HugoMontez

This classic 1982 fougère is really fascinating, especially looking at a distance. At that time, masculines were starting to make a turn with the recent animalic fragrances (Kouros, Antaeus...). So everything was strong, powerfull and invasive.

Of course we already had citrus colognes (i.e. Eau Sauvage) or mossy green fougères (Polo, Paco Rabanne...) but nothing came across fresh and masculine as this one. And the reason why Drakkar noir is inexpectedly fresh is beacause of dihydromyrcenol, used in detergents to increase the sense of freshness and cleaness, but until then, not so much used in fragrances.

The perfumer Pierre Wargnye took a classic fougère structure and added dihydromyrcenol, turning it really fresh and clean, something not very easy to achieved at the time. It was a instant best seller.

The fragrance starts off with lavender, rosemary and lemon. Fresh, aromatic and a tiny bit of citruses. It has a creamy shaving foam aftertaste and that's why this became on of the most influential and classic barbershop fragrances.

As it dries down, the fragrance became more woody, a bit mossy and lightly leathery, but never reaches the full leather scent. Just enough to bring more depth.

Pierre Wargnye was a great perfumer with some classic fragrances in his catalog. Drakkar Noir was his first masculine and perhaps his most famous but he was in the team that created L'Homme and La Nuit de L'Homme, and he created Boss Number one or the underrated Baldessarini Cologne.

Drakkar Noir is probably the Sauvage of the 80's, meaning it was very popular along young guys, very appealing, masculine and sexy! But also, very influential and original. Pierre Bourdon took inspiration for his Green Irish Tweed and Cool Water, turning the scent less barbershop and even more fresher.

But talking about Drakkar Noir, it is still a great value for the money, a great barbeshop fragrance, pretty much timeless, and easy to wear. Guy Laroche never had such a bit hit after this one. Horizon was a flop and discontinued years after, although a great aquatic scent, it didn't bring the originality and still mainstream appeal that Drakkar Noir have and this is one of the few examples of a flanker surpassing the original, which ended up being discontinued during the 90's.

I have a mini 15ml bottle from the 90's that has a bit more oakmoss than the today's version, although, even the current one is good enough, just a bit cleaner. The performance is really average. Don't expect a bomb cause this one never was. But it's pretty solid 5-6h and, if you overapply it, you might get an 1 or 2 hours plus.

This is a classic and a must have fragrance. Super inexpensive, still relevant, masculine, herbal, fresh and clean, a pleasure to wear.

4/5

I associate this fragrance with a young macho from the 80s, like nowadays 1 Million, Invictus or so. This is compared to Kouros and the only comparable thing is the virility and sexy young macho vibe that both have.

This is a fresh honeyed tobacco based scent. Opens up with a fresh and juicy pineapple note but surrounded by aromatics such as lavender and artemisia. The pineapple is evident but not a major note in the composition. The whole thing suggests a masculine scent but not a old or classy one, more a young virile one like Kouros.

As it dries down, the fruitiness fades and the honey note (that seems to be the star of the show) appears. But this honey is not a gourmand note but rather a warm, slightly sweet, note that reminds me of depilatory wax in a way.

The honey works together with a dry and aromatic tobacco. This combo is reminiscent of Boss Number One. But in Boss we have a more "dated" smell and definitely more grown up. Dont get me wrong, i like Boss but i enjoy more this composition.

The fragrance has a rosewood note hidden behind the honey-tobacco accord during the whole time. It gives more substance and a bit of a sweet nuance.

The fragrance finishes with a sandalwood, giving its creamy facet and a musk note, ehancing the macho young sexyness theme.

The fragrance has great performance with a strong presence in the opening and mid (1-2h) and a nice trail until the 8h mark. Strong but a bit fresh, actually.

It's not obnoxious at all. Even after the opening, the freshness maintains and cuts the dense and strong woody and musky trail. That's why i love about this composition. The freshness that, besides not being the theme here, exists to balance everything. I smell something reminiscent of pine needles and it's probably where's the freshness comes. Also, lily of the valey has that power so, i would guess these 2 notes are hidden but making their job.

Overall, a classic macho scent that suggests virility ans sexyness in a 80's "dirty" way. I love it and recommend it. Takes all the boxes.

4/5

This one was a hype beast when i started this journey about 7 years ago. I bought a bottle at the time due to it's high praise and cheap price. In fact, it was one of the first bottles that i added to my colection and the first blind buy.

