Hordak

Recently, I have been exploring many of the classic women's fragrances. As some who may already know my taste can imagine, I am focusing first on the time period of the 70s and 80s. Similar to my favorite men's fragrances, the chance of finding a scent that I find pleasant to wear is quite high. And I am discovering a lot of new notes, many of which I was not familiar with due to my previous fixation on men's perfumes.

During this olfactory odyssey, one note has particularly stuck in my mind. The tuberose!
Fleshy, creamy, sultry, and heavy. Who would have thought? It has quickly become one of my favorite notes. The fragrance that immediately seduced me regarding this note was Balenciaga's Michelle. Here, the tuberose is the flesh that adorns the skeleton of the remaining notes. It dominates until the end.

Now comes the turning point to Richard James Savile Row. Here, the tuberose is also quite clearly recognizable, from the beginning to the comforting end. In contrast to Balenciaga's bombastic Michelle, it does not form the flesh here, but rather the skeleton, on which muscles of patchouli, tendons of lavender, connective tissue of slightly sweet suede, and a sandalwood-scented vascular system rest. The fleshy aspect that the tuberose often has as a main note is absent here. In Savile Row, it provides a creamy and wonderful floral effect, giving the various layers of body tissue an elegant and symmetrical shape. I am thrilled! An oriental fragrance that resonates in its aura close to Tiffany's men's classic, Yves Saint Laurent's Opium pour Homme, or Aramis JHL.

Unfortunately, production has been discontinued, a realization I have to make far too often in my reviews, but here, oh wonder, the lord of fragrances, or rather Richard James, seems to have heard me. It was announced some time ago in the American Basenotes forum that his fragrance line will be resurrected. As good as possible, unchanged in the same visual form of the beautiful, hand-friendly bottle, and hopefully also in an olfactory sense.

Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the price. Longevity and sillage are very good in my old version, which I proudly hold in my hands here.

Friends of oriental, floral, and of course unique fragrances should give it a try. It will be worth it.

Attention: Advertisement and Acknowledgment

My esteemed colleague and brother Yatagan, who has probably influenced me the most here in the community and expanded my knowledge, drew my attention to Sienna through his comment back then, and since I have never been averse to blind purchases, I ordered it blindly and my eyes were opened.

The essentials have already been said. In short, my impression of Sienna is overwhelmingly positive. Slightly spicy, slightly sweet, slightly leathery, with elusive or not clearly recognizable individual notes, which in this case is to be taken as a compliment. Sienna was and is for me a Jack of all Trades, one you can rely on, one you should have in every team, in every crew, in every brotherhood. Comparable scents, in terms of genre and application area, might be Hechter's Caractere and Aramis' Tuscany per uomo. Sienna stands in the background, doing the things that need to be done, even if those things are not always glorious. Without him, the flamboyant personalities would have no opportunity to shine, without him, you might win some battles surprisingly through individual actions, but lose the war. When I think of Sienna, I think of Steve Kerr from the mid-90s Chicago Bulls team, I think of Wedge Antilles from "Star Wars," Luke Skywalker's wingman and survivor of all major battles against the Empire, I think of Danny the Tunnel Digger from "The Great Escape," who bravely continues to dig despite his claustrophobia and ultimately manages to escape over the border from Germany.
In short: a scent for every season and every occasion. Sillage and longevity are average but reliable for me. The standard Crabtree & Evelyn men's bottle pleases me very much, the packaging is really great. And the price was a very affordable 33 euros per 100ml back then, and it was worth every cent.

Unfortunately, it seems to have been discontinued, and I regret that I didn't stock up more back then, as I thought Sienna would exist for a long time. Wrong thought, grrrrr!

Thanks also to brother Yatagan. So far, every comment, every fragrance you recommended, and every scent sample you sent has convinced me. Spanish Leather by Truefitt & Hill, for example, from which I once received a sample from you, has managed to become the right hand of King Antaeus. But that will be another comment.

Mauboussin is an old Parisian jewelry house, and most people might not be familiar with it at first. The same goes for their perfume output. Here in Germany, you won't find it in the big chains; only collectors and connoisseurs come across their small but exquisite range of fragrances. After I got to know and appreciate Mauboussin Pour Homme in the EdP version through a tip from an English Fragrantica colleague, I felt it was my duty to take a chance on a blind buy with M Generation.

The name might seem off-putting, as one could assume they are trying to cater to some generation or another, although I still don't quite understand who or what the titular M Generation represents.
Through research for my review, I came across the press text: "Mauboussin M Generation is a new men's fragrance by the house of Mauboussin which glorifies masculinity and timeless elegance of modern man."
Aha, interesting, blah blah blah. But one shouldn't be deterred by the meaningless pamphlet, as M Generation is a fine, individual, and absolutely outstanding new scent for its low price, which is hard to find in today's designer world.

In the top note, one encounters bergamot, ginger, West Indian bay leaves (known from Bay Rum colognes), nutmeg, and Sichuan pepper. This pepper dominates, albeit briefly, the first impression, but it is neither sharp nor irritating; rather, it is pleasantly spicy. In the heart note, I can primarily perceive sweetened incense through jasmine and a hint of cinnamon, very ethereal and distinctive, not overly reminiscent of Catholic incense or oriental representatives. This phase lasts a long time and harmoniously connects towards the end with a triumvirate of guaiac wood, cedar, and sandalwood, which is not too sweet thanks to a touch of labdanum.

