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Iconic Fragrance # 1 : Christian Dior - Eau Sauvage ( 1966 ) : Dior's Finest and Biggest Moment in Men's Fragrances
Year of Release: 1966
Perfumer: Edmond Roudnitska
Overall Perfume Notes : Bergamot, Lemon, Rosemary, Sandalwood, Oakmoss and Musk
Type: Fresh / Citrusy
Season: Spring - Summer
Occassion: Leisure / Daily / Business
Audience: Unmistakably Masculine
There have been definitive moments throughout history without which the progression of art as a medium seems inconcievable.
Within the limited sphere of art, filled with achievements and miracles, can one imagine classical music without Beethoven's Ninth and Mozart's Requiem, fiction without Joyce's Ulysses, movies without Orson Welles's Citizen Kane, Jazz without Miles Davis, On The Waterfront without Brando, etc the answer simply put is NO.
While mentioning these brightest sparks it should be noted that we are still only brushing the dust at the periphery.
The world is filled with such graceful and humbling achievements as mentioned above, and one such mesmerizing achievement to honor the world of perfumery is credited to the house of Dior, in the shape and essence of Eau Sauvage released in 1966. A truly groundbreaking fragrance.
If there ever was a pre-diluvean and ante-diluvean period in the history of modern perfumery it was the birth of Eau Sauvage.
Eau Sauvage quite simply opened and broadened the horizons for modern perfumers to experiment and innovate with the traditional structure of the cologne. Every new step in the evolution of this sacred territory is a step towards a tribute to this masterpiece. Comparisons cannot be helped. Such is the shadow casted by this giant.
A similar comparison In music can be the last bang of the piano note heard and felt in A Day In The Life by The Beatles, which catapulted modern music into unchartered territories but could never bettered.
The era of 60s was one filled with spontaneity, and what better time for an idea to be brought forth into this world than 1966, when Dior was looking for their first men's fragrance.
The herculean task was passed onto Edmond Roudnitska. Roudnitska decided to experiment with the traditional structure of the cologne by adding the much needed spicy-ness of lavender and rosemary on a masculine woody base.
The perfume opens with a citrus blast and I also a pick up a fresh lemon peel nuance in it, followed by fruity sweetness.
This opening then gives way to a solid, clean creamy sandalwood aura, which eventually transforms into a musky and oakmoss finish in the end.
On the face of it, the smell may look pretty linear, but it is still a pretty complex mixture of rebellious notes and design all gelled together with a slight headiness of 'Hedione', the jasmine based extract.
Yes, the controversial note which gives this scent its often touted sexual angle and charisma (the use is less than 3%).
It might even be the first iconic and commercial men's fragrance to use this synthetic.
There is an interesting story behind its iconic name as well.
The name of the fragrance is reputedly the result of a late arrival by Christian Dior's friend Percy Savage to Dior's home.
Dior had asked Savage to help find a name for a perfume for men. When Savage arrived, he was announced by Dior's butler as "Monsieur Sauvage"; the designer decided that "Oh, Sauvage" would be a fitting name, and the rest is history.
But this review would not do full justice to the uniqueness of this perfume if one didn't pay attention to its bottle design by Pierre Dinand.
I have felt on countless occasions the need to use this this fragrance, by just one look at the bottle, as it exudes class sophistication and uniqueness like any great piece of art.
Compare this feeling to picking up a classic book to read by just a look at its cover as it invites you in its own world.
The concise nature of the flacon and its design deems it a necessary object to be carried with oneself everywhere on the move, like a basic amenity of sorts, and this is also one of the facets of its power and greatness.
Dior created a fashion piece, a statement of sorts and made it an essential part of men's vogue and grooming without which it would become difficult for men to vouch for their masculinity and flaunt it. one just has look at its iconic ad campaigns, which portrays an animated nude man partially clad in a thin towel, holding onto an Eau Sauvage bottle as if his very life depended on it.
To end it all, Alain Delon was chosen as the face of the campaign.
As in the case of masterpieces everything ties and fits together in the concept that is Eau Sauvage.
