Perfume Reviews by Sporenburg

L'Homme Idéal Eau de Toilette by Guerlain

A premium airport fragrance. It's obviously a Guerlain scent but in a modern sweet style without that mystery element that characterizes the real classics from the house. But leaving aside the status and expectations of Guerlain this just is a good and pleasurable scent, uplifting, elegant and sunny reminding me of Spanish mornings (a combination of humidity, citrus and walking by a pasteleria.) Easy to wear and hard to overspray (it's a fragrance that can handle an aura.) Not an essential by any means but it definitely has its use in spring and summer especially when you're planning a paseo.

Balenciaga pour Homme by Balenciaga

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.

Sybaris by Antonio Puig

I pretty much had given up on every smelling Sybaris but finally got lucky, real lucky, finding a box including a piece of soap. Sybaris for me is tough to describe, at first it felt familiar and then it clicked: this was after all the follow-up to Quorum. And it does at times feel like a well-behaved version of that powerhouse classic, Quorum Caballero if you will. There's a pleasant, sunny opening that mostly stays the same eventually becoming muted animalic. It's a complete scent that is difficult to parse. In that sense, it reminds me of Oscar de la Renta Pour Lui, just a friendly, reassuring aura of scent. Definitely Mediterranean, perfect for the calm gentleman who knows things.

Tabac Original by Mäurer & Wirtz

Ubiquitous classic that can be found in any drugstore. Finally tried the eau de cologne which the consensus says is the superior version. A reassuring scent, the opening feels very familiar. The aldehydes remind me of fabric softener or marble cleaner which account for the associations of hotel lobbies. Opens up to a pleasurable grey soapy scent, a bit like Lapidus pour Homme but less weird and way muted. Classic stuff indeed. The shaving cream is also excellent with perfect texture for a close shave.

Aramis 900 by Aramis

A masterpiece. As with all Aramis scents I have tried, it has one ugly note in the opening, here an overpowering hairspray blast. Quite shocking the first time. Thankfully 900 quickly opens up and starts a stunning transformation, from your lover's bed to medicinal shelf to a forest pond lit by a milky sun. The heart is sublime and can easily hold its own with the great wet greens Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, Grey Flannel and Loewe Esencia but with a modulating bitter touch that gives 900 its own personality.

Reveal Men by Calvin Klein

An interesting scent I don't really love because it is a bit too sweet but for a modern mainstream scent it's complex, weird and strong yet easy to wear. There's something in here that reminds me of Southern Comfort. Used to like this but now the association makes me feel queasy, it's quite strong in the opening so I have to work through that phase.

L'Homme by Yves Saint Laurent

Nothing special. It aims at a redolent classic men's style but without any character, just that bit of strangeness to make it stand out. As with so many fragrances these days its safeness makes it perfect for office wear. But it, in the end, L'Homme makes you feel nostalgic for the eccentric scents of Yves Saint Laurent. The real classics.

cK In 2U Him by Calvin Klein

The quintessential airport scent. Inoffensive and therefore easy to wear. Basically reminds me of Prada Amber Pour Homme with all the mystery taken out. But over the years I've come to appreciate this. The opening is harsh but it develops into a pleasant vetiver base. Easy to wear when you need something friendly or don't feel extravagant (in other words: office.)

Devin by Aramis

Devin just about gets a thumps up. At first the Aramis house note threatens to overpower the construction. After some wears the true character becomes perceptible although the lack of power in combination with superior blending make analysis pretty tough.

This creation from 1978 is green, sunny and woody. It has a very pleasurable opening which proceeds to an interplay with a fairly strong animalic phase which makes me think of the way fresh wooden furniture tends to smell dirty. The dry down radiates a quiet masculine aura that is quite comforting.

Devin by all rights should be a good to great fragrance but in the end misses character. It's just too muted (although this admittedly makes it easy to wear.) I can't help equating Devin to a good-looking square jaw who loves the outdoors but has a dull personality.

Devin is a precursor to more interesting scents like the beautiful Heritage and eccentric Jules. But it is affordable, easy to find, well-made and straight-up manly without being in your face about it. The kind of scent that wears well in autumn and winter when wearing a nice thick sweater.

Chanel Pour Monsieur by Chanel

Chanel Pour Monsieur features one of the all-time great openings, a citric blast that feels powdery, playful and ticklish. After that life-affirming moment, the scent turns into a perfectly calibrated soapy base that lasts longer than most people think. Indeed Chanel Pour Monsieur has a very strange habit of suddenly returning in strength after some hours of wear.

Classy and upbeat, you immediately notice it is made of the best materials. Very versatile and perfect for more discreet use (office). Probably best worn if you are 40+ or wear suits on a regular basis.

