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Her perfume on his jacket
WHAT IT IS
A man's suede jacket after he lets his girlfriend wear it on a cool spring evening. The citrus upfront is lightweight before opening into a *beautiful* gray suede layered on top of spiced & sugared pipe tobacco. The first thing that came to mind was a suede bomber jacket that's been worn over a sweet Azzaro men's fragrance and an ethereal Chanel-like women's floral. This is among the cleanest, most mercifully restrained (4-5hrs max) leather fragrances out there and a home run for cool weather.
WHO IT'S FOR
You don't like leather fragrances, but wish you did. Almost masculine up close, but feminine in the sillage... as though a woman wearing Coco Mademoiselle has just hugged you. Skews youthful, not young.
ALTERNATIVES
Hawthorne's Play Wild and Botanic is the more masculine version of Animalique; suede and moss in a cool forest without any of the florals. Tom Ford's Ombre Leather and Diptyque's Eau Rihla are both similarly clean leathers, but are fruity instead of floral (and less wearable due to their strength). Tom Ford's White Suede comes closest, but the sharpness from the saffron is missing here.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Whether it's "for me" is less important than the fact that Jerome Epinette has created a fragrance that evokes a very specific and (I think) pretty common situation: at some point, many of us have smelled Coco Mademoiselle's sweet mimosa *and* the scent of leather from a jacket, handbag, or car in the same breath. For me, this is every art gallery opening, birthday happy hour, and night out with some new clothes - and somehow, now it's in a bottle. Beautiful work.
A man's suede jacket after he lets his girlfriend wear it on a cool spring evening. The citrus upfront is lightweight before opening into a *beautiful* gray suede layered on top of spiced & sugared pipe tobacco. The first thing that came to mind was a suede bomber jacket that's been worn over a sweet Azzaro men's fragrance and an ethereal Chanel-like women's floral. This is among the cleanest, most mercifully restrained (4-5hrs max) leather fragrances out there and a home run for cool weather.
WHO IT'S FOR
You don't like leather fragrances, but wish you did. Almost masculine up close, but feminine in the sillage... as though a woman wearing Coco Mademoiselle has just hugged you. Skews youthful, not young.
ALTERNATIVES
Hawthorne's Play Wild and Botanic is the more masculine version of Animalique; suede and moss in a cool forest without any of the florals. Tom Ford's Ombre Leather and Diptyque's Eau Rihla are both similarly clean leathers, but are fruity instead of floral (and less wearable due to their strength). Tom Ford's White Suede comes closest, but the sharpness from the saffron is missing here.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Whether it's "for me" is less important than the fact that Jerome Epinette has created a fragrance that evokes a very specific and (I think) pretty common situation: at some point, many of us have smelled Coco Mademoiselle's sweet mimosa *and* the scent of leather from a jacket, handbag, or car in the same breath. For me, this is every art gallery opening, birthday happy hour, and night out with some new clothes - and somehow, now it's in a bottle. Beautiful work.
Pure Luxury
WHAT IT IS
A sundowner in the wood-paneled piano bar at a 5-star hotel somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. This opens with a spicy burst of smoky ginger before settling onto an absolutely posh, luxurious, Oriental base of cardamom-sweetened woods. Periodic hits of a fun creamy cola-like tonka come and go, but mostly this is all teak furniture, palm fronds, white button downs, good grooming, and refined manners. Sits relatively close to the skin and lasts a good 6-8hrs. Very true to the image of Tom Ford (the man, not the brand) and a cool weather staple.
WHO IT'S FOR
You've outgrown overly sweet, youthful "bangers" and want something more sophisticated, mature, and upscale. Skews masculine and 35-40+, but would pair well with a long black dress and some Louboutin heels. An easy, winning reach for date night.
