Arrogance pour Homme (original)
Arrogance (1982)

Arrogance pour Homme by Arrogance (1982) is something of a monster compared to its more-refined 1980's powerhouse counterparts. All bluster and no finesse, a mish-mash of both 70's and early 80's masculine tropes turned to 11, Arrogance is every part of how its name suggests, and vascillates between clean soapy leather and virile musk skank, spice and wood. About the only thing this scent doesn't have is a game plan on how it should dry down when applied, and on several occasions while test-wearing, I thought I could pick out any of a half-dozen other fragrances I own. Namely, this merges the carnation leather and musk styles of things like Monsieur Musk by Houbigant (1972) and Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme (1978) with the soapy fern structures of Paco Rabanne pour Homme (1973) and Worth pour Homme (1980), with a bit of Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent (1981) for that honeyed incense urinal cake funk redolent of a gay bath house. All this, and more await the brave wearer of Arrogance pour Homme.

The opening reminds me the most of something like Monsieur Musk, with it's clear pronunciation of carnation leather put forth by muted citrus tones and spices, also not entirely unlike something such as Jacomo Eau Cendrée (1971) or Avon Oland (1970), with the more-floral aspects of the carnation only materializing a few moments later. From there, the soapy fern accord starts to materialize, with jasmine and rosewood lending a bit of that similarity to Paco Rabanne, but at other times the Van Cleef & Arpels scent. The ultimate destination of Arrogance pour Homme is to be most like a more-rugged hetero-centric Kouros, the bath house vibes of the soap mixing with honeyed benzoin incense and civet toned down, sliding in more vetiver and a dry castoreum warmth to share the stage with the nether-regions ambiance of Kouros. It's effectively macho of course, just more Tom Selleck than Tom of Finland, which might be the point, I guess. Performance is going to be all you need really, so there's no need to draw that out.

The newer versions of this released in 2000 are no slouch to be sure, but then again 2000 wasn't as time of as-stringent regulation, and oakmoss had only just started coming under scrutiny in heavy usage. The animalic tones are tamped down somewhat here compared to the original 80's bottles, but all the powerhouse mishmash of chypre, fern, leather, and musk is here, just perhaps a bit more balanced towards the aromatic aspects. Indeed, modern(ish) Arrogance pour Homme is a much more balanced fragrance than the deeper vintage bottles, but it is every bit as scatterbrained from a thematic point of view, and still a goulash of hirsute fragrance design, not a re-orchestration or a difference fragrance re-using the bottle as some may fear. That said, if you want almost cartoonishly-brash fragrance experiences, then only the original bottles will do. Lovers of Kouros, Boss Number One by Hugo Boss (1985), or Givenchy Gentlemen (1974) might find Arrogance a tad redundant, and it always had a bad reputation for being so over-the-top, but when has that ever stopped enthusiasts? Thumbs up

For some time now, now tired of the modern pseudo niche, I started to (re)discover the old classics, the vintage ones as it's cool to say today (but I prefer to call them old classics).

Modern version;
a perfume of TWENTY EUROS (€20) which, apart from a slightly chemical opening (it reminds me of some detergents, but I really like it), literally puts the jewels on top of many modern design perfumes and niche products. However, it must be said that perfumes of this kind are children of an era in which brands were not afraid of offending anyone, were not subjected to political correctness or "gender fluid" and were not afraid to offer products that are openly and distinctly masculine or feminine; and from this point of view, here you can't go wrong .... we are in the presence of a true masculine perfume, on a par with Kouros, Zino, Platinum, Lapidus, Antaeus and beautiful company .... in short, a perfume that identifies a male, classic, with austere and perhaps refined ways. Everything is then strengthened by the very dense and full-bodied patchouli which, together with the amber notes, brings the perfume to a vaguely sweet and lovable finish.

Vintage from 1982;
a perfume so dated in the hints, complex and dense in the composition and in the rendering. The freshly sprayed perfume is very strong but the opening is extremely different from the modern one, it does not smell of chemicals but of green and natural, in full 80s style, it is felt from meters away with its bitter and aromatic green scents . The green aromatic part is then supported by a fat and dense base of rough castoreum very similar to Antaeus by Chanel but more marked and stronger than its cousin from beyond the Alps. The drying is similar to the modern one, let's say that the new one looks like the original vintage one but the differences are extremely evident. I own both and have a small stock of the vintage, but I also continue to use the new one whenever I want something good but undemanding and to wear casually.

