Fragrance Reviews by c-men

Eau Noire is as good as it gets – a true work of art and easily the best of the three Dior colognes. I cannot think of another cologne that gives me that very subjective feel good sense of vibe like this one. From a more objective perspective Eau Noire is flawlessly balanced and quite groundbreaking. In the way most great perfumes starts out, Eau Noire starts off with a somewhat harsh lavender-spice combination and needs some time to settle down after application. When these notes mellow out, you are on a very long lasting journey ending in a perfectly balanced smokey-vanilla-choclate drydown that feels more oriental than gourmand. The mix and balance between the different (natural) ingredients are amazing in eau noire. The end result is a quite unique scent with dark meditative, Zen-like qualities rather than formal ones. The sillage is excellent, comparable to (if not better than) the likes of Jaipur PH EdP. This is perhaps not the most versatile cologne, but I wear this to work frequently – if you love it, it is simply a matter of moderation when applying the fragrance. One of Karl Lagerfeld’s favorites and a true masterpiece of a cologne that is a “must try” for people who have a soft spot for lavender fragrances and “highly recommended” for you who don’t.

The top notes of antidote reminds vaguely of Eternity for men, but that is where the similarities end. The fragrance successively slides into a discrete vanilla-amber base with a hint of patchouli through the journey of mandarin, grapefruit and orange blossom notes. Although not that ground breaking, it is a very well crafted and balanced scent despite the expected fragrance-note chaos. The scent does not project much and wears close to the skin, although I have been able to detect it 24 hours after application. The biggest “flaw” the Dutch duo are accountable for is dubbing their scent ”the antidote to the boredom of men’ fragrances” when in fact they are simply adhering to the current designer trend of fresh-oriental men’s fragrances. In conclusion, Antidote makes for a nice versatile well-balanced citrus-vanilla fragrance, with a difficult-to-motivate “exclusive” price level. Did I forget to mention the compliments from the opposite sex?

L’homme is a bland fragrance that reminds me of a short-lived mix of CK’s Eternity for men and Crave. It is a shame that this fragrance is released with the YSL logo, not to mention the treason towards the loyal fans of YSL men’s fragrances, that love the undeniable character and longevity of previous releases (e.g. Jazz, Kouros and M7). Money talks and the people at YSL are looking to generate a best seller by appealing more to the mass market with L’Homme. However, the extremely mediocre juice with a striking lack of any recognizable character, the ugly/unrefined bottle, the complete lack of concept with the campaign and the obvious risk for confusion with the previous YSL pour homme predicts failure. For sure the low watermark of men’s designer fragrance releases 2006 –just save your money.

A very misunderstood fragrance upon its release – commonly referred to as smelling ”old”. Rive Gauche was supposed to be a fragrance with an intellect; Tom Ford wanted the top notes of Rive Gauche pour homme to assimilate the air of a 70s Parisian boho bookshop. It is probably also safe to say that he was inspired by overly manly 70s scents, like the kind of Brut and Azzaro PH, making a strong statement by fraying away from the commercially safe contemporary ”fresh & clean”-trend in the men’s scent market. Thus, to some Rive Gauche might smell dated – but then again; it was supposed to. After all, nothing in fashion is particularly new. As with the female Rive Gauche there is an abundance of synthetic aldehydes in the men’s Rive Gauche rather than natural oils. A very conscious choice if you want to recreate the feeling of many 70s colognes. The initial blast is all lavender, clove, patchouli and woods that end in a quite dry, non-sweet surprisingly fresh fougére. Patchouli is a paramount component in this fragrance, amplified in the “intense” version, an ingredient that I always perceived as somewhat dirty. Rive Gauche is very potent and a couple of sprays under one’s shirt last an entire workday. Perhaps more suitable for autumn/colder weathers but IMHO I think it works very well, applied in moderation, in warmer weathers too. Indeed, Rive Gauche pour homme interacts well with warm skin, that makes the fragrance bounce back beautifully with its dry-woodsy freshness, making it the tope choice in my wardrobe for clubbing that no sweet fragrance could rival. Although I am reluctant to believe all the stories on basenotes about this being some kind of a “chic magnet” (as with most fragrances), in my experience many women loves patchouli on men and likewise with Rive Gauche pour homme. After all, what can be manlier smelling than something that reminds you about Barbasol shaving cream? Perhaps that is where the “intellect” of Rive Gauche pour homme rely lies.

The new Amber pour homme by Prada was a big disappointment for me. How a prestigious fashion house can make such a mediocre fragrances is hard to understand. Do not get me wrong Amber pour homme is not a bad fragrance - it is just very, very average. Lack of character simply put. The fragrance opens up with an array of floral notes that are all over the place and has a slightly feminine touch. Intriguing so far, this eventually settles into an amber note that is mixed with geranium and successively fades into a woody basenote that can only be described as ”fluffy” or undistinguished. Sadly, IMHO here is where Prada amber pour homme dries down into nothing but very ordinary. This has been done so many times before. Sprayed on skin this fragrance has a somewhat limited staying power and one has to apply rather liberally to be able to smell anything after 8 hours. I am having trouble believing that it took two years to come up with this fragrance alone. The explanation for the mediocre result here has to be that patchouli pour homme and musk pour homme are going to be released by Prada/Puig in a very near future ;).

The top notes wear off rather quickly and once the fragrance settle down it show a somewhat lack of/linear development on the skin. I can see the connection to L’instant pour Homme by Guerlain but the scents are not identical and this become evident on the dry-down were L’instant turn out to be a bit bitter and Dior Homme remains smoothly balanced against the cocoa and the amber with good sillage close to the skin. So is this another “generic” fragrance for men? The answer must with no doubt be “NO”. Sniffing this from my wrist, I find it hard to believe that this is a mens fragrance. It even reminds me of some dated female fragrance already out there. Heidi Slimane is taking a huge risk to release the most feminine fragrance, wearing the letters “homme” on the label, to this date. A scent mostly for the androgynous rock star-wannabe. However,that should be consider a good thing. Four stars out of five.

Wow! This is some great stuff! A very luxurious, sweet, but well balanced fragrance. Potent and long-lasting without completely reeking of sweet notes like e.g., Pi or A*men does. My absolute favorite Creed scent! For some reason it somewhat reminds me of the discontinued KL Homme. Highly recommended!

Can only agree with the previous reviews on this one. An all-time favorite of mine well balanced rich sweetness and complexity - truly, luxurious, a pity that it was discontinued. I have been looking for a substitute fragrance to this one for some time nowÖ..

Starts out citrusy with Sicilian lemons that give away for the warmer notes of bergamot, basil, the Egyptian cumin and tangerine. It is surprisingly short-lived (somehow I was expecting something more potent from a niche fragrance) and the dry down isÖsomewhatÖîold-fashionedî. My girlfriend also made the remark that I smelled like her 60-year old fatherÖ..not exactly what I was looking for. Better fragrances are out thereÖ.