ST Dupont Homme (1998)
by ST Dupont

This opens with light but acrid herbal grasses, and it takes a while for the alcohol to dissipate. It starts to get a bit greener and sharper with maybe a little patchouli, and doesn't have the slightest amount of sweetness at all. While it doesn't actually smell like cigarette smoke, it accomplishes the same effect with dirty florals and tobacco leaves. For practical purposes, it's way too likely to come across as sweaty; the musty herbal barrage is unrelenting, and fetid wood develops later on to join it. I honestly wonder if my sample vial had gone bad.

4th May, 2011.

S.T. Dupont Homme just plain does not agree with my body chemistry, and that's sad. The opening is interesting and kind of alluring, but something in it, likely the galbanum, lends it a soggy wood impression that I find somewhere between annoying and repulsive. Everything else is good here, and I received several compliments wearing it. I can just tell this was designed for smokers. And what a cool base - incense and coconut? Who does that in a masculine? High quality stuff for sure, and much more agreeable than Declaration, but it just smells wrong on me.

2nd February, 2011.

Although the pungent "armpit" odor isn't as pronounced as in Cartier's Declaration, it's still there in its opening bouquet. It initially smells like an unbathed person has just walked passed you in an Indian spice market sprayed with flowery air freshener. I also detect a "ripe fig" essence. The dry down mitigates the headiness of the first spray, but the distinct too-earthy odor lingers like a stagnant cloud. This is a woody and floral fragrance in muted brown and purple tones. I definitely recommend wearing this a while before considering a purchase. I hesitate to give it a thumbs down because of the intriguing interplay of the floral elements.

7th January, 2011. (Last Edited: 8th January, 2011.)

I have to add another positive review for ST Dupont Pour Homme. This was a pleasant surprise given the very reasonable price point. Ironically, I had been considering a purchase of Declaration, but was not overwhelmed by the midnotes and drydown so had put it on hold, given the not exorbitant but still significant cost. Upon sampling this one at Perfumania, I instantly recognized the topnote that I had so enjoyed in Cartier's juice; Dupont's however was even smoother.

On skin, this one becomes more beautiful, in my opinion, during the midsection and drydown. On me this produces 8 hours of solid detection, then begins to fade. This is one of the nicest fragrances I've purchased in quite some time.

2nd November, 2010.

As noted by others, the opening is similar to that of Cartier’s Déclaration. What dominates here are coniferous notes and the presentation is classy, but there is something ‘dirty’ lurking in the background. Interesting and well done. Notes (per fragrantica.com website):

Top notes: rosemary, artemisia, coriander, galbanum and lemon
Middle notes: carnation, cypress, iris, cinnamon, lavender and jasmine
Base notes: sandalwood, fir, amber, patchouli, musk, coconut, vetiver, incense and cedar

20th December, 2008.

A nice, dry cedar wood much like Declaration with a touch of spice. Smoother than Declaration and a little more floral, it's a very nice alternative to heavier woody fragrances.

4th October, 2008.