Bandit (2012) (Eau de Parfum) by Robert Piguet

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Bandit Robert Piguet 2012 Eau de Parfum

Version from 2012

8.1 / 10 161 Ratings

A popular perfume by Robert Piguet for women, released in 2012. The scent is leathery-chypre. The longevity is above-average. It is being marketed by Fashion Fragrances & Cosmetics.
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Main accords

Leathery

Chypre

Green

Spicy

Floral

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Galbanum

Neroli

Orange

Ylang-ylang

Heart Notes

Leather

Jasmine

Tuberose

Base Notes

Oakmoss

Musk

Patchouli

Vetiver

Perfumer

Aurélien Guichard

Ratings

Scent

8.1161 Ratings

Longevity

8.4134 Ratings

Sillage

8.0135 Ratings

Bottle

7.7130 Ratings

Value for money

7.533 Ratings

Submitted by Violaodorata, last update on 11/12/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Bandit Suprême

Cabochard (2019) Eau de Toilette

Cabochard (1959) Eau de Toilette

Bandit (1944) Parfum

Azurēe

Eau Rumeur (1934) Eau de Toilette

Reviews

12 in-depth fragrance descriptions

09/30/2023

Sopelka
40 Reviews

Sopelka

2

Oakmoss and fresh armpit sweat

I found a vintage bottle (not sure if it was 2012 or earlier) at my local Goodwill and asked to spray because I was curious. It is very similar to Chanel No 19 or Sisley Eau Du Soir, but more animalic and leathery. In fact, it smells like my own sweaty armpit plus oakmoss. I can only imagine what a shocker it was back in 1944! I am more into sensual vanillic fragrances these days, so Bandit is not for me. But I respect the composition and can see how many people love this.

01/26/2024

Myrtillajus
530 Reviews

Myrtillajus

2

A masterpiece

“Bandit is the perfect perfume to create an aura of mistery" and Piguet himself wanted it to appear as bold as possible.
A fragrance that made the history of the brand, Bandit is surprisingly very current.
Aldehydes gives fresh and accents, accompanied by aromatic, green, but at the same time fascinating nuances.
Masterfully executed.
For lovers of aldehydes.

07/08/2023

10Scent 10Longevity 10Sillage

Ajagerharris
1 Review

Ajagerharris

2

Love letter to Bandit

Bandit will always be my signature scent. I fell in love with it over a decade ago and despite continuing to explore and collect I always come back to it as my favourite. Do yourself a favour if you’ve never tried it. It’s bold and incredibly attractive and dangerous - classic for a reason, in its many iterations. It won’t suit every single occasion but it’s damn worth it when it does. You’ll probably stop caring if it suits the occasion or not because you enjoy it so much. Honestly, just douse me in it when I die.

07/29/2025

ClaireV
969 Reviews

ClaireV

1

Respect from me, but sadly, no love

Every time I try Bandit, I wonder why I don't love it. I should love it. I love chypres, I love leathers, and I love the idea of a perfume so bad-ass you can almost visualize its resting bitch face. Maybe it's because there's nothing to distract from Bandit's core brutality. Chypres are bitter, leather is bitter - leather chypres are therefore doubly bitter. Tabac Blond takes you almost to the edge but drifts into a sweet, smoky amber drydown that softens the landing. Habanita covers it up with flowers and face powder. Jolie Madame has the sweet sparkle of violets.

Bandit apologizes for nothing, and covers nothing up. It's a tough, bitter, raw-edged leather that winds up in ash and sweat. The flowers that are there are putridly creamy in a stomach-turning way, and the civet forces your head into its crotch. Putting it on is like fighting your way into a tight black leather jacket that crackles with hostility as you try to make it bend. Once on, there is a raw, salty meat smell that crawls up at your nose from the seams of the jacket, as if bits of cow flesh still cling to the underside. I was always disappointed that Lady Gaga's first fragrance didn't smell like I imagined her dripping meat dress to smell - but Bandit does.