Chanel's masterpiece for men.

Havana by Aramis

Weird, nobody has done this before, so: “say hello to my lil' friend!”

Havana does come with a reputation as The Last of the Powerhouses. It came late in the game, which probably led to its early demise. But it's back. Of course it is different than you'd imagine after reading the reviews. Havana is one of the more difficult scents to get a handle on. I don't think it as overwhelming as its reputation suggests. Good sillage, good power, but nothing really out there. Havana for me is a post-powerhouse. It has all the right moves (and ingredients, lots of them) but already you sense a 1990s influence. There is one note, sort of boozy and fresh, which can also be found in Egoiste (Platinum?) that turns Havana into a hybrid.

The overall impression is somehow equatorial, wet and spicy. Cinnamon to me plays a very strong part -echoes of Obsession- perhaps at times too strong. As with many powerhouses (Jules, Van Cleef, Pour Lui) the base is soft and uplifting. Havana probably is a versatile scent, the number of ingredients will make it smell different in different weather/seasons. It does remind me a lot of Oscar de la Renta Pour Lui, a more brash and streetwise sibling without the European noblesse. Although the real bad dude scents remain Yatagan en Trussardi. Great quality and complexity but not as good as the original powerhouses.

Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene

Grey Flannel is something of a cult fragrance in Europe. There's hardly any folk memory surrounding this surprisingly American old school classic so anyone looking for a cheap, stylish scent that isn't too obvious can always investigate. Much has already been said about this controversial fragrance and I suspect the negatives mainly concern the opening. I personally don't like the opening, which reminds me of a damp woolen blanket left overnight in the grass. But then again, I don't like the majority of openings of most of my favorite fragrances and they are relatively unimportant in real classics. After five minutes Grey Flannel starts to mutate and lighten up into something literally bittersweet and unique. The base has a brilliant soapy feel which thanks to the remaining bitterness never gets too sweet.

Longevity and projection are above average but not as forceful as some have suggested (perhaps the original formulation was more powerful). This is indeed a scent for elegant men, not your t-shirt and jeans combo. With its constant associations of musty green and dampness I also like to think of it as the ultimate rainy Sunday morning scent. Calm, clean and slightly austere. A beautiful scent.

Sergio Tacchini by Sergio Tacchini

I have for some time observed how certain fragrances make more sense in different regions. Perhaps it is a figment of my imagination, perhaps it is due to climatic differences but Sergio Tacchini seems to bloom when worn in Mediterranean weather. The first wearings of this 1987 scent were pleasant but failed to impress me. Yet after a week of wearing it on holiday in Spain something just clicked.

One of the things that mystifies me is why Sergio Tacchini can immediately be dated to the 1980s. But it is there right from the start with an opulent blast of fresh lime. The citric explosion is joined by a light soapy texture which at the very least ensures you'll be smelling clean, not only laundry clean but also on a grander scale clean like the smell of the sun breaking out after a rainy night. Sergio Tacchini is a breezy scent and it never gets weighted down by the male powerhouse notes of the time instead opting for a pleasant cedarwood/sandalwood combination with a touch of musk just to invoke the male body.

The overall effect is of an air of transparent elegance. It makes one long for white trousers, linen blazers and careless walks in the afternoon sun.

Agua de Colonia Concentrada by Alvarez Gomez

Alvarez Gómez Agua de Colonia is a very popular scent (after all these years) with a great range of grooming products. To my surprise the cologne itself is almost avantgarde. A very sharp blast of lemon, which it is my duty to report does invoke anti-mosquito sprays (and I hate it when reviews do this), is softed by a strange base that somehow reminds me of beeswax, although it never is identified as note. Without a doubt it is a stylish upbeat scent which can be found at very friendly prices. In the end I am more of a Agua Lavanda type when it come to Spanish colognes but this gets a thumbs up for being different.

Agua Lavanda by Antonio Puig

Ladies and gentlemen, I present: the perfect fragrance. Agua Lavanda is the smell of daydreams. A lovely breeze of soapy lavender that will magically make you look more elegant in the perception of those who cross your path. One shouldn't overanalyze but simply enjoy spells like these. What irony that such a treasure comes in a large plastic bottle for about 5 euro.

Fumerie Turque by Serge Lutens

A victim of expectations. Thanks to another poetic name which just promises too much: raw smoke, oriental longing, male gazes. Alas, Fumerie Turque is far more civilized, acceptable and well-behaved with its soft velvety patchouli.This is very linear scent with average longevity/sillage and sadly I didn't detect the potentially adventurous girl-pissed-herself note. It did however remind me of Jacomo de Jacomo's heart and drydown, without the brilliant cigarette opening. You know what follows: JDJ is probably 5 or 6 times cheaper and a more complete fragrance.

