Reviews of MCM Success (1986)
by MCM

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.

If Havana, Macassar and Antaeus are prize fighters, then Success by MCM is a kickboxer who's goal is giving you a beating, then making you say thank you.

There's enough honey in Success to attract African Killer bees to pay you a visit. I am persuaded that anyone suffering from complete loss of smell & taste would be cognizant of this frag within a half-mile radius. It's stupid strong and can be effectively used in intensive care units to revive semi comatose patients.

I am so respectful ( and yes...afraid) of this juice, that I ask its permission to wear it before I press on the sprayer.

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.

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