Ho Hang Club (1987)
by Balenciaga

After multiple full wearings, I must proclaim Ho Hang Club a masterpiece. Although this is a rookie in my fragrance lineup, it is rapidly increasing its playing time.

Initially, I was surprised that this came out in 1987. It easily could have been released 20 years earlier. The formal, elegant bottle would be at home on Frank Sinatra's or Cary Grant's vanity and for once the "Club" moniker is apropos. It is disappointing that Balenciaga discontinued this aroma, for it deserves a broader audience. For fans of old school manly marvels, this is compulsory sniffing.

Ho Hang Club has the bones of such barbershop fragrances as the earlier THE BARON and the subsequent RIVE GAUCHE POUR HOMME. It shares a bergamot and floral structure with these two masculine classics but is more complex than either. It also has a bit of the bad boy found in PARFUM D'HABIT and KOUROS with a milder civet-like note (probably from the bergamot and patchouli combination) and he's clad in a pair of leather driving gloves. I also detect some incense which creates the mirage of smokiness. The civety and leathery vibe is what HHC shares with its blood brothers, Ho Hang and Balenciaga.

There isn't a stage of this scent that disappoints me: the bergamot opening is vocal but always in key, the floral middle is comfortable and lovely (if you like the rose usage in IQUITOS, you'll like it here) and the leather and patchouli drydown is modest yet not quite retiring. One might quibble with the somewhat reticent sillage but the more I wear this the more noticeable it becomes. The longevity is just fine.

If forced to flee my residence to outpace a coup, this will be among the handful of perfumes that I salvage. Undoubtedly a mainstay in my collection for the foreseeable future.

12nd June, 2011. (Last Edited: 29th July, 2011.)

it is strong but not overwhelming 80's scent.

i can not enjoy azzaro pour homme, versace l'homme, kouros (maybe not yet),
but ho hang club works for me

26th May, 2011.

A shadowy, grey Ho Hang sadly, but really sadly discontinued. I treasure a mini 30 ml that in my wardrobe stands proudly on the side of Black Tourmaline, Homage and Heritage. Look at my review about the classic survived  Ho Hang, there are similarities between the two fragrances, the grey, shadowy feel here is determined by the addition of notes as thyme, cypress, leather, rose, cardamom and by an heavy musky presence. Divine in the the spring time under the sunsets. Fragrances! What a wonderful world.

12nd April, 2011. (Last Edited: 13rd April, 2011.)

I have to say I'm a little disappointed with Ho Hang Club. My first exposure to it was smelling a really old, skunked bottle that had that sharp, biting smell characteristic of perfume gone bad, but it still had a wonderfully spicy patchouli smell to it. I thought that if a stale bottle smelled this good, a fresh bottle must smell amazing.

I recently bought a sealed bottle of this discontinued scent, and it doesn't smell amazing. It's kind of like a poor man's Bois du Portugal - it's definitely a formal scent that smells appropriate for a night on the town, but it lacks the richness, strength and complexity of BdP. I don't like the opening accord - a somewhat ascerbic lavender and coriander accord that is very heady and quite irritating. It just obliterates the patchouli. Fortunately, the middle accord and base accord are excellent; it's a slightly sweet and spicy patchouli-based accord that I enjoy very much. Only problem is that two hours into this fragrance, when the base notes start to emerge, Ho Hang Club dies on the vine, in terms of sillage and potency. It's like it almost disappears after T-minus 120 minutes, becoming a "skin" scent where you can only detect it if you ram your nose into the crook of your arm. If it weren't for HHC running out of gas so quickly, I would have given it a thumbs up.

For fans of the original Ho Hang, this is a very different scent, although there are similarities, mainly in the prominent use of patchouli in both. Ho Hang Club is heavier (well, for 120 minutes) and more formal than the original Ho Hang. I prefer the original Ho Hang.

Ho Hang Club is a decent fragrance that could have been great. If it were stronger and smelled more like that old stale bottle I smelled, I'd actually have liked it a lot more, believe it or not. Maybe I should throw my bottle in the microwave for 30 seconds and see what happens.

23rd September, 2009.

Balenciaga Ho Hang Club was released at a time when Alpha-male beings didn’t like to wear talc. they used to wear Ho Hang Club like theres no tomorrow and experience the kind of orgasm no fragrance could ever give. A straight ahead, no non-sense, Patchouli/Incense based scent (white smoke) with a soft accord of florals combined with an powdery extract of spices and woody notes. the main star of this scent is Patchouli (it feels damp and earthy). The base is earthy, mossy green with hints of incense and mild touch of leather acting as a comforting anchor retaining it's powdery accords with amazing consistency.
This one is for people who admire scents like Cartier Santos. not to be missed at any cost. 80's at it's best!!

13rd August, 2009. (Last Edited: 18th August, 2009.)

A very virile, hairy and potent 80s scent. Slightly loud and dated now. For this kind of scent, I think Lauder for men is more sophisticated and interesting.

11th April, 2009.