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Eating chocolate under a Fig tree
After the HUGE success of Le Mâle, JPG wait 16 years to introduce a new Men's fragrance and it happen to fail commercially.
Kokorico, created by (probably my favorite perfumer) Annick Ménardo along with Olivier Cresp (Angel, Light Blue). A dream team basically.
The fragrance, is a great aromatic and powdery patchouly complemented with fig leaf. The cocoa from patchouli is very present, creating a sensual chocolate feeling with dusty woodiness.
Not much moving between opening and drydown but the result is great, masculine, sexy, woody aromatic goodness!
The problem, i guess, was the time. It came out in 2011, when thins like Bleu de Chanel, Aventus or 1 Million were dominating the trends and this came as an woody aromatic with strong patchouli and kinda similar to other stuff that came before (LIDG,LIDGE or even Play Intense). This turned out being a failure and the fragrance was discontinued 5/6 years later.
I really enjoy this because i find it very aromatic with the fig leaf, which i'm a fan of, and the slightly sweet and dusty cocoa is a perfect combination. Different from LIDG which has a more spicy feel to it with the anise, and more interesting that Play Intense, this could be a classic if it was been released 5 years before.
If you never smelled it, try to find a good deal on it and you'll be surprised on how good it is. The prices aren't that high so you can still find good deals on 50mls or even 30mls.
I don't find it a true masterpiece or a must have but if you like woody aromatic compositions in a limbo between classic and modern, this is a great example with a twist.
Another great work by Annick Ménardo, bravo!
4/5
Kokorico, created by (probably my favorite perfumer) Annick Ménardo along with Olivier Cresp (Angel, Light Blue). A dream team basically.
The fragrance, is a great aromatic and powdery patchouly complemented with fig leaf. The cocoa from patchouli is very present, creating a sensual chocolate feeling with dusty woodiness.
Not much moving between opening and drydown but the result is great, masculine, sexy, woody aromatic goodness!
The problem, i guess, was the time. It came out in 2011, when thins like Bleu de Chanel, Aventus or 1 Million were dominating the trends and this came as an woody aromatic with strong patchouli and kinda similar to other stuff that came before (LIDG,LIDGE or even Play Intense). This turned out being a failure and the fragrance was discontinued 5/6 years later.
I really enjoy this because i find it very aromatic with the fig leaf, which i'm a fan of, and the slightly sweet and dusty cocoa is a perfect combination. Different from LIDG which has a more spicy feel to it with the anise, and more interesting that Play Intense, this could be a classic if it was been released 5 years before.
If you never smelled it, try to find a good deal on it and you'll be surprised on how good it is. The prices aren't that high so you can still find good deals on 50mls or even 30mls.
I don't find it a true masterpiece or a must have but if you like woody aromatic compositions in a limbo between classic and modern, this is a great example with a twist.
Another great work by Annick Ménardo, bravo!
4/5
2 Comments
Woody Spicy Masterpiece
I don't know why i never made a review of this one. A favourite of mine, probably top 3 actually.
Jean Claude Éllena made his most iconic and influential creation in 1998. Déclaration DNA is still present in many contemporary fragrances such as Narciso Rodriguez Bleu Noir, Terre D'Hermès, Dunhill Icon, and so on...
Funny enough, in the same year, S.T.Dupont lauched Pour Homme, created by Gérard Anthony (who made Azzaro pour Homme, XS pour homme and Balenciaga pour homme), which shares similarities with Déclaration. Both have a pencil shavings smell, a floral heart and some citruses. But the S.T.Dupont falls flat and after a couple of minutes, it became a shadow of itself and turns boring and weak.
Déclaration, has a beautiful drydown, with white musks, cedarwood and cardamom. There's some vetiver underneath but it's not very strong. The opening it's also magestic with the green cardamom giving it's lemony facet and also a smoky nuance. There's right away a strong cedar note that emerges and gives the pencil shavings kinda smell.
As it dries down, the pièce de résistence appears. The cumin note, very polarizing and the one that makes this fragrance more unique and controversial. I will say that the cardamom is pretty close with cumin and, for the most part, i smell more cardamom than cumin, but years ago, when i started this journey, i remember being intrigued and fascinated by the cumin note.
The so-called BO smell that cumin usually provides is kinda there but not exaggerated or pushed forward. Just a little bit of that funkyness to provid uniqueness.
Performance is good. 6-8h with a nice bubble around you.
A masterpiece, a statement.
5/5
Jean Claude Éllena made his most iconic and influential creation in 1998. Déclaration DNA is still present in many contemporary fragrances such as Narciso Rodriguez Bleu Noir, Terre D'Hermès, Dunhill Icon, and so on...
