Perfume Reviews by Griff

Poker Face by Ted Lapidus

Bought on a whim. Pleasantly surprised. A well-constructed fresh aromatic with moderate sillage and longevity. Mint and cardamom are the most prominent first notes but the drydown reveals woods and tonka. Not groundbreaking but for the price (currently) a definite wardrobe addition to consider.

Play Intense by Givenchy

It's probably just me but isn't this a version of Pi? If you can buy it at current Pi prices or less, try it. Otherwise...

51.3N by Dunhill

It's surprising this Dunhill gourmand-ish offering is not more popular. 51.3N (the partial coordinates of London on a map) starts off with a bright green rhubarb floating on a creamy base of sandalwood and vanilla, followed by a silky smooth sotto voce grapefruit accord far more refined than the same high intensity grapefruit note in a certain ubiquitous, instantly-recognizable bro frag (that gives me an instant splitting headache whenever I wander into its cloud. )

The down side? So-so sillage and lasts about six hours on my skin but for the price (currently) it's really a no brainer; just respray and you're good to go for another two or three hours.

Inoffensive, subdued, 51.3N is is a good candidate for day or night, summer or winter, work or play. The bottle is one of the best Dunhill have produced. Solid heavy glass and a machined metal cap.

And did I mention the current price?

Rien Intense Incense by Etat Libre d'Orange

Rien Intense is a spikey leather chypre, surprising similar to Knize Ten but with a bit more sweet spice, incense, and florals. Long lasting. Moderate sillage with a mostly linear dry down. Outstanding.

Dior Homme Eau de Toilette (2020 version) by Christian Dior

Maybe I'm just not that savvy when it comes to marketing and branding but Dior Homme 2020 is not even close to being a flanker to the first iterations of its name sake, which only makes the decision to package and brand it with the same bottle and name as its iris bomb ancestor hard to understand. If Dior had put it in a different bottle, ramped up the volume just a hair, and called it something like, oh, I don't know; Dior Jour de Travail Pour Homme, this would be considered a modern masterpiece.

As it is, it's a quality woodsy-musky-cashmere-y creation better described note for note by others here (I'd just be repeating them) and worthy of any collection. And yes, this is the perfect unobtrusive, sotto voce office scent. I love it.

18.21 Sweet Tobacco by 18.21 Man Made

Take one synthetic tobacco leave. Dip it in honey. Dip it again. One more time. Let it dry. Then dip it again.

Honey. It's honey. With a barest hint of tobacco.

You could sweeten your tea with this. I like it.

Tommy Bahama for Men by Tommy Bahama

Pepper. Then ginger and pepper. Then patchouli and pepper and a muted ginger. And then it's gone. That's the evolution on my arm over a few hours from start to finish. Not much sillage or longevity on my skin. Pleasant, well-constructed. Good, but not as great as current market prices might lead you to believe. Just barely a thumbs up.

Acteur by Azzaro

Acteur was launched two years after Chanel released (and then quickly withdrew) Bois Noir, the predecessor to Egoiste. This warrants a mention because they bear a distinct similarity in the plummy rose accord that is a prominent note in both. The difference between them is that BN and Egoiste rest on a lavender base where Acteur's foundation is oakmoss. But where the Chanel offerings blast out of the nozzle with a raspy dose of lavender which dominates the rose, Acteur is softer and smoother and lets the rose note share the stage. Acteur is more proof of why the late 80's and early 90's are the apex years of men's fragrance. I have a lot of back-up for Acteur and wear it often, especially in the fall and winter. To my nose, it is every bit a masterpiece as BN and Egoiste and can still garner inquiries and compliments.

And at this writing, Acteur can still be found at semi-reasonable prices, considering it's been out of production for years.

Lemon Line by Mancera

A constant wrist-sniffer. I am totally in love with Lemon Line. Think Monsieur Balmain but with staying power and a less linear dry down. The amber and oakmoss basenotes are sublime.

