Reviews of 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.

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!

Exquisite bottle - perhaps, misshapen by the intense dischordance in the fragrance it contains. It opens to a crescendo of green fig and the initial conflict begins as the fig competes with the grapefruit creating an astringent note which seems to serve as the conduit to all the accents that rise and fall, smear and clash until it all seems to exhaust itself and implode in the strangely dischordant and crippled way of some synthetic blends. I suspect it might suit naturally acrid bodies where the astringency might serve a purpose to freshen and tone natural smell. In tandem with other gourmand fragrances the problematic notes can be warmed and muffled and the effect can be quite charming. My rating reflects its potential to metamorphose and be better than it is as a singular fragrance when used with a partner like Extraordinary by Avon, or Casran by Chopard.

I've loved this for years now and the notes are awesome on me. I love the fig and the drydown. It has always sort of reminded me in a way of Marc Jacobs for men. I will always buy this as long as it's sold. It's not expensive and smells great.

This is an excellent fig leaf composition akin to Hermes Jardin en Mediterranee and Dior Dune but with its own unique take on the theme. Less sweet than the other two and with no signs of any curry, really. Only complaint is that it is a bit close to the skin but longevity is good. Fairly rare and you'll smell like nobody else. Equally good for day or evening wear.

This one's a bit of a guilty pleasure and I don't feel at all bad about saying that I like it even admid so many negative reviews of it. I'm surprised that I have not heard the obvious comment that it smells rather like burning leaves, which was the initial comment of the person who gave me my first bottle of SF for men. I agreed and so, it seems, does everyone I've shared it with. I rather like having a miniture of it that I requested for x-mas, but I could see even a fan not needing a big bottle of it. The "burning leaves" quality makes me nostalgic for New England in the autumn, particularly because that is precisely the time and place I first discovered it. I consider it an idiosyncratic personal classic and I appreciate uniqueness in fragrances.

Another top 5 favorite of mines, very light, tangy, sweet and just right for a man, for those hot summer days/nights.

Very distinctive aroma with a top note of fig at the first spray (fig was not common in early 2000, it appeared before Marc Jacobs and Hermes' Un Jardine en Mediterranee) and staying with grapefruit (like Memoire d'Homme), clove and woody notes. I could never use it on summer, it sicked me at poor ventilated spaces (office and subway).

Tangy, masculine scent that stands out from the usual suspects of fragrances out there. It can be a bit too sharp for some, especially over time; but otherwise, it is a rich, fruity, predictably citrus scent that isn't like the typical citrus scents. The only other scent I find which is close to this one is Lalique Equus, which is awesome in its own right. Check this one out!

You can easily pick out the main ingredients of fig, oriental spices and vetiver, yet the combination has produced a fantastic, if slightly cloying, accord. One of my favourites.

At first sniff from the bottle it reminded me of fresk red currant (brisk and slightly sour). Grape fruit and fig leaves with spice make some spicy-vegetable impression but it flies away rapidly at the time of black pepper appearance. It develops with great spicy masculinity. Vetiver and floral musk in the base add some salty oceanic undertone to it. First 5-7 times I wore it vetiver note was rather strong to make me think it's "Jacque Polges' Vetiver" (imaginary). Quite formal daytime fragrance for spring and summer. Interesting fig leaf note (also check it out in Hermes' Un Jardin en Mediterranee). Lasts good enough time. Behaves just right in hot humid days (although rare at my local area). Highly recommended. It's Marc Jacobs for Men's "father".

Of all the scents with note of fig this one is my favorite. A winner of FiFi award as the best men's cologne of year 2000. Great to wear in summer and autumn - it's ozone fresh, aquatic, slightly sweet, with prominent vetiver note, and incredible musky drydown. The twisted bottle's fun, too.