Man Pure Jil Sander 1981 Eau de Toilette

In 1981 (when this fragrance was released), I was eleven years old. The first half of that decade was certainly a transitional phase, even for me, as I was naturally entering puberty and slowly but surely striving for adulthood. There were plenty of fashion and musical missteps, but also always something new to discover, beyond Nena, mullets, cowboy boots, disco rollers, and neon colors.

I can’t remember when I first came into contact with "Man Pure." I might have just turned eighteen. Back then, I probably found the fragrance to have "too much man" in it, as it indeed has a slightly soapy-leathery note, which, however, turned out to be much milder than in the previous decade (transitional phase, after all).

The trends in the 80s, in any case, emerged more from the ground up, whereas today they are rather set forth by large corporations and clever marketing strategists (in my opinion). "Man Pure" was one of the outstanding fragrances of that time, as it united the old and the new within itself. Had one guessed that the traditional would come back to life today in countless barbershops, the fragrance would surely still be on the market. On the other hand, Jil Sander dared to be bold, as aquatic freshness and earthy spice were already present here. Only with "masculine sweetness" did they probably not reckon at the time.

The combination of ingredients was suddenly no longer typical Chypre or Fougère, but contained a balsamic-herbaceous note that bridged different fragrance worlds. And since there is practically nothing today that does not exist, I suspect that "Man Pure" would also find its target audience today. Perhaps more in the over 45 generation, but that’s where all the money is! ;-)

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Addendum: I can hardly believe it, but "Orage" by Louis Vuitton currently comes quite close to all of this! But of course: One can also have a different opinion! ;-)