Pour Un Homme Le Soir by Caron

Caron Dips Its Little Toe In The Iris Craze

Pour Un Homme De Caron Le Soir has absolutely nothing to do with the original Pour Un Homme but instead of giving it a new brand, Caron leverages a well-known brand name (Pour Un Homme) to grab attention. Apparently Bulgarian Lavender was bred with no scent. And the initial iris accord diminishes within minutes.

Is it good? It's ok. Not terrible. Not great. The composition is derivative. And, like Caron's other attempt to piggy back on the PUH brand - Pour Un Homme Le Matin, this offering is pathetically weak with no sillage or longevity.

I get it. Recapturing relevance in a millennial-dominated market is a real challenge for an old brand like Caron and I can't fault them for trying. And who knows? Maybe it will work. But I doubt it. A 30-something isn't going to impress anyone with this fragrance and he knows it.

Both of these new offerings under the PUH moniker are bland, inoffensive if not unpleasant. They won't cause comments or complaints. Maybe speculate on their eventual failure and disappearance?

Red Tobacco by Mancera

Strong? I suppose so but certainly not knock-down-an-entire-room strong. Red Tobacco is reminiscent of Tauer's L'air du Desert Morocain turned up to eleven. It reveals everything it has all at once. with a strong cinnamon note right off the bat which quickly dissipates to let the incense and oud with ripe fruit and honey notes rise to the top. And stay there. Except the sweet tobacco note which is definitely more prominent in the dry down, the effect is linear. And it lasts all day. Spray away. It's all quite delicious.

Pour Un Homme Le Matin by Caron

This latest flanker to the honorable Pour Un Homme line bears little to no resemblance to the original. The lavender notes are sotto voce here, barely noticeable at all. The top notes are sharply aromatic and balsam woods with a nice fresh citrus (all those lemony components don't lie). I also sense a big dose of mint in the mix. So right off, a fresh and zesty nose opener.

Patchouli and a very watery version of oakmoss rise to the top during the dry down but just barely and some quieter version of lavender stands in the back row of this composition, a sad timid whisper.

Unlike older traditional masculine offerings from this house, which tended to be powerful statements, Pour Un Homme Le Matin is definitely dialed down to a strength meant to appeal to younger men, fearful of anything too loud.

This is an oddity for Caron, even more so than other recent launches like Yuzu and even Aimez-Moi Comme Je Suis which at least bore some semblance of that familiar Caron-ade (sorry Guerlain) that made their older offerings so appealing. They are going after new customers and who can blame them? I just wish these older houses adopted a more leadership role instead of meekly following the trend. Neutral.

Gucci Guilty Absolute pour Homme by Gucci

A quieter, creamier, more complex version of Gucci Pour Homme I with the pencil shaving note turned down, and a soft but potent leather accord added. Where the dry down of GPH I is unchanging and linear, Guilty Absolute evolves slowly to reveal its patchouli and vetiver heart while never dropping the aromatic woods and leather. The only con? Not a strong projector but for me at least, this is more desirable than the overpriced GPH I. Or II. Too bad Gucci discontinues the best things they put out.

Dunhill Signature by Dunhill

Dunhill should have named it Innocuous. Or Please Don't Notice Me!

It's pleasant enough, at least what is there for the very short duration, but there is nothing new or exciting here. At all. And far be it for me to rain on anyone's parade, but I suspect this is the ideal fragrance for a guy who doesn't like to stand out. The man who likes to blend in.

Gentleman Eau de Parfum Boisée by Givenchy

It starts out with such promise. The initial blast of pepper and iris is superb. But after an hour, on my skin, it has mostly disappeared and what is left is boring, unremarkable pedestrian skin scent. Not worth the money. Big disappointment here.

Graphite by Montana

Remember when 3.4 oz bottles of Balmain Carbone could be had new and sealed for $25 and how you weren't paying attention when Balmain ended production and you didn't stock up on them at the time and now they are valued at twice the price of a single share of Amazon stock?

I do.

Graphite is a smoother Carbone turned down a few notches. And it can be had for about $35.

