Ghost Man (2004)
by Ghost

I remember buying this when I was 18 from Boots thinking it was the bee's knees. It was clearly because i couldn't afford Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male.

The packaging is clean and simple.

The smell was something resonant of burnt sugar crossed with Gucci Rush pour femme. I don't know why I like this, I really am unsire of why I bought it in the first place.
It was OK, but I would not entertan it again.

We've both moved on.....

30th May, 2011.

Quite sweet at first, and a bit spicy.
Gets very sugary, floral, and a bit metallic.
Precious, twee, cloying.
Minty note like mouthwash.
Florals are achingly sweet.
Don't like it.

19th December, 2010.

Yeah, this one definitely reminds one of Le Male but I think it has some subtle differences that I enjoy. Fresh out of the bottle, I get something very much like sugar cookies with lemon fresh out of the oven. The spiked sweetness and the light touch of citrus notes combine to form this accord. The scent goes on to hold an accord more like the floral, sweet aroma of Le Male minus powder. Don't be fooled into thinking the projection and longevity are poor; this one's well-made and performs consistently well. Not for those looking for something noticeably masculine.

28th September, 2010.

Slightly surprised the first time I decanted some of this onto my skin. I was preparing myself for an overly cheap, overly diluted fragrance and was astounded to find such an interesting fragrance among the many nondescript bottles of lifeless juice that surrounded this one in the store. As this scent wrapped its arms round me I was no longer distracted by the rush and noise of a busy fragrance department....

Pierre Bourdon is a fantastically talented perfumer, not only creating fragrances for niche houses (try his Frederic Malle Editions) but also creating some of the most commercially successful fragrances in the market (YSL's Jazz/kouros and Davidoff Cool Water). It seems he really does try his hardest when creating scents no matter what the budget is or what the brief calls for.

When the fragrance is first applied it can be a little overwhelming but after several sittings with the fragrance you really start to appreciate who masterfully crafted the head of this scent really is. The anise is very sweet, almost too sweet(a little tweaking to the keytones wouldnt have gone amiss here). This sweetness is toned down slightly when the mint and bergamot note starts to come through.
The heart is absolutely stunning. Lily of the valley, rose and orange blossom was like a breathe of fresh air after trailing several bottles of aquatic/ozone mens fragrances. None of these notes really take centre stage, they are all rather reserved which was nice after such a strong series of top notes, very much the calm after the storm. Patchouli keeps the base fresh while tonka gets to work on the skin exuding its sweet vanillic/cinnamon and as this develops becomes almost like heliotrope adding the the sweet licorice quality you experienced at the start of your sensory journey with anise.

In conclusion, a very wearable scent for less than £30 (about $60) now thats what I call a bargain.

28th April, 2010.

Ghost Man is one of those rare fragrances that I actually enjoy more with successive wearings. My initial impression was that it was simply too sweet, and in an almost sickly way, but my nose seems to have evolved to dismiss that vibe. Delving deeper I find that there is exactly the right amount of clove present to keep that sweetness in check and I find this to be my favorite clove note so far (Slarty's pretty right-on with the Djarum Black thing). The projection is only so-so for me but the middle is so gorgeous with this one that I frequently wear it just to please myself. It has a strange bygone romance to it that makes me want to play Castlevania or go on night walks.

24th March, 2010.

Extremely sweet but a nice fragrance: The anise is dominant to my nose, but it is tempered by the cloves and mint so that it doesn’t deliver that piercing anise note that is so prevalent in several recent fragrances – I rather like this version of anise. Tvlampboy is right about the tenacity of the anise note… it hangs on seemingly forever, so permanently present that I determine only minimal differences between the opening, middle, and base of the fragrance. On my skin the fragrance is linear, but it is a nice linearity.

I agree that Ghost Man is a better version of Le Male. Though sweeter than Le Male, the powder is gone, making this less dated and more wearable. Neither one is my kind of fragrance, but Ghost is well made and performs nicely on the skin. If you like sweet, try it.

21st August, 2009.