Portos
Balenciaga (1980)

Portos serves a triptych of castoreum, costus and IBQ adorned with exhilaratingly punchy green top notes and underlined with vetiver and geranium. These are the elements that stand out most prominently to me, but how does it make me feel? What does it evoke? Wouldn't you like to know!

Seriously though, 1980 approached the apotheosis of the machismo era of men's fragrances, eclipsed by the big league releases of Kouros and Antaeus. Portos was one progenitor that, while riding the coattails of Aramis, and Givenchy Gentleman, and Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, took their various themes and amalgamated them with dark edginess and oily, brawny bravado. A clean/dirty dichotomy prevails, converging chypre and fougere elements create a storm of passion in the heart of Portos, marking its unrestrained virility down to its final musky exhalation on the skin.

Whether Portos is essential is up for debate; it was discontinued only five or six years after its release, and in the wake of its scarcity its demand is high, only further encouraged by its being deified by online vintage fiends (like myself? you hush!). With this in mind, don't blow 300 US dollars on it. If you must, wait until a good deal comes up online like I did, and go for a splash, they tend to be cheaper. That said, there's no denying the delight I feel while wearing this juggernaut.

Balenciaga Portos (1980) was the third proper masculine release from the house, if you exclude Ho Hang (1971) as it was originally marketed unisex, following Eau de Balenciaga for Men (1962) and the Marbert-composed Eau de Balenciaga Lavande (1973). This was also the second and final masculine market Balenciaga to come from house Marbert, as The Bogart Group would end up owning the Balenciaga name from the mid-80's until the early-2000's when the house was fully resurrected and the perfume license handed over to Coty (effectively rebooting the house a la Gucci for the 3rd time). Smelling Portos, the fragrance seems right at home with the conventional style of masculine perfumery at the cusp of the 70's into the 80's, being a potent mix of animalic and aromatic notes. It's also hard not to compare this stuff to Estée Lauder's Aramis (1965) since it is an aldehyde-topped leather chypre of similar stripe taking its name from one of The Three Musketeers all the same, even if it isn't a clone per se. The original ad copy of "Virile, Assertive, Convincing" says all you need to know about the attitudes of men and the theme of the fragrance itself, in an era where uber-macho smells to a near-frightening degree were the fashion of the day. With early entries to the animalic powerhouse epoch like Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme (1978) and Lanvin for Men (1979) at one end, then Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent (1981) and Chanel Antaeus (1981) at the other, Balenciaga Portos played monkey in the middle with fragrances like Bogart One Man Show (1980), Jacomo de Jacomo (1980), and Dior Jules (1980), all of which seemed to be equally overshadowed by their bookends just like Portos.

The opening is a familiar aldehyde and bergamot blast, with a tannery vibe accompanied by bitter artemisia, spicy coriander, and green galbanum. In some ways, Portos feels like an old prototype for another Estée Lauder scent, the future Lauder for Men (1985), and this connection is one that would follow into the middle phase as geranium and rose fill the green dandy floral heart. Jasmine indole and carnation also bring another familiar piece of connective tissue between Portos and Lauder for Men, but also the far future Parfums de Marly Lippizan (2010), which would very anachronistically feature this same dandy chypre theme. The longer the wear goes on, the more Portos actually feels like Lippizan, outside the obvious heavier dose of animalic leathers that Parfums de Marly would not only stylistically eschew, but not be allowed to pull off per IFRA regulations even if they wanted. Patchouli and cedar along with notes of olibanum and myrrh cement the oakmoss chypre base, while castoreum and a tiny pinch of civet take very familiar roles in Portos for anyone who has smelled fragrances like Monsieur Lanvin (1964) or the aforementioned Lanvin for Men. You can't have a "real" chypre without labdabum though, and Portos delivers there as well, although the labdanum is not super noticeable in this leather chypre like it was in something such as Yves Saint Laurent pour Homme (1971), instead bringing more of a Mousse de Saxe feel like Robert Piguet Bandit (1944). You'll definitely smell like an old "war room" executive wearing Portos, cigar and Cadillac Brougham not included. Wear time is 10 hours and sillage is very good despite "cologne" designation, and best use is going to be as a signature, although maybe not in the hottest of weather due to the animalic elements.

