Monsieur Worth (1969)
by Worth

This refers to an "Eau de cologne triple": I cannot figure what this last term means, maybe the manufacturer wanted to convey the idea that it was a stronger eau de cologne, for its sillage and longevity are better than the blends so classified.

It has the structure of a classic fougere, and when I mean "classic", I mean it is not of the kind of blend with an overpowering opening. The citric accords morph into woody / musky notes in short period of time in a not very complex way. This arrangement reminds me of other classics, like Eau Sauvage and Monsieur de Givenchy, but... the dirty / indolic notes are rather quite marked in comparisson to these last two. In that sense, it feels like the reformulated Monsieur Balmain: this last one achieves the same effect (a dark, prominent animalic note in the mid-base notes) in a much more clear way.

For those expecting a sillage / longevity monster, this won´t be their choice. It is, indeed, the right one for occasions demanding a formal suit - Irefer to situatins when men have to be well groomed and perfumed the elegant way.

26th February, 2011.

Monsieur Worth is a fresh fougere, with a strong herbal presence. The early stages are a little too intense and harsh for my taste; the basil and eucalyptus combination is verging on the brutal. Although subsequent phases find a better balance, there remains a sufficient degree of discordance to sully my overall experience. The base is much more refined, and it almost persuades me to overlook some of the previous duff notes, but not quite.

I owned a bottle of this for a number of years, and I gave it every opportunity to convince me that I was the one with the problem, but to no avail. There is an admirable eccentricity and individualism about Monsieur Worth, but I simply am unable to live with its rather fatal flaws.

17th September, 2010.

Monsieur Worth really was a wonderful fragrance! Fairly light and elegant, with subtle green, citrus and spice notes; it also had an unusual note, which I have rarely smelled (it's there in drastically smaller quantities in Chanel Pour Monsieur and Worth Pour Homme). It's very difficult to describe this note, but it was slightly sweet, and reminded me of the smell in an old fashioned tobacconist.

Monsieur Worth was available in various sizes of EDT and Aftershave, as well as some lovely bath products, including soap and talc. If I remember rightly the EDT was sold in 56ml and 112ml bottles. The packaging was very elegant, with a blue-green design; I could never work out the design, but I think it was possibly coloured rocks or crystals.

Along with Chanel Pour Monsieur, Monsieur Worth was my all time favourite mens fragrance. Very elegant, and far more distinctive than contempoary scents. Such a pity it was discontinued, especially when the pleasant, but rather boring Worth Pour Homme is still being made.

8th April, 2010.

So you smell like a sleazy snoop when you wear this? Count me in!

29th December, 2007.

With all due respect and despite my penchant for vintage scents, I find this one to be terribly dated - suffocatinly heavy, linear and fusty. The dominant woody note is that of a musty chest drawer in an abandoned house. Although born in the heyday of flower power, this Monsieur would make a perfect signature frag for a film noir character: a ten-cent lawyer or a down-and-out private eye in a scuzzy hat swishing Jack Daniels in a dingy uptown dark-paneled office that knew better times. Ugh

23rd March, 2007.

Warm and rich woodsy fragrance. Housed in a solid and functional cruciform glass bottle topped by an equally elegant black lacquer like plastic stopper. I was lucky enough to discover a cache full of this now rare scent. My favourite along with Knize Ten, Chanel Cuir de Russie and Tabac Blond from Caron.

18th March, 2006.