My only humble qualm in an other wise imperfect design is the performance and sillage, which strictly speaking is average at most. Probably because of modern batches and reformulations. In my experience with this fragrance the aura of the smell lingers not more than 5 - 6 hours and projection after the first 30 - 40 minutes is nothing more than a skin scent.
These are some otherwise minor qualms in an other wise groundbreaking and genre defining fragrance, that changed the face of citrus based scents to come after it.
The Holy Grail of perfumes, any collector's collection is fatally empty without this one, grab onto it, latch onto it, if only to say that you have what it takes to be a true perfume enthusiast.
Rating : A-
Perfumer: Edmond Roudnitska
Overall Perfume Notes : Bergamot, Lemon, Rosemary, Sandalwood, Oakmoss and Musk
Type: Fresh / Citrusy
Season: Spring - Summer
Occassion: Leisure / Daily / Business
Audience: Unmistakably Masculine
There have been definitive moments throughout history without which the progression of art as a medium seems inconcievable.
Within the limited sphere of art, filled with achievements and miracles, can one imagine classical music without Beethoven's Ninth and Mozart's Requiem, fiction without Joyce's Ulysses, movies without Orson Welles's Citizen Kane, Jazz without Miles Davis, On The Waterfront without Brando, etc the answer simply put is NO.
While mentioning these brightest sparks it should be noted that we are still only brushing the dust at the periphery.
The world is filled with such graceful and humbling achievements as mentioned above, and one such mesmerizing achievement to honor the world of perfumery is credited to the house of Dior, in the shape and essence of Eau Sauvage released in 1966. A truly groundbreaking fragrance.
If there ever was a pre-diluvean and ante-diluvean period in the history of modern perfumery it was the birth of Eau Sauvage.
Eau Sauvage quite simply opened and broadened the horizons for modern perfumers to experiment and innovate with the traditional structure of the cologne. Every new step in the evolution of this sacred territory is a step towards a tribute to this masterpiece. Comparisons cannot be helped. Such is the shadow casted by this giant.
A similar comparison In music can be the last bang of the piano note heard and felt in A Day In The Life by The Beatles, which catapulted modern music into unchartered territories but could never bettered.
The era of 60s was one filled with spontaneity, and what better time for an idea to be brought forth into this world than 1966, when Dior was looking for their first men's fragrance.
The herculean task was passed onto Edmond Roudnitska. Roudnitska decided to experiment with the traditional structure of the cologne by adding the much needed spicy-ness of lavender and rosemary on a masculine woody base.
The perfume opens with a citrus blast and I also a pick up a fresh lemon peel nuance in it, followed by fruity sweetness.
This opening then gives way to a solid, clean creamy sandalwood aura, which eventually transforms into a musky and oakmoss finish in the end.
On the face of it, the smell may look pretty linear, but it is still a pretty complex mixture of rebellious notes and design all gelled together with a slight headiness of 'Hedione', the jasmine based extract.
Yes, the controversial note which gives this scent its often touted sexual angle and charisma (the use is less than 3%).
It might even be the first iconic and commercial men's fragrance to use this synthetic.
There is an interesting story behind its iconic name as well.
The name of the fragrance is reputedly the result of a late arrival by Christian Dior's friend Percy Savage to Dior's home.
Dior had asked Savage to help find a name for a perfume for men. When Savage arrived, he was announced by Dior's butler as "Monsieur Sauvage"; the designer decided that "Oh, Sauvage" would be a fitting name, and the rest is history.
But this review would not do full justice to the uniqueness of this perfume if one didn't pay attention to its bottle design by Pierre Dinand.
I have felt on countless occasions the need to use this this fragrance, by just one look at the bottle, as it exudes class sophistication and uniqueness like any great piece of art.
Compare this feeling to picking up a classic book to read by just a look at its cover as it invites you in its own world.
The concise nature of the flacon and its design deems it a necessary object to be carried with oneself everywhere on the move, like a basic amenity of sorts, and this is also one of the facets of its power and greatness.
Dior created a fashion piece, a statement of sorts and made it an essential part of men's vogue and grooming without which it would become difficult for men to vouch for their masculinity and flaunt it. one just has look at its iconic ad campaigns, which portrays an animated nude man partially clad in a thin towel, holding onto an Eau Sauvage bottle as if his very life depended on it.
