Reviews of Baldessarini (2002)
by Baldessarini

Baldessarini’s top notes are a conventional, but very well executed blend of citrus and aromatics, but the heart is something more unusual. It is essentially a two part structure: a sweet, yet brisk spiced fruit accord set against a very dry, dusty cedar. The spiced fruit and cedar may derive from Féminité du Bois and Donna Karan’s Chaos, but in those scents the two elements are blended into a seamless accord, whereas in Baldessarini they do not so much blend as stand side by side, drawing the nose back and forth between them. Though it employs different ingredients, this is the same trick played by Bernard Chant in his Aramis (animalic leather vs. white flowers) and Aramis 900 (green floral vs. amber/patchouli), and it succeeds here as well, generating an olfactory tension that maintains interest until the drydown.

The drydown is where I enjoy Baldessarini the least. While the spiced fruit portion of the scent endures quite well, it does fade long before the cedar, which on its own smells rather colorless and thin. Anticlimactic in its development, but a very good scent nonetheless.

A nice male perfume that is aimed for more adult audience. Not so sweet as the Ambre, not so peppery as the Del Mar.
I would say that is a citrucy perfume and although not an eau de toilette, it lasts!
I would say that Baldessarini three perfumes are covering all the tastes and are better that the Hugo Boss perfumes.

I don’t get “sweet” from this: “Sweet” often has a difficult time escaping from my ravenous skin. I also don’t smell the citrus notes or the mint that are supposed to be in the opening according to the pyramid. I get fir and spices. The cloves, cumin and fir from the heart notes come through immediately upon spraying; they become an almost incense accord that is lighter, gentler, and longer lasting than the usual incense in a fragrance. This spicy incense / fir continues for a very decent length of time right into the drydown which is fir-y / woody with a strong sweet tobacco note added. I thoroughly enjoy the fir-y, tobacco-y natural smelling drydown. Since Baldessarini is a cologne, it doesn’t last as long as a typical EDT, but its longevity is good for an EDC. Except for the addition of tobacco in the drydown, Baldessarini is rather linear to my nose – but it’s an excellent linear. It doesn’t seem Oriental to me because the sweet notes – amber and musk – don’t come through strongly in the drydown, I see this as an excellent woody-tobacco scent. I was originally hesitant to buy it because it seemed over-priced to me, but now that the cost has come down, I see it as a very good investment and a welcome addition to my wardrobe. (Edit of the February 21, 2007 review.)

I am surprised by many of the reviews that say this scent does not last. On me it lasts for hours. One of my current favourites.

Green tobacco! This is some amazing stuff. Usually I dislike mint but it works so amazingly well in this. Like a high class menthol cigarette without all the pesky smoke.

wore it for my engagement and wedding. its a scent for special occasions. Thats how commanding Baldessarini is. you cant dare to put this one on when you are in a jeans n t-shirt. it commands respect and you shall give thie scent respect. incredibly classy, sweet, powdery (lil bit), oriental blend with a twist of tobbaco which would make anyone feel luxurius and stand apart. striclty for suits and formal wear.

the only other "gentleman" scent that i have come across is Chanle Pour Monsieur, but baldessarini is ia different beast altogether. if possible, the concentree version.

Hugo Boss is a very well-known name in the German fashion industry, and Werner Baldessarini was his right-hand man. In honor of him, the fragrance Baldessarini was launched in 2000 -- and launched very well. Just by examining the pyramid, we see that tangerine, bitter orange, and green mint are our top notes, while patchouli, clove buds, and cumin seeds make up the heart, followed by more patchouli, sandalwood, fir balsam, tobacco, amber, and musk as the base notes.

With this setup on paper, it's hard not to get giddy -- the layout is absolutely marvelous, it's the perfect combination for a cologne that has the potential of being one of the best scents in the world. The notation is simply gorgeous and seemingly infinite in range; from the tropical, juicy tangerines that are succulent and sweet, bursting with liveli warmth, to the bitter, harsh notes of the tobacco leaf set us up for a majestic fragrance. However, right off the bat we have a problem... with such a wide range of notes, Baldessarini will inevitably run into some problems. The tangerine and mint are going to be rubbish in the cold weather, which leaves the scent smelling like dirt and cigarettes when the weather is nippy; and, for your warm summer-time days, the tobacco notes from this cologne are alone going to be responsible for your mother's lung cancer. We're already going down a bad road...

