Ungaro I (1991)
by Ungaro

Much ado about...? Musky lavender! Well, I don't enjoy these "old school" fragrances with lavender up front, and there's really nothing else here that's so special that I'd spend money on this one. The patchouli is strong (which is fine with me) and the wormwood smells nice, but the lavender is too much. After a few hours, there isn't much of anything remaining. If the lavender was replaced by another note, I might really like this, but it ruins it for me. For me, I'd give this a negative rating, but for those who like this kind of "masculine" lavender, I can understand why you would like this fragrance, though I still don't see it as a "masterpiece." The ingredients seem high quality, but the longevity seems no better than fair. Sillage is excellent, while it lasts.

Ungaro I : One of the first things that one would notice when they apply ungaro I is it's smoldering quality. The definition of "smoldering" fits this scent so perfectly that i cant really associate any other scent with that word. the definition (of smoldering) by the way is "to burn slowly and gently, usually with some smoke, but without a flame". How apt. i think it's patchouli oil along with woody resins and lavender which gives it this smoky, wax like feel and heat.

This scent opens with a very warm note of lavender melting into a wax like note of rose, smoldering on patchouli oil and woody notes. By mid notes, this wax like accord gets more blunt and sorta envelopes the wearer. The interplay of woody and floral notes gets more airy on a base of earthy notes with each passing minute, all this while still retaining the core essense of the opening accord, which is it's damp earth like warmth and "polished with wax" smokiness of lavender, rose and woods. it's sheer in nature, never failing to amaze. amber holds the base with lovely notes of sandalwood well rounded off with soft notes of tonka bean..which smells like vanilla pods...it's in a way a prequel to III, or may be III was inspired by I. There is a reason why this is hailed as a classic and it's quite justified. comparing it's quality (of ingredients and composition) with Patou is only obvious.

Patou Ph & Prive, Havana, Havana Reserva, Ungaro I, II & III(yet to try the original formulation of III), Morabito OR black+more... - get these while it is still available...the quality of these scents has had me gasping for more...im sure it'll find more suitable admirers...

A cult classic with reasonably good reason.

Ungaro I is a strange scent : It is able to remind me of so many other fragrances (Basala, Tsar, Dali PH, Jazz Prestige, Boss Sport etc.) but at the same time I think its very unique one-of-a-kind fragrance.

Quite tricky one to categorize, but its a fougere scent mostly, after all.

When I smell Ungaro I, I think of thick red moss carpet placed deep in the woods.

Rustic, dreamy fragrance in a beautiful bottle.

Opens with a wonderful bergamot and lavender which reminds me a little of Patou Pour Homme. This rapidly drops into a powdery wood; a touch of rosewood which brings to mind the opening of egoiste with just a little acerbicity from wormwood all warmed and sweetened by rose dominated florals.

The drydown of sweet amber and sandalwood is a little less interesting than the earlier aspects of the fragrance. The wood smells good but is tied up in a slightly ordinary balsamic accord which is a little reminiscent of heritage without the interest provided by the fantastic guerlainade.

The sillage is pleasingly restrained. The top is very brief, the heart shorter than I would like but the base endures very well. This is rich and masculine and the lower sillage makes it quite wearable in a wide variety of situations.

Unlike some others who clearly get a big note of pathos from this, I find it comfortable and warm.

Inspired and imaginative titles notwithstanding, Ungaro I, Ungaro II, and Ungaro III are all scents of exceptional character. That I and II disappeared in rapid sequence doesn’t surprise me. Their baroque construction was utterly at odds with the minimalist fragrance fashion of the 1990s, and they were probably too bold and idiosyncratic for the designer market anyway. They might have worked as part of a daring niche line like Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier or Parfumerie Generale. That the more conventional Ungaro III was the one that finally stuck makes perfect sense. It’s still not mainstream by any measure, but at least it’s a structure that the non-aficionado can recognize.

Ungaro I is the darkest of the three brothers, and while it’s not so lascivious an animal as Ungaro II, its profound depths can be threatening. At Ungaro I’s heart lies a vinous accord of rose and patchouli that I feel anticipates the pungently earthy structure of L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Voleur de Roses. With its aromatics and its honeyed base Ungaro I also has the boozy, raisiny flavor and translucent sepia tone of a fine St. Emilio sherry. If you’ve ever tasted Lustau’s Pedro Ximénez or East India bottlings, you’ll have a rough idea of how Ungaro I smells. Indeed, I wouldn’t blink if told that Jacques Polge modeled this scent on the bouquet of a grand old sherry. While there’s no tobacco listed in Ungaro I’s pyramid, I do get the impression that cigars are being offered with its sherry. Must be the patchouli at work.

Though perhaps only related in its use of rose, geranium and patchouli in a woody oriental context, Ungaro I has some of the seriousness, grand stature of Patou pour Homme. It’s not quite as monumental and a good deal more tangy, but it does share in that same ineffable dignity.

Ungaro I’s drydown kicks in at about T=2 hours, and it does so very abruptly. Blink (in olfactory terms) and you’ll miss the transition. One second you’ve got rose and patchouli glowing through dark brown tinted glass, then presto-change-o, you’ve got a soft, powdery, woody amber drydown. This drydown is less impressive than the rest of the experience, but it is well balanced to a degree that’s rare for its type.

Very animalic on me. WoW !!! Pronounced feral scent that is strangely intoxicating but definitely of the beaten path. Nothing I have smells like this and while liking it, I have no idea what situation this juice would be appropriate for.

It is rough, edgy and borderline dirty like Jules, Yatagan, etc....but smells nothing like either one of them. I was surprised that my wife liked this scent. She said it smelled like pepper to her.

This frag will be one I'll wear around the house when I want to wear something unconventional and different. I will wear this for myself.....and I like it.!!!