Boucheron pour homme
Eau de Parfum, Boucheron

This is a true gem in men’s perfumery, and at today’s prices (around $30 for 100ml) deserves a place in every man’s collection. I didn’t appreciate this when I was younger (it’s a mature scent), but picked up a bottle a few years ago and suddenly everything clicked. Formal, polished, and yet not ostentatious, it’s one of my go-tos for work and evenings out. Truly exceptional.

As for the EDP vs. EDT, my take is that they’re very similar. However, with the EDP the verbena and soapiness are amped up. This isn’t a bad thing, but I find it obscures the beautiful florals of the drydown (particularly the rose and lily of the valley) that I love about the EDT and that are so essential to the total effect of the fragrance. Thus, while I wear and admire both, the EDT is my favorite by a slim margin. However, if you prefer more lemon and soap and less florals, the EDP may be your best bet. Both are well worth a try.

Talk about cheap and cheerful, Boucheron Pour Homme is ebullient, and it's all about the EDP for me. A soapy lemon verbena citrus aromatic that is a culmination of all that I love about the genre charged up to a rapturous level, particularly the floral heart: rose, carnation, jasmine, and lily of the valley, soaring and sunny. Not to fear, gents, it doesn't read as feminine—you ought to know all of this by now, I can't repeat myself over and over. Being manly and masculine requires a touch of sensitive, soft and tender, just like a touch of white or black paint makes for a beautiful tint or shade. Nuance, people, lean into it! Yin and yang! And add some color to your wardrobe, for crying out loud!

Now how on earth did all of this dry down to such a wonderfully mossy, sandalwood incense base when there are restrictions that allegedly killed perfumery? How, pray tell? It's called science, specifically chemistry, and we can synthesize scents by extending the little amounts of naturals that we covet so longingly in our fragrances regardless of sustainability. No Mysore sandalwood? Of course not, it's called protecting the Santalum Album species from extinction, a sacred tree, a holy plant that was ravaged for years by overharvesting for the sake of, among other things, perfumery. Stop glorifying its past use and rejoice that we've scaled it back to protect these trees. We have viable substitutes, some that are even used in, my word, a fragrance that can be had for 30 US dollars.

This is as good as any Roja Dove I've smelled. Challenge me.