respectable projection, this found itself filed in the BVLGARI row of the designer shelf of my armoire after a few wearings and though it was solid...it failed to wow me. Had I reviewed this in my earlier reviews, I daresay I would have "sold it short"; mostly because I have an entirely new outlook on this scent, perfumer and house.

A prelude of freshness results from a cacophony of notes Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud has soothed to an harmonious choir of soft whispers, wafting as fresh as a breeze. Aldehydes add an airiness (as opposed to an expanding sparkle) while orange and bergamot add the needed citricity (and not a drop more) to attenuate the tea and petit grain; as they perfectly dissolve into leaf-tinged powdery floral notes of lavender and neroli closing a veritable perfect circle of clean, sans any of the usual soapy associations. BPH's aura of pristine masculinity makes it an utterly versatile scent choice suitable for the office, school, casual gatherings or a first date.

The floral choir in the heart (cyclamen, geranium and carnation led by iris) continues the floral theme of the opening lavender and develops it, making it deeper (not louder) and at the same time smoother with rosewood and guaiac. Cardamom (warm green sharp) pepper (piquant and sharp) and coriander (cool & leafy but bitter) are, like most notes in Msr. Cavallier-Belletrud's works especially for this House, imperceptible as individuals yet their additions are what makes this a flawless silk and velvet tapestry, as opposed to a flashy silk screen on simple material. The weaving of the aromatic threads and olfactive colors "just so" truly makes BPH more than the sum of the parts.

In the far drydown, the core of musk and cedar glows as it serves as a balancing point for the sweetness of amber (translucent amber is listed on Bvlgari's site) and *one single small?* tonka bean, against the dynamic duo of vetiver and oak moss while they hint at a hidden wildness underneath it all. BPH is a rather charming and very polite rascal beneath those starched collars and pressed trousers. Despite the fact this may seem cool or even aloof should not give you pause. Everyone needs a nice pressed neutral button-down shirt, that you can use with any outfit or situation. This is "that" shirt in a bottle-complete with mother-of-pearl buttons and hand sewn silk thread seams. Bravo!!

Sillage: moderate to very good
Longevity: above average (7-12 hours)
Overall: 4.25/5

Now BVLGARI's perfume catalog numbers upwards of seventy fragrances; but, when BVLGARI POUR HOMME hit the market, in 1996, there were only two! (EAU PARFUMEE AU THE VERTE '92 and BVLGARI POUR FEMME '94) Later that year another *new* favorite of mine was released: EAU PARFUMEE AU THE VERT EXTREME-nosed by Jean-Claude Ellena.

Currently BPH is still available at several online retailers (some for as little as .50/ml!) and remains a fixture worldwide at high-end fragrance counters and flagship stores. BVLGARI POUR HOMME seems to "play well with others" while offering year-round versatility, excellent quality-to-price ratio (or QPR) and sheer stunningness.

I, therefore, dub BVLGARI POUR HOMME a Modern Masterpiece. Not only for how it has stayed the course over the last two decades, defining and setting the bar for men's elegance and style; but also for its uniqueness, considering its time and contemporaries, and subtle balance of softspoken luxury with graceful sensibility.

Bvlgari has a knack for making beautiful, refreshing, casual yet classy fragrances that are always sure crowd pleasers. There is so much to love when it comes to Bvlgari Pour Homme. It's not the most amazing thing you'll ever smell, yet it is undeniably charming.

Quiet yet bold enough to make a statement, Bvlgari Pour Homme is a nicely balanced blend of light citrus, musky florals and aromatic herbs. Not a spectacular scent by any means, but one that is clean and soothing.

I think a lot of men tend to go overboard with fragrances because there is so much media these days telling them that they have to smell great for the ladies. Many over-apply, wear something they don't even like or just spritz it on for the hell of it. Something like Bvlgari Pour Homme is sometimes all you need to get female attention. Smell fresh and masculine and the rest is history.

Unfortunately the projection of this fragrance is not great. It is incredibly weak and even worse on the skin. The subtlety although admirable, could do with a boost in the sillage department so both the wearer and the people around him can enjoy this fragrance through all its stages.

I'm surprised to like something so subtle, however after many partners with strong fragrances, I've been craving a man that wears lighter scents. Bvlgari Pour Homme is what I'm after.

Bvlgari pour homme was my signature scent in late 90s when I was a teenager. A girl I used to date loved this fragrance. The scent is a well mixed sophisticated flowery tea. Of the many listed notes, with enough sniffing I can detect (or imagine?) certain delicate citrus, flowers and cedar/musk that surrounds you close to skin. I could never smell the aldehyde before but now that my bottle has gone bad, the top notes are almost gone except the aldehyde. Interestingly the heart and base notes appear to be the same from what I recall in my memory. Later when I smelled a tester I confirmed my suspicion, but a side-by-side comparison may reveal more differences.

Back to the scent: I had two issues with him. First, he is not very masculine. He is versatile in warm weather and certainly not offensive, but lacked enough character. Second, and major issue was that the scent is TOO delicate. Body lotion or hair products with any scents will easily overpower this guy. Worst case for me as a smoker was that the combined smell of this perfume with cigarettes was not pleasant. Obviously cigarette smell (not tobacco but the ash-like aura of smell from smoking) is not very pleasant but this combo was something else. While I have many fond memories, I no longer use him and there is no plan to re-purchase him. He is officially retired and hanging out in my retired display collection for occasional trip down the memory lane.