Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme (1978)
by Van Cleef & Arpels

Van Cleef& Arpels Pour Homme is dark and melancholy. It is probably the most austere fragrance I have ever smelled. I love it. It's a multifaceted fragrance that has qualities of a chypre (bitter top notes and a mossy base), an aromatic fougere (it has a subtle talcum powder/barbershop smell in the background), and a powerhouse scent from the 1980s (strong moss base, major longevity and sillage). The strong, dark moss note in its base definitely reminds you that this scent was popular in the late 70s/1980s and does date it a little bit, and it has been referred to by some as a "powerhouse", but VCA's other qualities listed above make this a true classic. At first sniff, VCA smells rather traditional, but its dark, smouldering base (which is beautifully complemented by its elegant dark green bottle, I might add) sets this apart from other classic chypres like Equipage and Chanel Pour Monsieur. Not a casual fragrance you'd want to wear while downing beers with the guys, VCA has a somber formality to it that brings to my mind the image of a quiet, confident, mysterious man wearing a dark suit, lurking in the shadows off in the distance. If this is the kind of aura you want to exude, then I can't think of a better fragrance to wear than this.

I can just see the forum thread title now: "What would the Masque of the Red Death wear?" It's so sweet and heavy. Old Victorian lady heavy. Dead wilting flowers heavy: black, brown, and brownish oranges and yellows. Honey combined with the strongest-smelling detergent ever made, whose fetid vapors seep into your lungs and suffocate you. It isn't a sugary dessert sweetness like many recent scents, but an army of menacing zombie flowers rising from the forest floor and lurching toward you. I sprayed one shot in my living room, and it felt sickly and stifling, transforming the room into a turn-of-the-century harlot's boudoir. Objectively, I'll grant that it's a fascinatingly rich scent, and I couldn't even begin to identify all of the ingredients. But it's just so terribly impractical for me...unwearable, and almost un-room-sprayable (which is unheard of) in case I just wanted to contemplate it. I could only wear it with a tuxedo while conversing with senior diplomats at the King of Sweden's ball, which means never (unless some idiot gives me a Nobel Prize)...even an ordinary suit would leave me feeling pretentious and overbearing with this scent.

I need to go dunk my head in a bucket of 4711 now.

P.S. I suspect that what I got was the reformulation, not the re-reformulation: no brown leafy pattern on the box. But my bottle/box combination didn't quite match any that I found pictures of, so I'm not positive.

Good summer frag. Reminded me of about half of the Geo F Trumpers, Florises, (Flori? )Penhaligons and other good Brit scents that I like but don't really love. Not terribly exciting.
Yes, it is refined, mature and you'll smell as if you've got dough.

There are better offerings along the same lines, imho. Some from the same houses. Overall, at the pain of repetition, a good summer frag.
Good light sparkling citrus with fair longevity. Like Gendfarme, it won't offend.

Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme’s conventional bergamot and lavender top notes are deceptively subtle given the power this scent unleashes after a half an hour on the skin. By that point Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme has arrayed cedar, leather, patchouli, and vetiver atop a dry mossy wood foundation. It’s the vetiver and patchouli that dominate for some time, placing Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme firmly within the realm of “gentleman’s club” scents, epitomized by “Vintage” Tabarome, and also occupied by Macassar, Baladin, and Équipage.

This whole genre is unfashionable right now, but even so, I don’t think Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme offers the best of its type. “Vintage” Tabarome occupies the same territory with far greater conviction and finesse, while scents like Jules and Lauder for Men exhibit a similar gravity, but with more conspicuous animalic accents that make them less staid and stodgy. In its favor, I can say of Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme that it avoids the belching, buttcrack showing crudeness of Macassar. On the other hand, it really is more than a little dull. As it ages, Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme bounces back and forth indecisively between leather chypre and heavy fougère, before settling into a comfortable, but hardly distinctive moss, cedar, and patchouli drydown. OK I suppose, but no match for the finest in its class.

One of the great masculine scent of all time. I felt like beating my chest and doing a Tarzan yodelling as I wear this. I'm sure this will be a big hit with the ladies. I have on the modern version and I can't imagine how good the vintage will be.

A green and herbal rose chypre for men. This is no rose scent for any but the most daring woman. The juniper, artemisia, castoreum, leather and strong herbal top notes put this squarely in the traditional "masculines" camp. The rose, jasmine, orris, and carnation lend an air of sophistication and distinction, but don't "pretty up" the scent in an ornamental way; they are organic to the structure and tie the whole together by smoothing and balancing the fiercer bits. This is not a shy scent either: both longevity and sillage are prominent. This is suave, elegant, yet natural and relaxed for the man who can carry it off. That would be a confident, smooth, and out-going man of the world.