Olivier Polge created this fragrance with Domitille Bertier. They had worked in numerous fragrances including Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb, Davidoff Hot Water or Burberry The beat for him. This, apart from Flowerbomb, is probably their best achievement. Alone, Olivier Polge is known for Dior Homme, V&R Spicebomb, D&G The One, Valentino Uomo and F Black By Ferragamo. Domitille Bertier is known for Boss In Motion, Versace Man and Just Cavalli for Him line.

Talking about the fragrance, i find it a great powdery scent with a strong maté tea note, a tonka base and a rosemary top. There's a light metallic-leather feel that mixed with tonka deels a bit like a mimic of Bvlgari Black. But this is different. Super relaxing and romantic. A great night time, "netflix and chill" kinda fragrance. Pretty much unisex, with good sillage and longevity.

The bottle is really nice and beautiful. The sprayer is really bad as it breaks easily. Mine is working but the nozzle came off.

At the time, 75ml was around 15-20€. A fantastic price for such a good fragrance. Nowadays, the only thing that plays in the same ballpark is Prada Luna Rossa Black but it's not the same. I prefer this but a mile.

Not a super complex scent but rather unique and well composed. Powdery, slightly sweet, relaxing and still fresh and light. I really like this one and i reach for it when i want something relaxing, to watch some netflix with my girlfriend and enjoy the moment with this peaceful and romantic scent. Maybe one day, VC&A would relaunch this one. It could be great...

4/5

I bought a mini 15ml splash bottle a couple of months ago. At first, i found it similiar to Insensé (that fir balsam, more precisely) but a bit weak, although, i decanted to a sprayer and now i can fully appretiate it. It's fantastic. It doesn't have the florals and freshness of Insensé, but it shares the green fir balsam.

Ellena told that the briefing for this fragrance was something like "i want a fragrance that it's smelled right when one enters the room". I dont think it is that potent, but even Ellena didn't want it to be. He seemed to be a bit frustrated with the result because, at the time, the market had changed and this type of fragrances were not the ones who people reach for. Later on, the guy from Rochas admitted to Ellena that he was wrong.

But, although the fragrance is a bit old fashioned for the time, it's not the type of fragrance that nowadays it will be perceived as dated because it doesn't feature strong patchouli, oakmoss, animalics or dirty leather. It's all very "natural", with a french sophistication and the touch of Ellena.

He changed his style after this one, with the Eau Parfumeé for Bvlgari in 1992, but this one has some mild and fresh spices that he later start to use in high amounts. The coriander and cumin are very well blended, never too strong and heavenly melted in sandalwood and fir balsam.

The result is a longlasting woody spicy fragrance with some florals (carnation is quite evident) and greens. Soft, charming, inviting, divine. A fantastic fragrance that can be worn at every season and that i will have to find a bigger bottle to enjoy it for more years.

I reach to this release, after a good amount of hype, with some reluctance. Mauboussin is not a high quality fragrance brand and, despite the original Homme which I find decent but not memorable (talking about the vintage twist and spray bottle), the rest is pretty irrelevant and mediocre. The spicy Private Club flanker is not bad but the budget spent on it wasn't sufficient to make it shine in the drydown, turning it to a let down.

So, this one, created by Karine Sereni, who famously had some highlights (Gucci Homme II, Lalique Ombre Noire and Occitane Eau des Baux), has fig leaf as a note along with some woods. Pretty simple, right? Well, if you are searching for a fig, you can hardy pass this one, since there isn't any fig leaf or even fruit accord here. But, in fact, there is a fruity quality to it and a creamy woody drydown.

It starts off very fruity and spicy to my nose. Reminiscent of a spicy tea (Gucci Pour Homme II, is that you?). First of all, don't run to it expecting a clone or substitute for the discontinued, and not that great, Gucci Pour homme II, because you'll not find it here. But it definitely shares some similarities due to that spicy tea note.

This is pretty much the main accord here along with a dry and strange sandalwood (possibly a variety that I'm not familiar). It became less sharp and fruity and more woody as it dries. Cedar is present in the background.

The fragrance finishes with a nice and pleasant masculine vibe, decent quality and good performance.

The price is excellent and it might become one of the best cheapies for the last years. Nothing groundbreaking, of course, but far better than many other expensive stuff and with a nice and well done composition.

I am surprised by the quality and the composition and, for this price point, you can't go much better than this.

Recommended for any cheapie hunter and afficionado in general. Nice one.

3/5