ALTERNATIVES
The original Noir Extreme is sweeter and more youthful without the spiciness of the ginger - it's excellent. YSL La Nuit de L'Homme is arguably the exemplar of spicy, cardamom-forward fragrances and is more versatile, but doesn't evoke such an instant mood as Noir Extreme Parfum. JPG Le Male le Parfum is a workhorse in this category, but smells unsophisticated and synthetic by comparison. Valentino Uomo Intense has a stickier vanilla note on top of clean suede; a great choice if the cola accord in Noir Extreme Parfum is off-putting.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I've avoided buying Tom Ford fragrances because the value is off in my opinion. F*cking Fabulous, Soleil Blanc, Oud Wood, Lost Cherry, etc all smell great... just not "$200-400+ great" when there are better options from MFK, Diptyque, & Byredo. Even cheaper bottles like Beau du Jour and Ombre Leather, while excellent, lack the X factor of $100 bottles from Dior, Guerlain, and Chanel. The Noir line, to my nose, stands apart: a wonderful good-better-best progression of modern Oriental fragrances, the latter two being some of Sonia Constant's best work.
A sundowner in the wood-paneled piano bar at a 5-star hotel somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. This opens with a spicy burst of smoky ginger before settling onto an absolutely posh, luxurious, Oriental base of cardamom-sweetened woods. Periodic hits of a fun creamy cola-like tonka come and go, but mostly this is all teak furniture, palm fronds, white button downs, good grooming, and refined manners. Sits relatively close to the skin and lasts a good 6-8hrs. Very true to the image of Tom Ford (the man, not the brand) and a cool weather staple.
WHO IT'S FOR
You've outgrown overly sweet, youthful "bangers" and want something more sophisticated, mature, and upscale. Skews masculine and 35-40+, but would pair well with a long black dress and some Louboutin heels. An easy, winning reach for date night.
ALTERNATIVES
The original Noir Extreme is sweeter and more youthful without the spiciness of the ginger - it's excellent. YSL La Nuit de L'Homme is arguably the exemplar of spicy, cardamom-forward fragrances and is more versatile, but doesn't evoke such an instant mood as Noir Extreme Parfum. JPG Le Male le Parfum is a workhorse in this category, but smells unsophisticated and synthetic by comparison. Valentino Uomo Intense has a stickier vanilla note on top of clean suede; a great choice if the cola accord in Noir Extreme Parfum is off-putting.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I've avoided buying Tom Ford fragrances because the value is off in my opinion. F*cking Fabulous, Soleil Blanc, Oud Wood, Lost Cherry, etc all smell great... just not "$200-400+ great" when there are better options from MFK, Diptyque, & Byredo. Even cheaper bottles like Beau du Jour and Ombre Leather, while excellent, lack the X factor of $100 bottles from Dior, Guerlain, and Chanel. The Noir line, to my nose, stands apart: a wonderful good-better-best progression of modern Oriental fragrances, the latter two being some of Sonia Constant's best work.
Side Dish
WHAT IT IS
The spiced carrot side dish you throw together in a rush for your friend's Thanksgiving party which becomes an unexpected star next to dry turkey, craggy stuffing, and salty green beans. This is a savory-ish gourmand which opens with peppery cinnamon notes, then quickly settles into buttery braised carrots and fresh grated ginger. It's strong for a Byredo with an easy 3-4hrs of noticeable sillage and a lightweight patchouli dry down which can stretch to the 6hr mark. Gets a little loud in warm weather, utter knockout in fall & winter.
WHO IT'S FOR
You just want a little something special for sweater season, but don't want to smell like cotton candy, a speakeasy, or a humidor. You want something unique, a little classy, a little odd.
ALTERNATIVES
Goldfield & Banks' Ingenious Ginger runs parallel in a citrusy fresh direction more suitable for warm weather - if you love ginger, a bottle of each could easily be your only fragrances. On the men's side, Roja Enigma and YSL l'Homme both feature prominent ginger notes, but it's quickly subsumed by the other spices in the blend and neither has the green sweetness of Epinette's carrot.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Most Byredos have a sheer, gossamer-like quality which I find beautiful, but fleeting... and while I'm not usually hung up on projection or longevity, they're expensive for a 1-2hr flash in the pan. Eyes Closed was a shock, an off-chance spritz on a warm June day because ginger and carrot sounded delicious. Two hours later I wandered back to the shop and bought a (small) bottle which has now become my staple for fall. Great stuff *if* you like ginger and carrots.
The spiced carrot side dish you throw together in a rush for your friend's Thanksgiving party which becomes an unexpected star next to dry turkey, craggy stuffing, and salty green beans. This is a savory-ish gourmand which opens with peppery cinnamon notes, then quickly settles into buttery braised carrots and fresh grated ginger. It's strong for a Byredo with an easy 3-4hrs of noticeable sillage and a lightweight patchouli dry down which can stretch to the 6hr mark. Gets a little loud in warm weather, utter knockout in fall & winter.
