Versailles pour Homme (1980)
by Jean Desprez

Just terrible. Worst of the eighties?

Thumbs way down for the scent itself. Thumbs up for strength and longevity.
Can't give it a neutral, though.

25th June, 2011.

whatever it is that is as aggressive on my nose as the sludge that is opium really wrecks the enjoyment of this scent for me. perhaps i should remain in my ballgown, dancing barefoot among the stars etc etc (wearing BaV) rather than taking the occasional tumble down a flue into a tepid heap of ash and half-eaten meringues and the cloth that was used to dry off the dog after he leapt into the moat.

17th May, 2011.

Most masculine scents conjure up oppressive notiions of leather, lavender, sandalwood, or a watered down unisex version of the ocean for the latest generation. Versailles Homme is truly in a category by itself, elegant, gorgeous sillage, a symphony of notes... think Rachmaninoff... romantic, passionate, unreserved and confident yet somewhat quiet and deeply personal It's a refined scent that takes some understanding. The initial explosion of top notes is blindingly bright, overly green, terribly intense. A previous reviewer described it as potentially off-putting to the modern man. I would agree (for the first five minutes). There is such a distinct smell to it's green notes, something unforgetable-- perhaps cypress, moss, and sage.

The real magic is in the dry down. Seriously, this one needs heat to amplify and soften the general fragrance... but not too much heat. This is a perfect spring and early summer fragrance. it would never reach it's potential in truly cool weather, and in hot weather I think it would burn off and lose the orchestration of the complex and divers notes. Spices quietly reveal themselves, clever and quietly. I swear I smell saffron, jonquils, earth, woody moss, orange blossoms, geranium, and coriander, basl, and cilantro moving into cloves or carnations, patchoulli, lavender, amber, and woods like sandalwood, maybe even rosewood or cocobolo.

It gets somewhat of that old-tyme barbershop powdery smell to it.. which I find pleasant... and then it slowly vanishes (10 hour duration??) without a trace on the skin, and somewhat longer duration on clothing.

Again the fragrance spells pure luxury.... confidence, elegance without trying, savoir-faire, true gentlemen, sophistication without pretense. It a coimplicated amalgam of beautiful classic notes arranged in a very unexpected but pleasant score. There is a longing to it that I enjoy as it travels the hours... from green, to spicy, to warm, to lost.

I wore this fragrance for years in the 80's as my go-to fragrance. Santos de Cartier, Van Cleef et Aprel, and Ted Lapidus carried me through the winter months... but Versailles was the only fragrance for me in the sprng and summer. it is unusual, provocative, alluring.... very romantic. When it fell off the market, I was very disappointed and hoarded all that I could. I recently was able to obtain some vintage EDT bottles and I must admit.... it smells exactly like it did back in the 80's. I was expecting the old stock to have deteriorated or become rancid yet it was still stable and utterly gorgeous.

Gentlemen.... if you ever have the opportunity to sample this masterpiece, take a moment to consider it's personality, and give it plenty of time to introduce itself to you. Again, it is surprising, unexpected, and friendly. This fragrance is a novel.. not a poem, sit back and enjoy it's depth, it's character, it's untold story. I think any member on here who has worn or possesses this fragrance would agree... unlike today's modern fragrances.. Versailles is something YOU wear, and not something that wears you.

Thanks for your consideration.

25th April, 2011.

As much as I now admire Versailles Pour Homme, my first impressions were certainly less than favourable. It felt too sharp, haughty, and perhaps even a little hostile. However, these characteristics seem confined to the top notes, and it quickly becomes more expansive as it begins to receive some reflected glow from the heart.

A spiky and dirty floral accord adds an antiquated dimension, but each passing hour sees VPH soften a little more, and it becomes woodier and spicier. The allusions to Patou Pour Homme appear valid, but Versailles feels less polished and lacks the X factor.

By the drydown it has completely slipped its tether and perhaps Desprez have finally managed to loosen their tie. The spiciness has all but been extinguished, but there remains ample time to take in the aged leather, imbued with generations of tobacco smoke.

2nd April, 2011.

If you've sampled Tiffany for Men, then imagine if it were smoothed out so that all "rough edges" were gone. That is more or less what this is, and I really like it. For me, a dry, slightly powdery spice fragrance with several supporting notes providing dynamism. Longevity is excellent and projection/"sillage" is deceptively good. I've been looking for this kind of spice-dominant fragrance for a long time. All the others I've tried seem to become irritating after a while, but this one is too smooth for that to happen.

17th January, 2011.

Just as the bottle design presents a compartmentalised view of the fragrance, each element seems to present itself clearly without being subdued by a melange of tones and it is without peer. Or, perhaps, the golden lines that cross the bottle vertically and horizontally reflect something like the bars of a cage that contains a beast of a fragrance whose intoxicating power requires containment and limitation? Unleashed, this fragrance is magnificent and sophisticated and raw and powerful and elegant and uncompromising. This is one of the greatest creations - a shooting star that burned brightly but not nearly long enough. Please Jean Desprez bring it back.

4th January, 2011.