AlterHerr

Disclaimer: I am an older gentleman of advanced retirement age who has applied fragrances for personal pleasure all his life. I have neither an analytical nose and professional background knowledge, nor the urge to remain as objective as possible in evaluations, as far as this seems at all possible with fragrances.

Do you also know this typical dilemma, namely to want to do it right to many people, but ultimately no one completely satisfied? Whether it is at work as a mediator between the board and the employees, or but in the organization of the big family celebration with participants who can not stand each other to death?

And do you remember how unfairly you feel you are treated at such moments, knowing your own effort best?

It is precisely this injustice that I would not want to inflict on the fragrance Lalique Hommage à l'Homme Edt. here, for example, using the disingenuous accusation of being too little "iconic" or exceptional, since it is precisely in its distinguished universality that its real charm and actual greatness lies hidden.

Usually it is the "loud" fragrances which cause a sensation, which make us stop in the midst of life to bashfully ask our counterpart what fragrance we have just heard.
Suddenly, everyone seems to apply the appropriate fragrance until it already comes out of our ears ourselves, and it is rumored that quite a few ladies and gentlemen here have already felt haunted by Alien, Le Male, Sauvage and similar smells.

Lalique's Hommage à l'Homme goes exactly the opposite way, and does everything right.

He complements an always pleasantly sweet - never dominant - floral bouquet with contoured sharp accents.
In particular, the black pepper in the composition proves to be a high-end dream, which opposes the fruit sweetness with downright cutting minty freshness, to finally unite in the highest harmony with it, and then even as a coronation together at the final chord to fall in love on a Victorian Chesterfield sofa made of the very finest hand-sewn genuine leather.

Who is inwardly ready to part with vain-uncertain resentments, in order to engage instead with all his soul concentrated on the poem-like balance of this composition - this duel-like pasodoble of floral citrus ying and pepper yang - will possibly be rewarded with the discovery of a fabulously signature men's fragrance, which may finally spend modern cautious sweetness with absolute masculinity perfectly formed and cultivated in harmony.

He is not a Compliment Catcher, and certainly not a passionate affair, but just the sort of rare character, which could prove in the long run not only as a trustworthy partner, but also as true love. This fragrance will really understand them, so they should also treat him with appreciation.

The bottle makes a great shelf, and thereby radiates a certain value, but at the same time remains in the form language just as noble-restrained as, for example, typical Guerlain flacon.

The ridiculously low price should not prevent you from wearing it as a daily.

For what reason are you still looking...?

Paris, Place Vendôme on a cool autumn morning - temple of all capital hedonists who, despite every yellow vest movement and social empathy, are unable to detach themselves from their lifelong passion for luxuriously beautiful objects. Here in the crucible of vanity, there is no room for understatement.

Perhaps Mauboissin's fame stems precisely from the fact that they have always operated in the shadow of Boucheron and Cartier, always seeming a little more down-to-earth - I almost want to say "German" - than their competitors, without, of course, denying their Parisian ease.

Nevertheless, this was never the very first port of call for princesses from the Emirates, or nouveau riche Russian women, but rather for upper middle-class ladies who wanted to afford something now and then. The crisis in the jewellery industry therefore hit the traditional jeweller a little harder than the top dogs. In the meantime, they reside a few streets away, in the Rue de la Paix.

I have often purchased smaller pieces of jewelry there - not as gifts, not to wear, but just to look at. Perhaps it is due to my very poor provenance that the sparkle of the stones and the sublime sheen of the gold still fascinates and soothes me so much today, even more so when they come together in such timeless elegance as at Mauboussin.

Except for the outer packaging, this pour lui in black has nothing - but nothing at all - in common with the legacy of Mauboussin, although the wonderful deep black bottle actually suggests this, because it does manage to recall the equally black flap cases of the Mauboussin jewels.

