Pour Un Homme de Caron Caron 1934 Eau de Toilette

I, too, feel that Pour un Homme is about lavender, vanilla and nothing much else. Whatever there's listed on the pyramid, it's there for adding durability to the lavender. I was going to say it's there 'for structure', but after giving it a second thought, it occurred to me that Pour un Homme doesn't really have a classical top-to-down structure in the manner of, say, Guerlains. This stuff is surprisingly linear as the vanilla kicks in early and the lavender hangs on late. The lavender is well balanced between being metallic and burned sugar -like. The funny thing is that the lavender and vanilla never really connect (or form a synthesis like they do in Guerlain's Jicky). They just exist, side by side. The genius of Pour un Homme's structure is in its, umm... structureless ...ness.

Someone might ask how does this compare to Guerlains Jicky or Mouchoir de Monsieur in terms of wearability. While I admire Jicky for it's historical significance and enjoy wearing both (especially MdM) a lot, I don't perceive either as an everyday fragrance. In comparison, Pour un Homme is much less formal; something I happily wear at the office and don't mind reapplying in the afternoon. I'm sure nobody will be offended and most likely many would be surprised if I told them I'm wearing a 80-year old formula.

Longevity is not remarkable, but liberal application on both skin and fabric will help. Also, reapplying during the day feels great and it won't mess with the dramaturgy, as the structure is what it is.

And before I forget: the bottle is wonderful.