Profumorist

Dear Yatagan, I simply cannot get your image of the meaty lemon from your statement about Le Galion's "Essence Noble" out of my head. Every time I wear or smell Eau Noble, I picture a half-sliced, intensely yellow lemon filled with ground meat.
Somehow creepy and fascinating at the same time.

Yet this fragrance does not deserve my associations.

In the style of the greatest scents like New-York or Chanel's Pour Monsieur, this one stands on equal footing.

From the start, this clear, refreshing lemon presents itself underpinned with plenty of powder and a pinch of green galbanum. Comparable to the lemon from Pour Monsieur; just not quite as authentic.

From the middle to the end, it develops more and more into New-York by Parfums de Nicolaï. Lavender, sage, and rose. All captured directly by the oakmoss and still powdery. Finely balanced and harmoniously intertwined. Truly worth recommending.

The only downside for me is the average longevity and sillage.

A modern fragrance in a classic presentation. For all lovers of the above scents.

Best regards

Your Profumorist

I am currently in a writing mood and have set myself the goal of dedicating a comment to each fragrance in my collection, plus my decants, minus my scents from the souk. Why? Because they deserve it. They are not in my collection for nothing.

Derby is probably one of the best men's fragrances of all time that never really experienced a breakthrough. It never stood seriously in the spotlight. And it never adorned the pages of the world's magazines. What was the reason? Hard to say. Poor advertising or the rather ugly bottle?

Or maybe because this fragrance is simply too opulent, too extravagant, too heavy, too complex, and too aromatic for the 80s. This scent could easily be placed in the 20s of the last century. Or, for that matter, at the end of the 60s / beginning of the 70s.

Trivia question for the scent description: “What do oranges, heavy old wood, and spices have to do with a classic English horse race?” A brief moment of thought. Right! Not a faint clue. I have always thought that Dior was the company that had problems with naming. Be that as it may, in essence, it doesn't really matter.

The impressions one experiences when spraying this fragrance are overwhelming, intoxicating. The start hits with a full blast of spiced ripe oranges. Normal top notes vanish after a few seconds. This one stays and stays. The components of the heart note are clearly recognizable. Almost seamlessly, the (Indian) woods and spices, accompanied by a hint of clove, join the spiced orange. Personally, I would have leaned more towards Indian spices than Indian wood. The whole thing remains opulent, heavy, and filling the room. Towards the base, the fragrance dims down a bit. In its direction and character, it becomes woody-balsamic with a slight hint of smoke.

Longevity and sillage are outstanding. More needs to be said about this.

This is Guerlain's perfumery art in perfection. Or to quote Luca Turin: “One of the best men's fragrances of all time.” Unfortunately, it was perfection at the wrong time. Moreover, it may have been discontinued by now.

Regards

Your Profumorist

It once again proves true, as it often does in life, that one should not judge the content by its packaging. Whether in interpersonal relationships or in general.

Usually, I structure my comments on fragrances almost always according to the same scheme. A brief introduction about God and the world. Then follows a description of the fragrance including an assessment of longevity, sillage, and the bottle, and finally a short recommendation.

Here, however, I must start with the bottle. My God, is it cheap. In reality, it looks even worse than in the picture. Really not nice. As I said: content is more important than packaging.

And this one has it all. Those who know Davidoff's first fragrance will appreciate and miss it, will find here an equally worthy, quite affordable substitute. For me, it is really about 90% the same. Although the Davidoff appears smokier in its basic orientation. The Vermeil is distinctly fresher and fruitier due to the listed blackcurrant. Far from any exaggerated garden fruit sweetness. In the middle part, as is fitting for a classically inspired men's fragrance, there is a floral mix. But don't worry. Nothing here smells floral or overly feminine. It’s very well balanced. Slightly tobacco-heavy and bitter in the base, supported by the patchouli, it loses hardly any of its freshness throughout the entire fragrance development.

The longevity and sillage are excellently balanced. I can still smell it after a whole workday. Additionally, it noticeably leaves a scent trail behind. Very nice.

For me, this fragrance is an absolute recommendation. A classic men's fragrance as it should be. Slightly macho. Perhaps a bit outdated. Nevertheless, I find it nice that it still exists today.

