Monsieur Rochas (1969)
by Rochas

Review of the reformulated “Pink Stuff”: The sage, basil, and laurel of the opening come across with enough aromatic panache to make it interesting – it is bright and lively and I appreciate the fact that the basil is pretty much held in check by the sage. But the accord turns a little off as it moves toward the middle notes where it takes on a heavier green persona – it gets weighed down. The galbanum gets to be dominant and stays that way. Except for the growing strength of the galbanum and the loss of the aromatics of the opening, I don’t find much change in the development. The dry down is a dry vetiver / patchouli, and it has a bit of an synthetic tinge to it… I don’t get cinnamon and I don’t get very much “sweet” so the whole drydown is pretty ho hum. The fragrance has light sillage and very good longevity.

Monsieur Rochas is not as bad as I was expecting (…pink and reformulated): The pink color had reduced my expectations a considerable degree. I don’t dislike Monsieur, but I think that after the interesting opening, there should have been a little more going on with the fragrance.

this feedback is for the *vintage* Eau de Colonge version. wld mint levea crushed with hints of eucalyptus done in a oriental setup. it doesnt come across as an Habit Rouge EdC which is considerably potent compared to this. saying that, Monsieur rochas is not tame. it's sheer, light, suave and classy all the way. is dry and sweet at the same time with hints of vetiver and white florals beautifully blended with a lively accord of spices, carnation and incense. the base notes stay close to skin with lovely whiffs every now and then.
It's no head turner. it's what someone with touch of class would wear to add to his mystique.

Note: I have the gold-coloured EDT in concentrée form. The opening is lemony with a strong bergamot note. The scent quickly moves to a carnation/clove and spice phase which is warm and aromatic. There is a bit of dry wood from the cedar. The short-term drydown is that of a dry and lean patchouli, with its characteristic hint of leather. Monsieur Rochas is not a green fern-y fougere in the style of Crown Fougere. It is a gold/brown spicy-leathery fougere. The ultimate drydown is a dusky and slightly salty old-school oakmoss. This is well-done 70’s scent: it is assertive and yet mellow, and quite masculine in style.

The vintage eau de cologne is a class act. Superbly refined, it's a classic fougere scent from a by-gone era and it just smells so special. This will go well with a jacket and tie for a formal occasion. I love Monsieur Rochas very much and my hats off to a well-done classic.

I have tested (and own) the old EdT-formula and the new "pink stuff" as trial vial, and have to say: good that I spent the money on a vial only!
As SirSlarty put it: the EdT-reformulation has something candy-like which is (unfortunalety) almost a trademark of new Rochas scents...
But apart from the old EdT, there's a rare, old formula version that they labelled "Monsieur Rochas - Eau de Cologne" which makes me take a really deep breath of it when putting it on! Maybe the oakmoss or musk in a really well-balanced, mature and long-lasting basenote combination which won't make me smell like a piece of candy! Great and manly (not masculine!) drydown!
In case you come across the old EdC-version (golden colour), I would recommend to give it a try!
To sum it up: the old formula (EdC-version namely) rocks, whereas the "pink stuff" is pure candy :(

I have the reformulation which is "the pink stuff" as somebody called it. It's not half bad, but it pales against the old stuff. A little leathery. A little cistrusy. A little mossy. It all blends fine but is pretty average.