Baldessarini could have saved itself by not having such an absurd range of potent scents. The tangerine and bitter orange are unbelievable, they literally make you hungry, and the tobacco is so masculine, that manly scents like Grey Flannel and K10 become prepubescent in its midst. But having such an uncontrolled range is deadly, and a huge letdown for the scent. If you wear it during the summer or winter, you're going to be very disappointed to find that there's no real cohesion in the scent, it seriously is a vast multitude of ingredients that don't tie in together to make a single scent. There is no flirting between top and heart and base notes, and the mixture remains separated into just that -- your minty, tangy top, proceeded by a brand-new earthy heart, proceeded by a brand-new musky, tobacco base. It's too choppy, and split up; you wonder if Baldessarini is three separate colognes. Well then, bah for Baldessarini; it appears to be somewhat disappointing...

Until we wear it during the fall or early spring, when conditions are just right for the ingredients to shine -- and the effect is mindblowing. It's such a rarity to be able to wear Baldessarini in the right conditions, that it's worthless unless it's JUST the right time of year. Each ingredient works in harmony with the next to create a chain of scent that is so remarkable, that it's almost too much to handle. The initial burst of sweet tangerine is subsided by a strikingly smooth hint of mint leaf; both of which are guided to the heart by a soft bitter orange note, which opens the door to an herbal heaven. Here, the warmth of the patchouli fuses with the tangerine and projects a sweet, mossy scent, while the mint and bitter orange fade in with bitter clove buds and cumin seeds, striking out their extremeties; ultimately resulting in one of the greatest transitions ever. It doesn't stop there, though, because the heart-to-base transition is even greater. The shift from a slightly fruity/herbal/lightly woodsy heart to a tobacco/dark wood base is extremely hard, just because such strong bases carry their own dominant scents, and the mixture of powerful hearts and powerful bases results in a nauseating scent most of the time, that smells like nothing recognizable. However, in Baldessarini, the extra bed of patchouli serves as a median, allowing the heart notes to fade away without interfering with the scent of the base notes. The crucial difference that it makes is what literally makes the fragrance wearable; tobacco is such a harsh note, that when you mix it with tangerines and mint (of all things, those are the two worst) they become rotten, and the entire scent smells of week-old, half-smoked cigarette stubs that are rubbed in your nose against your will. But, somehow, the patchouli resists the mixture and allows a clash-free drydown, with proper diffusion of heart/top notes before the strong, woodsy base begins to release it's own scent.

Taking chances is always a great thing, because it allows for a range of concoctions to be produced, that deviate from typical boundaries, and push the limit s of what ingredients can and cannot be used. Baldessarini's ingredients are completely independant of each other -- consider Baldessarini to be a puzzle, and each note is a piece that aligns with the next, but they constantly spin in different speeds and directions, so the alignment is never quite right... one day it's too tangy and almost like a woman's perfume, and the next you find yourself smelling like a smoker's convention hut, but rarities do occur, and when the pieces fit together, the result is sheer bliss; Baldessarini becomes one of the classiest, well-done, diverse fragrances ever known.

After the first bottle I've bought another one, but the concentree version. Much better longevity. Real stuff!!!!!!

Like another reviewer said, bottles of this were floating around for $20, so I snagged one.

Baldessarini didn't impress me much on a paper strip, but when I just decided to wear it one day, I was really taken aback by it. Some fragrances are really good but they get old fast. This one on the other hand just gets better as the day goes on. My favorite part of this scent is the fir note-- really refreshing like the outdoors. And the orange note is soft and chewy like orange bubble-gum. It almost reminds me of Boss in Motion, which I dislike, but this one is much better.

This is kind of a simple scent, but I find something extremely satisfying about it. Everytime I wear it, I feel like I've made the right choice. I've found the longevity to be pretty good-- it lasts all throughout an eight to ten hour shift.