Funny enough, in the same year, S.T.Dupont lauched Pour Homme, created by Gérard Anthony (who made Azzaro pour Homme, XS pour homme and Balenciaga pour homme), which shares similarities with Déclaration. Both have a pencil shavings smell, a floral heart and some citruses. But the S.T.Dupont falls flat and after a couple of minutes, it became a shadow of itself and turns boring and weak.
Déclaration, has a beautiful drydown, with white musks, cedarwood and cardamom. There's some vetiver underneath but it's not very strong. The opening it's also magestic with the green cardamom giving it's lemony facet and also a smoky nuance. There's right away a strong cedar note that emerges and gives the pencil shavings kinda smell.
As it dries down, the pièce de résistence appears. The cumin note, very polarizing and the one that makes this fragrance more unique and controversial. I will say that the cardamom is pretty close with cumin and, for the most part, i smell more cardamom than cumin, but years ago, when i started this journey, i remember being intrigued and fascinated by the cumin note.
The so-called BO smell that cumin usually provides is kinda there but not exaggerated or pushed forward. Just a little bit of that funkyness to provid uniqueness.
Performance is good. 6-8h with a nice bubble around you.
A masterpiece, a statement.
5/5
1 Comment
A Legend.
There's not many fragrances that are still relevant and carismathic after 30 years. This is one of them. A classic, a must-have, one of the best creations and super influential.
I remember being a young guy and a friend of mine was wearing Le Mâle. back in the late 90's early 00's. I was not into fragrances although i always like to spray on whatever my father had. Usually "Original (Eau de Toilette) | Denim" , "Black (Eau de Toilette) | Denim" , "Don Algodón para Hombre (Eau de Toilette) | Don Algodón" , "Pull & Bear (Eau de Toilette) | Pull & Bear" or "Springfield (Eau de Toilette) | Springfield" .
But this smell stuck with me and years later, i worked with a guy that took baths with Le Male. Everytime i entered in his car i would be drowned by his scent. I knew the scent but never asked what fragrance was.
In 2015, i started collecting fragrances and in one of the first perfumery stores i immediately picked up Le Male and recognized the smell. Since then, i have Le Mâle and wear it often.
Everybody knows it already but to sumarize it, it's fresh, sweet, powdery and a bit spicy-earthy in the opening. Mint, lavender, vanilla, orange blossom, woods tonka beans... The combination is perfect, mind blowing, iconic and still influential.
You can hype the new flankers but none can reach the greatness of the original. They all smell similar to Le Mâle, but aren't as good as the original. The only one that is very good is Fleur du Mâle which was created by FK and has a nice floral twist on the DNA.
Le Parfum is a really nice flanker too but like the new Elixir, falls flat, although I prefer Le Parfum over Elixir.
Overall, the fragrance still performs well, has depth, uniqueness, an iconic smell and it's pleasant. A must have masculine scent. Youtubers always criticize it saying it's played out. It's just a way to get money from the newer stuff that they hype. This is great and i even go further saying it could be considered a masterpiece. Forget the new flankers. go to the original.
A legend. 5/5
I remember being a young guy and a friend of mine was wearing Le Mâle. back in the late 90's early 00's. I was not into fragrances although i always like to spray on whatever my father had. Usually "Original (Eau de Toilette) | Denim" , "Black (Eau de Toilette) | Denim" , "Don Algodón para Hombre (Eau de Toilette) | Don Algodón" , "Pull & Bear (Eau de Toilette) | Pull & Bear" or "Springfield (Eau de Toilette) | Springfield" .
But this smell stuck with me and years later, i worked with a guy that took baths with Le Male. Everytime i entered in his car i would be drowned by his scent. I knew the scent but never asked what fragrance was.
In 2015, i started collecting fragrances and in one of the first perfumery stores i immediately picked up Le Male and recognized the smell. Since then, i have Le Mâle and wear it often.
Everybody knows it already but to sumarize it, it's fresh, sweet, powdery and a bit spicy-earthy in the opening. Mint, lavender, vanilla, orange blossom, woods tonka beans... The combination is perfect, mind blowing, iconic and still influential.
You can hype the new flankers but none can reach the greatness of the original. They all smell similar to Le Mâle, but aren't as good as the original. The only one that is very good is Fleur du Mâle which was created by FK and has a nice floral twist on the DNA.
Le Parfum is a really nice flanker too but like the new Elixir, falls flat, although I prefer Le Parfum over Elixir.
Overall, the fragrance still performs well, has depth, uniqueness, an iconic smell and it's pleasant. A must have masculine scent. Youtubers always criticize it saying it's played out. It's just a way to get money from the newer stuff that they hype. This is great and i even go further saying it could be considered a masterpiece. Forget the new flankers. go to the original.
A legend. 5/5
Fruity Amber!
