Ice*Men (2007)
by Thierry Mugler

Although I generally consider myself a classic scent guy, my tastes in fragrances are very broad - from raging muscle frags like Quorum and Kouros, to el-cheapo drugstore scents like Jade East, to discreet, timeless classics like Monsieur de Givenchy, all the way to borderline feminine scents like L'Instant Pour Homme and this one, IceMen. For 15 years or so, I'd been trying to identify a particularly beautiful fragrance note that gave any fragrance that contained it a certain light, dusty, and exotic feel. I'd smelled it not only in masculine scents like Ho Hang and Kouros, but in some of the feminine scents that my wife wore, particularly Cabaret, Miss Dior and Cleopatra (by Tocca). In fact, I found that this "note" was particularly intoxicating in the feminine scents, especially in Cleopatra. For years and years, I'd been banging my head against the wall trying to identify "the note", until a few months ago when reading reviews here on Basenotes, I was finally able to identify "the note": patchouli. This blew my mind because I had always associated patchouli with head shops and potheads, and I always thought of it as a spicy but dirty, unwashed smell that I hated in its pure form. I never knew that patchouli, if blended with other notes, could be so multi-faceted and beautiful.

Excited with this newfound knowledge, my next goal was to find a masculine fragrance that captured the light but exotic beauty of Cleopatra, but which didn't smell too feminine for me to feel comfortable wearing. I finally found it in Ice Men. Perhaps my olfactory sense is deranged, but I don't smell any iced coffee or gourmand smells in Ice Men - Ice Men to me is an unbelievably smooth, transparent and beautiful patchouli scent. There is a mildly sharp cedar note and what smells like lavender in the opening and middle accords, but they can't hide the silky patchouli that is the lifesblood running through this fragrance. My favorite stage, of course, is the drydown because by then you're left with almost all patchouli. IceMen is a very light scent, and I have to doubt whether this would work in cold weather. For such a light scent, I am very impressed with its longevity, which is about eight hours on my skin. It is also one of the most feminine smelling masculines I've smelled in a long time, so much that I really can't find another masculine scent to compare it to. I do think there is similarity to both Cabaret and Cleopatra in its breezy lightness, but guys shouldn't let this comparison stop them from enjoying this. For me, I'm psyched that my search is over and I can now stop stealing my wife's bottle of Cleopatra.

nice aquatic freshness with a hint of green, but rather cold, unemotional and not particularly distinctive

I’m not even going to waste my time writing a full review – it’s just cheap, synthetic, watered-down crap.

[Original submission date: 14 April 2008]

Slightly minty, but had no longevity or staying power on my skin. I think I would have been better off trying to use mouthwash as a fragrance, it would have lasted longer.

Refreshing, substantial, cool, warm, crisp, yet, for me atleast, slightly repulsive. Quite unique. Reminds me a bit of staying awake long long, while drinking tons of coffe so you start to freeze and (cold) sweat...but (mostly) in a good way...

Not heavy, tough not light/elusive, nor sweet, -kinda smell.

Lasts around 6 hours for me and stays quite linear in it's evolving.

I like this summer spritzer better than most of the other sweet and sparkling summer fragrances that are on the market. At first blast it smells like wintergreen with a touch of guava tropical sweetness. The tropical mint is softened by a coffee/chocolate note that is an effective pillow to balance this tart opening. The base is dominated by patchouli that is very lightly done. The base is what I like best about Ice*Men with its patchouli that ends standing alone long after the sweet mint opening wears out. Patchouli is my favorite note when it is used with complimentary uplifting notes as it is here. A nice crisp minty summer fragrance that helps keep your cool. Ice*Men.