Fragrance Reviews by Tommy Gander

the only gourmand fragrance i own, and one that i enjoy wearing when the mood takes me.

the opening salvo reminds me of cough candy sweets with a hint of menthol. the dry down veers towards a sweet (but not sickly) chocolate vanilla. every now and then, i get a breeze of the aniseed, but this settles into a very comforting scent.

this may carry the moniker 'au masculin', but i think of it more as a unisex fragrance. no problems with the staying power. it's neither overpowering (unless you coat it on), or shortlived.

a unique scent which will have a niche appeal. certainly worth trying if you come across it.

a classic, but dated scent. reminds me of kensington market, an old hippy flea market in london with many stalls which sold incense and bottled patchouli oils. in fact, it's the patchouli note which i find to be the prominent one. i don't get any vanilla at all. i'm not surprised that keith richards favours it. unlike mick jagger, i don't think he has ever got over his 70's rock 'n roll swashbuckling image, which i think that habit rouge has in spades. i can imagine peter wyngarde's fictional television character, jason king, being a fan.

certainly it needs to be used sparingly, and it's not something i would use for everyday use, as i think i would be too self-conscious. on the plus side, i like the way it develops more than the initial spray.

i'm glad that this scent exists, but i'm not sure if it's one i would favour for myself.