Andy Warhol for Men
Andy Warhol (1999)

Andy Warhol pour Homme by Parfums Andy Warhol (1999) is an interesting and oft-overlooked piece of perfume pop culture, fittingly also like most of the artist's own work outside of famous collaborations. Of course, it doesn't take much investigation to figure out what we really have here is another obscure brand license by the quirky Cofinuxe, a house that seems to exist as a teething ground for industry perfumers that later go on to bigger recognition for designer and luxury clients, while banking on their own tacky variety of value-oriented high-street scent fare. As with Salvadore Dali, Coflinuxe must have figured that bringing a famous visual artist into the perfume market was an easy way to earn some quick clout from the cultured consumer of fast fashion; but they made the unprofitable mistake of picking an artist who was already dead a decade by then, as Andy Warhol had passed in 1987. My guess is The Andy Warhol Foundation, who would later go much further upmarket by working with Bond No. 9, had no idea who it was really dealing with when agreeing to perfumes under license to Cofinluxe, as absolutely nothing about this scent reads to me as something Warhol would have had any interest in doing himself (or he would have launched perfume when alive like Dali). Somehow this got a flanker in the form of Andy Warhol Pop pour Homme (2005), which oddly looks to be aquatic in nature due to the blue hue of the bottle, but is misleadingly more complex than that. So too is the smell of Andy Warhol pour Homme misleading in its complexity, with websites all over the internet failing to really list its notes properly, and people falling on their face to describe it.

The scent of Andy Warhol pour Homme was crafted by Dorothee Piot, who doesn't have much of a notable perfume portfolio until you hit the 2010's, where she found her stride working for clients varying from Amouage to Mugler and even Oriflame. The only thing I can find older than Andy Warhol pour Homme and its sister scent (both made by Piot) under Dorothee's credit is a random discontinued Escada flanker. As for the smell, this is usual Cofinluxe levels of bizarre-but-good, just like with Salvador Dali creations and some of the older Cafe-Cafe fragrances that launched the house. We get a big sunny and beachy opening of citrus, tropical fruit, herbs, and jasmine. Tarragon, basil, and something a bit like oily make a faux suntan lotion vibe that slides into jasmine hedione, ylang, muguet, and something called seringa. Now for those who don't know, seringa is in the Philadelphus family, and is a flower often called "mock-orange" since it looks like, somewhat smells like, and can be mistaken for orange blossom. The key difference is that seringa also can smell like jasmine, and therefore assist it with a fruity orange blossom-like note, although it is not to be confused with syringa, which is the genus in which lilacs belong. The rest of Andy Warhol pour Homme is less exciting, consisting of a standard fresh musky/woody base assisted by some real oakmoss. As a sort of fresh fruity-floral psuedo-chypre thing for men, Andy Warhol pour Homme is truly bizarre, and the only thing I can think of that feels close to it at all is Paradox for Men by Jacomo (1999), which came out the same year. Performance is loud at first, but Andy Warhol pour Homme settles into a nice fresh and herbal fruity/woody groove later on, being a great if odd summer scent.

Both Warhol and Jacomo seem to try being something of a Chanel Cristalle (1974) for men, minus the cold bitterness and stark beauty that guys in the 90's would not have read properly; but Andy Warhol takes the cake for total weirdness by putting sun tan lotion and chewy herbs into the mix. Dorothee Piot was making something truly conversation worthy, if only it wasn't for a fly-by-night licensed nameplate that absolutely no one would ever expect to see on a bottle of fragrance. As for that bottle, Coflinlux humorously (and perhaps cynically) chose to license the images from Andy Warhol's Dollar Sign Portfolio from 1982, which unintentionally (or perhaps intentionally) makes this fragrance look like the obvious cash-in it was on the heels of success with the still-going Salvador Dali range. Make note that a limited-edition "Collection 2000" version of this scent exists too, with a much-more colorful bottle that is painted to more-accurately represent the Dollar Sign Portfolio pieces, although is the same scent from what can be seen. There you have it folks: An ironic hidden gem if there ever was one, posthumously released for the father of pop art, having the most unrelated smell imaginable, and living in discontinued obscurity. That Andy Warhol pour Homme is any good at all is just as surprising as its very existence; but you have to be pretty strange to want a fruity-floral chypre sort of experience packaged for men in the first place, let alone one crossed with suntan lotion. Maybe the absurdity of this scent is actually on-brand for Warhol, since Andy's contrarian nature and absurdly superficial art was often observational humor that critiqued the consumerist nature of the market for the one-time graphic artist's work. Thumbs up

Intense, synthetic sour citrus and musk in the opening blast. After 10-15 minutes it settles down and feels much cleaner. That continues into the drydown which turns woody but retains the musk and green, herbal notes that can be somewhat cloying. The whole scent has this feel of straddling 80s powerhouse and 90s freshness.

Projection is big and loud in the opening but the drydown is quiet. The whole thing lasts maybe 5-6 hours.

A solid, undervalued fragrance, that develops steadily over the 2-3 hours before lingering in woody basenotes. It's clean, would work in any season, classy, would be great for work. It is interesting enough to rise above other woody fougeres, and an be had for $30 -- you can't beat the price.

Tarragon, basil and some grapefruity freshness constitute the top notes, before the jasmine develops that remains the core way into the drydown. Not really sweet, it is well balanced. The base has wood - not a great one but a reasonable one, and a whiff of musk. A green-floral-fruity concoction in essence. And not a bad one at all. Not hiding synthetic components, these are well composed and blended in this flexible and inoffensive scent. Good for the office on cooler summer days. Five hours longevity.

Unexpectedly good scent. Andy Warhol Pour Homme is a simple but attractive scent. The scent depends on a basic jasmine platform; the jasmine is presented in a smooth denatured floral… non-green, non-indole form. In the opening the herbal tarragon/basil accord joins the soft jasmine base – it's a pleasant textured/shampoo-like accord. As it moves from the opening, the jasmine loses the herbal accent and takes on an even more neutral cardamom/jasmine nature – which is also quite pleasant. The base of Andy Warhol PH brings in more character than either the top or the heart. The base is accomplished with a cedar, sandalwood, oak moss, and musk – all of which are individually identifiable in a balanced, pleasant but also textured accord. Andy Warhol Pour Homme is a light, fresh, uncomplicated scent, simple but well-structured, decent projection, nice longevity… but mostly it is a pleasant scent that is very inexpensive and a prime value. Pros: Smells good from beginning to end, well-structured accords and progression. Good projection and longevity.Cons:

One of my favorite summerscents, clean, fresh and a lot of quality edt for the money. Definitely not middle of the road but stands out without being too daring. Give it a try