Caramel
Chestnut
Sandalwood
Mirabelle plum
Tonka bean
Clary sage
Mandarin orange
Bergamot
Cedar
Vetiver
StinkSultan
72 Reviews
StinkSultan
3
The Short-Lived Scandal King
Scandal pour Homme and Scandal pour Homme Le Parfum were, in my opinion, quite unimpressive. Their reliance on that synthetic-sweet structure was simply a turn off for me. Hence, I don't have big expectations for Scandal pour Homme Absolu. However, this is the best on in the line, in my opinion... but, as always, there's a 'but'...
And that's because the opening of Scandal pour Homme Absolu, the absolute best part of the whole fragrance, is short-lived. Immediately after I spray the fragrance, I am met with a pretty delicious and creamy chestnut, along with a small dose of synthetic and slightly harsh citruses. The caramel note sweetens things up further along with the tonka bean, and the signature Scandal clary sage starts pushing through just minutes after spraying, which I'm not the biggest fan of, but it does seem better integrated than on the OG Scandal pour Homme. As for the Mirabelle plum note, I got little of it in the opening, with a mild fruity-floral accord hiding through the creamy sweetness.
But then, it's all gone. As things settle down rapidly, the woody accords of sandalwood and cedar push through, along with the tiniest bit of vetiver, which make the fragrance instantly reminiscent of its siblings, Scandal pour Homme and Scandal pour Homme Le Parfum. Then I also meet the now-iconic synthetic undertone of the line, which was always there; it was jut a little better masked on the opening here. There's also some of that chestnut/caramel sweetness from the opening still present, but it's more tonka bean after some minutes. But... here comes my main issue. That initial beautiful blast of chestnut, arguably one of the nicest openings of a fragrance I've smelt so far on designer territory, fades away in less than two minutes, at least on my skin. And from there on, it just gets fainter and fainter, in the end leaving me with about 70-80% clary sage and sandalwood, and 30-20% of some smooth sweetness of tonka bean with some chestnuts sprinkled on top. If that chestnut lasted loner... But hey, at least that tonka/caramel sweetness does a better job at hiding that synthetic DNS than Scandal pour Homme.
I did have relatively high hopes for the longevity of Scandal pour Homme Absolu, seeing how its other siblings did quite well in this respect. And while it's far from terrible, it's just borderline decent. I get about 6, maybe 7 hours of longevity on my skin. I can live with that. But what I don't accept is such a soft projection. For the first hour or so, I got 1 feet at best of silage, after which it would settle down just as quickly as the chestnut accord did. Fair, I'm also to blame for my bad skin chemistry; many fragrances don't perform that well on my skin. But Scandal pour Homme Le Parfum, for example, actually held on for quite a long time, and so I just hoped that Scandal pour Homme Absolu would also last that long, given they both share the same DNA at the base. But nope, not on me. So personally, I'd go with 6-8 sprays.
For occasions, I'd say that Scandal pour Homme Absolu works for leisure wear, family gatherings, or for winter parties/clubbing. If the fragrance performs any better on your skin than on mine, I believe that it could get plenty of attention (if that's what you're after).
Searching for the Scandal king, I have finally found it, but it does not wear the crown anymore. Scandal pour Homme Absolu has one of the most delicious openings of a designer fragrance that I have ever smelled. Caramel, tonka bean, some citruses, and a hyper-realistic chestnut, all aided by the classic Scandal clary sage, vetiver and sandalwood combination, which I'm honestly not a fan of. Lamentably, disappointment is still what I find. The chestnut rapidly fades after the first few minutes, becoming a memory somewhere in the background, leaving you with largely just a sweeter/creamier and less synthetic interpretation of the OG. And the projection of the fragrance, at least on me, is disappointing and quite soft after about an hour. All of these cons just do not justify buying a full bottle.
In the end, the throne still awaits for its scandalous king, and the crown keeps collecting dust on a pedestal in an empty hall. But there might be another entrant, another contestant for the throne... Might Scandal pour Homme Intense be the much-awaited king?
Overall Rating: 5.7/10
And that's because the opening of Scandal pour Homme Absolu, the absolute best part of the whole fragrance, is short-lived. Immediately after I spray the fragrance, I am met with a pretty delicious and creamy chestnut, along with a small dose of synthetic and slightly harsh citruses. The caramel note sweetens things up further along with the tonka bean, and the signature Scandal clary sage starts pushing through just minutes after spraying, which I'm not the biggest fan of, but it does seem better integrated than on the OG Scandal pour Homme. As for the Mirabelle plum note, I got little of it in the opening, with a mild fruity-floral accord hiding through the creamy sweetness.
But then, it's all gone. As things settle down rapidly, the woody accords of sandalwood and cedar push through, along with the tiniest bit of vetiver, which make the fragrance instantly reminiscent of its siblings, Scandal pour Homme and Scandal pour Homme Le Parfum. Then I also meet the now-iconic synthetic undertone of the line, which was always there; it was jut a little better masked on the opening here. There's also some of that chestnut/caramel sweetness from the opening still present, but it's more tonka bean after some minutes. But... here comes my main issue. That initial beautiful blast of chestnut, arguably one of the nicest openings of a fragrance I've smelt so far on designer territory, fades away in less than two minutes, at least on my skin. And from there on, it just gets fainter and fainter, in the end leaving me with about 70-80% clary sage and sandalwood, and 30-20% of some smooth sweetness of tonka bean with some chestnuts sprinkled on top. If that chestnut lasted loner... But hey, at least that tonka/caramel sweetness does a better job at hiding that synthetic DNS than Scandal pour Homme.
I did have relatively high hopes for the longevity of Scandal pour Homme Absolu, seeing how its other siblings did quite well in this respect. And while it's far from terrible, it's just borderline decent. I get about 6, maybe 7 hours of longevity on my skin. I can live with that. But what I don't accept is such a soft projection. For the first hour or so, I got 1 feet at best of silage, after which it would settle down just as quickly as the chestnut accord did. Fair, I'm also to blame for my bad skin chemistry; many fragrances don't perform that well on my skin. But Scandal pour Homme Le Parfum, for example, actually held on for quite a long time, and so I just hoped that Scandal pour Homme Absolu would also last that long, given they both share the same DNA at the base. But nope, not on me. So personally, I'd go with 6-8 sprays.
For occasions, I'd say that Scandal pour Homme Absolu works for leisure wear, family gatherings, or for winter parties/clubbing. If the fragrance performs any better on your skin than on mine, I believe that it could get plenty of attention (if that's what you're after).
Searching for the Scandal king, I have finally found it, but it does not wear the crown anymore. Scandal pour Homme Absolu has one of the most delicious openings of a designer fragrance that I have ever smelled. Caramel, tonka bean, some citruses, and a hyper-realistic chestnut, all aided by the classic Scandal clary sage, vetiver and sandalwood combination, which I'm honestly not a fan of. Lamentably, disappointment is still what I find. The chestnut rapidly fades after the first few minutes, becoming a memory somewhere in the background, leaving you with largely just a sweeter/creamier and less synthetic interpretation of the OG. And the projection of the fragrance, at least on me, is disappointing and quite soft after about an hour. All of these cons just do not justify buying a full bottle.
In the end, the throne still awaits for its scandalous king, and the crown keeps collecting dust on a pedestal in an empty hall. But there might be another entrant, another contestant for the throne... Might Scandal pour Homme Intense be the much-awaited king?
Overall Rating: 5.7/10
Updated on 09/06/2025
StinkSultan
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