Façonnable (1994)
by Façonnable

Weird opening, smells like some sort of synthetic clenaer mixed with an electronics store or a walk through Bloomingdales mens cologne section during 1996 or so when they were spraying Cool Water like scents left and right. Too much clashing between the opening accords in my opinion. It is harsh and offputting, After the initial blast it turns into something that vaguely resembles Green Irish Tweed or Cool Water with a weird twang that reminds me of green grass. Softens up to a forgetable woodsy endiing with some sort of leather like note that smells like new shoes, probably a clash between the jasmine and musk (sweet and sharp).

I disagree with the Minotaure comparison someone gave because Minotaure isn't offputting from the get go and is overall pleasant. It is better balanced as it never strikes the strong discord I got from this stuff. This gets boring in the drydown in all honesty I've gotten better drydown from $7 bottles of BOD Man. It doesn't smell like it uses overly cheap ingredients, its just too plain and not memorable with an offputting top note.

I'd rate it neutral, its wearable, but not special. Given that it seems to be available pretty cheaply you can do a lot worse.

29th April, 2011.

This certainly isn't an expensive scent, nor is it a niche scent, but neither is it a cheap drugstore blend of alcohol and calone. For a time it was a Nordstrom exclusive in the United States and went for around 8/10 of a Benjamin. Don't know if this is still the case, though, as I've seen it around online for a quarter of that.

This is a good scent for day or evening wear, but is more of a spring scent. It can come off heavy and cloying in the Summer.

It's certainly not for everyone. It has elements in common with GIT and Cool Water, but contrary to another reviewer's opinion, I believe it DOES stand out. It's much more minty and floral than any frags in the GIT scent family.

It starts off all minty-citrusy barbershop and you'll feel like a million bucks. But go easy. It's got incredible sillage and longevity through the dry-down. 2-3 sprays (wrist, neck, torso) and you can enjoy it 8 hours or more later. For that alone, it's to be commended.

The mid-notes are sweet florals. As has been mentioned, they can be almost too sweet; not in a syrupy way, but like you put your face into a vase of geraniums which were watered with jasmine tea. It's that strong. This may not sit well with some who are not accustomed to such floral scents for men. But make no mistake- there is nothing feminine about this scent.

The base notes push this into clear masculine territory. The Sandalwood softens the musk and leaves the whole experience in warmer territory than the crisp beginning would suggest. There's a touch of leather and tobacco at the end, but just a touch. It's not prominent as the floral elements persist even to the end, but enough to keep anyone from mistaking this for a woman's scent.

Have had 3 male friends complain it was cloying over the past 10 years. But in the same time period I've lost nearly twice that many shirts to gals who kept them for the smell; it's no exaggeration. It's not my favorite scent ever, but for its longevity, sillage, quality mixture and effect on females, I put it in the win column.

Another reviewer remarked it has a Euro or Swiss smell. I have to agree. It does remind me of a custom scent an old college roommate had mixed for him in France. The bottle design adds to the whole ensemble. Very classy.

5th April, 2011.

I'll start with positives: Faconnable opens as a citrusy, slightly minty, rather masculine fragrance. Not bad. And it lasts a long time, offering above average longevity.

So much for positives. The opening is brief and within 20 minutes or so, this fragrance transforms into a flowery, herbal clash of scents that I find very objectionable. Someone recently gave me a bottle as a gift, and luckily I decided to spray a little on my arm as I was retiring to bed for the evening. Whew!! I'm glad I didn't sample it first thing in the a.m., before entering any public setting. Faconnable morphs into an aged, grandmotherly floral mess, "enhanced" by little undercurrents which remind me of rotting fruit. I could still smell it the next morning, before I showered for the day. This one's not for me.

21st January, 2011.

Sampled this at Marshall's.. the opening smells like fish food.

18th December, 2010.

Strong opening, not entirely pleasant or inviting, and in many ways like a hundred other things. Looses the sharp edge after awhile and then slowly fades down to a leathery base... and if you sniff closely you can sometimes detect sandalwood... but it doesn't project that way.

I can't say it's wimpy and I won't say I hate it, but I think you can find other more interesting things.

6th October, 2010.

Think Cool Water, Green Irish Tweed and other like scents. Think Aspen too. There is a list somewhere of cool Water clones, this should be added to the list. Just too close to be its own thing. It is strong and last quite a while, which is a plus. There is a distinctive euro air to it, like you mixed Cool Water with something, making it a lot better than Cool Water. Less fizzy, less synthetic. Pretty good overall, but nothing cosmic.

12nd September, 2010.