Reviews of Le Vainqueur
by Rancé

I purchased Le Vainqueur based upon an article by Liz Upton (Body Odour - or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Musk; http://www.basenotes.net/articles/20080507body-odour.html). The topic regarding musks and animal scents in perfumes intrigued me.

Let me add that one of my passions is bowhunting, and to be successful, a bowhunter must not only master the bow, but learn the ways of the prey and the woods. In particular, the importance of scents and smell (I hunt for the elusive and paranoid animal known as the whitetail deer) cannot be underestimated. If bodily scents from unspeakable glands in animals can turn wary bucks into impertinent, lust filled maggots, what effect would it have on urbane riff raff such as yours truly?

Knowing as I do the nature and importance of scents with wild animals, and not having the opportunity to purchase Luten's MKK, (fly to Paris to buy a perfume? Ain't going to happen). I ordered the next best thing. Le Vainqueur.

First time I smelled it, I was reminded of some obscure woman's perfume my aunt used back in the 60's. Not having a sophisticated nose, I was unable to discern all the notes that reminded me of that perfume (Guerlein, perhaps). I will take them (the creator of said product) at their word that the top notes contain the elements stated on their website.

What I can say is that Le Vainqueur is a warm fragrance. There is something soothing, oily, and definitely dark about it. Dark, yet not without hope. The darkness I speak of is that we encounter while doing something unpleasant; it will hurt possibly and is distasteful, but it will soon come to an end. This is not a fragrance one wears in order to feel refreshed and willing to do something important like the week's laundry. In my humble opinion, this fragrance is what I would wear if I were ever to declare a state of war or amend my will.

Being EDP strength, the longevity is simply ludicrous. A light spray on my chest and inner elbows last for more than 12 hours. And I have relatively dry skin. At work, all my female co-workers respond in a visceral and sensual manner towards me. I do not receive the typical "That smells so clean/nice/sweet" response. Rather, they stand closer and sniff discretely to discern what is it that puzzles them.

I have worn it half a dozen times at work and at play, and the response from women is astounding. Perhaps its the mid notes. After the initial lavender/citrus notes end, the essence of musk/slightly sweaty genitalia takes over. I wish I could be less crude, but to my nose, the unmistakable essence of testosterone mixed with male lubrication is never far from the surface. It threatens to overwhelm the lavender based notes, but retreats at the last moment. But not before those nearby detect the unmistakable sex notes.

In short, this is a complex and intriguing scent. It is not a citrus or earth based fragrance, yet, like the deer in heat lures I use during hunting season, this fragrance does have an unmistakable effect on females (at least those I come into contact with). A wonderful find.

Top: Mediterranean citrus fruits, melon, watermelon
Mid: ginger, nutmeg, sea breeze, jasmine, lily of the valley, lavender, geranium
Base: leather, iris wood, ambergris, musk (from Rancé website)
This is an attractive, modern-style scent with a hint of history. Like others, I doubt that this is what Napoleon would have worn. The summery-fresh-marine note is very contemporary. The opening has citrus and melon fruit notes which are pleasant, not sweet, classy, and well blended. The melon adds quite an interesting aspect. Then some woody spices emerge and combine effectively with various floral notes. At this point the scent is complex, and it is difficult to pick out individual elements. The drydown has a restrained and sophisticated treatment of potentially rich ingredients (leather, ambergris, musk). These gradually deepen and have a lovely, even haunting quality. It is this last phase that has the best claim to historical roots. What we have here is an intriguing combination of new and old. I like it.

Put Truefitt & Hill's Freshman (1815) on one wrist, Fragonard's Eau de Hongrie (before 1800) on the other, and you will discover that Rancé's Vainqueur is very similar to the melange of these two scents. I first doubted about the authenticy of this fragrance as it smells definitely modern to me (and Luca Turin commented rather nastily about it), but it seems to capture pretty well the spirit of the age of chivalry. Anyway, it's a very good scent, very classy, long lasting and prefect for formal occasions during daytime.

Inocorrectly listed as a female scent, i looked up the company's website and several perfume shops and the unanimous opinion was that this scent is masculine. Reportedly created for Napoleon, i actually rediscovered this in a German perfume store, however i first tried it in a quite uncommon way: during highschool i read an article in National Geographic about perfumes designed for famous historical figures ( among whom Napoleon) was acccompanied by slightly perfumed pages and one of the featured perfume was this. Both in the article and in the perfume stores, much later, left me under the very same impression-smooth yet martial and sober, Mediterranean( what else?), with a very discreet citrus and fruit opening and a dignified and robust aromatic drydown. One major question remains- which was, undisputedly and beyond legend and controversy Napoleon's signature scent? His relationship to
4711 is said to be a historically inaccurate hoax, with Farina Gegenuber's eau de cologne the case is different from 4711 and even a few Creeds, tough only recently launched yet supposed to have existed in Napoleon's time but reorchestrated after a long period of oblivion, like Millesime Imperiale or Bois de Portugal which ancient and "napoleonic" formulas.
Irrespective of the historical context i consider this scent a well- guarded,
exclusive secret tip for the seekers of individuality.