Guerlain nailed in this collection. Les Absolu D'Orient have some great fragrances but to me the ones that stand out and speak to me are the first ones. Santal Royal and Ambre Éternel.
The first one was not something that i liked from the beggining. I thought it was less sandalwood and more about the cinnamon and peach accord. But i grew up to love it.
But this Ambre Éternel was the one that made me bought a bottle. A fantastic scent that plays with the salty-animalic Ambergris, a fruity peach from Mitsouko and the powdery iris, with that middle-east oriental leather underneath it all.
Starts off very sparkling and fruity. The peach accord it's present here with the ambergris. There's this powderiness from Iris that never became strong. Just lingering around. Fantastic smell with an aura of sophistication.
The drydown is woody, ambery and still fruity. Very "fresh" and kinda airy, never strong or cloying which it's a plus for this kind of scent. Don't get me wrong. This is not a fresh scent. It's an woody floral amber that has some saltiness and fruity molecules that turns this into a more "fresh" and versatile scent rather than a typical resinous amber scent made for cold weather.
It can be wore in spring, fall and winter. Has good performance, not nuclear but decent 8+ plus hours with good presence in the first couple of hours.
Unfortunately discontinued, but if you find it for a good price, grab a bottle. It's one of the best Guerlain for the past 10 years.
4/5
The first one was not something that i liked from the beggining. I thought it was less sandalwood and more about the cinnamon and peach accord. But i grew up to love it.
But this Ambre Éternel was the one that made me bought a bottle. A fantastic scent that plays with the salty-animalic Ambergris, a fruity peach from Mitsouko and the powdery iris, with that middle-east oriental leather underneath it all.
Starts off very sparkling and fruity. The peach accord it's present here with the ambergris. There's this powderiness from Iris that never became strong. Just lingering around. Fantastic smell with an aura of sophistication.
The drydown is woody, ambery and still fruity. Very "fresh" and kinda airy, never strong or cloying which it's a plus for this kind of scent. Don't get me wrong. This is not a fresh scent. It's an woody floral amber that has some saltiness and fruity molecules that turns this into a more "fresh" and versatile scent rather than a typical resinous amber scent made for cold weather.
It can be wore in spring, fall and winter. Has good performance, not nuclear but decent 8+ plus hours with good presence in the first couple of hours.
Unfortunately discontinued, but if you find it for a good price, grab a bottle. It's one of the best Guerlain for the past 10 years.
4/5
Chypre leather reference
Aramis, a side brand from Estée Lauder, was created to carry masculine fragrances and this one was created for her husband. The perfumer Bernard Chant created some classic masterpieces including Grès Cabochard, Clinique Aromatics Elixir (fantastic chypre), Estee Lauder Beautiful (which i absolutely love) and this one.
For many years, this was a reference and a heavy hitter for men. Along with Caron pour un homme, Old Spice and Brut. All different but all classics.
The fragrance starts super fresh and with hints of citruses along with a sparkling nature from Aldehydes but soon the spices, moss and leather became dominant and the fargrance became more herbal, bitter, sipcy (cloves mainly) and with a leather background.
Super sophisticated, grown up and masculine. I always liked this one but found it to be very dated.
Interestingly enough, i find it more modern nowadays with the resurgence of chypres in perfumery. Even Roja or Amouage has their chypres.
I have a bottle from the 00's and it's still very strong in performance and with a higher quality level compared to the ones on the market now, but still, if you are a fan of bitter mossy leather scents, this is a must have. The newer formulas aren't as good but they are still pleasant and worth smelling.
One of the first chypre-leathers out there and still, a reference in the game. I don't reach for it often, but when i do, i understand why i still have it.
Glorious mossy leather scent.
4/5
Check out the review below of JavSantana. A very interesting and insightfull review.
For many years, this was a reference and a heavy hitter for men. Along with Caron pour un homme, Old Spice and Brut. All different but all classics.
The fragrance starts super fresh and with hints of citruses along with a sparkling nature from Aldehydes but soon the spices, moss and leather became dominant and the fargrance became more herbal, bitter, sipcy (cloves mainly) and with a leather background.
Super sophisticated, grown up and masculine. I always liked this one but found it to be very dated.
Interestingly enough, i find it more modern nowadays with the resurgence of chypres in perfumery. Even Roja or Amouage has their chypres.
I have a bottle from the 00's and it's still very strong in performance and with a higher quality level compared to the ones on the market now, but still, if you are a fan of bitter mossy leather scents, this is a must have. The newer formulas aren't as good but they are still pleasant and worth smelling.
One of the first chypre-leathers out there and still, a reference in the game. I don't reach for it often, but when i do, i understand why i still have it.
Glorious mossy leather scent.
4/5
Check out the review below of JavSantana. A very interesting and insightfull review.