WHO IT'S FOR
You just want a little something special for sweater season, but don't want to smell like cotton candy, a speakeasy, or a humidor. You want something unique, a little classy, a little odd.
ALTERNATIVES
Goldfield & Banks' Ingenious Ginger runs parallel in a citrusy fresh direction more suitable for warm weather - if you love ginger, a bottle of each could easily be your only fragrances. On the men's side, Roja Enigma and YSL l'Homme both feature prominent ginger notes, but it's quickly subsumed by the other spices in the blend and neither has the green sweetness of Epinette's carrot.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Most Byredos have a sheer, gossamer-like quality which I find beautiful, but fleeting... and while I'm not usually hung up on projection or longevity, they're expensive for a 1-2hr flash in the pan. Eyes Closed was a shock, an off-chance spritz on a warm June day because ginger and carrot sounded delicious. Two hours later I wandered back to the shop and bought a (small) bottle which has now become my staple for fall. Great stuff *if* you like ginger and carrots.
Hanging Gardens
WHAT IT IS
Ancient Babylonian shaving oil with a bouquet of fresh immortelle nearby. Eau Nabati opens with some bergamot and herbaceous pettigrain, giving a spicy fougere-like vibe, then settles into a *superb* green, honey-sweet immortelle. The opening and mid last 4+ hours with noticeable sillage, then dry down into a beautiful amber-woody scent which leans slightly vanilla on my skin by the 8-9hr mark. Even without marketing language about desert gardens, the effect is one of mixing typically "green" notes (bergamot, immortelle) and "blue" notes (palm tree, Peru balsam) to create a deep teal composition... refreshing yet rich, not unlike a blooming oasis in hot desert air.
WHO IT'S FOR
You like Oriental fragrances, but don't want to stray too far into heavy resinous accords or gas the people around you. You want something you can feel good about wearing to work in the morning and still be subtly there at happy hour in the evening. You're likely a guy, but this is absolutely unisex - especially if you love immortelle.
ALTERNATIVES
Dior Dune captures a similar melange of green notes with vanilla accords, though it's sharper and more synthetic. Eight & Bob's The Original is a creamy green fougere anchored by amber; there's no immortelle, but the overall effect is similar. Pellegrin's own Eau de Minthe is a minty-geranium barbershop fougere, but sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from Nabati... icy, bracing, and short-lived (though beautiful).
FINAL THOUGHTS
If Eau Rihla's nuclear powered sillage put me off to Diptyque's Middle Eastern fragrances, Nabati brought me back. Some reviews have criticized that Nabati isn't "original enough" for a niche house like Diptyque, but I strongly believe this is one of Pellegrin's most wearable fragrances to date, seamlessly transitioning from day to night, warm to cool, casual to elegant, and striking the right balance of intimate vs loud - I'll take that any day over a piece of art I can't wear!
Ancient Babylonian shaving oil with a bouquet of fresh immortelle nearby. Eau Nabati opens with some bergamot and herbaceous pettigrain, giving a spicy fougere-like vibe, then settles into a *superb* green, honey-sweet immortelle. The opening and mid last 4+ hours with noticeable sillage, then dry down into a beautiful amber-woody scent which leans slightly vanilla on my skin by the 8-9hr mark. Even without marketing language about desert gardens, the effect is one of mixing typically "green" notes (bergamot, immortelle) and "blue" notes (palm tree, Peru balsam) to create a deep teal composition... refreshing yet rich, not unlike a blooming oasis in hot desert air.
WHO IT'S FOR
You like Oriental fragrances, but don't want to stray too far into heavy resinous accords or gas the people around you. You want something you can feel good about wearing to work in the morning and still be subtly there at happy hour in the evening. You're likely a guy, but this is absolutely unisex - especially if you love immortelle.
ALTERNATIVES
Dior Dune captures a similar melange of green notes with vanilla accords, though it's sharper and more synthetic. Eight & Bob's The Original is a creamy green fougere anchored by amber; there's no immortelle, but the overall effect is similar. Pellegrin's own Eau de Minthe is a minty-geranium barbershop fougere, but sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from Nabati... icy, bracing, and short-lived (though beautiful).
