Reviews of 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.

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.

2 or 3 years ago I bought it - impulse... sweet... A couple of sniffs later I offered it to a girlfriend that loved it and we both resumed that it was very nice for her but not "on" me! End of romance.

Like the odor itself, but most men I asked (with an unmarked blotter strip) thought it was a womens fragrance. Perhaps this was marketed to the wrong gender?
Cool packaging:)

Honestly, I don't smell much of anything. Smells like cocoa powder and weak coffee poured out onto a cardboard box. It's dry and bitter, and I don't get much sweetness at all. Stays VERY close to the skin. It's inoffensive, but sillage is also almost non-existent.

I can't give it a thumbs down because I don't dislike the way it smells. However, I am very disappointed overall.

rochas man is very smoky, creamy bitter coffee scent...you could find it to be similar to an extent with the jacomo Rouge, but i would prefer jacomo anytime over the Rochas man. i do not understand the comparison between Rochas Man and A*Men...A*Men is bone dry and its gourmand qualities is so well blended that one would not even call it Gourmand.

im not a huge fan of such gourmands, maybe our climate(Humid) doesnt support these kinda scents..become quite cloying...please try before u buy.

wow, tried it today on my wrist and blew me away at first.
VERY potent stuff and for the first couple of minutes i had the unpleasent feeling of standin in one of those carneval shop with all the candy floss, caramelised almond and apples etc but suprisingly quickly it settled down to a delicious comforting smell, i think that describes it best, delicious. il have to spend more time with it but that is definitely going to go into my collection as one the the VERY few gourmands i actually really like!
i would recommend it for winter use though, too heavy and "creamy" for summer IMO
Thumbs Up anyway

I'm not so much into Rochas scents, but this one is pleasant to smell, even if not to be worn; at least not by me. A little too much sweet, honey and winter-spice notes for my taste, but otherwise a nice combination. Another scent reminding of incese sticks made of sandalwood, yet not as offensive like A Men, with whom i would compare this one due to the same powdery, syrup quality, even if i like this a little better. Mixture of sweetness and dark notes also resembling of Allure Homme and Hugo Dark Blue, even a little fruity pineapple, apple touches in Boss Bottled style. Just can't decide if I should start using this one or avoiding it completely.

Visiting my friend Marcel in his sanatorium the other day, I was accompanied by his valet Andre. Andre had thoughtfully brought his ailing master a bottle of Rochas Man as a gift but I feared the worst.
'Andre,' I suggested, 'do you not perhaps feel that the sweet, rich gourmand fumes of Rochas Man might prove a little too much for Monsieur Marcel? I am in good health but, even so, I find the concatenation of flavours contained in Rochas Man rather sickly and jarring. I fear that Marcel, in his overwrought state of nervous debility, could well suffer a relapse at the merest whiff of such a perfume.'
'No worries, Monsieur Nitram,' Andre reassured me, 'it'll buck him up no end. Everyone knows that Rochas Man is the only Rochas fragrance that can make your actual girlies gurgle. One squirt of the old scenteroony and Monsieur Marcel will be right as rain, fighting off the nurses and the lady doctors. Hubba hubba, Doctor Dora, care for a saunter down the old Palais de Danse? Know what I mean, Monsieur Nitram? It'll be a real tonic!'
My fears, alas, were soon confirmed: at the first whiff of Rochas Man, Marcel's pale features convulsed with horror and he fainted clean away. 'Oh well,' said Andre philosophically, 'you win some, you lose some. Perhaps what he really needed was a drop of the old Lolita Lempicka?'

Rochas Man is a nice gourmand. It’s a blend of coffee (I think it’s listed as “Mocha” on the pyramid). It’s smooth and creamy compared to most gourmands (HM, A*Men, etc). It’s also a bit safer than most. Angel, for example has a patchouli note that can be off-putting to some, and HM has a citrus note that is unusual for most gourmands. Rochas Man doesn’t really have any unique aspects, and isn’t terribly innovative. It is rather pleasant, though. It’s a very ‘safe’ gourmand.

One of the so-called gourmand fragrances spawned to compete with Thierry Mugler’s Angel Men, Rochas Man from the once couturier House of Rochas is often held up as a more evolved, or superior iteration. While I would agree that it is a much more refined fragrance than Animale Animale – the first chocolate based fragrance, I think it falters next to the star of Angel Men.

It is a fairly strong fragrance with an illusory softness. It opens already dominated by chocolate, its soft floral topnotes coated with a powdering of dutch cocoa. It has a full-bodied bitter-sweetness touched with espresso and vanilla . On the whole the feel is velvety but quite potent. On drydown the chocolate note softens, becoming smoother: from cocoa powder to warm cocoa. The spiciness remains bittersweet, the coffee pungent. It ends simply as chocolate milk, sweet and rich with vanilla.

It is a pleasant fragrance, almost a comfort food. I had bought it thinking to use it in the day, but it ended as an evening relaxation fragrance. On the whole I find it a bit one note, too dominated by chocolate, too static. On repeated uses I am finding it to be a bit overbearing. I think that it might make a good nightclub fragrance.

The most sensual and sexy fragrance to put on your counter. Its sweet notes are much better than those of A*Man.

When I first tried it I thought it was far too sweet with not enough spice in it. I ended up buying it since I love vanilla scents. A couple of months down the line I got a bit fed up with it since everybody wears it these days!The scent itself is nice very close to being perfect but something seems to be missing that ruins everything!!! If it wasn't for that mocca in the base u wouldn't be able to distinguish it from Le Male (JPG).I'd personally prefer something more individual...