L'Essence De Must De Cartier by Cartier, 2000

Truth be told, I sampled this cologne about a week ago and ignored it. i was looking for a new cologne and it was around the tenth one I'd sampled, so I guess It got lost in the shuffle. I ended up going with the Santos Concentree, which is amazing, but after a few days and research, I revisited it and ended up buying it. To my nose it is a very warm and sweet scent with just a hint of cedar. I smell this and think of wearing a suit with a nicely pressed white shirt, and a silk Cartier-red tie, it's a classy scent. It is however near impossible to find, so if you see one and like it, snap it up because it makes the newer colognes seem weak and anemic in comparison in my opinion. A true work of art second only to Santos concentree.

I hesitated to get this one, although I'm a Cartier fan, because I have the original Must de Cartier pour Homme and find it a bit lacklustre. Anyway, several respected noses tempted me into a blind buy (this scent seems impossible to sample anywhere) and I am delighted to say it paid off. There is nothing soporific about this flanker. It's much spicier than the original Must and it has better sillage and longevity. By the way, for 'Must' you might as well read 'musk' because there's a huge musky base to both this and the original. It is warm, inviting and largely (but not completely) shorn of 'beastliness'; it evokes the scent of warm human skin and has an aura of contained animalism. I find this much more appealing and wearable than the out-and-out skunky varieties - à chacun son goût!

This is a beautifully refined non-macho scent, marvelously smelling close to the skin, to keep it as a delicious surprise for those who have the privilege to enter its presence. If you find it, buy two bottles...it's great!

Frankly I cannot keep track of all these woody-spicy-sweet male fragrances. Is L'Essence the first or the fifteenth? In simplicity, the key question is: does X smell good? Yes, in the case of L'Essence de Must, I believe it does. It'd take a talented singer to sound like Sam Cooke or Frank Sinatra or Aretha Franklin but at some point imitation is not merely a sincere form of flattery, it is artistic laziness. There is a main current in today's male scent market for the woods (say sandalwood or cedar), spice (ginger or cinnamon) and sweet (tonka, vanilla or benzoin) combination. L'EdMdC falls solidly into that category. It is earlier, I think, in the cycle although Bulgari Black and The Dreamer precede it. Musc Ravageur is a contemporary and Hypnôse Homme, Vegas Playboy and La Nuit de L'Homme all jumped on the bandwagon. Cartier's rendition is one of the better of this subset and I'm glad I own it for those relatively rare occasions when I want such an aroma but can we move on now to something a bit more creative, please?

L'Essence de Must de Cartier Pour Homme made me sit up and take notice. I almost always end up seriously valuing Cartier fragrances, but it usually takes me many wearings to come to that appreciation. LEssence de Must was different for me because it was love at first sniff: So fresh and yet so richly Oriental; spicy with an unusual ginger / cinnamon accord; a soft but rich patchouli holding the background depth. It has a lush woody drydown cedar, patchouli, and vetiver smooth and deep and long lasting. The whole scent enjoyable, and it is the longest lasting Cartier Ive so far encountered lasts even longer than Santos Concentree. (End of first review.) In retrospect, my first line in the review tells me that I should have tested this one more often even though I had originally purchased a mini for testing. As opposed to my other favorite Cartiers, I fell in love with this one instantly. I purchased a larger bottle, and I still love the accords, but I found I did not like to WEAR this particular scent... I find it a little too cloying with extended and prolonged wearings. I should have purchased Roadster instead. (EDITED... Changed from a thumbs up.)

Can it be this easy to make a great fragrance? Take 1-part bitter anise, 1-part tart grapefruit, 1-part cinnamon, 1-part ginger, 1-part vanilla and 1-part cedar and you have magic in a bottle. Everything here is in equal proportion and it works to great effect. It's not often you get a second chance, but Cartier saw the weaknesses of Must PH and pumped up the base (cedar and vanilla) to make L'Essence their finest fragrance, hands down. Reminds me of a more complex Lolita au Masculin which ironically came out in the same year. Must have been a run on anise and vanilla that year. Anyway, L'Essence is a flanker that is not only great but also is better than its predecessor. Finally!

What an incredible, rich, delicious fragrance. It is unquestionably one of my all-time favorites and is befitting of the Cartier brand. Just think refinement, for adults only. Young folks mesmerized by, say, AdG probably wouldn't relate well to L'Essence de Must de Cartier. It isn't fresh, modern, and probably doesn't have mass marketing appeal -- but it surely smells good to my nose. Masculine, but not overpoweringly so. Spicy, but not overpoweringly so. Woodsy in the drydown, but not overpoweringly so. Pure subtle refinement in a unique green and red bottle. I will always have this in my cologne wardrobe.

This scent is for Alpha Male over 40 years old. Classic, but unique. Longevity projection and sillage better then bunch of skunks ;), but fragrance is incredible. Love this scent, but I'm not too brave to use it for everyday. For fragrances conneseurs.

I haven't sampled this one yet. I didn't like the original Must for men, perhaps because it has a musty/chalky anisic quality that is not for me. Anyway, I'm posting here because I found a description of the notes at the www.saksfifthavenue.com site:

"Green spicy top notes: green mandarin, aniseed, coriander, olive leaves, ginger and cinnamon. Woody amber base notes: vetiver, patchouli, vanilla, tonka bean and musk. Style: Intensity. Seduction. Masculinity"

This one is really up my alley; I'm not a huge fan of Cartier fragrances usually with the exception of Declaration and this one. Must de Cartier pour Homme is a little tough for me to describe, but I really find it pleasing from start to finish. I guess I would call it a spicy, woody, slightly herbal, animalic oriental/fougere. I don't notice any problems with longevity. It is very masculine, very elegant and just discrete enough without being a true skin scent.