Le Dandy (1923)
by D'Orsay

finally tried this this afternoon when i was in fortnum's, and Oh My God. i'm in absolute love, i'll be ordering a 200ml bottle as soon as i can find my wallet!

i'm a fan of booze and fruit, the last thing i bought featuring both was michael by michael kors. but whereas the wonderful michael is (to me) very much an evening scent, to be worn with an expensive suit, a crisp white shirt, a pack of gauloise and seven double rums (i'm thinking matusalem gran reserva) in a sort of predatory sexual way, le dandy is a whole different kettle of fish.

there is none of michael's heady smoky sleazy booze, instead there is more of a true tobacco note, with figs and prunes swimming in a warm whiskey/brandy cloud. this is very much a daytime fragrance as well as being eminently suitable for evenings too, perhaps due to its sweet fruit, but the overall composition is mellowed by the tobacco enough to allow for it to adapt to, i think, any situation - perhaps only a spritz or two if the occasion is more sober, and with wild abandon if circumstance permits. i normally hate vanilla, but in the last of the drydown i'm detecting the barest hint of it, in the creamy powdery woods at its finish - and i love it. utterling fabulous.

Quite simply, this is one of the most beautiful fragrances ever created for men.

This is sweet, alcoholic in its whisky accord, spicy like the most exotic of dusky maidens and with an itch-you-cannot-scratch addictive nose to skin appeal that most design houses would kill to achieve.

This is so unique and beautiful a fragrance it almost seems a travesty to recommend it to others.

It lasts for ages, it has good sillage, but it gives so, so much more. Its evolution is complex and teasingly long lasting. The final drydown lasts the eons of time it takes stars to devolve.

This is a beautiful fragrance, achingly so.

Top note surfers may miss the point completely. They are the kind of people for whom a Crazy Larry car advert is too demanding on their attention span.

Le Dandy is quite simply a masterpiece.

Once again, Vibert is right on the money with his review.

I found Le Dandy to be a terribly anemic and boozy fruit cocktail, which failed to leave any impression on me (well, during the extremely brief period that it was present on my skin). I have no idea what the original formulation smelt like but, based on its reputation, it must have been light years better than this.

Sampling it blind, I'd have guessed Le Dandy to be a designer scent from the 1990s - which is, I suppose, exactly what the reformulation is. The top notes are fruit punch, with a few extra tablespoons of sugar thrown in just for good measure. It's way too sweet for my poor nose, and blatantly synthetic to boot. The whole Juicyfruit accord eventually fades a bit to reveal a scrawny base of woods. The merest hint of leather drifts by an hour or more into the development, and that's about it.

Given its reputation, Le Dandy is one of the most disappointing scents that I've encountered. The opening smells cheap and commonplace, the base is anemic, and what development there is is painfully clumsy. I find it hard to believe that Le Dandy of 1923 smelled anything like this travesty. If you want tropical fruits and woods, try either Creed's Virgin Island Water or Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier's Bahiana. Both play this hand with far greater panache.

Alas! I had such high hopes based on all the buzz in the BN forums, but my hopes were dashed.
A timeless classic? A gentlemen's club from the 1920's? Boozy and heady whiskey?

More like a fruity wine spritz cocktail with seven-up. All that's missing is the paper umbrella.

Still, if you like the (to me) strange notes, drink up!

The opening is a strong anise note that is sweet and slightly effervescent. It reminded me strongly of The Dreamer by Versace.

I like sweet scents, so I was okay with Le Dandy's sweetness. But I am not that fond of SWEET anise notes in my frags - it reminds me too much of pastries or specifically biscotti (another biscotti smelling scent is Sticky Cake by Comme de Garcons).