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Open by Roger & Gallet, 1985

Open by Roger & Gallet, 1985 + add a photo
22 reviews
95% Positive Reviews
Rated #577 in Fragrances
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Posted
By charger
As has been noted, it has some similarities with Quorum. I also find notes similar to Aramis and some Rive Gauche in the dry down. First I think this is an amazing value (as is Quorum) and also seem to fly under the radar. Going trigger happy could get you into trouble, but a couple sprays under the shirt leave you with a perfect scent. This leans more to the above 30 crowd for sure. It portrays a masculine confidence up front, with a clean dry down. Overall I get vetiver, earthy pepper, woods, some leather, maybe even a hint of tobacco, oak moss, soap. All are blended nicely and play great great on my skin.
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By capital
Love it. Masculine spicy/woody scent. Great longevity and decent projection. I've seen it compared to Dial gold soap, and I do get that a little, although not as strong a resemblance as others have suggested. Great buy for the price.
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By ferdinand_the_imposter
I'm better at comparisons than recognising notes, so, for me, OPEN goes something like this... 1. Odd, very harsh, opening note. As others have said, akin to vulcanised rubber. Super dry, and not at all unpleasant, but very different from today's fragrances. Only lasts 5-10 minutes in any case. 2. Soapy barbershop middle notes, very similar to similar-vintage Paco Rabanne Pour Homme. Nice. 3. EXTREMELY long dry down of dry, spicy, leather. 8-10-12 hours on me, and getting spicier all the time - to the extent it actually makes me salivate. That's not a metaphor. I mean it actually activates my glands, it so strong. Sort of like a slightly cleaner, slightly fresher Quorum. This is the best - and longest - stage for me. Perhaps more a daytime/office/workhorse fragrance than a party/seduction number. Very out of tune with today's fashions. And all the better for it. And - if you like it - an absolute bargain. Considering its unfashionable bottle, zero promotion, and difficulty finding on the shelves, amazed it's still in production. Get a bottle while you can.
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By Darvant
Yes, the beginning is a bit brutal with a blast of medicinal herbs, lavender, aromatic herbs/spices and lime/bergamot but the olfactory strength soon fades morphing towards something (still hesperidic but kind of "cologny") softer, far less pharmacautical and delicately woodsy with a masculine vetiver/patchouli combo. It may be reminds effectively Equipage but without any suede/leather trace in my opinion, just a sort of soapy amber/tobacco which is really pleasant and balanced. Old-school, clean and "sensible" eau de cologne type of smell.
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By Swanky
Open begins with an inky, almost smoky medicinal note, like vulcanized rubber or surgical gloves. The citrus oil/alcohol blast follows a moment later then the soapy background moves very swiftly into position, although I find the soap note less strong than others do. It is there in the background for the first few hours, but I find the spices and moss/wood/leather the true leaders of this pack. I find this to bear, in the drydown, a resemblance to Equipage, but perhaps a bit bolder. To my nose this registers as a leather note, although others claim there is no leather in this. One of the finest uses of moss occurs in this fragrance; Acqua di Selva, for example, goes almost too far into the moss forest but Open takes it to the exact point at the cliff's edge where the moss waterfall can take one over the precipice and halts, safely admiring the view below. Open seems to be a quite complex fabrication, a bit like the manner of it's 1985 cohort Boss #1. Both wear a powerhouse costume at the start of the party only to remove it to find a smooth, mohair-clad gentleman with well-manicured hands and a self-assured mien after all.
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By PerfumeCollector
I have to agree with most reviewers, a strong, dry, kinda harsh opening but soon it transforms in a spicy masculine heart to a beautiful drydown that lasts forever. I wouldn't have bought it based on the opening, but I am glad I did because the patchouli/vetiver basenotes in a tobacco background is one of the best in the industry. I guess they call it OPEN because you must disregard how it opens.
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By shamu1
I've quickly gotten to like this fragrance, now that I've worn it a couple of times. I like it because it's so spicy and aromatic, and it projects well and lasts all day. I wouldn't call this a powerhouse scent because it's not heavy at all, even though it does make its presence known. Open is dry and stark, to the point where if you oversprayed it you'd feel like someone was scraping your sinuses with a cheese grater. It smells like a sage and clove-scented bar of soap. It reminds me a lot of fragrances like Equipage, Jacomo de Jacomo and Palais Jamais in its arid feel. The drydown is excellent. The soap smell is gone by then, and what you get is a nice spicy woody finish, with tobacco and patchouli being the most prominent notes. There's vetiver in the drydown too, but it smells more like clove to me. I like this part of the scent very much. Don't buy Open if you're looking for an 80s powerhouse, but if you want a dry, peppery aromatic fragrance that is well blended, has good sillage and lasts all day, Open is worth a try. MY RATING: 8/10
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Posted
By odysseusm
R&G LHomme and Open start off as very similar scents. My initial notes didnt distinguish enough between them, so I have resorted to the tried-and-true two wrists, two fragrances strategy. LH is a woody spice, Open is a very spicy wood. Open is a bigger scent, with more sillage. LH is more subtle and stays close to the skin. The wood in LH is cedar (dry, a bit resinous), the wood in Open is sandalwood (brisk, soapy). Open is interesting, powerful scent . The R&G site speaks of mandarin orange, sage, cardomom, and aromatic wood. A squirt of freshly-peeled orange starts the show. Pepper and lots of cloves give it a brisk kick of energy. There are also woody spices (cardamom, perhaps nutmeg). Those qualities are good, because they give balance to this rich aromatic scent. A soapy aspect emerges from sandalwood, a minty-creamy aspect. This compliments the spices very well. A slightly sweet, ethereal dry-down follows. Normally Im not a fan of that sort of thing, but it works here. Everything is generous and yet it has classy restraint if it is not overapplled! It is very masculine, with pepper, wood, leather notes... but it is not obnoxious. It is more peppery and woody than Equipage. This really shines in cool temperatures, it might be a bit heavy in warm weather.
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Posted
By AnimaSola
I wore this quite a bit when it first came out. It reminds me of Fendi Uomo, but Fendi is more sophisticated, and not as bright as this. I still like Open, but it seems dated and a little pungent.
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Open by Roger & Gallet, 1985
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Launched Date1985
GenderMen
AvailabilityIn Production
ByRoger & Gallet
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StrawberryNETRoger & Gallet Open Eau De Toilette Spray 100ml/3.3oz at StrawberryNET$35.00See It »
FragranceX.comOpen Cologne by Roger & Gallet, 3.4 oz Eau De Toilette Spray for Men at FragranceX.com$24.54See It »
Perfume EmporiumOpen at Perfume Emporium$23.99See It »
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