This is one of my favorite designer scents of all time. I can definitely detect the CH Men DNA in this but Prive goes in a totally different direction...
Soft but robust, round, sweet, powdery, sugary..
With a backbone of leather and whiskey...
And although cocoa isn't a featured note here, CH Men Prive almost smells like hot cocoa mix to me. Like I just popped the top of some Swiss Miss with marshmallows.. In the absolute best way possible
The leather and whiskey don't punch you in the face but they're present in the base to give the tail end some muscle. Benzoin is also a very noticeable player giving CH Men Prive that thick, sugary sweetness throughout the entirety of the fragrance...
Overall, the sweeter notes sit on top of the more broad leather base
This is definitely a better cold weather fragrance, in the high heat this can get a little hefty. But I've worn it on cooler summer nights with no problem.
One of the main complaints you'll hear with CH Men Prive is that it has terrible performance. I am certainly not an expert but I have to totally disagree. Like I said, it is a softer fragrance but it lasts for a pretty impressive amount of time on me. The top notes may mellow after a few hours but the base notes linger on your skin for the entire day..