Fumerie Turque is not a bad scent, just slightly conventional especially compared to Lutens two masterpieces, the horny Muscs Koublaï Khän and mysterious Borneo 1834

Davidoff by Davidoff

I am going to give a contrarian review of Davidoff. Not only contrary to the negative reviews, that's easy because Davidoff is really good, but also to the positive. When I found out about the first Davidoff scent I sighed and realistically prepared myself for the fact that I would never get to smell it. I did find a bottle and it turned out quite differently from what I had expected reading the preceding reviews (before the Basenotes powerhouse gang starting handing out thumbs up.) I imagined Davidoff as a harsh, loud, crude yet somehow loveable concoction. But fragrances never turn out the way you imagine. Sometimes they even turn out better.

First off all, Davidoff isn't that strong. Sure, it is a powerhouse and very much from the 1980s but it is nowhere near the intensity of the four Big Hitters (namely Kouros, Van Cleef & Arples pour homme, Quorum and Lapidus pour homme) more in the range of the original Oscar De La Rent pour Lui (which also contrary to its fame isn't that loud on me.) I drop that reference because Davidoff shares a certain elegance and complexity with that magnificent scent. You are a man of taste –self-assured, affable, into the good things of life- when you know how to wear these scents. There just isn't anything off-putting about Davidoff, this is yet again another supposedly civet-loaded fragrance that fails to raise an eyebrow.

The highlight for me, that strangely enough nobody has mentioned before, is the enchanting hay-like heart of Davidoff courtesy of the classic hay-vetiver interplay, seguing into a tobacco note, that brings back memories of sniffing my father's tins and envelopes filled with pipe tobacco as a child.

I can understand why Davidoff discontinued its first scent. The times changed, their own Cool Water completely changed the game, people quit smoking and this is, as many a powerhouse, a smoker's perfume. But instead of reformulating Davidoff like has happened to most powerhouses (see for instance the sad case of Jacomo de Jacomo) maybe it was more admirable to just retire it.

Too bad for me, I could easily wear this as a signature scent for the rest of my life.

Trussardi Uomo (original) by Trussardi

The vintage formulation. One thing we forget when talking about powerhouses is that a lot of them were, and still are, quite avant-garde. Take the opening of Trussardi Uomo, how utterly brutal, somehow ugly yet admirably strange is this assault of dirt and spices. The olfactory equivalent of Swans tuning up. Unthinkable in today's perfumery (sadly) although even in the pre-aquatic age it must have scared away many a potential customer.

The thing is, Trussardi isn't that outrageously strong after the opening. My theory is that a lot of powerhouses got their fame as sillage monsters because of ultra-strong and weird openings. That doesn't mean that Trussardi has no projection but I would call it civilized. Its form resembles Yatagan quite a lot.

Trussardi is, no surprise when you consider the origin of the house, about leather. You decided to wear your leather jacket again which you wore when you went clubbing in your younger years, you chain smoked and never bothered to get it cleaned. During the walk in the forest you have sex on a bed of pine needles and then you basically smell of Trussardi Uomo. You will also will smell a bit like the female version of Trussardi, another good thing because that is another brilliant and underrated perfume.

Rough, sullen, pensive Italian glamour in a bottle.

Azzaro pour Homme Intense (original) by Azzaro

No need to introduce Azzaro Pour Homme, by many considered the best fragrance for men ever. I tend to agree most of the times. But some admirers are convinced that through the years it lost some of its power and depth. How much is an ongoing debate. I belong to the camp that thinks it has indeed lost something of its radiance, although I also am a firm believer in the notion that our memories tend to play some tricks on us (especially when it comes to the power of fragrances.)

The solution should be Azzaro Intense Pour Homme, probably dated 2000, but I have read different release dates (some going back to the beginning of the 90s and one tv-ad really makes a good case for this to be true.) This Intense version must have failed commercially because so little is known of the fragrance (even this is the first review on Basenotes) and of course it is discontinued.

How do the two compare? Intense has indeed more volume but is not necessarily louder (and longevity is about the same.) The current Azzaro Pour Homme feels transparent compared to the Intense version which clearly is superior in the base, it feels full and opulent, displaying more character. On the other hand regular Azzaro possesses a better opening, that joyful citric-anise crispiness has been muted here, the anise replaced by fennel (probably to have one easy identifiable point of difference between both scents) giving it, an almost imperceptible fecal touch that I can only perceive on paper/cloth. I also can detect a slight sweetness in the heart that I can't remember in the original.