To end it all, Alain Delon was chosen as the face of the campaign.
As in the case of masterpieces everything ties and fits together in the concept that is Eau Sauvage.
My only humble qualm in an other wise imperfect design is the performance and sillage, which strictly speaking is average at most. Probably because of modern batches and reformulations. In my experience with this fragrance the aura of the smell lingers not more than 5 - 6 hours and projection after the first 30 - 40 minutes is nothing more than a skin scent.
These are some otherwise minor qualms in an other wise groundbreaking and genre defining fragrance, that changed the face of citrus based scents to come after it.
The Holy Grail of perfumes, any collector's collection is fatally empty without this one, grab onto it, latch onto it, if only to say that you have what it takes to be a true perfume enthusiast.
Rating : A-
Aramis Devin - Dive Into That Leather Jacket
I have some serious level of respect for Aramis as a fragrance house to be reckoned with when it comes to encapsulating masculinity in all its glory, peak and humility.
Aramis Devin released in 1977 is nothing short of that, it oozes of grounded masculinity and elegance while draping it with the persona of a country man. ( Imagine a John Wayne Western, without too much bravado and extra sentimentality ).
It evokes so much nostalgia, that the very first time you smell it, certain names from the pantheon of pine fragrances released in the 70's come out of your subconcious, that you incessantly start uttering them.
The bottle, which projects the notion of class and elegance, despite its utter ambery simplicity adds a playfulness through the chromatic plastic cap on top, showing that this masculine perfume has at its core a flexibility and simplicity, which it embraces and adores.
The fragrance itself opens up with an initial burst of aldehydic bergamot which creates this citrusy fuzziness around you and then morphs into spicy and smoky pine needle, which is reminiscent of almost every other power house pine fragrance released in the 70's decade.
This might even be considered a grand daddy and a precursor to Polo, yet it is bewildering to see the towering impact that Polo has had on pine flavored fragrances, subsequent to its release.
The linearity of pine lingers on for a couple of hours along with the floral touch of carnation,the second biggest player in the juice, it adds on this floral and vibrant texture to the fragrance along with the aldehydic component always there.
The pine eventually gives into the finality of this perfume, where the heart of this perfume truly lies, and that is the roughness and rawness of the grounded leather.
One of the most original, authentic and well rounded takes on leather ever put to test.
This could have gone anywhere given the motherload of oakmossy, spicy and pine tinged fragrances coming out in the seventies, but in the hands of Aramis and perfumer Bernard Chant, the key notes developed and awakened another dormant side of its persona and bettered it forever.
Oddly it seems that time might have caught up with it for the better, but whenever I need to take a plunge in the farther edges of memory, I do that with a little help from my friends, like Aramis Devin.
Finally, is easy to see how easily the images of a country man on horseback, wearing leather jacket, leather gloves in the winter season can be conjured up, when one smells this perfume.
Lets leave the review at that very thought.
PERFUME RATING : B+
VERDICT: MUST HAVE FOR OLD TIMES SAKE.
Aramis Devin released in 1977 is nothing short of that, it oozes of grounded masculinity and elegance while draping it with the persona of a country man. ( Imagine a John Wayne Western, without too much bravado and extra sentimentality ).
It evokes so much nostalgia, that the very first time you smell it, certain names from the pantheon of pine fragrances released in the 70's come out of your subconcious, that you incessantly start uttering them.
The bottle, which projects the notion of class and elegance, despite its utter ambery simplicity adds a playfulness through the chromatic plastic cap on top, showing that this masculine perfume has at its core a flexibility and simplicity, which it embraces and adores.
The fragrance itself opens up with an initial burst of aldehydic bergamot which creates this citrusy fuzziness around you and then morphs into spicy and smoky pine needle, which is reminiscent of almost every other power house pine fragrance released in the 70's decade.
This might even be considered a grand daddy and a precursor to Polo, yet it is bewildering to see the towering impact that Polo has had on pine flavored fragrances, subsequent to its release.
The linearity of pine lingers on for a couple of hours along with the floral touch of carnation,the second biggest player in the juice, it adds on this floral and vibrant texture to the fragrance along with the aldehydic component always there.
