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A peppery iris, with not much amber and sandalwood
This review is based on a sample of Bon Parfumeur 302 - Amber, iris, sandalwood that I bought from the company. It is listed as a powdery sandalwood by the perfumer, but not for me. I am more likely to call this a peppery iris.
Writing about Bon Parfumeur perfumes is always a deja vu for me. I could cut and paste my review on Bon Parfumeur 301 with minor edits and make it work. 302 follows the Bon Parfumeur tradition of mildly interesting perfumes with mediocre performance. I could have been more charitable towards them if they were cheaper.
Bon Parfumeur 302 opens with a spicy cardamom scent with mild floral notes. The transition to the heart notes is smooth and uneventful. The incense, vanilla and iris combination of these middle notes does not create a separate phase in the development, nor does it impart any unique personality. As is common with Bon Parfumeur scents, the party is over too soon. So, you don’t really get much of the base notes - amber, sandalwood and musk - listed on the website. I cannot swear that these aren’t there. But my nose is not sharp enough to pick these notes from a weak but pleasant dry down. I don’t want to use an olfactory microscope to search for the base notes in a perfume that costs $130 for a full bottle.
The longevity on my skin is about 4-5 hours after which I can no longer identify the notes. The dry down survives for another few hours, but only as a mild pleasant skin scent. The sillage is adequate for the first few hours. This could be a good fit for office and other formal settings for someone, but $130 is too much for an adequate office perfume.
Writing about Bon Parfumeur perfumes is always a deja vu for me. I could cut and paste my review on Bon Parfumeur 301 with minor edits and make it work. 302 follows the Bon Parfumeur tradition of mildly interesting perfumes with mediocre performance. I could have been more charitable towards them if they were cheaper.
Bon Parfumeur 302 opens with a spicy cardamom scent with mild floral notes. The transition to the heart notes is smooth and uneventful. The incense, vanilla and iris combination of these middle notes does not create a separate phase in the development, nor does it impart any unique personality. As is common with Bon Parfumeur scents, the party is over too soon. So, you don’t really get much of the base notes - amber, sandalwood and musk - listed on the website. I cannot swear that these aren’t there. But my nose is not sharp enough to pick these notes from a weak but pleasant dry down. I don’t want to use an olfactory microscope to search for the base notes in a perfume that costs $130 for a full bottle.
The longevity on my skin is about 4-5 hours after which I can no longer identify the notes. The dry down survives for another few hours, but only as a mild pleasant skin scent. The sillage is adequate for the first few hours. This could be a good fit for office and other formal settings for someone, but $130 is too much for an adequate office perfume.
A beautiful cardamom-lavender perfume with mid-range performance
This review is based on a sample of the Le Male Le Parfum that I bought from MicroPerfumes, a US based decanter.
Incidentally, I was wearing La Nuit de L’Homme from Yves Saint Laurent the day before. Naturally, I was struck by the similarity between these two. Apart from the bergamot in the opening in La Nuit, these perfumes are essentially identical. The base notes are different according to the perfumers, but the end is so weak in both perfumes that this does not differentiate them.
Le Male Le Parfum opens with a bright cardamom. Almost immediately, the heart notes come into view. The transition from cardamom to the iris and lavender in the heart notes is so smooth that you barely notice the change. These two major notes - cardamom and lavender - do most of the work in this perfume. As the intensity peters out quickly, the base notes do not really make a strong appearance. Though I get a nice mild dry down, I am unable to pick out the vanilla and woodsy notes, supposedly in the ending. This is not Gris Charnel where you wallow in a fantastic dry down for hours.
Le Male Le Parfum lasts on my skin for less than 6 hours before turning to a nice dry down. The sillage is adequate for an office perfume. You can pick out the smell in the wake for a few hours but not if you are sitting. Thus the performance is similar to La Nuit de L’Homme EDT. Though I have not compared directly, Le Male EDT seems to last longer on my skin than the Le Parfum. But, these scents have very different ingredients and olfactory pyramids, not to mention different perfumers.
If you are looking for a nice but inoffensive cardamom-lavender scent for office, I would lean towards La Nuit de L’Homme over Le Male Le Parfum though both are very good.
Incidentally, I was wearing La Nuit de L’Homme from Yves Saint Laurent the day before. Naturally, I was struck by the similarity between these two. Apart from the bergamot in the opening in La Nuit, these perfumes are essentially identical. The base notes are different according to the perfumers, but the end is so weak in both perfumes that this does not differentiate them.
