Rochas Man (1999)
by Rochas

A lovely gourmand that oozes sex appeal. I find the caramel creaminess of this easier to wear and admire than the harsh and unpleasant A*Men. Unfortunately, it very quickly stays too close to the skin and its longevity is not as good as it could (and should) be.

Rochas Man is still worth investigating, though.

[Original submission date: 10 April 2008]

Of course the ladies love it!

Every woman I know is either on a diet, struggling with a diet, or about to go on a diet.

You'll be temptation incarnate.

Much better than the godawful chemical warfare A*Men and the overhyped H. Mori.

But compared to Jo Malone's Black Vettiver Cafe or other lesser known gourmands. Rochas is too synthetic sweet.

This one does not disappoint. A lovely assured gourmand scent that is reminiscent of Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin. Some would argue that if you have the Rochas, you probably don't need Au Masculin. I would say go for both as the top notes might smell familiar but the differing dry downs for both are masterly constructed and bound to give many hours of pleasure. Price for either of the scent is cheap. The price for the pleasure derived from it. Priceless.

Great gourmand fragrance, it starts icy cold but it evolves to a warm, sexy gourmand mocha/amber scent...and it lasts for hours and I swear everytime i wear it I can smell for a few seconds during the day this perfect pure chocolate note...DIVINE

Wo. Like WOOOO. This one is berserk. I blind bought this one. Yes I'll admit I blind bought it. What to say about this one- I almost cant decide. I do enjoy the scent, but I am very on the line about it. This CANNOT be over applied or you will KILL someone. Every time (the few times) I've put this on I will almost ALWAYS attain a headache from it. It is very very sweet- overtly so. I'm pretty sure I would only wear this with 1 spray to the back in ice cold weather. The notes are interesting, but it projects a very putrid aroma off the bat. I'm not real sure about this one see. It is classy, and I'm sure the ladies would love it, but it has to be used very wisely (maybe even washing it off partially so that it gets calmed down). One of the few i would recommend for a blind buy, and also one of the few I WOULD recommend for a fancy date, possibly wedding, or any occasion where you need to smell delicious. Again- moderation fer sure. Sweet Gourmand with lots of delectable notes going on.

There is a sharpness to this one that I just can't tolerate, despite going back to it and sampling it several times. I think it's the lavender and "green leaves" combination. It also doesn't fade away over a few minutes, a half hour, or so, meaning that I have been unable to do anything to modify this unpleasant sharpness. In fact, it's still there the next day, though not as strong. I really wish this sharpness didn't bother me, because I got a bunch of sealed samples at a decent price and now I can only swap them off. A tiny amount is all you need. I'll give it a neutral, because if you like that sharpness this can be a great fragrance for you. If you want a similar fragrance that isn't as sharp, Jacomo de Jacomo Rouge may be the better choice, but it's not as strong as Rochas Man (after the top notes fade). If you want a smooth chocolate/vanilla that is strong, but smooth (no sharpness at all), go for Amour de Cacao.