BobJ

After a several wears I feel as though I'm getting a better sense of this stuff. It's as dry, arid and masculine as can be, but in no way conservative or stodgy, and without being the sort of openly pleasant and seductive thing that a fellow might wear in attempt to impress a shy partner.

Instead it's somewhat challenging, and an "I don't particularly care what you think, you'll simply have to take me as I am" sort of fragrance, and useful in those particular sorts of situations of confidence where that's the sort of position you might want to find yourself taking.

If that's a position you feel you can reasonably pull off, that is.

It's from Amouage, so it's undoubtedly wonderful stuff, with all the strength and longevity I enjoy in a perfume. But to be frank, it's simply not the way I want to smell, nor does it project the sort of personal image I believe I could pull off, nor want to pull off. Others have said that it's macho, and while that might not be quite the right term, I suspect "distinguished" fits the bill, and as a lighter-hearted older guy, I'm simply not interested in ever seeming this distinguished.

Perhaps the sort of thing to wear if you are an established politician stepping out of your Rolls Royce, but carrying with it the same sort of air of high-powered unapproachability that such mindfully-serious men often project. I find it terrifically conservative, and probably not worn by sort of man you might initially consider fun to pal around with.

But exactly the sort of thing to wear if you find yourself in a situation where that's the image you need to project, and probably the perfect stuff to wear if you should find yourself in the position of, say, needing to make an advantageous business deal with a bunch of stone-faced Soviets.

So not the greatest date frag, unless you happen to be into those sorts of women, that is.

I've had the chance to sample Grev several times now.

Frankly this is not the kind of juice to wear to impress women. It p*sses all over Black Aoud, and is the sort of stuff you might wear if you were going into the sketchy part of town and didn't want to get messed with. Kind of like what I picture the guys in the Mad Max movies wearing, if they wanted to get dressy.

It's strong and interesting in a way that I suspect few commercial frags would ever dare to be, and in a way where you smell it, but where it also feels like it might burn a hole in your wrist if you don't watch it with application.

I think it will be at it's best when it's colder than hell outside, and I'm off on my cross-country skis in the woods. It has an "out in the woods" kind of smell, but the sort where, once you reach the heart, you might smell if a recent and massive blow-down event had happened which had smashed all the pine and fir trees, trunks needles and all, to smithereens. Guys in the North who cut wood for their wood stoves will know what I mean, but stronger than that, and more like when you are walking around in the slash. Not cheerful and refreshing, but manly and somewhat aggressive.

It's not from France, is what I mean.

And with cloves.

Friends, this is probably the one scent that my newbie self could confidently identify on someone in a crowd. And like Anup, I love it, and have little to add to his review of it's woody licorice notes.

In time a more sophisticated wearer may tire of it's distinctiveness, but that time has not arrived for me yet, and I always reach for it when I simply want to enjoy my day.

Is it a bit like the cartoons, as Aunp implied ? Perhaps, and in that sense it's colorful and a heck of a lot of fun. And a great choice for those days when you feel like you've got nothing to prove and feel like simply having fun yourself.

Inexpensive and easy to find online. Is there anyone with a truly inquisitive attitude toward fragrance who has not tried it ? I suspect not. But if you find yourself on this site and are not familiar with it, I would not let too many days past before you treat yourself to a sniff.

Equipage may be the fragrance which has convinced me that I simply don't have the nose I wish I had, and that I may have to finally own up to the fact. Still, I suspect there are other fans of scent who are equally impaired, and yet still carry on with the search for things they enjoy, so perhaps this review will be useful for some.

To be honest, this is the first fragrance I've smelled which really rates as soapy smelling in my book. There are other notes, woody and floral, hiding under there which slowly evolve, but for me it's soapy nature overwhelms everything else well on into the basenotes. It's certainly a "distinguished" fragrance, but even at my advanced age I'm not sure I want to be seen as staid and conservative as this, so it's never going to be a favorite of mine, I fear.

Again, others with more sophisticated noses will likely find much more in this now-classic Hermes than I do, and I am a huge fan of Bel Ami, so I am not adverse to fragrances from this era. But given it's reputation as a "mature" sort of fragrance, it's worth giving a full test before making up you mind.