Duration and trail important for vintage, reduced duration on the new which after the initial hit tends to diminish quickly within about 4 or 5 hours. In any case, whether vintage or new, promoted. For lovers of the classic fragrances of times gone by.

This is damn good. A strident, take no prisoners, balls to the wall animalic patchouli and oakmoss MACHO MAN juice. This kicks major hiney.

The opening is spiky, spicy, somewhat bitter due to the artemisia, with honey, woods and florals entering the picture within a few minutes, and the animalics and patchouli full throttle a half hour in. The dry down is indeed similar to Piguet Bandit as another reviewer pointed out, but it is far more animalic, macho, and verging on vintage Kouros level intensity and bravado.

Daddy likes.

first time I sprayed this on I thought , Kouros...this was a dead ringer to me...I even though I accidentally had sprayed Kouros instead of Arrogance...did a side by side, and still smelled close...slowly but surely , every time I wore this I started noticing more and more differences...the subtle citrus in the opening...the dirty/dark/burning patchouli...the absence of the soapy smell...much more animalic with the castoreum/musk/civet combo...no sweetness whatsoever...well, to make a long story short , i made sure I got a backup bottle of the original vintage...I'm a die hard Kouros lover, but this is right up there with the old school powerhouse leather animalic fragrances...

Arrogance is a bold leathery chypre with resemblances to Van Cleef and Arpels, Trussardi Uomo and Morabito's Or Black.

Arrogance opens with a slightly bitter blast of artemisia, citrus and spices, but quickly settles into a more smoldering kind of intensity, with the jasmin, rose and carnation midnotes softening the patchouli and cedar. The base notes are leathery and animalic --- musk, civet and castoreum softened by amber, moss and vetiver. This is a scent for a mature man with a great deal of confidence, and who knows how to behave himself in polite society without sacrificing his wild side. There's always a hint of it lurking beneath the surface. The musical analogy it conjures up for me is Miles Davis' "In A Silent Way" --- it's sultry and controlled, but threatens to break out into something much more untamed at any moment.

They don't make 'em like this any more, folks --- and it's a damn shame!

Combines Aspects of Some of The Best Releases of the Past Brilliantly... *This is a review of the original Arrogance pour Homme. Arrogance pour Homme (vintage) opens with a gorgeous rose and lemon combination supported by early hints of the soapy oakmoss and patchouli tandem to come. As the fragrance enters its early heart, the lemon disappears leaving the relatively dull rose and the now starring intensified soapy oakmoss and patchouli combo from the base, supported by a honey-like accord, carnation, and just a touch of dirty cumin spice with other subtly implemented culinary herbs for good measure. During the late dry-down amber from the base sweetens the remnants of the still starring soapy oakmoss and patchouli, as the cumin and florals become nearly undetectable. Projection begins outstanding but becomes slightly above average a couple hours into the development, with longevity slightly above average at 9-11 hours on skin. This one is a keeper. Arrogance pour Homme (vintage) comes on strong like the 80s powerhouse patchouli bomb it is, and you immediately smell the large amount of soapy oakmoss rising from the base that you will never find in any contemporary releases due to restrictions on the ingredient. That said, things calm down in time and the composition actually becomes much more versatile than one might think after a couple hours. The rose used throughout the composition is not the big heady floral bouquet you might expect, but instead is a very dark and dulled implementation of the flower with the carnation keeping the rose well in-check. Cumin is a spice I don't get along well with, but while I am sure there is some in here (despite it not being a published note) it adds just a hint of dirtiness to the composition while avoiding coming off as bad body odor. To give folks a bit of an idea as to what one should expect here, the closest fragrance Arrogance pour Homme (vintage) resembles early is Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme (vintage), leading later to a combination of Captain Molyneux (vintage) laced with some of the honey accord found in Antaeus (vintage) for added measure. As all three of those are classics and some of my absolute favorites the fact that Arrogance pour Homme meshing perfectly with my tastes should come as no surprise. The bottom line is the still relatively easy to obtain approximately $50 a 100ml bottle on the after-market Arrogance pour Homme (vintage) may not be entirely original, but it deftly combines many of of the best aspects of other classic fragrances from the time period yielding an outstanding 4.5 star out of 5 rated result. Highly recommended to 80's powerhouse lovers for sure!Pros: Strong soapy oakmoss and patchouli implementation that smells incredible...Cons: Is not particularly innovative...