Premiere Luxe pour Homme
Avon (2015)

Avon Premiere Luxe is a line of scents for both men and women targeted towards niche tastes, using higher-than-usual concentrations for Avon (in this case being a men's parfum), and ingredients of higher concentration and supposed quality than is the norm for the venerable mass-market direct sales house, which is often considered of drugstore quality. By and large, the line succeeds in it's aim to bring a little more prestige to the Avon name, except not where such things are needed most, like in it's former home market of the US, but rather everywhere else, particularly in developing markets like South America and Eastern Europe. Still, with some hunting, Avon sellers willing to ship internationally do occasionally turn up for those of us who won't take no for an answer, and this one might be worth the stubbornness to acquire. Yves Caesar composed this and it's sequel flanker a year later, and this is definitely the romantic one while the subsequent oud version is more formal. Avon Premiere Luxe Pour Homme does a lot of things right with it's rich, decadent, but mostly fundamental formula; the scent gives fans of niche perfumery that "less is more" feeling they crave, with fairly clear note separation, not a ton of blending to hide synthetic fillers, and nothing applied in shy amounts. Where Avon Premiere Luxe Pour Homme fails is in originality, which for anyone who knows Avon, is a pretty well-expected shortcoming of anything wearing the Avon badge. Dior, Narciso Rodriquez, Yves Saint Laurent, and Giorgio Armani are all recalled in Avon Premiere Luxe Pour Homme, which is it's biggest failing, as a product with niche sensibilities but a designer stylistic vibe still might be seen by the target demographic as disingenuous at best or a plebeian mockery of niche principles at worst. I mean really guys, Avon must surely have known anyone serious enough about scents that they'd drop the kind of coin needed to buy Creed or Roja Dove wouldn't even consider Avon to begin with, so this product serves the same purpose as a Hyundai Genesis G90: an aspirational trim-level with a focus on quality-for-dollar alongside style from an otherwise value-conscious brand. If this appeals to you, read on; if not, you should probably stop here.

Avon Premiere Luxe Pour Homme feels most like a gourmand in it's opening, even if it really isn't. A lemon note meets with patchouli and ginger here, which is not groundbreaking, but suggests something spicy and culinary before a slight black pepper kicks in after the top calms. The middle of the scent is vetiver and amber pretty much, and that amber comes on strong just like a Tom Ford masculine scent from the early 2000's, since it's not actually in the base where it normally plays the rhythm section rather than being somewhat in the lead. The oud flanker of this that came later would knock the amber out of it's home in the middle to be replaced with agarwood/oud, also cranking up the pepper, which is why it doesn't feel romantic. Rest assured the amber here is not of typical "beige sweetness" kind Avon has been stuffing in it's perfume since the 60's, and feels rawer. The base is guiac wood and musk, with little else to get in the way of the mellow and sweet dry down one might expect such a base to provide. The end of the wear sees a bit of Avon's inevitable budgetary limitations come to the fore, which betray any sense of sincerity at producing a true niche fragrance for men that the bottle design and opening whiff might give off. The amber and musk linger longest, with the clean guiac woods poking their head in now and again, making the final stages akin to Armani Code/Black Code (2004), which is the furthest thing from exclusive you could get. Still, the quality is there at least in the performance department, and this will last every bit of 12 hours, needing scrubbing and laundering of clothes to remove. Avon Premiere Luxe Pour Homme's sweet, inviting warmth and spiky amber combine with clean woods and musk to make it a truly black tie romantic evening scent. Nobody smelling you at a five star restaurant will have any idea that the elixir in this little black bottle is from Avon, let alone not even at least designer in origin.

Where this screams niche most is in it's uncompromisingly rich top ingredients and bold overall blending, as you will stand out quite a bit amongst lesser freshies and club-friendly ambroxen wonder juices, but it doesn't stay that way forever, turning back into a pumpkin of amber, woods and musk by the end. Avon Premiere Luxe Pour Homme is pretty skippable as an attempt at niche sensibilities for those not devout in their Avon collecting or morbidly curious, especially folks living in markets like the US where it becomes a Maltese falcon to find. This masculine debut of the line did bring a much-needed higher-end option for guys who are into Avon, and one that they had not seen since 1985's Féraud pour Homme, but Avon Premiere Luxe Oud Pour Homme (2016) flanker hits the mark more accurately as something truly niche in design from these discount catalog sellers, as there is nothing quite like it (and it smells little to nothing like this too, which is surprising). Avon Premiere Luxe Pour Homme is a damn fine scent, just not entirely what it makes itself out to be, and proves yet again that Avon are the master blasters of the almighty amber. People not fond of a heavy-handed amber should also skip forward to the oud flanker, which is drier and obviously more wood-focused than this one. Recommended use is evening, romantic or leisure activity, and mostly in formal settings where sartorial attire is fitting. Avon Premiere Luxe Pour Homme is too heady and rich for daytime use outside of stiffly cold weather, and feels way too decadent for office or casual applications, plus it's parfum concentration means you might want to go light on the trigger too. A dark, semi-sweet, slightly smoky, and slightly soapy amber fragrance that sits tall alonside the best amber-based designers of the early to mid 2000's, just with a few niche twists stapled on in post-production to suit the 2010's instead. A hell of a bargain considering what you're getting in the bottle, but like that Hyundai Genesis G90, will likely lose all sense of value within a decade or so due to brand perception, so wear this because you like this, not because you're out to impress anybody. This is certainly not your Dad's Avon, that's for sure.