Pour Homme Grauton Parfums 2023

A sunny morning, early September. The air is still cool. I stand in front of the ground floor buildings where the first grades are housed. 1964. So the buildings, now it’s 1979. Or 1977? It’s not quite clear, around that time. Anyway, I’m standing there, nicely dressed, wide corduroy pants, loden jacket, in the style of the time. The school cone in my hand. It’s made of felt, light green, with a lemon-yellow ribbon on top. The school bag made of light leather on my shoulders. It’s already a bit older, the fate of having older brothers. You can only smell the leather if you stick your nose in deep, very lightly. It’s still quite empty, apart from the pencil case, there’s not much inside. That’s also made of cord. It was a very corduroy time. There are colored pencils inside and a fountain pen. Geha, that’s important, shapes you for life. Most have Pelikan.

But is all of that true? Doubts arise. Weren’t the colors much more vibrant back then? A dark green and wasn’t the ribbon red? Memories are deceptive constructs. Objectively viewed, they are at best subjective. One should not trust them, especially not one’s own.

Grauton Pour Homme is a little bit magical. Magical in the sense that it evokes memories of a time I don’t associate with perfume. My memory of perfume only slowly begins in the 80s; before that, I had no significant touchpoints, and if I did, only subconsciously. Still, the memories are there; bright and cheerful memories, others wouldn’t fit the scent.

Pour Homme starts spicy and fresh and especially aldehyde-green. The citrus fruits are present, but rather as support for the herbs, the cumin, and especially the aldehydes. The whole mixture is very dense, and you already feel like you’re in the 70s. It reminds me a bit of Aramis Devon (1977) but is somewhat more restrained and lighter, yet certainly not lightweight. I wouldn’t call it a fougère, as the herbs and especially the cumin are not pronounced enough for me. The latter only brings a slightly warm note.

Lavender makes itself known next, dry and spicy. A few flowers also play a role, but I can’t identify them individually. And galbanum. The overall mood remains the same, fresh-spicy and light green. Cedarwood brings a slight lime note. One could speak of a classic men’s chypre at this stage, although soon a slight leather note also resonates, which makes me think more of the Aramis from 1964, especially since the scent also becomes a bit sweeter, as if something resinous is contained.

Towards the base, there’s then moss, a lot of moss, first a bit soapy, later drier (the moss could also be from Rogue; Tabac Vert or Mousse Illuminée come to mind). Vetiver brings a fresh tone, sandalwood and musk round it off. The whole thing remains fresh-spicy in the base, which distinguishes Pour Homme somewhat from the aforementioned Aramis, which goes into a woody-ambered base and also from Devin, which becomes warmer and resinous in the base. Only much later, after about 7 hours, does Pour Homme also become woodier and slightly resinous, and that’s how it fades out.

Martin Fuhs himself says about Pour Homme that it is a tribute to the scents of the 70s and 80s, and I gladly agree, although I would tend more towards the 70s (plus or minus a few years). The aforementioned scents from Aramis came to my mind because I know and appreciate the brand; a title for this text could also have been ‘the Aramis that never existed’ (which should be understood as a compliment). However, one can certainly also refer to other scents of the time; Pour Homme is a (successful) homage to a fragrance era, not to a single scent. It is certainly a dry, serious, but never humorless fragrance, firmly anchored in the past, yet modern in its appearance (more finely drawn and lightly composed).

A valued Parfumo recently suggested that such fragrances might trigger a new trend, moving away from the often prevailing mushy, woody-resinous-sweet widescreen wallpapers, towards more classic scents. I would wish for that.

---------------------

Influenza Disclosure
Martin provided me with the sample of Pour Homme unsolicited and free of charge, for which I am very grateful. Writing something about it was never a condition and is my decision, as I find the scent very, very good. This doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t be open to offers; please contact me via PM.