FINAL THOUGHTS
If Eau Rihla's nuclear powered sillage put me off to Diptyque's Middle Eastern fragrances, Nabati brought me back. Some reviews have criticized that Nabati isn't "original enough" for a niche house like Diptyque, but I strongly believe this is one of Pellegrin's most wearable fragrances to date, seamlessly transitioning from day to night, warm to cool, casual to elegant, and striking the right balance of intimate vs loud - I'll take that any day over a piece of art I can't wear!
Harmonious Balance
WHAT IT IS
This is the closest scent I've found to the PNW coast in summertime... dry cedar wood, wildflowers in a meadow, someone peeling a citrus fruit nearby, and a clean coastal musk (cashmeran???). After years of ever more powerful Sauvage flankers, Demachy hit the reset button on the Dior Homme line and gave us what might be the most perfectly balanced - and tastefully restrained - men's fragrance in a generation. There's a burst of citrus to open, then it's all luxurious cedar wood and musk with some floral accords drifting by during the dry down. Linear for 6+ hours (which is excellent for an EDT) and while I go noseblind quickly, others can still smell it.
WHO IT'S FOR
Men over ~30 seeking one bottle for all seasons, all occasions, and all moods. You likely believe versatility is more important than making a statement, but you also don't want a "dumb reach" when you can have something as sophisticated as this.
ALTERNATIVES
Let's start with what's NOT an alternative: Dior Homme 2005/2011/Original, Intense, and Parfum which are all (beautiful) iris & leather fragrances, but bear almost no resemblance to Dior Homme 2020. Want more citrus? Dior Homme Sport dials up the bergamot and has punchier projection based on the same DNA - it's excellent. Bleu de Chanel EDT, EDP, and Parfum have somewhat similar citrus + woodsy notes with the Parfum coming closest to replicating the musky dry down; all are more "blue shower gel" + powdery to my nose.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As a die-hard fan of Polge's groundbreaking original, my decant of Dior Homme 2020 went from "meh" to "that's not bad..." to "wow there's a lot of complexity" to purchasing a full bottle as my daily driver in the span of two weeks. Time will tell if it deserves a perfect 10 (I need to test it in winter), but this might be my favorite creation of Demachy's to date. Dior's only mistake was reusing the Homme nameplate which seemed to inflame a lot of negativity around what is otherwise an outstanding grown up fragrance. Very highly recommended.
This is the closest scent I've found to the PNW coast in summertime... dry cedar wood, wildflowers in a meadow, someone peeling a citrus fruit nearby, and a clean coastal musk (cashmeran???). After years of ever more powerful Sauvage flankers, Demachy hit the reset button on the Dior Homme line and gave us what might be the most perfectly balanced - and tastefully restrained - men's fragrance in a generation. There's a burst of citrus to open, then it's all luxurious cedar wood and musk with some floral accords drifting by during the dry down. Linear for 6+ hours (which is excellent for an EDT) and while I go noseblind quickly, others can still smell it.
WHO IT'S FOR
Men over ~30 seeking one bottle for all seasons, all occasions, and all moods. You likely believe versatility is more important than making a statement, but you also don't want a "dumb reach" when you can have something as sophisticated as this.
ALTERNATIVES
Let's start with what's NOT an alternative: Dior Homme 2005/2011/Original, Intense, and Parfum which are all (beautiful) iris & leather fragrances, but bear almost no resemblance to Dior Homme 2020. Want more citrus? Dior Homme Sport dials up the bergamot and has punchier projection based on the same DNA - it's excellent. Bleu de Chanel EDT, EDP, and Parfum have somewhat similar citrus + woodsy notes with the Parfum coming closest to replicating the musky dry down; all are more "blue shower gel" + powdery to my nose.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As a die-hard fan of Polge's groundbreaking original, my decant of Dior Homme 2020 went from "meh" to "that's not bad..." to "wow there's a lot of complexity" to purchasing a full bottle as my daily driver in the span of two weeks. Time will tell if it deserves a perfect 10 (I need to test it in winter), but this might be my favorite creation of Demachy's to date. Dior's only mistake was reusing the Homme nameplate which seemed to inflame a lot of negativity around what is otherwise an outstanding grown up fragrance. Very highly recommended.
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