The pine eventually gives into the finality of this perfume, where the heart of this perfume truly lies, and that is the roughness and rawness of the grounded leather.
One of the most original, authentic and well rounded takes on leather ever put to test.
This could have gone anywhere given the motherload of oakmossy, spicy and pine tinged fragrances coming out in the seventies, but in the hands of Aramis and perfumer Bernard Chant, the key notes developed and awakened another dormant side of its persona and bettered it forever.
Oddly it seems that time might have caught up with it for the better, but whenever I need to take a plunge in the farther edges of memory, I do that with a little help from my friends, like Aramis Devin.
Finally, is easy to see how easily the images of a country man on horseback, wearing leather jacket, leather gloves in the winter season can be conjured up, when one smells this perfume.
Lets leave the review at that very thought.
PERFUME RATING : B+
VERDICT: MUST HAVE FOR OLD TIMES SAKE.
Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene - Or How to make a Fougere 101
A couple of months ago I started an exercise of buying the MOST popular men's fragrances released since 1975 and instantly hit upon Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene, and a shitload of varying opinions ranging from 'this smells like a dead body' to 'my nasal passages got burnt' to how 'Green Irish Tweed and Cool Water should tip their hats to the grand daddy of fougeres'.
It was these contrasts that interested me and frankly how cheap it was (AED 57/- in UAE) , that it wouldn't harm even if it did end up smelling like a morgue, I could throw it away. I decided to take a leap of faith.
Before the smell the first thing that grabbed my attention was the simplistic yet sophisticated packaging of the perfume, which projected the persona of a man whose feet are grounded to earth and yet stands out from the lot and rightly so I salute this peculiarity about the perfume. Since it is the same aura that defines this fragrance, its fame and its ultimate humility.
The green and less than exuberant bottle with a sticker on further solidified my opinion, but whatever preconcieved notions I might have had about the smell and its price were given a kick in the butt as the jigsaw finally fell into place.
The opening burst which to my nose is still one of the most potent openings ever smells of lemon/neroli and bergamot, and is reminiscent of water sprayed on freshly cut grass in spring, or standing on a green patch of land in the rain and the smell of the grass and moist wet earth.
This opening lingers for a while and grabs your nose and your mind from the first spritz.
After this the scent morphs into a much more simple, clean, slightly spicy and crisp powdery violet and oakmoss fragrance which throughout its ending retains its linear potency for a good 7-8 hours since application. With a pretty strong sillage as well.
I finally ended up understanding the literal 'green' of the bottle.
In my humble opinion, I consider this perfume to be a staple of fougere scent and a definite inspiration for classics such as Cool Water and Green Irish Tweed, among others, who may have extended or polished the fougere portfolio but have nit mastered it. For a collector of perfumes to simply not have it in their collection would be a serious blasphemy. Just buy it and don't use it, if you really hate it that much.
Now, an important note that I want to make , which is about the hate that is going around this perfume.
Although I understand that this is quite a subjective issue, but Grey Flannel challenges and smells like dead bodies, seriously !!!
This fragrance is an acquired taste and appeals to a mature segment or cross section of the people. A lot of hate that is being thrown by users, belong to a very young age category, they would probably have to give it some time to truly appreciate the simple elegance of this gem. To the young noses, this scent would definitely smell outdated ( 1975 duh !!! ).
But consider the time and era this perfume represented and how much of an influence this grand daddy of fougere fragrances has had in the perfume world, it is hard to find even niche fragrance houses escaping its shadow of greatness.
I have always loved the smell of rain on the grass, and if there is a single scent that truly encapsulates that single moment lingering in time it has to be Grey Flannel.
Take a leap of faith and give in to the power that is Grey Flannel.
Rating: B +
It was these contrasts that interested me and frankly how cheap it was (AED 57/- in UAE) , that it wouldn't harm even if it did end up smelling like a morgue, I could throw it away. I decided to take a leap of faith.
Before the smell the first thing that grabbed my attention was the simplistic yet sophisticated packaging of the perfume, which projected the persona of a man whose feet are grounded to earth and yet stands out from the lot and rightly so I salute this peculiarity about the perfume. Since it is the same aura that defines this fragrance, its fame and its ultimate humility.
