Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › MPG - A Niche House I Like
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

MPG - A Niche House I Like

post #1 of 29
3/16/06 at 10:28pm
Thread Starter 
Today I decided that MPG was one niche house I liked after all, for the simple reason that it makes unambiguously masculine scents and puts them in different coloured bottles to their feminine scents. And most of the MPG masculine ones have more staying power than that typical of the other artisinal unisex niche ones.

After testing all the male ones on my forearms, wrists and back of hands, it came down to a choice between Santal Noble and Ambre Precieux. Finally - after much uhmming and ahhing - I decided to go for the Santal Noble. The sales assistant threw in samples of Racine, Ambre Precieux, Parfums D'Habit and Iris Bleu Gris for me to play around with.

The Iris Bleu Gris I thought was pretty bad in the store, and for a while thereafter, but I must admit that it smells pretty good now - some 4.5 hours later.
Renato
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 29
3/17/06 at 12:43am
The only one I have tried is Route du Vetiver but that's definately a winner!

I'm looking forward to test the others.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 29
3/17/06 at 12:53am
I had high hopes yesterday when I sampled Eau de Mure. I am a great fan of blackberry - in fact it`s my favourite berry. (just ahead of strawberry)
Now, I didn`t like it at all! Almost yikes I have to say! First; it was absolutely way too feminine to use by a man, and to be honest, I don`t think I would want to smell it on some lady either.
Something really disturbing at the beginning - got me sick and I had to keep my hand in the pocket to avoid it. The drydown gave me this soft, quite pleasant and totally flat aroma of musk, white florals and diluted blackberry water.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 29
3/17/06 at 5:52am
I've sampled RdV (too much, though cool), Garrigue (nice lavender), Racine (for some reason smelled like sweat on me), Pour Le Jeune Homme (light, citrus, MPG's Acqua di Gio?), Eau des Iles (perfumey, floral, massive sillage), and Centaure (sharp herbal). So far I've found them to be very, very dry. Extremely herbal-floral, with lots of lavender. They also all seem to evolve quite a bit as they dry down. I'd have to say that I thought they were not unambiguously masculine, though the lack of sweetness does make them lean to the masculine, I think. My favorites thus far are Garrigue and Centaure - either would work well for the spring/summer. I have Ambre Precieux, Iris Bleu Gris, Secret Melange, Parfum d'Habit, and Santal Noble on the way. I think those will be more "masculine."
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 29
3/17/06 at 6:39am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by robyogi

I've sampled RdV (too much, though cool), Garrigue (nice lavender), Racine (for some reason smelled like sweat on me), Pour Le Jeune Homme (light, citrus, MPG's Acqua di Gio?), Eau des Iles (perfumey, floral, massive sillage), and Centaure (sharp herbal). Â*So far I've found them to be very, very dry. Â*Extremely herbal-floral, with lots of lavender. Â*They also all seem to evolve quite a bit as they dry down. Â* I'd have to say that I thought they were not unambiguously masculine, though the lack of sweetness does make them lean to the masculine, I think. Â*My favorites thus far are Garrigue and Centaure - either would work well for the spring/summer. Â*I have Ambre Precieux, Iris Bleu Gris, Secret Melange, Parfum d'Habit, and Santal Noble on the way. Â*I think those will be more "masculine." Â*

They didn't have RDV, Garrigue and Eau de Iles in the 10 or so men's bottles they had on display - and I didn't go look for them in the women's. I don't recollect seeing Pour Le Jeun Homme either (but I could be wrong, French isn't one of my strong points).

Of those I tried, Amber Precieux was the closest to what a woman could wear, but it struck me as somewhat more masculine than say Artisan's Amber Extreme. It's now lasted well over 12 hours on my wrist - which is pretty good for a scent that didn't strike me as overly strong when I first applied it.

I can't see any woman wanting to wear Santal Noble, Iris Bleu Gris, Parfum d'Habit, Centaure, Racine and a couple of other somewhat harsh mossy and leathery scents whose names I can't remember.

I'm starting to wonder if Amber Precieux wouldn't be an interesting addition to my collection, while that sale is going on.
Renato
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 29
3/17/06 at 6:46am
I love when niche houses labels everything unisex!

That said, i have high hopes on this house. A decant of Santal noble is on it's way to me. I look very much forward to it.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 29
3/17/06 at 7:09am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by geastrum

I love when niche houses labels everything unisex!

I wouldn't mind it so much, if the unisex label were true. Sometimes it is, but more often it isn't.
Renato
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 29
3/17/06 at 4:55pm
They are some great scents!

I have Route du Vétiver, Parfum d'Habit, and Santal Noble. The last one is the one everyone loves, and I think it is really a masterpiece of the perfumer's art. Parfum d'Habit is leathery, and perfect for a dress-up evening out. The Route du Vétiver is one that a lot of people hate, I think because they don't give it a chance. It comes on like gangbusters with the damp earth, wet roots smell, but oh! the drydown is delicious!

I have also tried the Ambre Précieux, which I passed on because I thought it was a little sweet, and the Eau des Îles, which was great at first, but the burnt woods in the drydown were a bit much for me. I would like a chance to reconsider these, however.