What a cheeky top note rises to my nose? Caramel with mint accompaniment, and would one be malicious could even describe it as "toothpaste in the Caramel Macchiato", but would not do it complete justice, because it nevertheless boldly pleases, and so rather irritating than repulsive.
Quite quickly, the fragrance slides into an infinite March violet bed, but comes across as anything but shy and reserved, but rather like a little, cheeky girl, who sits down on a park bench bluntly next to you, and begins to babble. You can not be angry with him, although it already seems quite penetrating.

Mauboussins pour lui in black belongs in a rank with Moschinos Uomo, could almost be the little sister of the latter - not because of the fragrance profile, but because of the relentless openness. Forget any form of adulthood. With both fragrances, wild teenage parties start that don't give a damn about quiet times.

After quite a while, the violet girl smiles at me. She's a little calmer now, but doesn't make the slightest move to get up and go home. I'm less outraged by this than I am by Boucheron's Pour Homme EdP on my other wrist, which, with its cultured, aristocratic citrus aromas, seems much more complex, quite different, and more deliberate. Here just worlds collide.

I can recommend Mauboussins pour lui in black nevertheless not really. I at least would not like to smell like that. As a blind buy, it is completely unsuitable. Rather to experiment for all those Parfumaficionados who already know all the fragrances anyway, and are always looking for a surprise.

Habit Rouge - now I know you as Eau de toilette your whole life, and I have to tell you that I have held up better than you could. Probably because you have just always defied every zeitgeist, and you have always remained true even with reformulation.
Such a characteristic distinguishes icons indeed, but since the wheel of time continues to turn, there makes such a character also more lonely.

You never embraced Shalimar's welcoming nature, always remaining the sterner, more suspicious brother. When the former offered the seductive female womb, you were content to play the role of householder.

In your top note, no lush bouquets of flowers and fruit stalls in oriental markets, but the almost bitter sourness of natural citrus aromas, which have always made you very bulky.
Your sublimity describes less the longing of the Orient, but more the Occident, along with a Gothic cathedral full of incense wavers.
No, you do not invite your counterpart, but assign him a place.

The heavy, musty earthiness of Patchouli makes your entourage kneel even as it goes on.
A real approach is not desired by you.

Meanwhile, the world of fragrances has become friendlier. Modern perfumes would like to smile formally, and seduce to the common campfire. Your ashes, however, are cold, and when your vanilla and benzo notes do try to open sweetly, a leathery band tugs them back relentlessly, as if to insist that one does not reveal intimate feelings at your age. The floridity of your dryout is really mere decoration, and nothing more than an obvious Potemkin village.

I don't want to stay with you anymore, and perhaps I never really wanted to, even though you and I have always met. I want to move on regardless of my own age, taste the future, and I think this time it will be goodbye forever.

You'll have your livelihood. Not only in the history books of perfumery, and in the curious hands of young, fragrance-savvy explorers, but also on the shelves of those very non-conformists who get a cold shiver from the very term "mainstream", and who can't get enough of meeting every flag of Diors Sauvage, no matter how light, with your cold arrogance.

I, on the other hand, commit blasphemy, even sacrilege, and wet my aged skin with Clinique's Happy Men without any rueful look back - grinning as if I'd just turned fourteen....

Disclaimer: I am an older gentleman of advanced retirement age who has applied fragrances for personal pleasure all his life. I have neither an analytical nose and professional background knowledge, nor the urge to remain as objective as possible in evaluations, as far as this seems at all possible with fragrances.

Every fragrance lover knows the moment of truth, namely just that moment when a bottle repeatedly approaches the end, and you have to admit to yourself, which Wässerchen then actually counts to the personal favorites without any enthusiasm.

In my case, this is undoubtedly Lanvin L'Homme Edt. whereby I always met the company a certain open-mindedness, since the wardrobe from the same house always counted to my favorite brands.

But what is so special about Lanvin L'Homme? In a word: the freshness.