The solid metal bottle is high quality-- and really heavy. They really put some care into the packaging of this.

Well, I got this one blindly in a swap. I was expecting to be underwhelmed, but this is quickly joining Bvlgari PH as my standard work fragrance.

Sure, it's a little sweet, but it's such a transparently clean sweetness. Baldessarini is to sweet what Bvlgari PH is to musk. Very sheer and very easy to handle. Sillage isn't great (I don't want it to be if it's going to serve as a more formal selection), but longevity has been fine on me. This is one of the few scents featuring tobacco that work well on me. It's very well blended and smooth.

No, it isn't groundbreaking or particularly interesting, but I think there's something to be said for a cologne that just smells damn good all the time. This one certainly fits the bill.

Got a 2.5 oz. bottle at TJ Maxx for $19.99. This is VERY quality stuff, but being a eau de cologne-has very short longevity. Still, the fragrnace is quite refreshing. A bit powdery, floral, and very clean. Very invigorating-like a bresh of fresh mountain air to wake up to in the morning. If you do the Marshalls/TJ's route, it's well worth the asking price.

The original Baldessarini is excellent albeit very fleeting. A mature blend of tobacco and sugared bitter orange peels. The citrus has a very pronounced bitterness that works great with the subtle mint notes and prevents the sweet base from becoming too much. A very elegant formal fragrance that you can´t really go wrong with. But do try to score the concentrated version since the ordinary escapes your skin all too soon.

A lovely sophisticated smelling fragrance. I think it is more for the middle aged business man but even though I'm in my 20's I still love it. It is quite expensive considering it's not groundbreaking, and it won't last as long as some, but for that while, you just can't stop smelling your wrist.

I've sampled this three times. The first time I was in awe, the second I must have used a testbottle that was very old or something because it smelled less than great. Then I sampled it again today. It brings the feeling of the Mediterranean sea. A sophisticated yet mystical smell. Sweet but definitely masculine. Pure class.

The only thought that has kept me from purchasing Baldessarini is that I'm unsure whether it really fits my style, since I'm 22. The same goes for "Del Mar".

I fell and fell hard for this superlative fragrance. I have never smelled anything like this; on smelling it, I am transported to the First Class lounge at Orly as I wait to board an Air France Concorde flight, being waited on by models, a glass of Louis XIII cognac and a Cohiba churchill round out the picture.

I immediately ordered it although I'm a tad distressed to hear about its longevity problems. Perhaps this will be better on fabric and skin instead of skin alone?

Very sweet floral -- a must-have for those guys who (like myself) favor Neroli Sauvage, Green Irish Tweed, Versace Man etc. NOT for the button-down crowd who only lean more toward such classically "masculine" scents as Trussardi L'Uomo, Polo, Tabarome etc. I love this stuff, and its price has certainly come way down since this page was first posted on Basenotes.

I can’t shake the feeling that some of the reviewers here have been overly influenced by advertisements for this one. How else to explain the surprisingly divergent views?

I came to this uncontaminated by marketing and fluff and have to say that I am a believer. I can’t quite believe how beautiful this juice is. It is just surprisingly lovely at all stages, but doesn’t feel feminine in any way. It is sweet, I suppose, but more, it seems to radiate sunlight, a warm yellow glow. Wearing this I feel happier and more centred, more myself. I like the world more. I have no direct evidence as yet, but I think that others will appreciate it on me. (This review is of the concentree version.)

If it reminds me of anything it would be Salvador, by Salvador Dali.

This is suprisingly a frag I use most often. It's not the most original scent in my collection (although it's still excellent and very pleasant) but I found out it's the only one I not only like but can wear 24/7 and never get sick of it. The same cannot be said about any other frag I've ever owned or own inc. niche ones (e.g. Chergui, Knize Ten, Czech and Speake 88). Very strange.

