1725 Histoires de Parfums

The market is packed with likeable scents that unwaveringly trade material quality and innovation for mass-appeal and easy sales; we all know that. It's part of the business, and unfortunately for those deeper down the rabbit hole, this does nothing but hurt the hobby. However, as I've made it clear in previous reviews and will always mention it whenever applicable, mass-appeal ≠ instantly boring/bad. There are instances where the juice itself is well-composed and manages to maintain a certain balance between likeability and uniqueness, and 1725 is... not one of those instances.

Now, I've seen much worse in terms of pursuing extreme mass-appeal, so much so that 1725 honestly feels innovative in comparison. And all things considered, this is a hard scent to hate. It sort of sits between Reflection Man and Uden, taking aspects from both and fusing them into one, but not without adding its own thing. It's got that lively citric start from Uden, with little lemon sourness, immediately overshadowed and sweetened through licorice (here noted as Glycyrrhiza glabra). The licorice here gives it a somewhat medicinal rooty undertone, with the usual anise-like facets, and well, the dense sweetness of licorice. Not a massive fan of licorice overall, and even though I can respect it in perfumery more than in the edible context, I find it a little strong here for my liking, yet still calibrated well enough to not become overbearing at any point. It is counterbalanced with a clean, soapy, powdery blanket which brings the Reflection Man reminiscence, only without nearly as much floral emphasis. Also, Reflection Man got its powdery tone from the iris, while in 1725 is lavender, meaning ever so more herbal and soapy/laundry detergent-like, in a good way, reminiscent of some fougère structures.

There's subtle spice beneath it all, with star anise being listed. Its festive, sweet-ish spiciness is hard to isolate, though, since it sort of overlaps with the licorice, fitting right in. The same applies to the base, which maintains a clean and sweet structure through amber and vanilla, having a few almondy accents sprinkled around. Woodiness on itself is limited, but present nonetheless, with sandalwood's creaminess prevailing as usual - another aspect that reminds me of Uden, in combination with the vanilla rendering. It is a predominantly sweet profile, but never does it go overboard, smoothened out through clean, powdery lavender and trailing licorice bits. So as clear as it is that it's far from a unique composition, it's equally as clear just how hard to hate the scent itself is.

Moving on to performance, 1725 performed on par with realistic expectations. A rather good 9-10 hours of longevity on my skin, which most scents don't struggle to reach for me; projection was notably more well-mannered. Constant pushing power, even if moderate, for the first 3 hours, beginning to settle around that time and settling into a skin scent not too long afterwards (4-5 hours in).

To reference the way I began this review, 1725 is another one of those scents that are very approachable, hard to dislike, but it doesn't enter the selective group of fragrances that balance both mass-appeal and quality/uniqueness to not fall bland for hardcore niche afficionados. So to say, it takes the blue pill. Hence, the only thing to watch out for when wearing 1725 is extreme heat, because otherwise there's simply no wrong situation in which to wear it, nor any wrong age or gender, even if you identify as a damn Liebherr R 9800 excavator for whatever stupid reason.

I'd be repeating myself if I were to pull a conclusion here, as all that there is to mention I mentioned across the last few paragraphs, apart from one part: price. From what I found, full retail it's around €200, which is plenty steep for what you're getting. But at the same time, I'm seeing a few discounters that have it for less than half the price, making much more sense if all you're after is a likeable, powdery-sweet first scent. If more excitement is what you're seeking, then keep treading.

Overall Rating: 6.1/10

Scentrack:
Art of Noise - Love Beat

Casanova, a symbol of seduction, passion and adventure. It was not easy to justify this big name, but 1725 did it in big style. Like Casanova this fragrance is wolf in sheep's clothing. Soft, creamy and visually pale, and unbelievably alluring. Maybe it's too easy to say for fragrance is beautiful, but it perfectly describes 1725. Gentle, transparent, yet so precise. Perfectly balanced and tweaked. Starts with fluffy citruses, lavender and anise, and goes to dark amber, most realistic almonds and creamy vanilla and sandalwood.
Perfectly unisex, Casanova knows women must like him from the first smell. He surely knew what's good for him, like he advised it's easier to get in the bed with two ladies than one.

Rating: 10/10

More on Scentimentalwords

This "Casanova" is a smooth operator in a powdery velvet coat of purple lavender. As Giacomo himself would have said, "Be the flame not the moth." And in the sophisticated sillage of this HdP masterpiece that is the image you will give. After the initial greeting of the sweet talking citrus and anise this quickly moves into a lovers flowery poetry of liquorice and lavender. The almond and amber in the base are sweet but subtle seducing the nose the longer they lingers in your company. 1725 is a scent that is so familiar almost gourmand'ish in it's vanilla but a true classic fougere. The notes fall into place as they should clearly detectable and leave the wearer and those around him desiring more. You can expect a respectable longevity and a discreet personal sillage from this elegant charmer.
Kind Regards, Plat ~
Smell Alike - Think a modern smoother Rive Gauche.

It's a rich smelling citrus and powder blend that dries down to what smells like an expensive talcum powder. I don't really pick up the other little nuances that are listed.

Although it's designated as a masculine composition, Histoires de Parfums 1725 reminds me a lot of some of the offerings of the house of Lolita Lempicka, and especially the masculine-leaning feminine perfumes. The notable presence of a dark licorice note combined with various other components important to Lolita Lempicka, including vanilla, amber, woods, etc. probably explains why I am reminded immediately of that house. 1725 also, for the same reasons, reminds me of Jesus del Pozo IN BLACK, and anyone who likes any one of these three would probably like the other two as well, it seems to me. The aesthetic is really very, very similar. Which of the three do I prefer? Hard to say. I may have to do a side-by-side comparison before issuing a verdict...

In a direct comparison, I have discovered how much sweeter the openings of LOLITA LEMPICKA and IN BLACK are next to 1725, which does make them seem initially quite a bit more feminine. In the drydown, however, I find all three to be unisex. My favorite drydown of the three is that of IN BLACK, probably because of the lavender note in 1725... Although I do think that this is a higher quality perfume in terms of components. Nonetheless, I think that anyone who likes one of these compositions would like the others as well. Black licorice lovers rejoice: anise/licorice-centric perfumes now abound!