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One of the worst reformulations in the history of mankind
This bottle of reformulated Quorum will always be in my collection... *this* same bottle I mean, because I never wear it outside the house.
The opening is big, harsh, smoky, green. After that it smells half like fabric softener, and half like a sweaty chain-smoking man covered in shrubs. I assume fabric softener is how my nose registers the soapy pine in this one because I get the same thing with the reformulated One Man Show by Jacques Bogart.
Imagine if you took Ralph Lauren Polo green and toned down what makes it pleasant and then amped up what's unpleasant. Quorum is a unique uber masculine scent, so I don't regret the dirt cheap blind buy, but I use it around the house more than on myself. A powerhouse for sure... I used it recently to freshen my car after I had utilized a ton of WD40 to remove sticker residue from the windshield. 4 sprays of Quorum easily annihilated the massively acute smell of WD40.
Warning: 2 sprays absolute max, but 0 sprays is probably ideal for me.
Masculinity Level: The sweaty scrotum of the big fat villain from Over The Top.
The opening is big, harsh, smoky, green. After that it smells half like fabric softener, and half like a sweaty chain-smoking man covered in shrubs. I assume fabric softener is how my nose registers the soapy pine in this one because I get the same thing with the reformulated One Man Show by Jacques Bogart.
Imagine if you took Ralph Lauren Polo green and toned down what makes it pleasant and then amped up what's unpleasant. Quorum is a unique uber masculine scent, so I don't regret the dirt cheap blind buy, but I use it around the house more than on myself. A powerhouse for sure... I used it recently to freshen my car after I had utilized a ton of WD40 to remove sticker residue from the windshield. 4 sprays of Quorum easily annihilated the massively acute smell of WD40.
Warning: 2 sprays absolute max, but 0 sprays is probably ideal for me.
Masculinity Level: The sweaty scrotum of the big fat villain from Over The Top.
No longer an oakmoss bomb
The first time I sprayed the reformulated Tsar I was taken aback... the opening is much more floral than I expected. The rose and carnation mix with the bergamot, neroli, rosemary, and juniper berries to create a wonderful melange. Only then do the pine, oakmoss, and woods come in. Don't let the all-green bottle fool you, this isn't a green bomb, this to my nose is 1/3 floral, 1/3 green, 1/3 woody. I feel it is important to stress this given its asking price nowadays - you might not want to send for a pine tree and receive a bouquet of roses instead.
Having said that, Tsar is a very classy and vibrant aromatic made with quality ingredients - well worth the hype.
On a negative note, projection and sillage are decent for the first hour, but then on me it becomes a skin scent within 3 hours of applying, but YMMV. As a result I overspray or reapply and had to acquire backup bottles.
Masculinity Level: Sonny Corleone in a tuxedo at the wedding, about to bang the bridesmaid against the door.
Having said that, Tsar is a very classy and vibrant aromatic made with quality ingredients - well worth the hype.
On a negative note, projection and sillage are decent for the first hour, but then on me it becomes a skin scent within 3 hours of applying, but YMMV. As a result I overspray or reapply and had to acquire backup bottles.
Masculinity Level: Sonny Corleone in a tuxedo at the wedding, about to bang the bridesmaid against the door.
My Signature Scent in 2021
A thyme-rosemary-basil-oakmoss bomb of a chypre, with lavender and a pleasant clove. The dry-down reveals a good dose of leather and some patchouli. It's a delightful manly herbal fragrance - the bottle I reached out for most in 2021.
Projection and longevity are very good. It's hard to believe this used to sell for €10 in drugstores. Basile must have been the best bottom-of-the-barrel brand in the 80s. Steer clear of the current Basile Uomo Intense as it's a bad One Million clone.
Masculinity Level: John Rambo in the forest being hunted down by the sheriff in First Blood, before the character became a caricature.
Projection and longevity are very good. It's hard to believe this used to sell for €10 in drugstores. Basile must have been the best bottom-of-the-barrel brand in the 80s. Steer clear of the current Basile Uomo Intense as it's a bad One Million clone.