A very refined, crisp scent for the summer. Very masculine without being in your face, something probably attributatble to its lightness. It's not without fault, however- it's only Eau de Cologne strength, and lasts but an hour and a half on my skin. I was able to find the "Prestige" silver bottle at TJ Maxx for only $20, but it's hard for me to justify spending more on a scent that is so fleeting. Still, if you need to smell great for only a short while, Baldessarini is a great choice.

mature and sexy is right, reminds me vaguely of Emporio HE. Like if one wore HE and outgrew it, he'd move logically on to Baldessarini. It isn't too too elegant or stuffy, but sturdy, reliable in a business way, but also not without a sexy edge (that's the tobacco for sure). I quite like smelling it on my neighbor in the elevator as he leaves for work. I sense longevity is an issue though, because I have never smelled it on him in the elevator coming home from work.

This one always, inevitable makes me do a double-take. Very sexy, in a mature, serious kinda way. I can just bury my nose into someone who's wearing it and be completely happy.

The adversisement promises that this one separates the men from the boys. To be a little ironic, I rather think that it separates luxury, elegance, pomp from the daily grind.
Pleasantly extravagant for a mature scent supposedly for mature men. A Mediterranean chypre fragrance with a more fruity and playful side towards the beginning and a slightly powdery ending. Somewhat like the equally Baroque, lush and elaorate Roma Uomo. A must for pleasure seekers, aesthetes, artists and art collectors, dandies and bonvivants.

I agree with those who say that Baldessarini Concentree - the best version if you ask me - smells like money. The smell is just what I want in a scent. Elegant, masculine and playful.
benb

This is elegance in a bottle indeed. A nice fougre, chyrpe type fragrance with the masculinity still present.

A pleasant and masculine fragrance which is an well-balanced blend of mint and ambery sweetness (but not overly sweet)over a masculine tobacco base. Sophisticated and conservative. Strangely enough, I too get the feeling that this fragrance smells like crisp money.

Smells a bit like a women's fragrance. Still it's classy, refined, and understated. I like the bitter citrus opening that dries down to sweet tobacco. The mint adds a soothing pleasant note. Very nice, but short on duration.

Teh 80's were full of Wood & Musk. I am glad the 80's are over and Hugo Boss put a stop that crap by adding citrus and Jasmine notes to make this a very sophisticated cologne. If you like this you will enjou "Paul Velvetier". Hope I got the spelling right.

Very classy one. Smells like money. Very good and sophisticated scent! I'll love it!

I registered on this site simply to write this review. Baldessarini is the greatest scent I have experienced thus far. I came to this conclusion after spending over 4 hours at the mall with a friend smelling EVERY cologne we could. While there were many greats--Very Sexy for Him and Acqua di Gio are the other two I purchased at that time--every time we would find our "new favorite" we were truly disappointed upon retesting Baldessarini. I say disappointed because I expected an exciting competition, but nothing else even came close. I could not find any scent that is more sophisticated, classic, subtle yet lasting, or more enjoyable than Baldessarini. I am 20 years old, and while some might say I am too young for this fragrance, I could never give it up. Simply put, buy it.

I tried and it'll do. It's not my favorite but I would try the concentrated version if I can find for the cologne is just too weak. I never understand the comments about "aren't we over the 90's or it's not the 80s". If something smells good it smells good - period, doesn't matter when it was created.

For my taste this is the best men's fragrance on the market. Unique, spicy and elegant. The scent could be more concentrated.

I 've just tried this again after having gone through so many others recommended on the board, and I must say, this is THE BEST. My absolute, all-time favourite.
Try the "Eau de colgne concentrèe" version of this, it just knocks you off your feet, strong, sophisticated and very manly. I always feel kind of like "James Bond" when I wear it :-)
The only let-down, if there is such a thing with this superb fragrance, is it's price. I pay € 65 for the above mentioned versioned. But then again it's worth every penny, and you can quote me on this.
Just remember when you go out to your local perfume store to forget the brand, forget that it is popular, forget the packaging and the marketing and only trust your nose an see how it works on your skin. For me it's pure magic! Two thumbs up!!!

I was able to get a bottle online for under $60. Although it wasn't the antique edition, the fragrance itself is classy enough that it doesn't need a gimmick.

It IS an OK scent. But the price is killing me.
Then again... this scent is like it tries too had to leave an impression of something positive, respectable, classy, conservative... and not without some success I must admit.