Buddha1979

In 2016/2017, when I started this hobby, I was looking for a good barbershop signature fragrance for everyday use. I tested my way through the usual suspects and my favorite at the time was clearly "Invasion Barbare | Parfums MDCI", which I subsequently used as a signature fragrance for years. The Sartorial was not my first choice at the time because it was a little too "serious" for me and I saw it more on an older gentleman. The fragrance remained in the back of my mind but I have probably largely forgotten the actual fragrance profile. When I occasionally researched it, "aldehydes", "ozonic notes" and "metallic notes" struck me as rather negative and I decided not to retest it for this reason.

7 or 8 years later, Penhaligons is more strongly represented in Vienna's perfumeries than it was back then, but Sartorial is usually not there. When I came across a tester of Sartorial in early 2024, I gave it another chance and was immediately taken with it. What a beautiful, complex fragrance for the well-groomed gentleman! It is much more rounded and good-natured than the "metallic notes" etc. would suggest. The above-mentioned notes, which are borderline for me, actually only provide the freshness that is needed anyway.
In terms of its fragrance profile, it has a good overlap with "Invasion Barbare | Parfums MDCI", but today I find the Sartorial more "wearable" in everyday life. "Invasion Barbare | Parfums MDCI" is now almost too special and "statement-making" for everyday office life. I think Sartorial simply suits me well and is certainly not wrong on a now 45-year-old. For me, Sartorial embodies the "freshly showered", "shaved" and "well-groomed" image of a good barbershop fragrance.
So I have a new everyday fragrance. I like to wear Sartorial together with "1725 | Histoires de Parfums", which adds some powder, sweetness and playfulness to the overall result.
Barbershop at it's finest.

This fragrance definitely deserves a comment. I have now known it for 2 weeks and I can only say that I think it is certainly one of the most beautiful lavender scents ever! I have corrected my rating again above.

Thank you to the previous speakers, your statements have brought me to this fragrance!

I like lavender very much but in perfumes I have never found it in the right balance when it plays one of the skin roles in the fragrance composition. There is the lavender that smells sweet-synthetic and that we all know from toilets, cleaning products, detergents, mothballs, scented trees and so on and most of us don't want to smell like that I guess. And then there is the lavender, which of course smells herbaceous and spicy with a distinct camphor note especially at the beginning. One remembers the beginnings of modern men's perfumes. I don't really like this kind of lavender either, as I often miss the harmonious aspect of it.

In Lavande Précieuse we have in my opinion one of the best and most natural combinations of possible virtues in lavender. It is herbaceous but not hot, it is aromatic-floral but not too sweet, it is earthy, woody, spicy and even powdery. For me it comes very close to the ideal of natural lavender and this fragrance, although it probably contains only one lavender essence, is astonishingly complex on the whole.

There is a slight development as with any lavender fragrance. In the beginning the pungent herbaceous note predominates, but it is not as overwhelming as with some other lavender scents. After 5-10 minutes, a certain harmony is established, which remains until the end. On the skin, it is only average, but on clothes it is quite good. By the way, I don't know of a single lavender scent where the lavender note really lasts for a very long time.

I can compare the Lavande Précieuse with Caron Pour Un Homme Millesime 2014, L'Occitan Eau De Toilette and the English Lavender by Atkinsons - all of which have lavender as their skin theme.
With the CPUHM 2014, the lavender starts so sharp that I first thought I was allergic to it. But it is only the initial camphor storm that makes me wince. With this lavender, I miss the floral aspect as it progresses, even though amber and vanilla have a balancing effect. By the way, I remember the normal CPUH being a bit more harmonious, but I only had the Millesime 2014. Nevertheless, I think Lavande Précieuse is simply more beautiful in sum.

L'Occitan Eau De Toilette begins, like Lavande Précieuse, with a rather herbaceous phase. But then a slightly pungent, synthetic note is added, which spoils the fragrance for me. At some point, there was once talk of a "burnt wood" note. Well. In my opinion, Lavande Précieuse is simply the better choice.

Then I have English Lavender from Atkinsons. Here the spiciness and bitterness outweighs the lavender and once again the flowery is missing. If you need a pungent, strict, masculine old-school after-shave, you might find it there. I find Lavande Précieuse simply much more harmonious and beautiful.

One more small note about the bottle and the spray head. I bought the 100ml EDT version, which is available for about 12-14 Euro in french online shops and currently also at Amazon Germany.
The bottle is quite nice and makes a valuable impression. The spray head is of inferior quality - it sprays unevenly and slightly to the side. The cap has immediately dissolved into an inner and an outer part. Well, I can live with the disadvantages in view of the wonderful scent.

I like to use Lavande Précieuse at home in the evening, as it calms me down and brings that certain feel-good factor. But now I use it more and more during the day as well.
I think that Lavande Précieuse can also be layered very well with other fragrances, for example if you want to enhance an already existing lavender note.

I still have to experiment but I have found an excellent combination with Cartier's slightly soapy Santos EDT. The result reminds me of the smell of very good lavender soap.

The 15ml version is available from 4 Eur. Well, that would be worth a try, dear lavender lovers!

Not much needs to be said about the history of this classic - it's a reissue of one of the first men's fragrances in perfume history. The Millesime version is intended to be particularly close to the original version.

