Narciso Rodriguez for Him (2007)
by Narciso Rodriguez

I smelled the violet leaf immediately on application as I do with most fragrances with that prominent offending note. I don’t get the melon note at all – it is completely suffocated; but beneath that violet leaf I do smell an aromatic green softened by a very nice amber and light musk. This softer, more subtle accord is quite attractive and enjoyable. After an hour, the violet disappears leaving an excellent, long lasting green / amber accord cleaving close to the skin…

Narciso Rodriguez for Men is obviously a nicely put together fragrance. In spite of the violet leaf it becomes a pleasant skin scent after that first hour of olfactory torture… I can only hope the inclusion of violet leaf in new releases runs it course one of these days.

The opening musky melon accord reminded me somewhat of Paris Hilton for Men, but it disappeared within a minute, chased away by a bitter-sweet violet leaf accord I first encountered in Grey Flannel. What is left is a musky and rather camphoraceous blend of coniferous woods over dry resinuous amber. I'm not sure about patchouli for I don't smell any, but I don't miss its absence. Anyway I quite enjoy its expansive sillage and contemporary feel even if old Grey Flannel could still teach it a fancy trick or two.

I'm afraid it's wet blanket time for Narciso Rodriguez.

Narciso Rodriguez goes on with very bright, sweet citrus notes and an aquatic – melon accord that moves quickly into the foreground. This melon is thicker and less natural than that in Millesime Imperial, and it rests upon a powdery foundation that soon reveals itself to be cedar. The tutti-frutti accord doesn’t persist, and I have no complaints about that. Its retreat reveals the cedar more fully, along with a pleasantly bitter green note (violet leaf?) and a touch of fresh resin that just might be cypress. As it dries down the scent continues to dry up – becoming more stark, aromatic, and woody by the minute. What eventually emerges is a blend of still-bitter green notes, dry cedar, and sharp vetiver over a foundation of light musk. Nice enough, but far from earth-shattering.

I really tried. I even like violet leaf, but this was just dreadful. This smell induced the gag reflex and after only a few moments, I got to experience those moments where you squint your face because the fragrance is beyond causing discomfort, but actually causing you to feel ill.

I definitely get the wet concrete/earthy/stony quality that goes with this. There's a definite soil-like quality to this. I also get the extremely synthetic greens accord that does smell like a mixture of cut grass and green bell peppers (which I hate). I don't quite get the ozone note, but I definitely get a petrol note. As it dries, it starts to resemble cheap 1980's canned hair spray. A very synthetic, petroleum, fixative note (which is vertigo inducing) mixed with these sweet notes of synthetic florals (that is headache inducing), mixed with remnant wafts of green bell peppers (which is nausea inducing), mixed with a final smell that I can only describe as... almost fecal. There's a weird dirty musky twang in this that is ever-present throughout the entire process. In the beginning it seems more like fresh perineal sweat mixed with the overpowering greens, but as this dries down, it behaves much like real human sweat. It gets sour, and when you combine that with the heavy florals and petrol notes that persist in the dry down, the combination is finally enough to induce a migraine.

The sillage on this is powerful. The lasting power is also amazing. This was not a good thing for me.

To put it bluntly, it smelled as if I had been rolling around in the backseat of a car with someone who had walked up 20 flights of stairs beforehand, in the middle of a hot summer with someone weed-eating nearby, and the odor of stuffed bell peppers clinging to our clothes from dinner earlier in the night.

I don't know if disgusting is a word that is strong enough. It's positively vile.

This is just a rubbish frag I didn't find one thing about it that I liked. But then the mens version of most perfume is never as good as the womens IMHO.

Has anyone noticed that this is very similar to Versace Black Jeans? Well, they are both cut from the same floral dominant cloth but VBJ dries down to a very dry, leathery masculine aroma while NR stays woody and floral. NR is very strong and long lasting so make sure you like it before you dowse yourself in it. I really don't care for either of them.