Narciso Rodriguez for Him (2007)
by Narciso Rodriguez

Simply brilliant. Daring, and sophisticated. A must try for any frag head.

You're having sex on some rain-soaked asphalt. You're chewing ice in a dark cave. You're being followed at night and it's turning you on. Narciso Rodriguez For Him.

I can only assume this scent is very susceptible to skin chemistry. Like nearly all who dislike it, it causes waves of revulsion. Despite three scrubs its tenacious synthetic musks and other horrors will not leave my skin. Usually violet leaves are one of my favourite perfume notes but something here leaves a sour, nauseating stench, some have referred to green peppers or rotting cucumbers or concrete. Whatever it is, this is a scent that must be tried, and tried on the skin. If it works for you then fantastic, but if not, I think you will be avoiding for the rest of time.

The opening is very nice, but it soon dries down to a feminine scent. Might be for others, but I don't like florals.

I appreciate and recognize it as a very very good if not great fragrance, but it reminds me to YSL Kouros and I despise that fragrance even though it is very well made.

The Opening

Vague, pristine green fields and misty woods...woody and musky, all conjure an aura of bold sophistication. At this stage I do get the much talked about cucumber accord, which makes it slighty fresh but not a freshy-freshy type of smell, just makes that patchouli and musky woods get more vibrant and exciting; I assume this is why people associate it at this stage with the color green. It is stylish, it is trendy but not in a pretentious or obvious-posh kind of way - It evokes hot humid summer nights in my mind. Again, not just another freshy or woody oriental...something unique, understated and truly refined.

Drydown

The wetness and green vibe fade away, and it gets drier but still as hypnotic. More feminine at this stage, you can actually detect a little Narciso Rodriguez For her in the background. It is still dense but not thick, still allures and attracts the nose at the same time its uniquess repels it - so, so interesting to a trained nose, and even unconscious one...

The grey bottle tricks people into thinking this falls into a flat category of fragrances, but I believe its magnetic depth has enough layers to makes us visualize any color we want - I happen to believe that if this fragrance had a color it would be blue, due to its magnetic quality. I will even share a theory with you, that the color grey was purposely used as a way perhaps of covering and attenuating Narciso For Him's boldness and subtle feminine vibe towards the end of its life span on the skin, but again, this is just a silly conspiracy theory. Love it anyway. This fragrance is the opposite of boring, despite the minimalist aesthetics of the bottle.

8/10