MCM Success (1986)
by MCM

Quite a unique tobacco opening with a very strong, very tenacious honey note. The honey certainly adds an interesting perspective to the citrus / tobacco / florals of the opening and heart: I enjoy the combination, and am reminded of Miel de Bois because of the powerful honey note. The opening has an excellent longevity. When the heart notes eventually do come along, the uniqueness continues. The lightwoods of patchouli and vetiver combine first with the middle’s abundant florals and then morph to a soon-to-be-prominent cedar note, all the while the honey is prominent and retains a firm relationship with the tobacco. I don’t get a very strong drydown. The honey and tobacco remain and there’s an amber and a leather that show up, but the whole accord doesn’t seem strong to me.

The first time I wore MCM Success, I got a balanced tobacco, leather, and honey accord. After that the honey has dominated each wearing. With its honey dominance it’s still an ok scent but I prefer the balance of the first times I tested it.

1st February, 2010.

A demure 80's fragrance. All the class, style and structure of the 80's powerhouse fragrances except it is calm and light-hearted. Not heavy though I dare not wear in the heat. It's basically a leather and oakmoss scent with a smoked honey essence to it. I like it for the fact it's a toned-down classic.

14th January, 2010.

Not quite the monster I was expecting it to be. In fact, it's a bit of a gentleman, entertaining you over wine and dessert while smoking a fine cigar.

The top notes are surprisingly Youth Dew-esque, bergamot meeting heavy amber before spiced and honeyed tobacco rides in on a tide of syrupy booze. While sweet, the effect is not as cloying as it sounds. In fact it's a great deal less sweet than gourmand tobaccos such as Ambre Narguile, and in the drydown the booze slowly departs, leaving a rather earthy tobacco with a distinct touch of moss and patchouli. I find it very wearable.

Success is an old-fashioned portrait of manliness painted with alcohol and tobacco, part gentlman's club; part machismo. Perhaps it's out-dated, but if you're reading a review of an obscure, retro men's fragrance, it could be just what you're looking for. Sadly, this fragrance is both discontinued and terribly underrated, so get it while you can.

14th September, 2009.

Success belongs to the same family of heavy-duty colognes as, say, Boss No. 1 or Aramis but makes both look like bell-boys by comparison. It just exudes authority – and too much of it for my liking. You'll find all the usual suspects here, including tobacco, patchouli, vetiver, leather, amber and musk plus a generous helping of honey and hard liquor, all somewhat overdone to my nose. Picture a post-meeting boardroom some place in Houston full of kempt unsmiling men in their sixties smoking cigars and sipping cognac (a nod to Lord Molyneux) and you'll get the idea. You will probably like Success if you're one of those.

28th May, 2007.

My assistant hadn't even seen me turn the corner yet, but my whereabouts apparently preceded me.

"Sir, donning the old smoking jacket so early in the morning?"

MCM Success is a powerhouse 80s fragrance, yet worn cautiously it remains quite pertinent even today, and I find it a real treat to wear! While there are some floral elements to the top- and mid-notes, the dominant notes to my nose are tobacco and leather. In this vein, it is similar to Creed's Tabarome, though not quite so dry as that classic scent. The earthiness of patchouli is also present in MCM Success, along with vetiver and moss. It is a very masculine scent, and I should definitely wear it more often.

Wicozani

28th December, 2006.