For many here, the Davidoff is THE men's fragrance par excellence. Period. Then this one must be 90% THE men's fragrance.

A personal note in conclusion: For me, “Gianfranco Ferré for Man” is THE men's fragrance.

Regards

Your Profumorist

The 90s. I spent them between my tenth and twentieth year. I started high school. I graduated. I got drunk for the first time in my life. I spent my youth with them.

The 90s were Snap!, Dr. Alban, Haddaway. Techno and Eurodance. But also Guns n Roses, Nirvana, REM, Rage against the machine. Top of the pops, Brit-Pop, Kelly Family and the seemingly endless number of boy bands.

The 90s were parties in the Rhein-Rock-Hallen and at the Tarm-Center. They were Smirnoff and Kleiner Feigling. Lots of Kölsch, lots of schnapps, lots of nausea.

The 90s were also Game Boy, Super Nintendo, Super Mario, Sonic and Doom. Ego-shooters on the PC. Beverly Hills 90210, Baywatch, Diddl, Tamagotchi and the G-Shock.

In the 90s, the Backstreet Boys were still freely available on MTV, Jasmin Wagner was still called Blümchen, you couldn't do without the 501 from Levis or the Eastpack backpack, tattoo chains were still in, platform soles were still fashionable, and the boys wore bomber jackets.

Olfactorily, the decade was predominantly fresh. Cool Water, CK One and BE, the Tommy, Acqua di Gio and the like could be smelled on every corner. Looking back, it’s rather surprising that Issey was not present for me in this most iconic of decades. I only discovered it for myself a few years ago.

A look into my collection reveals that I clearly lean towards fresh, citrusy, chypre-like fragrances. This is garnished with a few select older scents. That’s it. I don’t need more. And Issey Miyake fits perfectly into my prey schema.

The opening is characterized by the yuzu fruit. Almost sour, invigorating and refreshing. Wonderful. The only other opening of this kind that I know is Caron’s “Yuzu Man,” which unfortunately consists only of its top note. This is clearly supported by the herb-metallic freshness of verbena. The flowers in the heart, which have been described so often here, I cannot discern for the life of me. Overall, the scent for my nose moves towards the base, becoming pleasantly woody, slightly musky, and remains beautifully fresh and invigorating.

The longevity and sillage are truly excellent for a fresh scent. Unlike many comparable fragrances that have been reformulated over the years, I can perceive this one in its current version without any problems for an entire workday.

A few days ago, I was able to test an older version as well as a current version of this fragrance simultaneously. Once on the left, once on the right. And I honestly couldn’t detect any significant differences in the scent or longevity. It seems to have weathered the years quite well.

What remains for me is a wonderful fresh-citrusy and invigorating scent that was, is, and will remain extraordinary in its composition. 24 years after its release, it is a cult classic that continues to overshadow most of the fresh scents released today in all their facets.

Regards

Your Profumorist

Please don't be put off by the title. This old one is truly wearable. I am a proud owner of a vintage bottle. The one with the marbled cap. And the fragrance description only targets this version.

Vintage 1970 and still available. You have to give it to Hermès. They do not forget their heroes from the past. Reformulated, but still here. The current version is a bit softer, less perfectly balanced, rounder, but still beautiful and unmistakably Equipage.

The old one launches straight away. Clove and sage in an intensity never seen before. I can't think of another fragrance that offers something like this. Bitter, dry-spicy all around. Almost too much of a good thing. The cinnamon is supposed to be the counterpart to this bone-dry spice. But I don't perceive it. There is no detectable sweetness. Probably, the cinnamon is only used in just the right amount to keep the rest bearable. I certainly don’t smell the citrus fruits here either. They probably play the same role as the cinnamon. Towards the base, this fragrance calms down a bit. However, the still natural oak moss maintains the bitter-spicy basic mood. The whole thing is a bit smoother.

The longevity and sillage of my version are excellent and very satisfying. However, the old bottle seems to be from a completely different time.

Wow! This fragrance is truly uncompromising. Bitter-dry. Smooth-spicy. Zero sweetness. Masculine without being macho. In 1970, no one had even thought about unisex. I wish that some perfumer today would dare to create something like this.

Regards

Your Profumorist