The green and less than exuberant bottle with a sticker on further solidified my opinion, but whatever preconcieved notions I might have had about the smell and its price were given a kick in the butt as the jigsaw finally fell into place.
The opening burst which to my nose is still one of the most potent openings ever smells of lemon/neroli and bergamot, and is reminiscent of water sprayed on freshly cut grass in spring, or standing on a green patch of land in the rain and the smell of the grass and moist wet earth.
This opening lingers for a while and grabs your nose and your mind from the first spritz.
After this the scent morphs into a much more simple, clean, slightly spicy and crisp powdery violet and oakmoss fragrance which throughout its ending retains its linear potency for a good 7-8 hours since application. With a pretty strong sillage as well.
I finally ended up understanding the literal 'green' of the bottle.
In my humble opinion, I consider this perfume to be a staple of fougere scent and a definite inspiration for classics such as Cool Water and Green Irish Tweed, among others, who may have extended or polished the fougere portfolio but have nit mastered it. For a collector of perfumes to simply not have it in their collection would be a serious blasphemy. Just buy it and don't use it, if you really hate it that much.
Now, an important note that I want to make , which is about the hate that is going around this perfume.
Although I understand that this is quite a subjective issue, but Grey Flannel challenges and smells like dead bodies, seriously !!!
This fragrance is an acquired taste and appeals to a mature segment or cross section of the people. A lot of hate that is being thrown by users, belong to a very young age category, they would probably have to give it some time to truly appreciate the simple elegance of this gem. To the young noses, this scent would definitely smell outdated ( 1975 duh !!! ).
But consider the time and era this perfume represented and how much of an influence this grand daddy of fougere fragrances has had in the perfume world, it is hard to find even niche fragrance houses escaping its shadow of greatness.
I have always loved the smell of rain on the grass, and if there is a single scent that truly encapsulates that single moment lingering in time it has to be Grey Flannel.
Take a leap of faith and give in to the power that is Grey Flannel.
Rating: B +
1 Comment
Creed Bois Du Portugal - Ahhh Frankie Sinatra
One fine day I had a weird thought to try a Creed fragrance belonging to my year of birth i.e. 1987, and to really feel what exactly the fragrance house was into the late eighties, and I have to say that I wasn’t a tad bit disappointed, in terms of being good at what was going on, it’s one of the examples of extravagance, exuberance and fresh rawness of the 80’s era bottled.
Since the first spray this fragrance reminds me of a mixture of other famous perfumes namely, Armani, Polo Green and to a great extent Old Spice cologne. Faintly familiar and timelessly surprising.
One great thing is that there has been no heavy restructuring or reformulation of any sort, and is exactly what you expect it to be, clean crisp and sharp.
Bois Du Portugal was launched in 1987, and is the brainchild of Olivier Creed who is famously said to have designed this fragrance as he conjured up sights and smell of the fragrant trees of Portugal, which is literally what the name of this scent means.
Mentioned below is the review:
Bottle design (8.5 / 10) - We have the same Creed bottle outline, but what makes it special is the attention to the detail. The top is jet black with a golden Creed sigil embalmed on it (yes GOLDEN), the actual bottle has tailor cut green on it with ‘Bois Du Portugal’ imprinted on it in golden. It is, simple, yet elegant and royal in its stature making me feel proud of its possession.
Scent (8.5 / 10) - It is tough to decide the range of score here, for some it would be a hit or a miss, and may easily be classified into a wet shaving community cologne, and a barber favorite. However, all said and done, I still admire this very much, since it is to me a defining statement of the late 80’s era, sharp, crisp, citrusy and in your face.
This is a Woody/oriental scent; and too much woody at that. It opens with a burst of bergamot and settles down into the extremely well balanced lavender, which is not nauseating, rather soothing and sweet if I may say so.
It is the constant interplay of these 2 elements in the scent which makes this scent simple yet definitive, and right at the base is the smell of vetiver and sandalwood which evolve and linger on you giving it the earthy and woody texture, it wants to encapsulate.
Longevity (7.5 / 10) - The perfume lasts on my skin for a good 6+ hours, however after the 2-3 hour point, it lingers more closely to the skin.
