Furyo Jacques Bogart 1988 Eau de Toilette

Straight to the point: a masterpiece. Furyo (vintage bottle here) is a hyper-modern, really peculiar and fascinating masculine chypre which can compare to, well, almost nothing else as far as I am concerned. In rough terms, the “family” as others already stated may be the one of the good old civet bombs, like Kouros or Ungaro II (and of Rabanne’s Ténéré too, to another extent): nonetheless, here you can find a couple of unique features which make Furyo completely standout, not making it necessarily “superior” but definitely different from any other scent. There is indeed a filthy, “urinous” civet heart, which however here is wrapped – and I would say, almost concealed – into an irresistible, warm, nondescript cradle made of rose, cinnamon, amber, lavender, herbs, woods (I get sandalwood more than vetiver); a soft Oriental blend which floats between sweet, bright, soapy, balsamic, dirty, spicy and dusty-resinous - almost with a beeswax note too. There is also a kind of dark fruity-candied feel, subtle but somehow “narcotic” and slightly decadent, really charming and much modern too (apparently Wasser is the nose behind this, and in fact, I get a slight sort of common ground with certain aspects of Dalì pour Homme, which he made as well the year before). The result, which as I said is quite nondescript, is an exceedingly alluring, mellow, intense and warm fragrance, with an outstanding quality to any extent: materials, balance, depth, composition. Quite hard to define, honestly, but basically: a sweet-spicy dark masculine chypre. But that really wouldn’t do justice to the beauty of Furyo. An irresistible harmony of nuances ranging from the decadent carnality of rose and carnation to the elusive warmth of spices and amber, from the soapy-aromatic cleanliness of lavender and herbs, to the filthy dirt of civet and oak moss. And then balmy notes, woods, sandalwood, something resinous-sweet (Rabanne’s Ténéré, again) ... thick and complex, incredibly rich, but perfectly harmonic, unique, easy to love. And not a powerhouse, meaning that despite it’s surely really powerful, I wouldn’t really place this close to the conventional, “hairy-chested”, slightly outdated and often a bit stern (not to say tacky) boldness of most powerhouses. Furyo is so much more creative, more refined, more complex, more modern than any of them. Really outstanding, smelling incredibly “new”, and so pleasant to wear. Plus, the sillage is nuclear and the persistence is everlasting. One of those scents which may easily fit the niche market (I thought of Amouage for instance, if only they would be able to make something half beautiful as this).

9/10

Yes, this is my only 10 that I've given out. The vintage formula is UNBELIEVABLE. This is my favorite "me" scent. When I'm feeling blue this takes it away. I've never smelled a better nag champa incense cologne and I doubt I ever will. The dirty Mr. Civet is in there too and he brings some flowers with him. It basically smells like you were having sex in an opium den, or something. Wonderful! The silage is very good and longevity is monster. Just buy this if you can find it.

Attention all you modern designer frag houses that do nothing but be a yes man to the establishment and then chop up all those lovely classics from 40 yrs ago. The result is lukewarm girly men fragrances that can't compete with my deodorant when it comes to longevity. All that being said, say hello to Furyo by Jaques Bogart. Launched near the close of the greatest decade for fragrances HANDS DOWN, (1988). Now THIS is what a mans fragrance is supposed to look and act like. An amber woody masterpiece of the highest level that takes no prisoners anywhere. Big time animalic beast with castoreum, musk, civet, oakmoss, vetiver, tobacco etc. Longevity is nuclear 1982 Kouros-like madness with bombastic sillage that lets every cocky self-entitled millennial know exactly what the deal is. Naturally it's discontinued so your gonna have to scour the internet for vintage bottles. It's still moderately priced so that's good news. Really an amazing top drawer fragrance that says "I am STILL a man and if u don't like it go buy Aventus!"

*This is a review of the vintage original formula.

Furyo (vintage) opens with a highly aromatic lavender and dulled rose tandem with hints of underlying carnation and green oakmoss. Moving to the early heart the rose and lavender rapidly recede as moderately animalic deep musk emerges as co-star alongside powerful heady patchouli rising from the base. Supporting the musk and patchouli starring tandem are the carnation and oakmoss, both growing considerably from their earlier presence while adding in an additional powdery facet, slightly urinous animalic civet and lemon-like geranium. During the late dry-down the composition shifts gears as an almost creamy slightly sweet vanilla joins supporting amber and the patchouli remnants through the finish. Projection is outstanding (particularly in the first two hours) and longevity excellent at over 12 hours on skin.

Furyo (vintage) is truly great stuff. It represents all the best aspects of the great 80's with its gorgeous, powerful patchouli and oakmoss, and the musk used through most of the composition is the perfect partner for the patchouli and carnation, never coming off as overdone. There is no mistaking Furyo's powerhouse credentials, but despite the potency and the laundry list of ingredients, the outstanding perfumers Winnegrade and Wasser have done a bang-up job of keeping the whole thing together without any one ingredient overpowering others. Even the vanilla-led late dry-down works perfectly and provides a nice change of pace from the potent open and mid-section. After all that glowing verbiage, the shorter verdict is Furyo (vintage) smells *darn* good! The bottom line is the sadly discontinued Furyo is a tremendously successful effort by a pair of extremely talented noses, earning an "excellent" to "outstanding" 4 to 4.5 stars out of 5 and an extremely strong recommendation to vintage perfume lovers.

A few years back, my trusted perfume dealer hit the jackpot—a treasure trove of vintage classics that would make any fragrance lover weak in the knees. Knowing my obsession with the old-school greats, he sent me a sneak peek before the shipment even landed. I had my wishlist locked and loaded. When the box finally arrived, I made the biggest perfume purchase of my life in one glorious, fragrant swoop. Among the gems was this wild, untamed beast known as Furyo.

This stuff doesn’t whisper, it roars. Right out of the gate, Furyo hits you with a whirlwind of basil, lavender, cloves, thyme, tobacco, coriander, and incense. It’s like walking into an ancient apothecary where every jar is open and the air is thick with mystery. And then—bam—the animalics crash the party: castoreum, civet, and indole, unapologetically primal and raw.

But just when you think it’s all grit and growl, the florals sweep in—rose, jasmine, carnation—adding a lush, seductive elegance. As it dries down, the base gets even more complex: camphoraceous patchouli, smoky vetiver, earthy oakmoss, and those deep, sensual Tonkin musks. It’s a full-blown olfactory rock-opera.

This is no polite, modern crowd-pleaser. Furyo is a feral, musky, floral chypre with swagger. It’s bold, unapologetic, and utterly intoxicating. If you’re a fan of powerhouses like Kouros, Antaeus, or Lui (Mazzolari), this one will feel like coming home. It’s nuclear in strength and lasts forever. Wear it to the office—if you’re the one signing the paychecks. This is alpha-level fragrance. They just don’t make them like this anymore.

10/10