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Metropolis Estēe Lauder 1987 Cologne

7.8 / 10 19 Ratings

A popular perfume by Estēe Lauder for men, released in 1987. The scent is spicy-fresh. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Spicy

Fresh

Green

Fougère

Earthy

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Green notes

Fresh notes

Peppermint

Lavender

Heart Notes

Clary sage

Geranium

Carnation

Base Notes

Amber

Patchouli

Vetiver

Leather

Musk

Ratings

Scent

7.819 Ratings

Longevity

7.513 Ratings

Sillage

6.814 Ratings

Bottle

6.421 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro · last update on 11/24/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was awarded the "Fragrance of the Year – Men's Prestige" prize by the Fragrance Foundation in 1988. The face of the advertising campaign is American actor Bruce Boxleitner.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Metropolis After Shave

Reviews

2 in-depth fragrance descriptions

03/21/2025

Krmarich
229 Reviews

Krmarich

1

poor launch effort

Ah, the 1980s and an afternoon at the mall led me to the Lauder bar when this was launched. I believe it was my first big purchase. It was a departure for the brand as Lauder For Men was successful. This was a very good follow up. It wasn't around very long.

I have to go off of my memory on the notes. It was summer and there was no problem with heavier compositions at the time. It was actually very cool and fresh upon opening. It moved into the darker woodland notes which were pretty common for the time. It was a Powerhouse epic that lasted all day. I always wondered if Superman wore this?

The bold move by Estee Lauder to launch a men's line was never repeated. The skin care line was extensive. Aramis was the official men's line, right? For one brief moment I was a "Lauder Guy". Contradictory as it seemed I was quite proud.

01/25/2015

8Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Drseid
828 Reviews

Drseid

Helpful Review 4

The Memories Of One's Youth...

Metropolis opens with an aromatic blast of lavender with supporting green peppermint before transitioning to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart the peppermint becomes more prominent, taking center stage as the lavender swaps into a supporting role joined by hints of carnation, lemony rose-like geranium and slightly sweet amber rising from the base. During the late dry-down the aromatic mint and lavender vacate the composition revealing relatively clean musk joining the remaining slightly sweet amber as co-star, with hints of a rough leathery undertone through the finish. Projection is above average, as is longevity at over 10 hours on skin.

Metropolis is a composition reviving wonderful memories of its late 80s release. I remember flipping though a magazine back then, uncovering one of those perfume strip samples to try the composition out with it ultimately leaving an indelible positive mark on my memory. Alas, I was only a teenager back then with a typical teenager's money problems so I passed on purchasing a bottle with the feeling I would one day regret it. I guess I wasn't the only one to pass, as despite the composition's complete worthiness, it has long since sadly been discontinued, never being the sales magnet Estee Lauder hoped and expected. Only now, over 25 years later did that long-since buried memory emerge compelling me to seek out one of the rare bottles on the aftermarket. Was time playing tricks on me, making me believe I loved what I sniffed all those years ago more than I really did? Now having bought the bottle and spraying the composition on skin for the first time in a quarter century the answer is it lives up to the memory near-completely. I suppose expecting perfection is completely unreasonable, and the composition indeed isn't perfect. For one, it is sweeter than I remember it, but the amber-derived sweetness never gets to be too much, and the ambery sweetness comes out much more strongly on paper than on skin. A positive revelation was the natural smelling peppermint, a facet I didn't remember, instead discovered anew. The pairing of the aromatic lavender and green peppermint really is quite impressive and I am hesitant to think of another composition that does it so well (with few trying it at all). When the florals are added into the mix during the composition's middle, the whole thing comes together brilliantly. Ah memories of the wonderful 80s, where just about every release was a winner and Metropolis yet another to add to the list. Nowadays we have twenty times the amount of new releases yearly and only a tenth as many good ones... The bottom line is the sadly discontinued and extremely difficult to find on the aftermarket Metropolis is just another great example of how a composition should smell, earning it an "excellent" 4 stars out of 5 rating and a strong recommendation if one can get their hands on a bottle or sample.

Statements

6 short views on the fragrance

Yatagan

9 years ago

7.5Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

9

2

80s, Wall Street, Michael Douglas, urban, smart - these are the keywords: fresh, green-herbaceous scent, slightly earthy, floral at the start.

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Parma

7 years ago

7Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

8

4

Herb-spicy scent that shows its age. Dominant clary sage. A masculine retro fragrance. Today, it's pure vegetable spice.

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Lilienfeld

8 years ago

8Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

7

Fresh & green with a hint of pineapple, leathery note, typical 80s M- sage & garden carnation touch. A bit Fougere, a bit Chypre. Aventus wishes it could be like this.

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