Like a lot of designer things released in this era but fallen though the cracks, this is a fine fragrance made from good materials, an ideal blend of synthetics and naturals made along the lines of conventional tastes for the time, but not necessarily confined to market research either, and before IFRA restrictions or over-exploitation of natural stock made such compositions too expensive or just plain impossible. In other words, this fragrance represents an equal balance between making a statement, and being casually wearable, which is something now divided into polar extremes of niche and mass-market commercial designer fare, respectively. Portos came from a house that at the time was marching aimlessly as a ready-to-wear brand after its founder's death, in the hands of owners who ultimately didn't know what to do with it, before further plunging into obscurity as a perfume imprint label of Jacques Bogart. Portos wasn't on the market long, as Bogart Group didn't continue producing it like they did Ho Hang, which was among the best-selling Balenciagas then available. To make matters worse, Estée Lauder would release Portos by Aramis (1985) pretty much right after production of this one ended by Marbert, and it too would be an aromatic chypre for men, leading to a ton of confusion that probably contributed to the eventual obscurity of both fragrances, even if there seems to be more of Balenciaga's Portos still out there in the wild. Prices for this long-discontinued Balenciaga masculine being of the usual insanity, I wouldn't recommend diving into Portos knowing Lauder for Men is still available, but it is a good leather chypre regardless. Thumbs up

Gorgeous spicy leathery fougere from the 80's with that "old school" drydown.

Great longevity!

Now discontinued but try it if you can find it!

Thumbs up!

There is no much to say after reading" the_good_life" great analysis of this perfume. He captures the essence (pun intended) of this perfume right on.
My blood boils every time reviewers call a perfume "dated" (usually a classic), to me perfumes have no age, but in this case I think it applies LOL.

Genre: Leather

The aromatic blast that introduces Balenciaga's Portos is a dead ringer for Azzaro pour Homme, which means it's also a textbook example of the 1980s “power scent.” But where Azzaro blooms into a spicy fougere, Portos follows a path of sweetened patchouli, labdanum resin, and leather. Anyone familiar with Hermes Equipage knows this kind of scent: potent yet civilized, craggy yet also somehow comfortable. It's all men's clubs and boardrooms, big leather chairs, martinis, and cigars. Portos's cousins are scents like Antaeus and perhaps even Yatagan, though it's less nuanced than the first and far less bold and challenging than the latter. That may ultimately be why the other two have survived it – Portos is not the most distinguished or individual member of this clan. I think that the_good_life nails it when he suggests that Portos represents a sort of common denominator of 1980s masculines. That Portos is the Reagan era's Jedermann of scent could be part of its appeal for many, but I for one prefer quirkier versions of the big-boned leather chypre formula.

Portos strikes us by soon with its compelling opening conjuring me immediately the barber-shop/mossy/soapy/waxy/aldehydic/animalic Arrogance Pour Homme's beginning (but further concoctions as Equipage, Kouros, Paco Rabanne Pour Homme and Monsieur Rochas jump in a while on mind). The aroma projects by soon a classic waxy/soapy/vaguely camphoraceous/cleaning room foam-like feel reinforced by artemisia, royal bergamot, aromatic green spices and leather/castoreum all over a typically classic barber-shop chypre mossy/animalic "basement". The aldehydes reinforce the waxy/"molecular", slightly humid and vaguely mouldy initial "wadding" while sharp floral patterns (rose-jasmine-geranium in primis) provide a subtle spark of virile neutral sophistication. The leather is present along the dry down but is almost "overshadowed" by tons of moss/labdanum, the note of myrrh provides a huge dose of soapiness, vetiver and patchouli imprint woody stableness and a touch of exoticism while a touch of frankincense provides a weird dusty/mineral final undertone. I disagree (and it's a rare occasion) with the great Foetidus since I don't catch a dominant (too strong) leather, the latter is present for sure but the woodsy/waxy patterns are dominant in this soapy/detergent old-school chypre. The deep dry down is surprisingly delicate and soapy/ethereal, really wearable, dry/clean and comforting. A solid (somewhat forbidding nowadays) classic which, despite is not properly original, smells distinguished and highly recommended for the office and formal occasions.