Booster (1996)
by Lacoste

Kerleo has acheived wonders within the tight budget he clearly had to work to here. The top is a beautiful balance of not-beautiful notes: eucalyptus, menthol, perppermint. It is immediately striking as unusual, slightly medicinal, not pretty. Just the sort of thing I like.

The heart has a good, slightly anisic, herbal quality (perhaps a little basil) allied with some synthetic florals, mace and resinous notes.The base boasts a woody-citrus underlined by a very quiet uber smooth woody-amber. Each level seems to attain a complexity and depth which belies the materials; even the obviously chemical base hints at more expensive resins with little hints of this-and-that ghosting from earlier, especially earlier on before the well known cheap chemical woody-amber takes grip.

The fragrance is a short lived burst of uplifting notes and I believe it is designed as such. Sillage is initially medium to strong but drops off rapidly.

Overall, I find this very likable and a considerable acheivement. Its different and interesting and smells very good at times. Ultimately the quality of the materials means I won't wear it very often, however, there will be sockets in my life which only this will plug.

Notes:
Top:
Peppermint, Menthol, Eucalyptol, Lemon
Heart:
Grapefruit, Aromatic notes, Spices
Base:
Woods, Musk

The nose behind Booster is Jean Kerleo, he of Patou pour homme, so you would expect a hint of expert construction evident within and initially atleast Booster doesn't disappoint. The fresh-aromatic menthol dominated top notes are slick and smooth; the peppermint and eucalyptus molecules are stitched together with a standalone menthol molecule and any dentist/toothpaste connotations are dodged by accentuating the herbaceous tones of eucalyptus resulting in a bright, invigorating, uplifting opening tinged with herbaceous-green highlights. Naturally these euphoric topnotes won't last long so Kerleo engineers more complexity in the fragrance by incorporating complementary notes such as a spice-accord which smells mostly of nutmeg and a weirdly plastic jasmin like floral note which could only be an overdose of hedione (not redeemed by any natural jasmine whatsoever). Things get worse...this plasticky jasmine note further descends into an equally mediocre woodys-musk drydown which spoils the excellent work of the roaring top notes.

Kerleo was probably used to unlimited budgets afforded to him by the house of Patou and apparently wasn't able to balance his construction with the college-student fragrance materials budget handed to him by Lacoste. Consequently the second half of Booster reeks of mediocre perfume parts although the concept could have worked wonders with a natural jasmine heart and topnotch woods in the base. The topnotes excite me, the banal base annoys me. Investigate Booster to observe a promising concept slightly diminished by bottomline obsessed suits.

p.s.: The bottle is so ugly its beautiful..

Rating: 6.75/10.0

I tried so desperately to like this. I know a few who swear by this and it smells good on them but on me, the mix of mint and nutmeg makes for a bitter anise and allspice scent. Spices of this nature are naturally uplifting and invigorating but this scent personally gives me a headache.

Picked this up at a discount store for under $15, and for that price it couldn't be beat. I like the light, sporty scent. the mint and eucalyptus come through and give you a little burst of energy. This is perfect for summer, especially a quick spray before hitting the gym. It fades fast though, but at the price for a pretty big bottle, it's easy enough to spray a couple times a day.

When I saw the list of notes, I was afraid I wouldn’t like it, but Lacoste manages to pull it off – Booster is quite an interesting fragrance. I wouldn’t call the opening beautiful, but it is unique, competent, fresh, and well on its way to enjoyable. The peppermint, eucalyptus, and menthol form a virulent aromatic accord that, after the initial shock, I find I like. At first it’s quite different from most of the other scents of its generation, but it breaks speed records in disappearing from my skin, and I’m sad to say that I’m sorry to see it go. After the original accord has petered out, I do smell a little nutmeg and some pine, but those notes are so recessive that I don’t respond to them. Anyway, I enjoy the scent very much, but its longevity is abysmal.

Disappointing, searched for ages for this fragrance (not sold in my local shops). Dated fragrance compared with the more up-to-date Lacoste products in the shops.