Benlives

There are those fragrances that simply exude a "Barbershop" vibe. These typical soap scents are almost always classics, such as Aigner's No. 2, Gainsborough's "G-Man," Van Cleef's "Pour Homme," or Gianfranco Ferre's "For Man." They all have that old-school character with plenty of soap and spice, dry yet warm (sometimes more, sometimes less), and they all have their fans. And their haters.

This fragrance here feels as if a Barbershop scent from the late 70s or 80s has been transformed into our time. Still soapy, but also very fresh, well-groomed, and above all gentle. No overpowering spices or brutal soapiness like in the classics, instead a soft, almost creamy fresh soapiness.

With this fragrance, the label has done quite a few things right. Great for everyday wear and in a way also a tribute to the aftershave-heavy old-schoolers. It's also good for gentlemen who may not (yet) connect with the heavy classics. The new fresh Barbershop scent.

I actually knew what to expect before spraying it on. Sweet, sweeter, Rabanne. With "One Million" it was still somewhat artistically executed (yes, I know it’s labeled as a disco hit but still), but here it’s just... sugar? Oh my... it even appears in the fragrance pyramid! I’ve never seen that before. NEVER!

One has to consider what scent Rabanne released in the 70s (the distinctive green-spicy "Pour homme") and what he is bringing out now. What was the intention behind this fragrance? That every wearer becomes diabetic immediately?

Paco Rabanne seems to not have adapted to the mainstream; he seems to have become the mainstream. This scent embodies all of that: sticky, sweet, fruity, trivial, characterless... "One Million" and "Invictus" at least had decent longevity....

Do you know the advertisement for Pure XS? The women who collectively faint when the young man douses himself with this glue? No, they are not impressed by the perfume. They all immediately get diabetes and faint. Makes more sense with this cardboard stuff.

Definitely not for me. Maybe for the very young crowd. I don’t want to become diabetic.

P.S.: I can't assess the sillage and longevity, and to be honest, I don't want to wear it long enough to find out...

Boss has indeed released some really great perfumes... a long time ago. Like Number One, which unfortunately has also been reformulated, but is still a really good scent and an absolute child of its time. "The Scent" is the same - unfortunately.

As the advertising says, which will probably be running up and down again before Christmas: "The sensual men's fragrance." The scent is bland and contourless, uninspired, perhaps only describable as pleasant due to the fruity note. There’s really nothing sensual about it, but maybe I just have different expectations than the general public. And well, that’s unfortunately the spirit of the times in recent years: fruit, a bit of freshness, bam, 100 euros please. And those who have tested and come to love real old-school fragrances or even vintages inevitably ask themselves: "Am I supposed to spend money on something so arbitrary - and then so much???"

Fragrances today apparently shouldn’t disturb anyone, shouldn’t clash anywhere... but maybe that’s precisely why they no longer bring any real joy - because they lack character. They are more smell than scent, they simply lack that certain something.

This one is so arbitrary that it even has a certain nothing.

Do you know that feeling when you start associating scents with characters? That's how I feel about this one. The scene from "Pulp Fiction" comes to mind, where Bruce Willis and John Travolta are sitting in the bar. "What's with the look, buddy?" Perfect scent for guys like him, masculine, distinctive, strong, confident. Pretty much the opposite of the widely spread bearded, vegan fitness hipster these days. Great fragrance, even if it takes a bit of confidence to still wear such bold scents nowadays. My sympathy for it took some time to really develop.

These days, there are countless fragrances that seem completely arbitrary and interchangeable. A bit aquatic, a bit fresh, a bit nondescript, a bit shapeless, a bit too boring. And then there are the other kinds of fragrances, the old-school atom bombs that seemingly have not (hardly) been reformulated. It must have been around this time last year that I held "Pour Homme" in my hands. Another blind buy from TK Maxx. Sprayed it on and... what the hell??? Could this actually be my first real mistake? Soap, soap, soap... and more soap?? At that time, I was not even capable of distinguishing the scent notes in the slightest. My nose was too untrained. Nevertheless, I boldly doused myself and had to shower about two hours later because it was just too intense for me. Even after that, I could still perceive it. It had brutal longevity, no question, but it was just too overwhelming for me at first. Still, it fascinated me from the start.

Some time later, I dared to approach it again and lo and behold, the fascination was joined by actual enjoyment of the scent. It was so different, so soapy, leathery, spicy, and above all... natural! A great contrast if you no longer want to smell the synthetic mainstream stuff. Authentically masculine and distinctive. I started using it more and more often, and now it has become one of my favorite fragrances and even a signature scent. I haven't smelled anything comparable since...
Today, I can also distinguish the scent notes quite well, nutmeg, juniper, clove and rose, moss and incense, all so wonderfully combined that it results in a total work of art.

The longevity is intense on me (at least the version with the black-brown outer box), after more than 10 hours I can still perceive it, and the sillage is very strong for the first 6 to 7 hours.

Great fragrance that you almost never smell on someone else. And if someone gives you a sideways glance on the street and wrinkles their nose, just respond: "What's with the look, buddy?"