Pharos
Alain Delon (1997)

Fruity and chemical in the way that Hugo Boss does all their stuff. Calvein Klein's Escape meets Hugo. Ugh.

Seemingly unremarkable but long-lasting aquatic.However the fruity notes at the top and woods at the base make this just that little bit special, like all of Delon's fragrances.

This is what Escape for men could have been should it have gone the way of haute parfumerie. A surprisingly rich and successful creation with a fresh and crisp opening, not too unlike an apple tart that immediately goes green and leafy and fresh before revealing white woods and amber. Why this was disocntinued is beyond me, but to my nose, this is the best of Delon and the most interesting.

Encountering the Baron de Charlus the other day, I could not help remarking that he seemed unable to stop yawning. Did he really find me so boring? 'Forgive me, mon cher Nitram,' he replied, 'it is merely that I have spent this morning sniffing such unalloyed atrocities of generic tedium as Alain Delon's Pharos, Pierre Cardin's Insatiable, Essenza di Zegna and Dior's Higher Energy. I can hardly keep from falling asleep.'