Masculinity Level: John Rambo in the forest being hunted down by the sheriff in First Blood, before the character became a caricature.
Makes me feel like Snake Plissken
I was curious about this fragrance but couldn’t get hold of the vintage version which is notoriously more animalic. I came across a tester bottle of the reformulated version in a retail store, put my nose to it... BIBLICAL… purchased it without waiting for the dry-down, and here is the review.
Disclaimer: Understand that for a kid raised on a steady diet of Denim Original in the 80s and 90s like me, Arrogance PH is going to be the ne plus ultra of masculinity.
A big, dark, spicy-citrus, masculine AF opening gives way to a rose and carnation mid, then oakmoss, patchouli, and leather come alive in the dry-down... but it's very spicy throughout. While the newer version lacks the bucketload of civet and castoreum, it's still a manlier fragrance than 99.999% of what's produced today.
Arrogance PH projects very strongly for a couple of hours, and then takes ages before becoming a skin scent. I catch energizing wafts of macho spice repeatedly during the day. Warning: It's like Red Bull, don't wear for bedtime.
Arrogance is not a well-respected perfume. Frag-heads consider it unoriginal, a mish-mash of more popular fragrances that preceded it. Azzaro Pour Homme with a shotgun. Denim Original with sunglasses and an Uzi. Good enough for me!
Masculinity Level: Snake Plissken, WWIII hero turned criminal. The apex of badassery.
Disclaimer: Understand that for a kid raised on a steady diet of Denim Original in the 80s and 90s like me, Arrogance PH is going to be the ne plus ultra of masculinity.
A big, dark, spicy-citrus, masculine AF opening gives way to a rose and carnation mid, then oakmoss, patchouli, and leather come alive in the dry-down... but it's very spicy throughout. While the newer version lacks the bucketload of civet and castoreum, it's still a manlier fragrance than 99.999% of what's produced today.
Arrogance PH projects very strongly for a couple of hours, and then takes ages before becoming a skin scent. I catch energizing wafts of macho spice repeatedly during the day. Warning: It's like Red Bull, don't wear for bedtime.
Arrogance is not a well-respected perfume. Frag-heads consider it unoriginal, a mish-mash of more popular fragrances that preceded it. Azzaro Pour Homme with a shotgun. Denim Original with sunglasses and an Uzi. Good enough for me!
Masculinity Level: Snake Plissken, WWIII hero turned criminal. The apex of badassery.
Hawaii in a bottle
Eau de Rochas Pour Homme is a very bright and fresh citrus aromatic. The aldehydes in this really make the realistic lemon zest note sparkle before oakmoss and vetiver appear in the dry-down. Though complex, this remains an early 90s refreshing and uplifting citrus scent throughout.
I get 5-8 hours of performance from this vintage bottle - great for a Summer fragrance, and significantly better than Acqua di Parma Colonia for instance. I often reapply before the scent is gone in order to get another mood-boosting burst of lemon zest.
To me Eau De Rochas Pour Homme is Hawaii in a bottle; not that I've ever been to Hawaii. It's a very likeable uplifting scent, a safe blind buy for daytime Summer or even for the gym. Of course if the smell of lemon makes you think of Fabuloso floor detergent then you should stay away.
Masculinity Level: I think of someone in a Hawaiian shirt, but not macho like Magnum PI or Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood... more like Elvis in some crappy musical.
I get 5-8 hours of performance from this vintage bottle - great for a Summer fragrance, and significantly better than Acqua di Parma Colonia for instance. I often reapply before the scent is gone in order to get another mood-boosting burst of lemon zest.
To me Eau De Rochas Pour Homme is Hawaii in a bottle; not that I've ever been to Hawaii. It's a very likeable uplifting scent, a safe blind buy for daytime Summer or even for the gym. Of course if the smell of lemon makes you think of Fabuloso floor detergent then you should stay away.
Masculinity Level: I think of someone in a Hawaiian shirt, but not macho like Magnum PI or Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood... more like Elvis in some crappy musical.
