001 Man Loewe 2016 Eau de Parfum

To get straight to the point: Loewe 001 Man is not a bad perfume. It is velvety, cozy, and warms like mulled wine in the late hours. It fits perfectly into the cold season. The fact that there is apparently no iris in it is surprising. Because: The scent is indeed powdery and a bit "papery," but this aspect is not as prominent as in other representatives of this fragrance direction. It starts off with a salted cardamom sweetness that is quite pronounced.

L001M seems, at first glance, to want to take new paths, but at the end of the day, it only treads well-worn trails: Dior Homme (with its variants, although the EdT is probably the most suitable for comparison), Carthusia 1681 (Paper), or - to mention a newer representative - L'Homme by Prada (with a subtle freshness kick, but otherwise conventional) are glaring references. In any case, L001M is not thematically new. No contrast, no twist. This is almost a bit surprising: Sure, Loewe is not an experimental hidden gem, but they have released an extremely noteworthy incense variant with the blue 7 Loewe: Modern, slim, wiry, a bit overly apple-like and completely unassuming in any sacred proximity. And otherwise, the fragrances from this label, which seems to navigate the no man's land between "niche" and mainstream, are worth a test. Compared to 7 Loewe, Loewe 001 Man at best comes off like the nice son-in-law from next door ...

The idea that a woody drift is to be initiated with cedar and cypress as well as sandalwood can hardly be taken seriously. L001M clearly remains in its slightly boring and somewhat sedating sweetness, especially at the beginning. Fortunately, this sweetness does not become too sticky as the scent develops, and the merely hinted woodiness is not scratchy (like in Bleu de Chanel, for example) - this makes L001M wearable and pleasing. The base of the fragrance reads complicated and suggests a touch of uncleanliness. Whether this is a self-fulfilling prophecy remains open ... The formal quality of L001M is impeccable. Projection and longevity do their solid job like the old diesel engine in U96. The bottle is very attractive and appears classically elegant. Conclusion: L001M is indeed a new wine, but in old hoses. It’s something you can drink once in a while.