In short, if your love for Azzaro Pour Homme mainly concerns the development from heart to base, it is worth checking out, of course without paying the extravagant prices ($100+) one sees around. Comes in a nicely designed box.

Lapidus pour Homme by Ted Lapidus

Ladies and gentlemen: the 1980's. In full effect.

This I would like to call budget avant-garde. Lapidus Pour Homme sure is weird. First of all the opening: it has been suggested this is akin to opening a can of pineapple slices. Not so dramatic or crude. No doubt it is fruity but it is more about an idea of fruit. Also I would call Lapidus Pour Homme metallic at times, but not the grating metallic-amber vibe that 90% of current scents seem to push in everybody's face but a damp metal overgrown with moss. Disgusting? Not so, since it's counterbalanced by a very pleasing sweetness.

Lapidus Pour Homme is super strong and the atomizer sprays a large amount resulting in true sillage. The “just one spray for me” crowd will faint just by being in the same room as a wrapped bottle of Lapidus Pour Homme. This is the quintessential powerhouse: extravert, adventurous and complex. Perfect for occasions when you want radiate a certain stylish, slightly vulgar “I don't care” attitude. And because Ted Lapidus never has been a flashy house, specializing in well-made affordable scents, they never had to reformulate/weaken it. Consequently Lapidus Pour Homme remains a monument to this extravagant and brilliant period of male fragrance.

Oscar de la Renta pour Lui by Oscar de la Renta

Oscar de la Renta Pour Lui (I am reviewing the original version) these days is a fairly obscure fragrance but also a perennial favorite of powerhouse fans. Yet one thing must be stressed: this is no vulgar macho scent. To quickly play the comparison game: it does at first and in a distant way resemble Van Cleef & Arples pour Homme (the same sort of indefinable gritty opening segueing into almost feminine soapiness) with at times a slight fougère echo.

But Pour Lui does not possess the recognizable and extravagant character of VC&A, Naed Nitram was right again: it really is abstract and elusive. I find it very hard to get a handle on this scent; Pour Lui, without dramatics or special effects, just produces an extremely well-blended aura of timeless elegance. This may also be a result of its density; apparently Pour Lui is overloaded with ingredients, especially in the opening, thus creating something like an inverted pyramid. Tales of explosive strength are in my opinion exaggerated; Pour Lui gives off exactly the right civilized radiance whilst being a skin scent after the opening.

An early ad pictures a bottle under a clear starry night and Pour Lui indeed possesses something of the slow, cold and unlimited beauty of the stars. Stargazers can probably wear this fragrance a lifetime without it giving away all its secrets.

Cuir Mauresque by Serge Lutens

The smell of opening a box carrying new, expensive leather Shoes, with complementary shoe polish which somehow is already giving off its fragrance. Nice enough. The polish effect wears off after sometime so the leather and a slightly sweet, very typical Lutens base remains. Well made of course but a bit demanding in the opening phase and overall slightly on the feminine side. Leather lovers should of course investigate but it just doesn't excite me as much as other Lutens greats do.

Borneo 1834 by Serge Lutens

A dark, calm mystery. Bornéo 1834 possesses a brilliant evocative name that should flood your mind with poetic associations. It basically is chocolate (civilized without tons of sugar, so we say cacao), camphor and patchouli and reminds me of being a child, wandering through museums dedicated to the orient.

Perhaps slightly demanding as a skin fragrance, you do smell like a stowaway who has been hiding for months in the cargo of a ship returning from the Indies. Maybe Bornéo 1834 would work even better as an ambient scent. Even so, a truly great and artful scent.

L'Eau Serge Lutens by Serge Lutens

In his review of the awful Bleu de Chanel Kaern observes “Can you imagine L'Artisan, Lutens, Keiko Mercheri, etc knocking this out -- not a chance.” At the time I agreed of course, but we both obviously hadn't smelled L'Eau Serge Lutens.

I find this scent to be quite worrying. Not in itself because it is completely inoffensive. Breezy citrus, a wisp of mint, the tiniest drop of musk. Basically, the smell of household anti-bacterial soap or a slightly more refined take on your average fresh/loud designerfrags in ugly purple or silver bottles that are always discounted. One redeeming feature is the longevity which for this type of fragrance is truly outstanding (at least 10 hours.)

What does worry me is that Lutens is actually following the downward spiral Guerlain and Chanel went on (and plenty of us on Basenotes were dismayed by/laughed at.) As for the reasons, one can only speculate. Lack of inspiration? Tired of complexity? Or a conceptual joke? Me, I like conceptual jokes, but not with such a price tag attached.