Cristobal pour Homme (2000)
by Balenciaga

A short-lasting oriental with great sillage (at the beginning) but it lacks any distinction to make it rise above all the so-so fragrances of this ilk. In short, a cross between the boring oriental spiciness of Gucci’s Envy and the sickening sweetness of Joop! (but with far less longevity, of course).

[Original submission date: 10 April 2008]

But it is like Joop, minus the godawful synthetic notes. Whether it's a rip-off or an improvement-- Well, it's an improvement. I cannot detect coffee notes, either but that's just me. This one's somewhere between spiced vanilla and inexpensive oriental romantic juice. The down side is the latter part of the drydown which I find both powdery and cloying; I'll pass

Cristobal is one of those woody oriental scents that pretty much dispense with top notes and jump right into their sweet-spicy main movements. In Cristobal's case this is comprised of a very sweet vanilla and powerful (and suspiciously synthetic,) sandalwood, dressed up in an array of kitchen spices from nutmeg and mace to anise and cinnamon. There is also a harsh, musty, and inevitably cheap-smelling woody amber pounding away in the depths, and this presages a disappointingly crude and generic drydown.

Before that happens, but after the sweet vanilla blast settles down, Cristobal passes through an interesting and gratifying phase where its woods and spices take on a vaguely smoky, roasted quality that almost (but not quite,) suggests coffee, in the manner of Yohji Homme or New Haarlem. In Cristobal the effect is not so blatantly "foody," and hence far more pleasant to wear.

Unfortunately, the drydown can't be held off forever, and as it lumbers in it tramples anything that's remotely intelligent or interesting about Cristobal to dust. This occurs after perhaps three hours on the skin, so that to comfortably wear Cristobal I'd have to adopt the following routine:

1. Wait 30 minutes after application to allow the accords to achieve balance before appearing in public.

2. After two to three hours, shower, scrubbing vigorously, to remove the loud, nasty and (of course,) tenacious base notes.

3. Repeat procedure from step 1.

Sorry - too much work for me.

Cristobal is a very sharp and aggressive oriental. It is mainly made of lavender, benzoin and patchouli. It’s also very peppery.

I bought my bottle many years ago. I used it awhile, but after some time I had enough of it; it had ability to sting my nose and burn my nostrils. It was TOO sharp, TOO aggressive to me and my nose. (And I like strong fragrances)

I sold my bottle away.

Quite unique oriental juice in a fine bottle, but it just wasn’t meant for me.

Lasting power of Cristobal is about 5 days.

This one has really grown on me. It certainly has a character all of it's own that is both sexy and sophisticated without be overindulgent or annoying. Very nice.

Recommended.

Vanilla base is the entire support for this fragrance. The top notes remind me of a subtle violet leaf note or a Gucci pH II or Sander for Men top. Not too shabby.