Helmut Lang Men (2000)
by Helmut Lang

This is not as good as I expected it would be, but perhaps my perception of musks is skewed. I see little or no progression in this scent whatsoever. The opening is creamy and quite dirty if you will.

I like the smell quite a bit, very good vanilla scent. And I appreciate the minimalist bottle & label, that's cool, too. But this lasts about an hour before it disappears, far too expensive to last such a short time. You get the same effect with Pinaud, yes, Pinaud, which lasts less than 30 minutes but is cheap! Helmut Lang— not recommended.

This is a woody floral for men. And an absolutely superb one.

Any many who enjoy floral fragrances will love this. All this stuff about it being buttery is missing the point by a long way. The initial top notes are a heady blast of well tempered lavender, rosemary with a hint of tangy orange. Jasmine is particularly noticable in the top. There are distinct notes of Cedarwood in the heart notes lending it something of an edge.

But it is the drydown which is where this fragrance truly excels. Yes there is vanilla, but there is also a sweet rose note well blended with it (akin to the drydown sweet rose note in Hammam), alongside which are noticable sweet accords of Patchouli (patchouli leaves I think because of the lightness of it?) and a particularly nice clean Sandalwood.


Now, here's the interesting bit. This is sold as an EDC concentration, which would lead you to think it was going not last long. Nothing could be further from the truth. It lasts for a long time, longer than many EDTs I have. But it appears to wear close to the skin - almost to the point that you think that it's gone. What you notice though is that it is still gently projecting for hours. If, like me you put a monitor spray on the back of your hand, hours after you put it on you'll notice this lovely vanilla rose accord suddenly as your hand passes your face. What this also indicates it that it is you are projecting this lovely soft and gentile aura around you.

Is it a fragrance for a gentleman? Yes of course it is! It oozes classes and refinement. If people can consider the cloying mess of overly sweet vanilla that you find in the drydown of Pour Un Homme by Caron a gentleman's fragrance, then this most certainly is. And it's better too, better blended, more subtle and in its own way unique.

A big thumbs up. This one's a keeper.

It's not as powdery as others have noted, the sandalwood ensures that it retains sufficient edge throughout to avoid it disappearing into a full on powder.

I adore this fragrance.

A man who has just washed with fine soap, applied a heavily starched shirt and is liking melted butter from his fingers.

Divine

Helmut Lang EDC

I have worn this several times now...something about it seemed familiar yet strange at the same time, so I have been trying to figure it out. At first I thought there was an ozone or aquatic note in the top, but today I finally understand it...soap. HL in the EDC concentration has soapy aldehydes up front. I should point out that HL EDC is a clean musk, but it is not what I would call a white musk. It is sweet musk with soap. In other words, the musk part of the scent is not one of the soapy musk aromachemicals that is familiar in many white musk offerings such as Body Shop White Musk. Furthermore, I can wholeheartedly state that this soap and sweet musk combo has been thoroughly mimicked by Le Labo in their new release for Los Angeles, Musc 25. When I first tried HL, I really didn't like the top notes. Now that I have a bit of insight, I can't say I am still convinced that I will like it in the long run, but the recognition increases my comfort in wearing it. Besides, the whole reason I became fascinated by this fragrance is for the drydown.

The drydown is a very simple but gorgeous vanilla powder musk which is the closest thing I have ever smelled to my beloved pre-reformulation Coty Wild Musk. HL wears a little differently, though--when I sniff my arm, I can barely smell it. However, as I move around, I catch rather strong whiffs of the fragrance. Apparently this is one of those fragrances where distance matters. It takes an hour at least for the aldehydes to subside, and for the duration, the sweet vanilla powder remains. The drydown of HL fills some pretty big shoes from my fragranced past. I loved CWM, and so HL seems to be a viable substitute. The first couple of times I tried it, I thought it might be very weak and short lived because of its EDC concentration. It is indeed a subtle scent, but the EDC longevity is really not bad--4 hours at least after a liberal application.

I find it amusing that since this is now a discontinued fragrance, it is fetching rather high prices on the online auction and retail sites. Ironically, maybe in this case, Le Labo is the more affordable alternative.

This is exactly as stated with "Basenotes says..," indeed a buttery and musky concoction with an added baby fresh vanilla powder for good measure. Nice.