But that's not what turns my stomach. What gets me each and every time is the jarring clash between the raw, salted-meat leather notes and the creamy floral side. The florals are calorific, full-fat renderings of themselves - a rubbery tuberose, a petrol-like jasmine - mashed into a cream cheese texture that when it rubs up against the dark, dry leather causes my gorge to rise. The civet plays a key role here, of course, both heightening the pitch of the brutal leather accord and giving the florals a slutty growl.

To my surprise, it's the smoky ashes of the dreaded galbanum that rescue Bandit for me, because, cutting through the overly rich florals and brutal, salted leather, the ash weaves in and out and draws my attention to a campfire in the distance, a successful (and much appreciated) piece of misdirection. Every time I get to this part of the dry down, I wonder if it's worth at least getting a decant.

On the plus side, Bandit is distinctive, bold, and full of character. It is also ageless. In its cleaned-up, reformulated state, the current Bandit EDP is firmly modern in its minimalism. There is nothing in it that pegs it to any one year, let alone a year as far back as 1944. As Teutonically ergonomic as an Olympian swimmer's waxed chest, it feels like it could have been debuted in the same year as Rien (Etat Libre d'Orange), even though 62 years separate the two.

On the other hand, Bandit is a fragrance whose high proportion of green notes makes it vulnerable to the ravages of time. In two samples I've had (vintage and concentration unknown to me), the green elements - the moss, hyacinth, artemisia? - seemed to have wilted like lettuce in the sun. The resulting vegetal, decaying mulch does nothing for me, not because it is unpleasant per se, but because part of me associates that wilted green note with perfumes I find dated. I won't name names, but basically anything with coriander, peach, gardenia, and sometimes that 70s way of treating patchouli.

In the end, though, Bandit is just a curiosity for me, and a placeholder - it smells much better and richer than the brown-grey drudgery of the current Cabochard and less herbally-up-its-own-ass as Miss Balmain, but not nearly as good as Jolie Madame, whose rush of violets makes me smile. Habanita and Tabac Blond are its sisters-in-arms, equally at home with a sneer and a cigarette dangling out of their mouths, but I would take them - any of them - over Bandit. I just don't have the personality required for such naked aggression.

06/17/2021

10Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

JonasP1
3 Reviews

Translated · Show original

JonasP1

Top Review 61

Bandit on Secret Paths

Darkness spreads
Only street lamps flicker wearily
Deathly silence in the small town
The bandit sneaks away quietly
Into deserted green-mossy valleys
It is cold
His leather cloak warms
Dark clouds gather
Gentle neroli rain
Pattering on his narrow face
Galbanum walls the quiet fear within him
With fear in the back of his mind, he continues
Cool earth swirls around him
Past forests and lakes
The moss-covered lake breathes tuberoses
Slowly the mist rises
Becomes one with nature
A long day lies behind the bandit
He has been on his feet for over 10 hours
His steps are heavy, but soundless
Not an everyday occurrence even for a bandit
Suddenly he hears noises
The oak moss offers protection
The sounds fade away
Just imagination?
Doesn't matter!
The strength of the bandit wanes
He spends the night in the oak moss
Dreams of further adventures...

Bandit (2012) by Robert Piguet is a very beautiful and classic chypre fragrance with a leathery touch. It leans towards a rather green direction and brings a, as I find, very subtle and pleasant animalic note. I usually do not like the tuberose present in the fragrance, but here it has been incorporated very pleasantly and discreetly. For me, Bandit (2012) is a very special chypre fragrance, thanks also to the leather and the well-measured oak moss.
The first edition of Bandit is from 1944 and it was one of the first fragrances from this house. The version from 1944 is unfortunately now only expensive and hard to find. After a reissued Eau de Toilette from 1999 did not receive a particularly good reception, this version of Bandit was launched in 2012 and became a great success again, said to be relatively close to the original version. Unfortunately, Bandit (2012) was also discontinued some time ago.

Thank you for reading!

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