Compared to the original (CaronPourUnHomme) the Millesime smells for me more lavender and also in the other notes more intensive and somehow "higher quality". I can't say anything about the exact differences now, because I never had the two scents at the same time. Nevertheless I find the durability of the Millesime much better. I don't use the CPUH anymore because of its moderate durability.

This perfume consists of only 4 notes and all these notes are needed at all times in the course of the fragrance in order not to make the performance too simple. You could also say that Millesime is a perfume without head notes. It begins in the heart and slowly glides into the base. Why also head notes, which have anyway vanished within minutes ? ;)

The use is quite universal, but I see the fragrance rather suitable for the gentleman from 30, whenever a well-groomed gentleman is needed. During the day with a tie in the office or in the evening, well dressed, at the opera. I find "casual" and "athletic" not the right choice for Millesime. As suitable seasons I find autumn to spring ideal, thus the cooler season. For the midsummer there is perhaps a little freshness missing and the smell itself is rather "warm".

But now for use and my special observations.

During the first tests on the skin, I immediately noticed the initially strong lavender note. It's a real lavender storm that's gonna whirl you around. The lavender in Millesime is very herbaceous, male, clearly French with, I suppose, a high proportion of camphor (theoretically up to 8% for French lavender). The first few times it was too much for me - eyes and nose were irritated; I thought it would be nothing with me and the Millesime. Am I perhaps allergic to it - that would be a pity, it is overall, nevertheless, such a beautiful smell? It wasn't that bad after all. After 10 to 15 minutes, the lavender storm sets in and the other notes begin to mix in. Meanwhile I got used to the lavender start and don't find it so unpleasant anymore.

But what comes after the first 15 minutes? For me this is the beginning of the most beautiful phase of the millesime. The lavender still provides the fresh component, but now the warm amber comes through, mixed with a tasty vanilla and the musk rounds the whole thing off.

During my first tests on the skin, I was disappointed after about one hour. What happened to the beautiful scent? The lavender is fizzled out and what remains is a soft vanilla cream that comes across very warm and gourmandig and smells like a chocolate-vanilla pudding. I don't really want to smell that way. I tried again and again and was always disappointed. I sprayed the Millesime on the back of the hand, the forearm, the chest - and always the same result. I was disappointed.

But then a new observation. The spray head of the flacon always smells good. Even days after the last spraying it still smells like lavender and the other notes are all there ! Objects that had come into contact with the Millesime still smell very good for days afterwards: a measuring spoon, a transfer funnel, the shelf surface smells as I would like the Millesime to smell.

So it must be the skin or especially my skin! I tried it immediately and sprayed the Millesime no longer on the skin but on my clothes and there the new realization: it works! The lavender storm at the beginning is not as violent as on the skin. The fragrance remains homogeneous and harmonious for a very long time. The lavender note, which holds everything together, lingers for a very long time and this beautiful fragrance remains for many hours. Even on the next day everything is still there and it does not come to the expression of the less great "Vanilleamber" as on the skin. The Sillage is not the very best, especially not on the clothes. The scent always remains rather reserved.

My hypothesis: The millesime remains more harmonious on clothing and objects than on the skin. Of course, it can also be due to MY skin, but my skin is not that special. I suspect that the lavender on warm skin evaporates too quickly and then one of the main components of this composition is missing. If you are disappointed by the performance of the Millesime, try it on your clothes!

Invasion was my signature scent for years. For me, Invasion Barbarian is the epitome of the cultivated man. In the beginning, IB didn't remind me of a classic perfume, but rather of a fragrance that emanated from various high-quality men's care products such as shaving foam, soap, shampoo, beard oil, etc. I have tried hundreds of perfumes in search of a suitable signature scent but none has convinced me as much as IB. The durability is excellent and the Sillage just still so that one goes with it nobody on the nerves.
In an English forum someone once wrote that IB reminded him of "freshly washed laundry" - I can well understand this association. I use a washing powder from Aldi with lavender; there we already have an explanation for the similarity.

My main association with IB, however, is much more complex. About 15 years ago I was a prospective plant science student and in one summer I did an internship of several months in a tree nursery in Tuscany. I was surrounded daily by Mediterranean plants and intense scents and I have to admit that I wasn't interested in scents or perfumes at that time. In my spare time I often went to the coast and went hiking in the mediterranean landscape. A landscape form was often represented - the Mediterranean macchia. This is a very dry, steppe-like landscape in summer with rather low vegetation - the Macchie is often found on the coasts of Italy and Greece. Googlet that one ! Characteristic for the plants of the Macchie is also their high oil content and the strong aromatic scents. Typical plants are lavender, broom, cistus roses, myrtles. Strawberry trees etc. They often grow in loose groups on clayey, grey earth with many stones up to rocks. The scents are very numerous and especially intense in the dry summer months.

Well, what can I say, IB reminds me strongly of the scent of this macchia and I mean a combination of the plants and the soil. IB is for me not only a cultivated fragrance but also a memory of a very nice, carefree time. IB smells like untouched nature for me !

I've been buying IB for years from Sharings of the sampling program because I think it's expensive. Nevertheless I would have bought the 75ml version of IB if there had been no other possibility.