Bandit by Robert Piguet, 1944

I've smelt it for the first time a couple of years ago while visiting a niche boutique placed in the town center of Bologna and i don't know exactly about which formulation it was (although i suppose it was the EDP version). The first impression was about a dark, rough, herbal-aromatic and  mossy-leathery chypre coming from an other age and due to be worn by man and woman even if the scales was leaning on the feminine side (too much following fruity-floral sophistication and smell of deodorized and slightly sweated arm-pit). The first impression in general is strange because some elements of dissonance are a bit disturbing (at least under my nose),  may be the excess of alcohol and aldehydes (the initial projection is nuclear), the overly prominent and aggressive animal-leathery and smoky notes already rising from the back and blended with a forceful whirl of citrus (mostly orange), dark spices, mint, vetiver and greens, may be because of a sort of tar undertone over a similar cola kind of sparkling coolness. In this phase the scent with its old-school feel smells like a blend of YSL Rive Gauche and Aramis with a touch of the fruity-spicy-floral temperament of the more refined Mitsouko. The initial blast of neroli, fruit, citrus and spices reminds me a bit the vintage starting chord of Youth Dew which is anyway a much  more feminine, spicy, floral, smooth, sunny and vintage fragrance with a  less woodsy and leathery temperament. In the confusion i smell patchouli and the duo rose-jasmine plus carnation that in this phase are angular and dry in perception before evolving in a smoothing sweet effect on the final mossy leather. The moderate sweetness comes mostly from the floral-spicy middle phase. You need time before that each element takes its place and a bit of leathery velvet emerges clean from the tornado. As soon as the roughness fades the final development is a dark-mossy leather plus some woods, smoothing amber with the animalic and nasty notes of civet and castoreum and the bold earthiness of patchouli. In this phase the fragrance turns out leathery, mysterious, bold, slightly earthy and floral with the pungency of the civet note. Very complex. Classic, leathery and autoritative fragrance.

I didn't know if I should add another review to Bandit, as many have expressed its facets well. But everyone had such a different take on it, I decided it could bear more input. I like Bandit, being a chypre-holic, and appreciate its dry, non-floral, rough earth and leather quality. Somedays it's the only thing to wear. But I don't know that I'm entirely seduced by its character into calling it my HG chypre. One reason is Safari, by Ralph Lauren. Luca Turin called Jolie Madame the somber heir to Bandit, but I don't see more than a cousin kinship there, even though both are created by Germaine Cellier. Instead, Safari strikes me as more a sibling in character to Bandit, and I'm not sure I prefer Bandit to Safari. Half the time Safari wins out on those days I'm in that Bandit mood. So what does that say? Bandit is a little dryer and ashier, so it appeals to me on those days I want my chypres rough and bone-dry. If I didn't have Safari, I'd be reaching for Bandit more. But Bandit does have an interesting chameleon character that Safari lacks. And Bandit does have a sassier attitude, and makes you feel like putting your riding boots on to a stronger degree. I'd call it a must-try-before-buying fragrance. I like its minimalist black bottle and plain label - it goes with its character.

It has been noted elsewhere that there are (at least) two versions of Bandit out there. My friend has the current re-formulation (EDP, 'bandit' in lowercase) which she really likes (except for its limited tenacity), whereas I bought an older formulation (EDT, 'BANDIT' in uppercase) which my 'bandit'-loving friend didn't even want as a gift ("smells like fly spray"). This review is for the EDT. To me, this is a chypre taken to the extreme: an overdose of bitter galbanum set above a broad base of oakmoss with not a lot in between. I couldn't detect any kinds of flowers, or even leather. Smelling the inside of the cap was relatively pleasant, but on skin the bitterness intensified and developed into a nauseatingly dank, stagnant smell - which I have also encountered in the reformulated Aliage (Estee Lauder). I was collecting Piguets to have a set, but this one I found so unwearable that I decided to give it away to any friend who didn't find it disgusting. Fortunately I found one who said it brought back pleasant memories of digging for truffles and visiting catacombs in a faroff land - ie. it smelled like dirt and fungi in the nicest possible way. Her husband kinda liked it, too. So I left the bottle with them. Bye-bye Bandit, you didn't steal my heart. EDIT1: Bandit boomeranged back to me (friend decided she didn't want to smell of catacombs after all), so it will sit in my "perfume classics library" ready to shock and/or amuse friends. EDIT 2: A few months on, I took my unloved bottle to a get-together of perfume friends where a wonderful older lady happily took it off my hands. I bumped into her a few weeks later and she was wearing the Bandit... to my surprise it smelled quite lovely on her! Ah, the mysteries of body chemistry :-)