9 years ago
Sleuth:
A different question about "Le Mâle"...
I found the Le Mâle deodorant in the bargain bin, so I bought it and I've been using it the past few days. That vanilla just smells so good!!
My question is:
WHY does the vanilla from Le Mâle smell so good? Normally I don't like vanilla. Is the vanilla maybe combined with another ingredient, that makes it extra appealing?
This is quite interesting, Sleuth. I am picky about vanilla, too, and I find almost every incarnation of Le Mâle delightful, including many knock-offs to boot. The reason I can think of why the vanilla in Le Mâle is so good, and does not get cloying or boring, is because the lavender and the mint balance and curb the sweetness of vanilla pretty effectively. I would have suggested that the (relatively) high quality of the ingredients might be a factor, but as I said, I enjoy the Le Mâle concept even in cheap (as in "affordable") knock-offs, and I do not imagine those to have high quality ingredients. So, at least for me, what makes the overall Le Mâle concept quite superb despite the risky premise of having vanilla front-and-center is the excellent balance achieved by the masterful use of lavender and mint.
And let me clarify the concept of "cheap knock-offs" a little bit. I have an extremely cheap, (bought from a dollar store for $1, mind you,) Le Mâle knock-off that I use as a car air-freshener, and although I would not imagine using it on my body or clothes, I still find it quite good for the purpose I have assigned to it, and not the least bit cloying or boring. Obviously, there are better knock-offs, such as Cuba Gold, (in which I find the mint to be more pronounced,) and Fujiyama Gentleman (with more pronounced lavender, to my nose), which do not fall flat on their noses, unlike most knock-offs do. Again, I think the vanilla-lavender-mint concept and the balance between the three are so good that it is hard to go wrong with them.