In my mind, an elegant palace emerges, ornately decorated, standing amidst the finest golden desert sand. An unmistakably oriental scent, but a restrained, elegant representative of its kind. More like a wise old imam than a flashy sheikh.

Sillage and longevity are decent for an Eau de Parfum, slightly above average. Priced at around 40 euros for 100ml.

The bottle will divide opinions, and I was initially unsure whether I would come to appreciate it. The slightly reflective effect oscillating between beige and silver is impressive. The shape will remind many of the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai; it initially reminded me of various insects and their cocoons, but I have since been convinced by the design.

Conclusion: A current mainstream/designer fragrance that not only convinces me but that I have now incorporated into my regular purchase rotation? Yes, such a thing does exist. I can only advise anyone who is enthusiastic about oriental fragrances and wants to discover something off the beaten path of the current Douglas Top 10 to take a chance on a blind buy. Perhaps not quite in the Amouage league, but I claim it can definitely hold its own at the top.

I have often expressed my admiration for the nearly completely forgotten house of Jaques Bogart, and I can do so again here:
With Witness (I can't help it, I’m an old Fips Asmussen fan!) I became a witness to the perfect nostalgic fragrance for the cold seasons.

I am quite sure that the fragrance pyramid mentioned above has a few gaps, as the second dominant note alongside the cinnamon that runs throughout the entire fragrance is the balsam fir.
Looking at the fragrance pyramid on Fragrantica, one is once again overwhelmed by the variety of notes, but as I have always been able to proclaim in many reviews, this is not a problem with the classics from the 70s to the 90s. Here too, everything comes together to form a shape. A shape that brings me to my first association when I got to test the fragrance for the first time. This shape of my association is my father, who cares for his black leather shoes with shoe brushes, various rags, and a large amount of shoe cream and polish of various colors and brands, primarily the Erdal brand.
Leather is not a part of this fragrance, but this specific shoe cream accord makes me think of it. It is a good memory, and I hope that no one who cannot imagine shoe cream or finds it off-putting will be deterred from testing the fragrance.

The second association comes from the beautiful balsam fir and the bottle, which inevitably reminds me of a Christmas tree. Dark green and a fine brown, this is how the freshly cut fir smells, under which spicy pastries will soon lie!
The fragrance is now already 21 years old, and nowadays hardly any house would bet on bringing such a fragrance to market. However, this should not mean that the fragrance is no longer relevant. Some may suspect that my nostalgic memories make me view the fragrance through rose-colored glasses, but I disagree. I first smelled the fragrance about four years ago, and it blew me away then and still does today, even after getting to know many other fragrances. It most closely reminds me, alongside the unfortunately discontinued KL Homme by Lagerfeld, of one of my few niche fragrances, Noir by Reminiscence. I also find that one brilliant, but in a direct comparison, Witness wins. A truly great fragrance!
All niche fragrance lovers and those who think fragrances must cost a lot and should not come from mundane designers should definitely test it if they can. It is worth it.

Sillage and longevity are slightly better than good; I would give 80% for each. The bottle has a somewhat kitschy quality, but due to the colors, I can still appreciate it a bit. However, it is not timeless.
The fragrance is still available at completely acceptable prices, for example on American eBay, a shipping surcharge of 10 euros is bearable. On to the purchase!

The first association when smelling this fine fragrance was "Count," and not the unspeakable bald Count, or the brilliant but slightly confused Count von Count, but the well-known and stylish Count Dracula. Best embodied by Christopher Lee.

Why this association? Describing it will be difficult, but I will try my best. Like many of the older, discontinued fragrances from the 80s and the first half of the 90s, Ungaro's "Pour L'Homme" is a total work of art, where several notes unite into a form, making it hard to identify the individual notes. Two other good examples of such fragrances that resemble this one in their aura and in some notes are Chanel's "Antaeus," my favorite fragrance, and Caron's "Le Troisieme Homme." Common components that can be recognized with difficulty are lavender, rose, clove or land clove (geranium), and jasmine, which make all three fragrances appear very lush and heavy, yet still elegant.

What these three fragrances also have in common is my impression that this is how Count Dracula would smell, if he were close enough to your neck. A complex, ruby-red, sexy dirty French scent that would surely be well received in Gothic circles, even though it contains no patchouli.

Such designer fragrances are simply rare today, and this combination of notes is as well. It’s just out, which makes it more interesting for me. "Pour L'Homme" is, by the way, part of the Ungaro Triumvirate, followed by the fragrances then titled Ungaro II and III. Each one is brilliant on its own, number III is still produced and is a little insider tip for rose and alcohol lovers, but of these three, the first is clearly my favorite in its complexity. The sillage is very strong; it follows you like a long black cloak, and you can feel like a Count with this fragrance, approaching the necks of beautiful women without appearing sleazy. The scent will not fail to make an impression!

The bottle is also timelessly beautiful; all three Ungaros have the same bottle shape but different colors. This one is made of dark red glass, with a dark green marbled cap and golden decorative stripes. I like it very much! The only point of criticism, and I have rarely been so surprised about this, is the poor longevity. After about 3 to 4 hours, hardly anything is noticeable, even though the scent almost overwhelms you with its strength in the top notes.

The fragrance is still available on eBay in Germany as well as in Italy, Spain, and France. Fans of the two mentioned fragrances can buy it blindly without hesitation.

Ungaro has a new fragrance in the program called "For Him," and when I read the notes, I was interested and even somewhat hopeful that something good might come out of it. When I saw the bottle, I had to gag, and my hope faded. Let’s hope that "For Him" does justice to its ancestor in terms of complexity and pleasantness.