Salvatore Ferragamo pour Homme (1999)
by Salvatore Ferragamo

To me, SFPH is not a "gourmand" fragrance at all, but rather a vetiver fragrance with some fig to round off the vetiver's sharp edges. Although I tend to prefer bold and bitter vetivers, I like this one because it replicates the overall feel of the many inexpensive light vetiver eaux de colognes you find in drug stores in France, but more concentrated and with far better longevity and greater radiance. I've always loved the Mediterranean feel of a classic vetiver eaux de colognes, but have always wished they were a bit more long-lasting. SFPH fulfills that wish. I also really like the smoky cedar in the drydown, which blends very well with the vetiver.

I am impressed that a designer firm like Ferragamo released something classic like this in 1999, rather than just cranking out yet another boring acquatic scent or Cool Water ripoff. This is really very good.

Fig? Wow, really?...
Can I have a glass of water, please!
Never smelled a fig? Try Salvatore Ferragamo pour Homme.
Don’t get me wrong. It is a very well made fragrance. It all depends if you like fig. If you do, you’ll be in heaven. Longevity and silage are both excellent, but mean really excellent.
Kinda funny, I am not too fond of smelling like a fig tree, but have smelled it on others. On some smells divine. On me, I’m just not into it. It doesn’t mean I cannot get over by my personal preference and admit is a superb example of a very well made gourmand/yes, gourmand/.
If it works on you, it’s a must!

I guess fragrance appreciation must be 100% relative, because I don't find this "synthetic," too sweet, too clove-oriented, or too "thin." If you want to know what a clove-oriented fragrance is, try Ava Luxe's Kretek. No comparison. I can barely detect clove in SFpH. A fragrance that is too sweet for me is Gucci Envy for men. Carven Homme is also fairly sweet. SFpH does not even register on my sweetness scale. I enjoy the opening because it is not too sweet, yet it's fruity. It's not really my type of fragrance because it's not sweet or spicy enough! Gucci Envy is also way too synthetic for me, but this is fine, a nice one to have in the monthly rotation. I got this in a swap for something I didn't like, and I'll be the first to admit I wouldn't spend money to buy a bottle of it, but I like it better than most fragrances I've sampled. And so I think it deserves a positive rating. Longevity and sillage are good if not great.

Depending on the day, this fragrance ranges from bad to incredibly bad. I bought it blind and want to make myself like it - and I have done that successfully with some other ones. I just can't place it - I do get the cedar, the grapefruit, the fig and clove, but the accord is a kind of projectile-vomit of sour-sweet smell. There IS fresh vetiver & cedar in the drydown but you have to get past this unpleasant assault of synthetic sour that is just unforgivable. My wardrobe is fairly extensive and I have "learned to like" a good many fragrances that just didn't agree with me the first time or two I tried them on... but this one is on a very short list of irreconcilable rejects.

I do not like fig scents, but I like vetivers. Here, the vetiver is perfectly balanced by the fig, resulting in a somewhat odd, but elegant and IMO quite unique fragrance. It is definetely not a clone of Guerlain's or any other straightforward vetiver. Instead, it is an attempt to reduce the harshness of genuine vetyver. Although the approach is different, I would put in in a row with Annick Goutals' Vetyver, Montales' Red Vetyver Terre d'Hermes and maybe Kenzoair. Very well done!

An interesting disappointment this one this is. I agree with the others that the initial top notes are extraordinary and very interesting - dare I say unique. However, the dull and lackluster base of cedar is very taxing on the nerves and do mean taxing. I, for one, got sick of the base very, VERY quickly. I doubt I will wear this very often. It is most definitely an every once in awhile scent.