Guess Men (original) (1991)
by Guess

The opening is a very sweet take on the classical fougère gambit, with a rich orange rind note, plenty of aromatics, and powdery aldehydic accents. For aromatic content Guess Men relies on pungent clary sage, cilantro, and lavender, all decorated with a peculiarly sharp, almost cheese-like grace note.

Guess Men is a poster boy for the importance of testing fragrances on the skin. On paper, the animalic content smells like a miscalculation – strident to the point of stinking. On skin, everything falls into balance, and the combination of sweet and foetid is no less compelling than in Eau d’Hermes, Kouros, Jicky, Jules, or Maître Parfumeur et Gantier’s Jardin du Nil.

Guess Men’s drydown is a dense and traditionally styled barbershop accord built on a very powdery sweet amber, dry cedar, and sandalwood. It’s highly dignified, but the intense powder leaves it feeling a bit staid – even stuffy – for my tastes. I’ve said the same of such well-respected classics as New York and Bois du Portugal, so please take my opinion with the appropriate grain of salt.

4th December, 2010. (Last Edited: 5th December, 2010.)

Hmmm I swear I reviewed this one before. I remember liking it but now I do not as much. Oddly "dirty" herbalness and citrus. It feels like a fragrance from long ago but it's only from 1991. Weird that it was discontinued. Probably bad sales. There are plenty of samples floating around eBay and various online fragrance stores if you are into trying out discontinued stuff. I've seen full bottles go for up to a hundred dollars.

30th May, 2009.

The shokingly repulsive smell of hot vinyl and overheated electronics. Now, let's bottle it and sell it! Nice work!

3rd May, 2009.

I hate this. Synthetic, not original, smells cheap.

5th December, 2007.

Reminds me of Photo by KL and Casual by PS. Except I think those scents came after. Not bad, it starts out very fresh, but I find the drydown too wannabe pheromonic. Burberry Touch does the same thing with its drydown, but it stays clean the entire time...unlike Guess Men that starts to turn dirty after an hour.

9th February, 2007.

Such a wonderful scent with wonderful memories. Why do they always discontinue fantastic scents? :o(

29th January, 2007.