Overall the performance is pretty good, with reasonably appreciative silage that is not disturbing and over powering
In summary, the fragrance still retains its crisp and clean masculinity and is definitive of a time and era bygone whose remnants I look forward to clinging on to.
One fact this one was Frank Sinatra’s signature scent.
Overall: 82% ( B+ )
Since the first spray this fragrance reminds me of a mixture of other famous perfumes namely, Armani, Polo Green and to a great extent Old Spice cologne. Faintly familiar and timelessly surprising.
One great thing is that there has been no heavy restructuring or reformulation of any sort, and is exactly what you expect it to be, clean crisp and sharp.
Bois Du Portugal was launched in 1987, and is the brainchild of Olivier Creed who is famously said to have designed this fragrance as he conjured up sights and smell of the fragrant trees of Portugal, which is literally what the name of this scent means.
Mentioned below is the review:
Bottle design (8.5 / 10) - We have the same Creed bottle outline, but what makes it special is the attention to the detail. The top is jet black with a golden Creed sigil embalmed on it (yes GOLDEN), the actual bottle has tailor cut green on it with ‘Bois Du Portugal’ imprinted on it in golden. It is, simple, yet elegant and royal in its stature making me feel proud of its possession.
Scent (8.5 / 10) - It is tough to decide the range of score here, for some it would be a hit or a miss, and may easily be classified into a wet shaving community cologne, and a barber favorite. However, all said and done, I still admire this very much, since it is to me a defining statement of the late 80’s era, sharp, crisp, citrusy and in your face.
This is a Woody/oriental scent; and too much woody at that. It opens with a burst of bergamot and settles down into the extremely well balanced lavender, which is not nauseating, rather soothing and sweet if I may say so.
It is the constant interplay of these 2 elements in the scent which makes this scent simple yet definitive, and right at the base is the smell of vetiver and sandalwood which evolve and linger on you giving it the earthy and woody texture, it wants to encapsulate.
Longevity (7.5 / 10) - The perfume lasts on my skin for a good 6+ hours, however after the 2-3 hour point, it lingers more closely to the skin.
Overall the performance is pretty good, with reasonably appreciative silage that is not disturbing and over powering
In summary, the fragrance still retains its crisp and clean masculinity and is definitive of a time and era bygone whose remnants I look forward to clinging on to.
One fact this one was Frank Sinatra’s signature scent.
Overall: 82% ( B+ )
Chanel Egoiste - An Ode to Damask Rose and Sandalwood
My Dad uses Platinum Egoiste, ( might even be his signature scent ) and it smells really nice, keeping that in mind I decided to blind buy this fragrance. All I can say is that for a fragrance released in 1990, it really impressed me.
As I sprayed this on me, I instantly realized that this fragrance is vaguely familiar, I might have smelled this somewhere on someone, can't put my finger on it, but the smell then was more bitter, sharp and rough.
The Egoiste in question here is a much more toned down, heavily reformulated, sweeter version of what once was a much more sharper scent.
Chanel's Egoiste was the brainwave of Jacques Polge who was the head perfumer at the House of Chanel, the story goes like this.
Polge was researching Chanel's archives to design a perfume and came across the formula used by Ernest Beaux
( creator of Chanel no. 5 ), which utilized a high content of Sandalwood, and hence ended up inventing Bois Noir which was a completely new diversion from the fougere fragrances Chanel was used to launching. This diversion was however short lived and disappeared a year after its launch.
In 1990, Polge decided to renovate Bois Noir and launched Egoiste to a much wider and accepting audience. The fragrance was an instant hit in Europe, however, it was a major let down in the United States, and was later revamped and sold as Platinum Egoiste.
Polge still names this as his best work at Chanel, after years of churning out one hit after another. Mentioned below is the review:
Bottle design ( 6.5 / 10 ) - The bottle is toned down and simplistic at best, with a sleek black top, having the Chanel logo engraved on it. The transparent rectangular bottle with the intense Chanel name doesn't do much to imprint an image on our creative side.
Scent ( 8.5 / 10 ) - This is a spicy/woody/oriental scent, there is no denying it. It opens with a burst of mandarin and Damask rose on me, and I really admire the ingenious mix of the two elements, especially the Rose.
