Balenciaga pour Homme
Balenciaga (1990)

Finally found a mini of this lost classic. And yes that status is deserved. The Last of the Powerhouses closes off a glorious period full of adventurous fragrances by seemingly merging the best ideas into a satisfying gesture. There's a hint of Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme, the clean dirtiness of Kouros, and the calm balance of Oscar de la Renta pour Lui. It's very easy to wear when applied with care and gives off a distinguished aura with a horny undertow—a perfect combination. Obviously would love to have a bigger bottle of this to wear the scent more carelessly, and really live with it. But alas, there's no place for Balenciaga pour Homme in the 21st century, even if the powerhouse didn't go out of fashion, the brand itself has completely changed its esthetic which is incompatible with such an uplifting and clever fragrance. Such is the state of things.

Colbourne's review is spot on.

I'd say that this is a beautifully constructed soapy, dark rose-ish profile. I don't get the rose scent, but more of the feel that rose is present, and darkened by a slight feel of oud. I do not sense oud, but feel it's darker qualities around the rose.

Patchouli may have an effect, but I do not smell it.

I get a powdery quality, but it does not smell powdery.

A very high quality offering, which was very forward thinking for its time. A real treat, and hard to nail down to the various instruments. A beautiful symphony is what I experience.

At current market prices, a 3.4oz bottle may not be worth my shekels. But I would prefer this over any Roja Dove offering, to be certain. YMMV.

8.5/10 for me

A transcendental fragrance in my humble opinion, Balenciaga Pour Homme is the sweetest diversion from predictable fougeres, sneezy chypres, and insipid freshness. It is smooth, round, and robust, with a dusty patchouli and seductive civet wrapped around an enchanted thicket of ripeness and sweet autumnal decomposition; a garland of dried laurel. As I wear this on a drizzly mid-November day, it fits like a glove to the ambience and my mood.

BPH is radiant but not bright, rather that of the burgundy hue of sunsets and muted light on old wood. A honeyed glow. Sillage, projection, and longevity are qualities that I don't expound upon neurotically as some tend to, but it must be said that all of these are there in spades. There is a calming peal of incense coming from the labdanum and sandalwood as they come to the foreground further in the dry down, and of course what bridges the fragrances from opening to skin scent is the cinnamon, more reminiscent of Ceylon cinnamon as it isn't excessively sharp or sweet, it hums on the surface of the skin, starting off with a top reminiscent of apple dumplings right out of the oven, then in time becoming more a raw wood accent to the woods and patchouli.

I won't make this review long-winded as I understand the TL;DR audience. In short, BPH is a definite 10/10.

First of all, please forgive me: my English is far from being fluent, and this is my first review, knowing that I don't know anything about perfumes.

First impression on my skin: it is elegant. Sophisticated. My imagination pictures an man sitting in a Club armchair, near the fireplace, while outside, it is a rainy or cold winter evening.

That said, I'm impressed with the power of the scent. I put it this morning at 10.30, and I can tell not only the smell is still going strong, but it's going stronger. I can't explain the physics about this feeling, but the longevity of this scent will be huge, I can tell.

At the beginning, the scent smells very good; very sophisticated, and a bit confidential. But then, after about 10 minutes or so, I don't know what is unleashed, but the perfume goes stronger. To my nose, I can smell some powdery thing, like a chalk. This stops me from smelling more, like a fence on which "Forbidden" is written.

This is an unusual scent, to me, but very enjoyable.

Thank you for having read my little contribution.

This smells like a very nice fougere hand soap. And that is why I struggle with it. Taken on face value this is excellent but it irresistibly conjures images of shaving and bathrooms and hand washing and then I get mixed messages.
Projection and longevity are strong.
This is my own weakness. I relate to the positive reviews here, its just not for me.
Fragrance: 7/10
Projection: 8/10
Longevity: 8/10

Masterpiece...in my top 10 fragrances...this is another case of great reviews that have said more about this fragrance than I could ever say...well , I have to throw in my 2 scents for what it's worth...I am a big longtime fan of Lapidus and Kouros and I can see why there is a lot of talk associating these 3 fragrances...each is totally unique and stand apart from each other , yet there is a common thread that is elusive and hard to pin down...it's like they are all part of the same big family , but not close , like brothers...more like second cousins...still, i can't help but to see them as some sort of triumverate...they may be second cousins , but they party a lot together and get into all sorts of trouble...as far as the scent itself , I see it as a very exotic and unusual incense fragrance...the scent goes through a multitude of changes but , throughout all of it , I get whiffs of an otherworldly incense smoke drifting in the background...opens kind of wild and probably scary for some , sour/aldehydic/vinegary effect...theres spices and herbs and woods - oh my!!! feels kind of serious and dry...in the base I also get a cherry oud M7 smell...as others have mentioned , this juice could be thrown in a fancy bottle and given a cool sounding name and sold as a high end niche scent...3 thumbs up and a solid 11 out of 10...