Oxygene Homme (2001)
by Lanvin

Wow. I'll admit that this fragrance is tolerable for a brief moment when you first sniff it, but boy does its sharpness and synthetic nature become annoying quickly. I really don't like this fragrance, and believe me, I tried my best to find some good qualities about it. The sad thing about it is that I can't even tolerate it in sparing quantities.

Okay, so this is a green fragrance that masquerades as an aquatic by splashing in a fruity-marine note. Objectively speaking, it performs well as a EDT: notable projection and decent longevity; however, I think it is very synthetic (think household cleaning products[not the lemony kind either]) and cheap smelling. Its not even remotely appealing after 2 mins on skin. I have to give this a thumbs down just for being repulsive and a poor attempt at perfumery. But that said, there may be someone out there who's natural chemistry allows this fragrance to bloom beautifully. I doubt it.

Don't be fooled by the name -- this isn't a particularly aquatic scent. Instead, as several other reviewers have pointed out, it is quite green, synthetically spicy, and far too thin and sharp for its own good. And like far too many of Mr. Morillas' creations, it contains an annoying musk attack that whacks you over the head right from the initial blast and refuses to let go. Not only is this unpleasant, but it also screams cheap and comes across as something from a decade ago. The only thing it has going in its favor is that it's the only pseudo-aquatic scent that has (fairly successfully) managed to replicate the weird, astringent note of l'Eau d'Issey that is Issey's hallmark. You could do worse -- but when one has so many options, why settle for this?

I like the woodsy notes in this fragrance and have found that there is consensus among the females in my household that it is one of the most pleasant fragrances I own. It has a herbiness which combines with the woods to make me think of a conifer forest or eucalyptus tree (I have lived next to both). I am not overly impressed with most of the "fresh" or "aquatic" fragrances I have tried, this moves far enough away from these to be interesting. Cost me $12 US for 3.4 oz - can't complain at that price.

Nice and fresh. Perfect in the summer

A mild, slightly sweet aquatic mixed with hamster cage cedar chips. The synthetic cedar overwhelms everything else and borders on being harsh. Bleh.

Inoffensive? Maybe to some, but the cedar used here is -- to my nose, anyway -- sharp and piercing stuff. (Think pencil shavings times ten.) The cedar here is not only annoying -- it also gives me a bad headache.

The rest of the frag is about as "blah" as they come -- just another "fresh" frag clone with a mediocre, musky dry-down.

Headache. Snore. Headache. Snore. Headache. Snore.