Le Male Le Parfum opens with a bright cardamom. Almost immediately, the heart notes come into view. The transition from cardamom to the iris and lavender in the heart notes is so smooth that you barely notice the change. These two major notes - cardamom and lavender - do most of the work in this perfume. As the intensity peters out quickly, the base notes do not really make a strong appearance. Though I get a nice mild dry down, I am unable to pick out the vanilla and woodsy notes, supposedly in the ending. This is not Gris Charnel where you wallow in a fantastic dry down for hours.
Le Male Le Parfum lasts on my skin for less than 6 hours before turning to a nice dry down. The sillage is adequate for an office perfume. You can pick out the smell in the wake for a few hours but not if you are sitting. Thus the performance is similar to La Nuit de L’Homme EDT. Though I have not compared directly, Le Male EDT seems to last longer on my skin than the Le Parfum. But, these scents have very different ingredients and olfactory pyramids, not to mention different perfumers.
If you are looking for a nice but inoffensive cardamom-lavender scent for office, I would lean towards La Nuit de L’Homme over Le Male Le Parfum though both are very good.
Beautiful, universally appealing and eminently wearable.
This review is based on a sample of La Nuit de L’Homme EDT that I got from MicroPerfumes.com, a US decanter.
La Nuit de L’Homme is ranked 8th on the Parfumo list of most popular mens perfumes. One spray will reveal the rationale behind this popular choice. It is a beautiful, universally acceptable perfume with few jagged edges.
The opening is a very nice burst of cardamom and bergamot. Very soon, the bergamot recedes and the cardamom blends in with the lavender in the heart notes. The other two heart notes listed - pepper and cedar wood - are too mild for my nose to pick up. So, the personality of this perfume can be summarized as lavendar-cardamom. In the hands of skillful perfumers, that is more than what you need. The base notes listed are tonka and vetiver. I smell a nice blend of base notes and dry down, but these notes are not revealing themselves for an easy identification. If I didn’t have prior information, I would have added musk to the base notes.
The performance is good, but not great on my skin. In six hours, the La Nuit de L’Homme dies down to a beautiful intimate skin scent that is barely perceptible unless you hunt for it. Sillage is average, that too for the first few hours. I don’t consider this a fault, but rather a quality of this genre. La Nuit de L’Homme is a mature, beautiful lavender scent that can be used safely in office settings. I think that this can be easily worn by any gender.
La Nuit de L’Homme is ranked 8th on the Parfumo list of most popular mens perfumes. One spray will reveal the rationale behind this popular choice. It is a beautiful, universally acceptable perfume with few jagged edges.
The opening is a very nice burst of cardamom and bergamot. Very soon, the bergamot recedes and the cardamom blends in with the lavender in the heart notes. The other two heart notes listed - pepper and cedar wood - are too mild for my nose to pick up. So, the personality of this perfume can be summarized as lavendar-cardamom. In the hands of skillful perfumers, that is more than what you need. The base notes listed are tonka and vetiver. I smell a nice blend of base notes and dry down, but these notes are not revealing themselves for an easy identification. If I didn’t have prior information, I would have added musk to the base notes.
The performance is good, but not great on my skin. In six hours, the La Nuit de L’Homme dies down to a beautiful intimate skin scent that is barely perceptible unless you hunt for it. Sillage is average, that too for the first few hours. I don’t consider this a fault, but rather a quality of this genre. La Nuit de L’Homme is a mature, beautiful lavender scent that can be used safely in office settings. I think that this can be easily worn by any gender.
Spicy drinks and sweet dessert by a fireplace
This review is based on a sample vial of By The Fireplace I bought from a decant site. So, all the caveats regarding unofficial samples apply here. In my opinion, the name evokes a warm and cosy fireplace with spicy drinks and desserts, not the fire, the smoke and the ash of a fireplace.
The opening notes have something very pungent, reminiscent of cilantro or fenugreek. Many folks may describe this as smoky, but my nose says fenugreek. After this unpleasant (for me) note subsides, the rest of the opening is nice. What remains is a spicy gourmand smell, possibly from the clove in the opening, and chestnut and gaiac wood from the heart notes. I also smell something pleasant resembling tonka Bean a few minutes after the initial spray. For my nose, the olfactory pyramid is not very differentiated. There is not much development I can see. Within a few hours, the vanilla and cashmeran surface and starts dominating. The base notes and the dry down are pleasant, but not very unique.