One to two spritzes transform your own self into a wonderful mountain of floral white freshly washed laundry. This fragrance does not try at all to provoke, or to attract attention, but is content with the original task of every perfume, namely the improvement of the own smell. This he does but in such a sublime coolness and aplomb that the bulk of the rest of the perfume market must suddenly seem stenzartig next to it.
The positive neutrality of lavender dominates the top note so convincingly that a light touch of residual florality from bergamot and neroli creates just this feeling.

This top note is the most detached response to Parfums de Marly's Herod imaginable. In the Harry Potter universe, my boggart would consist of imagining myself at an evening stand-up party wetted with Herod - or worse, 1 Million - next to a Lanvin L'Homme wearer.

Yet Lanvin's L'Homme maintains its scandalous balance as it progresses, with pepper offsetting the sweetness of cardamom, and a brilliant interplay of amber and sandalwood offsetting the vanilla. All of this happens in such a unified way, though, that the scent fades out quite smoothly rather than really changing. Few fragrances can claim such a coherent wholeness.

In fact, I can think of only one comparable fragrance, namely Creed's Silver Mountain Water, which also exudes a rather captivating aura of freshness, although the Lanvin fragrance comes across as one step more purified and less maritime.
Or to put it another way: if you were to wash your favorite bedding with crystal clear glacier water and Vernel, you would be able to guess the profile of the fragrance quite well.

Please don't get me wrong:
I'm not talking about sterility and brittle cleaner charm, but true perfection.
So perfect that I catch myself with no other fragrance from my collection so often,
him simply times in between when going to the bathroom just for myself to put on.

A corresponding Roja addiction would be costly at times, but L'Homme is moreover convincing with a ridiculous price tag. This fragrance is the definitve signature of every man who has nothing more to prove in life.

He is simply there, and that's good

Disclaimer: I am an older gentleman of advanced retirement age who has applied fragrances for personal pleasure all his life. I have neither an analytical nose and professional background knowledge, nor the urge to remain as objective as possible in evaluations, as far as this seems at all possible with fragrances.

The fragrance YSL La Nuit de l'Homme reviewed here as Edt (current batch 2021) develops immediately after application a pleasing sweetness, which is reminiscent of a lush fresh bouquet of flowers. The cardamom dominates the bergamot here, whereby citrus-like perceptions are largely absent with me, or only very, very subtly take place.

This floral top note performs comparatively long, which in my opinion will also emerge as the greatest weakness of the Eau de toilettes. The fragrance develops thereby namely at the beginning of a certain obtrusiveness, without ever having the self-confident dominance of a high-priced vintage Oriental, which anyway signals that he is not willing to take into account others present. Rather, I would want to describe this floral sweetness as discreetly stealthy-immature. Not unpleasant, quite flattering and yet a little sneaky.

As a date fragrance, it requires a certain naivety from the counterpart.

Fortunately, the peppery aromas dampen the floral initial chord with increasing wearing time a little, whereby the emerging pleasant sharpness nevertheless at no time allows the use of the adjective "masculine". La Nuit de l'Homme exudes in the dryout no aura of wanting to conquer, but the familiarity of a friend with whom you sometimes like to meet for a cup of tea, but never want to wake up every morning, which of course remains due to the now dominant vanilla aroma of tonka bean.

The ever-so-slightly powdery, sticky honey sweetness that creeps ever so gently from floral bouquet to confection when worn just can't create enough nervous tension for me to really recommend this scent for a date. As a daily, however, it is equally unsuitable for men, as the sweetness of its DNA must seem unprofessional in a business setting.

If one likes the fragrance profile of the top note, then I would like to be allowed to recommend as an alternative here expressly Prada Amber pour homme, because cardamom and bergamot are supplemented here by a certain aquatic freshness, and also the sillage reveals more room for a more distanced togetherness.

Actually, I see Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit d l'Homme Edt in 2021 as more of an interesting women's fragrance for the 25-35 age group. Floral enough to retain a certain femininity, and yet - especially in the heart note thanks to pepper and wood - cool enough to never slide into something unpleasantly submissive.

Now I remain in the hope that my first review will not meet with too much displeasure, and look forward to further experiences in the community.