Donna Karan Gold by Donna Karan

I found a 1.7 oz bottle of this in a thrift store a few years ago. For $5, I couldn't pass it up thinking it would be a good resale candidate. When I got it home, I sprayed a little on my wrist. What a surprise!
As the years pass, I find myself more attuned to florals and I have always had a soft spot for green grassy earthy scents but I was not prepared for the impact of DK Gold which is, quite simply, a lily and patchouli and woods masterpiece. The initial effect is as floral as hell and as I former grower of casablanca lilies, the note is absolutely spot on. Uncanny in fact. But the dry down is where the real magic happens. Within minutes, all of components rearrange themselves and the woods and earth and the green leaf and amber rise to the top while the intoxicating lily takes a more supporting role but never quite disappears.

Somewhere in the back of a closet, I have a bottle of Jovan Fresh Patchouli and the two bear a remarkable similarity in their dry down but DK Gold's is definitely more complex and Fresh Patchouli does not have the Gold's superb lily accord.

I wear this often and it always garners a lot of compliments. That bottles are still available for less than $30 is astounding given it appears to have been discontinued. No worries. I am stocked-for-life.

Desire for a Man by Dunhill

Candied citrus and apples in a vanilla sauce. Yes, The initial top notes are sweet, strong, and loud. The dry down exposes a lovely melange of vanilla and amber and a hint of woods. This is on my all time top twenty list. I’ve never grown tired of it and it never fails to raise my mood. And at the current price point, a ridiculously good buy.

Tobacco Oud by Tom Ford

Straight off, it is indeed surprisingly close to L'air du Desert Morocain. Then TO morphs into a pleasant mix of church incense, pepper, a hint of bourbon, and if you sniff carefully, something faintly resembling oud. After an hour, the bourbon is sweeter and on top but by then, it's barely detectible. Overall, it's well-constructed so I'll give it a just-barely thumbs up, but there are other examples of this pyramid with way more staying power for a lot less cash.

Fath's Essentials : Bel Ambre by Jacques Fath

Ordered direct from Fath. Initial impression is the packaging which immediately reminded me of the Dior Collection Privee line. Big box (square, not round like Dior). Heavy, cylindrical bottle. Screams "quality."

The initial, most prominent notes are a pleasant and sweet mix of pepper, juniper berry, and amber. Leather is more noticeable in the dry down, at which point the amber notes have disappeared.

Sadly, not much projection, at least to this nose. Bel Ambre is more skin scent than parfum. Same with longevity, which are the only real faults I can find with Bel Ambre.

Overall, a well-composed ambre-then-leather masculine fragrance that would really benefit from a bit more oomph in strength. Still, I like it enough to try another one from the line.

Bitter Peach by Tom Ford

Loud, and proud, peach and florals and hint of vanilla. Not sure where those other notes are. They sure don't show up for me.

Be forewarned: A little goes a very long way. This one's sillage will fill an entire city block. Think "Poison" in the mid eighties. Used accordingly, one bottle should last two, maybe three life-times.

Version Originale by Jean-Marc Sinan

A sillage monster, indeed. One quick and tiny spritz will fill a room and lasts on me for 24 hours. Pepper, jasmine, lavender, carnation, tonka bean, sandalwood... is there anything they didn't put in this? This is what Michael Bay might concoct if someone told him to create a fougere suitable for Transformers. But all that said, it works, once you get by the slap-in-the-face opening. As it settles down, V.O. is an intoxicating invocation of all that was good about the 1980's perfumery. Unforgettable, undeniable, and nearly singular. Definitely worth sampling.

But only in micro doses.

Patchouli Absolu by Tom Ford

My first reaction was, "Egads! A patchouli fart!" Yes, the first hit is that eye-watering strong. Quite pungent. Nearly stings the nostrils. But, overtime, it settles down and is actually an excellent and artless rendition of the note, if fairly linear. Dirty in its own gentlemanly way but definitely not your hippy grandad's patchouli, thank dog.

Purple Label by Ralph Lauren

A watered-down take on the classic RL accord. Safe, unassuming, and barely there. Not even the presence of a skin scent. The perfect fragrance for the man who doesn't want to offend or call attention to himself. The homeopathy fragrance.