Damask rose really reminds me of its more common variants such as rose oil and rose essence, but Polge brilliantly keeps the delicate balance alive through the spicy element of Cinnamon, which has a sneaking presence in the scent.
Besides Damask rose the other prevalent element is definitely Sandalwood, in its most purest form, at once recalling Polge's homage to Ernest Beaux.
Sandalwood in this fragrance is the most enduring element, sort of like the patriarch of other notes according to me, followed by the Damask rose.
As per fragrance websites, there is also the presence of vanilla and ambrette seeds, which gives it a more gourmand edge, however, my nose cannot sniff that.
Earlier versions also had Tobacco, however Chanel's official website no longer includes it in its list of notes.
The Rose/Sandalwood mix ultimately lends this fragrance its oriental touch. All in all the scent is much more sweet than what I remember.
Longevity ( 8 / 10 ) - The perfume lasts on my skin for a good 6+ hours, however after the 2-3 hour point, it lingers more closely to the skin, maybe it is due to the heavy reformulation the perfume was subjected to years after its release. Overall the performance is strictly good.
In summary, the fragrance still retains some of its old style sophistication and a mature man's conservativeness, without being an olfactory hazard. But when all is said and done, I can't help but say, the way B.B. King summed it up, " Baby the thrill is gone".
Overall : 76% ( B )
As I sprayed this on me, I instantly realized that this fragrance is vaguely familiar, I might have smelled this somewhere on someone, can't put my finger on it, but the smell then was more bitter, sharp and rough.
The Egoiste in question here is a much more toned down, heavily reformulated, sweeter version of what once was a much more sharper scent.
Chanel's Egoiste was the brainwave of Jacques Polge who was the head perfumer at the House of Chanel, the story goes like this.
Polge was researching Chanel's archives to design a perfume and came across the formula used by Ernest Beaux
( creator of Chanel no. 5 ), which utilized a high content of Sandalwood, and hence ended up inventing Bois Noir which was a completely new diversion from the fougere fragrances Chanel was used to launching. This diversion was however short lived and disappeared a year after its launch.
In 1990, Polge decided to renovate Bois Noir and launched Egoiste to a much wider and accepting audience. The fragrance was an instant hit in Europe, however, it was a major let down in the United States, and was later revamped and sold as Platinum Egoiste.
Polge still names this as his best work at Chanel, after years of churning out one hit after another. Mentioned below is the review:
Bottle design ( 6.5 / 10 ) - The bottle is toned down and simplistic at best, with a sleek black top, having the Chanel logo engraved on it. The transparent rectangular bottle with the intense Chanel name doesn't do much to imprint an image on our creative side.
Scent ( 8.5 / 10 ) - This is a spicy/woody/oriental scent, there is no denying it. It opens with a burst of mandarin and Damask rose on me, and I really admire the ingenious mix of the two elements, especially the Rose.
Damask rose really reminds me of its more common variants such as rose oil and rose essence, but Polge brilliantly keeps the delicate balance alive through the spicy element of Cinnamon, which has a sneaking presence in the scent.
Besides Damask rose the other prevalent element is definitely Sandalwood, in its most purest form, at once recalling Polge's homage to Ernest Beaux.
Sandalwood in this fragrance is the most enduring element, sort of like the patriarch of other notes according to me, followed by the Damask rose.
As per fragrance websites, there is also the presence of vanilla and ambrette seeds, which gives it a more gourmand edge, however, my nose cannot sniff that.
Earlier versions also had Tobacco, however Chanel's official website no longer includes it in its list of notes.
The Rose/Sandalwood mix ultimately lends this fragrance its oriental touch. All in all the scent is much more sweet than what I remember.
Longevity ( 8 / 10 ) - The perfume lasts on my skin for a good 6+ hours, however after the 2-3 hour point, it lingers more closely to the skin, maybe it is due to the heavy reformulation the perfume was subjected to years after its release. Overall the performance is strictly good.
In summary, the fragrance still retains some of its old style sophistication and a mature man's conservativeness, without being an olfactory hazard. But when all is said and done, I can't help but say, the way B.B. King summed it up, " Baby the thrill is gone".
Overall : 76% ( B )