By The Fireplace is a strong performer. The longevity on my skin is about 8-10 hours. The sillage is good, though limited to the first few hours.
All this leaves me wondering. Why all this hype? It is a nice, inoffensive (except for the opening fenugreek) gourmand. I don’t smell any ash or smoke in this perfume. My challenge is to find a space for this perfume among my collection of gourmands. When I first smelled it, I had the distinct feeling that I have smelled this before. My money is on Armani Stronger With You Intensely, but without the leather suede notes. If you have a few gourmands already, and if you are not a gourmand aficionado, you may not need this perfume.
The opening notes have something very pungent, reminiscent of cilantro or fenugreek. Many folks may describe this as smoky, but my nose says fenugreek. After this unpleasant (for me) note subsides, the rest of the opening is nice. What remains is a spicy gourmand smell, possibly from the clove in the opening, and chestnut and gaiac wood from the heart notes. I also smell something pleasant resembling tonka Bean a few minutes after the initial spray. For my nose, the olfactory pyramid is not very differentiated. There is not much development I can see. Within a few hours, the vanilla and cashmeran surface and starts dominating. The base notes and the dry down are pleasant, but not very unique.
By The Fireplace is a strong performer. The longevity on my skin is about 8-10 hours. The sillage is good, though limited to the first few hours.
All this leaves me wondering. Why all this hype? It is a nice, inoffensive (except for the opening fenugreek) gourmand. I don’t smell any ash or smoke in this perfume. My challenge is to find a space for this perfume among my collection of gourmands. When I first smelled it, I had the distinct feeling that I have smelled this before. My money is on Armani Stronger With You Intensely, but without the leather suede notes. If you have a few gourmands already, and if you are not a gourmand aficionado, you may not need this perfume.
A rather ordinary cumin-vetiver perfume with mediocre performance
This review is based on original sample of Cartier Declaration EDT that I got from one of the grey market sellers (not a decant).
This is considered a classic from Jean Claude Ellena. But for me, it is an entirely uninteresting fragrance. The overall personality of this perfume is that of dry spices and generic woody notes. Unfortunately, there are no complementary notes to relieve some of the dryness.
The opening is an amalgam of dry culinary spices, mostly cumin. Within a few minutes, vetiver comes up strongly in the heart notes, along with a whiff of some woody notes . But I do not get anything else reported on Parfumo or Cartier website. These missing notes - orange and cardamom - could have lit up some of the plainness of Declaration. The vetiver and cumin persists deep into the base notes with little development. Fragrantica lists no less than 22 notes for this perfume, which leads many users along magical garden paths paved with illusory accords.
The performance and sillage are mediocre on my skin. Declaration survives on my skin for less than 6 hours, tapering off as a skin scent soon after. It lasts longer on my clothes.
In summary, this is a mature cumin-vetiver scent that is inoffensive and plain. It may work well as an office perfumes until someone mistakes the cumin for body odor. Declaration is too ordinary for me to consider buying it. Tous 1920 The Origin EDP is a very cheap alternative ($23) if you really need a cumin-vetiver scent.
This is considered a classic from Jean Claude Ellena. But for me, it is an entirely uninteresting fragrance. The overall personality of this perfume is that of dry spices and generic woody notes. Unfortunately, there are no complementary notes to relieve some of the dryness.
The opening is an amalgam of dry culinary spices, mostly cumin. Within a few minutes, vetiver comes up strongly in the heart notes, along with a whiff of some woody notes . But I do not get anything else reported on Parfumo or Cartier website. These missing notes - orange and cardamom - could have lit up some of the plainness of Declaration. The vetiver and cumin persists deep into the base notes with little development. Fragrantica lists no less than 22 notes for this perfume, which leads many users along magical garden paths paved with illusory accords.
The performance and sillage are mediocre on my skin. Declaration survives on my skin for less than 6 hours, tapering off as a skin scent soon after. It lasts longer on my clothes.
In summary, this is a mature cumin-vetiver scent that is inoffensive and plain. It may work well as an office perfumes until someone mistakes the cumin for body odor. Declaration is too ordinary for me to consider buying it. Tous 1920 The Origin EDP is a very cheap alternative ($23) if you really need a cumin-vetiver scent.
