Esprit Mondain
Brécourt (2010)

Zesty citrus fragrance that will get noticed. The composition of notes was done very well with this one. The wood note kicks in about 30 minutes after the initial spray. Nice job. The black pepper is definitely noticed in this one. 7.5/10

Esprit Mondain or Wordly Spirit is basically a sweet, spicy woody composition that, as all Brecourt perfumes, it's seamless, of high quality ingredients, with excellent silage and great longevity. What is there not to like you may ask? Well I am afraid that there is a generic vibe to EM that is off putting. I have written before that the niche quality of Brecourt perfumes is an overstatement. EM is no exception. The twist I think is a bubble gum opening that is well made but too familiar although unusual for a "masculine" perfume. The overall impression of EM is sweetness in varying degrees and going through slightly different phases till the comforting mellow sweet dry down. Nothing spectacular but nevertheless reliable EM reminds me of another Brecourt creation, Mauvais Garcon. EM is however lighter and more wearable. I am afraid that I didn't enjoy MG and I don't particularly enjoy EM either.

Ok, so Brecourt is a new perfume house created and founded by a young woman, Emilie Bouge. So this is meant to be their "masculine" fragrance (for the gentlemen).

Well, first of all, I think this could be unisex, not just for men. What I get more than anything is fresh Lemon, Lavender and some Pepper. I will try to list what I like about it and what I don't.

The good: It's very fresh. There are some interesting notes like Szechuan Pepper and Elemi Resin, which I love. I also get the Red Wine note (Cabernet Sauvignon). The dry down here is also very nice.

The bad: This is a "niche" perfume house, and often we say about some "designer" fragrances is that "hey, this is a designer that smells like a niche". Well, the problem is here it is the opposite, we have a "niche" perfume that (unfortunately) smells similar to a type of designer perfume. Which is a shame, because this brand is said to use "pure, natural ingredients".

So to summarise, yes it's a good fragrance. But if you label a certain fragrance "niche" then there are some expectations... and sometimes it can work and other times it can remind you of other things (designer releases). Unfortunately this is the case for me. But I also hope to try more products from this house in the future (every fragrance company has to begin somewhere).

Esprit Mondain is a very nice, very safe fragrance. It opens with a more well composed version of boss bottled with variation in notes of course...just giving you an idea of what this smells like overall.

Opens with a nice, citrus top and black pepper - Most like Hugo Boss Bottled here.

Middle of this one Lavender and Cabernet Sauvignon are detectable. - I quite like the cab...really nicely done.

Base of this is listed Cedarwood, ambroxan, Myrrh, Musks. - I mostly smell cedar, ambroxan and light musks, no myrrh really, if there is it's overpowered by the musk/wood combo which is quite nice.

At first, I'll admit. I thought this was a copy of Hugo Boss Bottled. I was kind of upset about it considering I paid so much more than I would for a Boss cheapie. However, it was really my nose being under-developed at the time. I had just started exploring fragrances and it was my own ignorance thinking this was just a rip off.

Esprit Mondain from Brecourt is a very nice scent, a very safe fragrance. Something that's not going to blow your socks off, but you get what you pay for and I think it's a good one at the current price point. Also, there are some really different notes in this one... I do enjoy the mix of citrus, pepper, wood and wine.

My girlfriend literally wants to jump on top of me when I wear this stuff. It's like to exaggerated Axe body spray commercials, seriously. I guess if any of you are looking for a niche "panty dropper," this guy is it.