Globe (1990)
by Rochas

As I perceive it, Globe takes the aromatic fruity-green accord (and only this accord,) from a Green Irish Tweed/Cool Water style fresh fougère and marries it to a classical white floral bouquet. These two blocks are seasoned with cardamom and coriander and set atop an arid, powdery cedar, sandalwood, and patchouli foundation, intended perhaps to make the composition more recognizably “masculine.”

Jean-Claude Elléna’s* structure was brilliant and iconoclastic, and why anybody at Rochas thought J. Q. Public would buy it is beyond me. Globe doesn’t press any of the familiar male fragrance buttons until well into its musky vetiver, sandalwood, and labdanum drydown. That it projects robustly and leaves more sillage in the air than most men are probably accustomed to are additional strikes against it. Michael Edwards lists Globe among the fruity fougères in his Fragrances of the World compendium, but I’m more inclined to call Globe a fruity floral scent, or even a fruity floral-oriental; both fragrance families inextricably associated with women in the popular imagination.

As a floral-focused scent for men Globe is sometimes lumped with Givenchy’s Insensé and Paco Rabanne’s Ténéré, but it is far brighter, fruitier, sweeter, and more oriental in character than either. In truth, Globe resembles no other masculine scent I know. In 1990 Globe represented a brave and ill-fated attempt to broaden the horizons of male perfumery. Had it been released as a unisex niche fragrance I suppose it might still be with us. Were it introduced today, in synch with the mini-trend of floral designer scents for men embodied in Kenzo Power and Fleur du Mâle, would it survive? Idle conjecture, all of it, but I’m glad of the opportunity to wear Globe and to wonder.

* One whiff of Globe gets me wishing that Elléna would compose something this complex, layered, and original for Hermès. Do the Hermès art directors demand pallid, invertebrate scents from him, or is the stylistic dead end of minimalist one-liners something he’s pursuing of his own volition? Globe offers ample evidence that he can do differently. (And better?)

8th July, 2009. (Last Edited: 8th March, 2010.)

Very unique leathery floral scent quite heavy on tagetes. Interesting stuff.

Its thick and soft, very natural smelling. It is very herbal, musky and slightly smoky. It doesn’t remind me that much of any other scent, but I get small whiffs from Fahrenheit (old formulation) and Jazz by YSL.

Aromatically forest-y, very vegetal juice. Odd smelling overall; for instance I get a weird accord out of this that manages to remind me of some vegetable stew (with rosemary and tarragon) and mustard(!)

Still available, but only exclusively and so expensive.

3rd February, 2009.

A bright, fresh floral offering that opens with brilliant greens and dries down to a luscious musky base. This is a kissing cousin to Givenchy's Insense, really, and even more distantly related to Paul Sebastian's Brownstone.

Why Rochas discontinued this I'll never know. I assume it was an interim fragrance -- somewhere between the "big power frags" of the Eighties and the watery wimps of the Nineties.

A pity.

10th January, 2008.

Globe has a primarily green / herbal opening which is blended with citrus, but the citrus isn’t obvious to me—just enough to lighten, sharpen, freshen up the green notes. Every once in a while I catch the unusual fruit note that others have mentioned—a kind of dull sweet-but-sharp note that I don’t know what to make of. I believe that this is the kind of scent that quickly causes olfactory fatigue because it disappears after several minutes, but, if I avoid it for ten minutes, it’s there again. The accord has a heavy aromatic ambiance that seems fresh even though it doesn’t have the generic “fresh” notes I have come to expect. The upshot is that the opening lasts for quite a long time, even though I lose it now and then. I find it an enjoyable experience.

The middle notes have less force and character—thyme (especially) and fir dominate over a smooth floral: It is nice, and it’s quite a bit 80’s because it develops a little bit of that 80’s “cologne” tang—not strong, but there. This stage lasts for a while, too, but it is a little less enjoyable than the top because it is not an especially interesting accord. Actually it’s boring, but the boredom does at least one positive thing—it prepares me for the dry down. The base is mostly non-spectacular, with a tiny bit of “off” thrown in. All things considered, Globe has an attractive opening that has real substance and likeability, but from there it goes in unimpressive directions. It’s not a bad scent at all, but there are so many better.

18th March, 2007.

It took me quite awhile to decide on this cologne. So, I left it alone for a year or so...and I'm now rediscovering it again. I like it! It's getting hard to get but it's worth the try...it's very fresh, unique and different. Joshaugustt

14th February, 2006.

Nice and different top notes but awful drydown. smell rancid.

27th January, 2004.