8
Helpful Review
At a time when Men smelled like Men
Trying to review Gentleman is like trying to review the Guernica, the 9th Symphony, or the Velvet Underground. A waste of time.
Walking in my fifties I am one of the lucky ones who was "there" in the men's perfumes of the 70s and 80s in their original formulation and of course the Gentleman was by far the crown and the pioneer of all. The perfume station that changed the map and the view of men's perfumes breaking the stereotype fougere-fresh-barbershop (paco rabanne, eau sauvage, pour monsieur) and the aromatic-oriental (habit rouge, aramis), presenting something so "gentle" and at the same time "dirty" something so "manly" and "gentleman" that those who tried to copy it could not even approach it.
I will not go on with other pointless descriptions as plenty of ink has been spilled over the decades to describe it. Longevity and projection were from another world. I'm not talking about 8 or 10 hours but for days (after 2 days it was easily detectable on the skin) and its projection is huge for 5-6 hours and more discreet for another 5 at least and I'm talking about 2 sprays. Bitter honey poured on oakmoss and patchouli, "marked" by the smell of felines, created an explosive mix that gripped everyone around him at a time when men smelled like men and women like women rather than competing over who would smell more fruity and sweeter.
I recently tried the current formulation under the name originale. It is excellent and wearable to today's standards and tries to pay homage to the giant of the past with respect and is much better and more masculine than most of the todays fragrances but unfortunately can not capture the "feel"and the "sense" of the vintage, as it happens with all the modern reformulations of old perfumes.
Honey, patchouli, a suspicion of leather and a small touch of gentle dirtyness at the dry down as long as it does not disturb the modern sensitive sugary noses, with moderate longevity and sillage. The difference is the complete absence of the banned civet and oakmoss which give this feast of earthy and animalic authentic smells. Νevertheless, I highly recommend it to young men who want to dare and smell different from the masses. Αfter all, you can not miss something you never had, and we must support reformulations that try to keep the legends of the past alive.
And because many "experts" have tried to describe how the vintage Gentleman smells and feels, the best description was given by an old female friend, who so simply told me "this perfume smells like SOVEREIGNTY, it smells like TESTOSTERONE".
ps. for the vintage (pre-2000)
scent 10, longevity 10, sillage 10
for the current 2020
scent 8, longevity 6, sillage 5
Walking in my fifties I am one of the lucky ones who was "there" in the men's perfumes of the 70s and 80s in their original formulation and of course the Gentleman was by far the crown and the pioneer of all. The perfume station that changed the map and the view of men's perfumes breaking the stereotype fougere-fresh-barbershop (paco rabanne, eau sauvage, pour monsieur) and the aromatic-oriental (habit rouge, aramis), presenting something so "gentle" and at the same time "dirty" something so "manly" and "gentleman" that those who tried to copy it could not even approach it.
I will not go on with other pointless descriptions as plenty of ink has been spilled over the decades to describe it. Longevity and projection were from another world. I'm not talking about 8 or 10 hours but for days (after 2 days it was easily detectable on the skin) and its projection is huge for 5-6 hours and more discreet for another 5 at least and I'm talking about 2 sprays. Bitter honey poured on oakmoss and patchouli, "marked" by the smell of felines, created an explosive mix that gripped everyone around him at a time when men smelled like men and women like women rather than competing over who would smell more fruity and sweeter.
I recently tried the current formulation under the name originale. It is excellent and wearable to today's standards and tries to pay homage to the giant of the past with respect and is much better and more masculine than most of the todays fragrances but unfortunately can not capture the "feel"and the "sense" of the vintage, as it happens with all the modern reformulations of old perfumes.
Honey, patchouli, a suspicion of leather and a small touch of gentle dirtyness at the dry down as long as it does not disturb the modern sensitive sugary noses, with moderate longevity and sillage. The difference is the complete absence of the banned civet and oakmoss which give this feast of earthy and animalic authentic smells. Νevertheless, I highly recommend it to young men who want to dare and smell different from the masses. Αfter all, you can not miss something you never had, and we must support reformulations that try to keep the legends of the past alive.
And because many "experts" have tried to describe how the vintage Gentleman smells and feels, the best description was given by an old female friend, who so simply told me "this perfume smells like SOVEREIGNTY, it smells like TESTOSTERONE".
ps. for the vintage (pre-2000)
scent 10, longevity 10, sillage 10
for the current 2020
scent 8, longevity 6, sillage 5
2 Comments
Eliot65