Bottega Veneta pour Homme
Bottega Veneta (2013)

Understated elegance, class in a bottle. Should have purchased this years ago, glad I finally jumped on it. Buy while it’s still available in great formulation, at decent prices.

There are few men’s fragrances that fit the always correct category as well as Bottega Veneta Pour Homme. Welcome in any well-rounded collection.

This one grew on me, and I find myself reaching for it at least once a week, especially during the teaching year. Not that I didn't like it from the start, just that I was expecting a more in-yer-face coniferous opening, and instead it was slightly sparkling, slightly citrussy, and not Nordic 'Xmas tree' pine. Italian conifers must smell different, more like cypress perhaps ? The leather is also discreet, a fine smooth leather rather than leather jacket/car seats/tannery/IBQ/Knize10.


Bottega Veneta pour Homme EdT feels very Italian, in the way vintage Armani Eau pour Homme did. The opening is discreet, classy and restrained. Think linen suits and an attitude of sprezzatura, though BVpH works well all year round (in the UK), in winter as well as warmer weather. This scent is perfect for office/professional work. It won't start to radiate in unexpected ways with physical exertion. Resist any temptation to overspray. Less is more.


The drydown is one of those where hours later, you have forgotten you are wearing it, and suddenly wonder 'what's that delightful smell ?' and realise it's you. The drydown is different from the opening; only some of the brighter notes remain, more a leathery musky skin scent. In this respect, it reminds me somewhat of the far drydown of current Hermes Bel Ami, after the citrus and spice notes have worn off. Note : I am not saying that BVpH is in any way a leather scent like BA.


Lack of projection and sillage probably sent many Basenoters running to try the EdP or the Intense (both now discontinued), in hope of finding their desired projection/sillage, because the EdT is really rather good in other respects, and other reviews below agree that BVpH EdT is a great scent. Unfortunately, the Intense and the EdP lose the sparkling balance of the EdT, and don't deliver appreciably greater projection and sillage.


BVpH EdT gets a lot of wear from me, and I sometimes wonder whether I need a back-up. I don't, but that's more a function of age than of this scent's wearability.

Citrus opening and then a long stretch of soapy woods with a restrained patchouli—maybe a bit too restrained for me. This is very nice, an elegant and refined scent, great for the office, and a safe though expensive blind buy. The only real downside in my view, as has already been said, is that on my skin it has nearly zero sillage or longevity, and you need to go rather heavy on the trigger (and on fabric) to get much projection. The late drydown can also get a bit synthetic. But good stuff overall—and classy. However, given the weak projection, the parfum version might be a better option for the money.

Incredible merge of elegance, modernity and classic approach at the same time. If Pino Silvestre is for "the commoners", then Bottega Veneta is for the gents and the nobility.

Incredibly universal and modern in a retro way. Not for jeans and shirts, requires a bit of a dress code. Fresh in a herbal way and not so citrusy regardless of the bergamot note in it. At the same time it is warm in a woody way. Yes, there are no wood notes per se in it, but in the perfumery business, the leather note is usually used to imitate wood notes and vice versa. The fragrance in its entirety is so well composed that one cannot categorise it strictly as "warm" or "fresh" or "juicy". It can be only categorised as "balanced" and "well composed".

Decent, dignifying, never falsely kind or nice. Concise, direct, diplomatic, but also sharp, demanding and scornful if and when needed.

In the real world it is worn by: diplomats, chairmans of big corporations, high state dignitaries.

In the fictional world, it is worn by the good guys and some bad guys.

The following good guys - James Bond, Sherlock Holmes (not the one by Robert D. Junior), Harvey Dent before becoming Two-Face.

From the bad guys: Hannibal Lecter played by Mads Mikelsen, Kingpin from the Netflix Daredevil series, Lex Luthor played by Kevin Spacey.

Ambiguous characters, neither "evil" nor "good: Peter Weyland from "Prometheus" (2012.) and "Covenant" (2017.) played by Guy Pearce. Niander Wallace from "Blade Runner 2049" (2017.) played by Jared Leto.

Conclusion: this is by the book for everyone, from a beginner to the more experienced ones. For a collectionaire it is a must have.

Originality: 7/10
Scent: 9/10
Longevity: 8/10
Projection: 6/10
_______________________
score: 75%
Overall subjective impression: 9/10

I asked for something with leather, and fell in love with the labdanum. The worst thing I can say about it is that it is intimate (poor silage), and that the opening is perhaps a bit too sharp, but you can tell the most appealing parts of the scent from the first moment, so I can overlook that.

Restrained and unshowy bottle. Restrained and elegant fragrance. Bergamot and pine/juniper, fir, balsam and clary (no particularly strong leather and patchouli notes discerned by me although they are there) and not in your face but does have individuality and confidence. Generally safe in a good way. My overall impression is of a warm and enticing sweet pine wood with something else. It does sometimes remind me of Ralph Lauren Polo Green, but a very dialled down version. Perhaps no great longevity, but I can live with that as it does remain detectable. As has rightly been mentioned by others, it has class. Probably not a young man's first choice, but anyone no longer in that age group can count on it that this is a well-judged effort and has a winning subtlety and distinction. It's not a statement fragrance and maybe not immediately noticed, but I regard that as a plus and actually it does make its presence known in its own way. I like it.