The Centaure was a bit too fougère for me... not my thing too much I guess, not unpleasant, just not quite there for me. I'd love to smell Racine and Garrigue, but they didn't have those in stock where I saw them.

I hear that the perfumer who founded the company is ill and that the house may go out of business. This is from the SA who sold me the ones I bought. It would be a shame if it were so.

I agree it is a truly great house. They are a bit expensive at $105 a pop, and they don't make smaller size bottles, but the juices are definitely extraordinary, and $315 later (plus California sales tax), I'm not a bit sorry to have them!
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 29
3/17/06 at 5:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JaimeB

I have also tried the Ambre Précieux, which I passed on because I thought it was a little sweet, !

That's curious - yes it's a little sweet, but it would only be at the low end of sweetness compared typical oriental and ambery scents being sold nowadays.
I preferred it greatly to the real leathery Parfum d'Habit which struck me as a little too old style.
Renato
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 29
3/17/06 at 5:48pm
The only two that i like from this house is Santal Noble and Iris Bleu Gris, Santal Noble is actually my favorite fragrance of all time and IBG is my favorite formal fragrance of all time. Due to the formal nature of this whole line i'd have trouble picking situations where i can actually wear them. Another unique house with so much quality and class.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 29
3/17/06 at 8:21pm
Thread Starter 
Oh I forgot - that shop was also selling some good looking square MPG bottles at half price, that I at first thought looked like standard EDT bottles. But I wasn't game to test them on my wrist when I read what they were - car fresheners.
Renato
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 29
3/18/06 at 7:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by geastrum

I love when niche houses labels everything unisex!

That said, i have high hopes on this house. A decant of Santal noble is on it's way to me. I look very much forward to it.


I don't think MPG labels everything as unisex. The red blass bottles are mostly marketed towards men (I've tried them all) though a lot of women buy them and they have a whole array of fragrances marketed towards women which come in a clear glass bottle I think. (I haven't even tried one).
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 29
3/18/06 at 8:53am
  • nqt
  • offline
  • Gender:
Yes they are def. not described as unisex. I tried just a few of them. Santal and Ambre are beautiful. Bahiana smells somewaht laike CdG3 in the dry down, (gaiac, perhaps) which is nice, too:-)
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 29
3/18/06 at 10:29am
I recently received my samples of Santal Noble and Ambre Precieux - I like them both. I would agree with a review in the directory that Santal Noble is an ambery wood scent and Ambre Precieux is a woodsy amber scent. I think AP is now my favorite amber scent: rich, round, slightly sweet, and very natural smelling to me. Santal Noble is also very warm, natural, and rich. I could see myself wearing either, which, for a niche fragrance is something special. I found AP to last incredibly long. Santal Noble was a little more short-lived, but still acceptable, especially for a niche. As you can see, I liked these two. I also received Parfum d'Habit, but think something is up with my sample, so I am going to reserve commentary on that one...
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 29
3/18/06 at 11:26am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by robyogi

I recently received my samples of Santal Noble and Ambre Precieux - I like them both. Â*I would agree with a review in the directory that Santal Noble is an ambery wood scent and Ambre Precieux is a woodsy amber scent. Â*I think AP is now my favorite amber scent: rich, round, slightly sweet, and very natural smelling to me. Â*Santal Noble is also very warm, natural, and rich. Â*I could see myself wearing either, which, for a niche fragrance is something special. Â*I found AP to last incredibly long. Â*Santal Noble was a little more short-lived, but still acceptable, especially for a niche. Â*As you can see, I liked these two. Â*I also received Parfum d'Habit, but think something is up with my sample, so I am going to reserve commentary on that one...

You're not wrong about Ambre Precieux - the shot I sprayed on my wrist was still detectable after 24 hours.
Rennato
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 29
3/18/06 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AZsmells

[quote author=geastrum link=1142576922/0#5 date=1142606813]I love when niche houses labels everything unisex!

That said, i have high hopes on this house. A decant of Santal noble is on it's way to me. I look very much forward to it.


I don't think MPG labels everything as unisex. The red blass bottles are mostly marketed towards men (I've tried them all) though a lot of women buy them and they have a whole array of fragrances marketed towards women which come in a clear glass bottle I think. (I haven't even tried one).[/quote]


Well, just as you say, they don't. Renato stated that he likes MPG in part because they DO market scents towards men, I stated that I do not see this as a positive thing.
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 29
3/18/06 at 12:59pm
Some I liked, some did nothing for me and some are totally awfull to me. The ones I liked were Santal Noble, Ambre Precieux, Racine, Iris Blue Gris. Route de Vetiver and Eau des Illes , I can apreciate the art of it, but I would not wear them. Eau des Illes is too rough and way too loud to wear for me. I guess there's something for everyone in this line. One of the best houses still.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 29
3/18/06 at 1:54pm
At this time, I own not a single drop of Maître Parfumeur et Gantier. Â*Last year, however, I had a chance to test some MPG. Â*Briefly, here are some of my impressions:

- Eau pour le Jeune Homme. Â*This is the one I liked the best, and I hope to acquire a bottle of it someday. Â*This one has a beautiful and long-lasting note of Neroli that I find to be quite refreshing. Â*Yes, I definitely want a bottle of this one.

- Ambre Précieux. Â*This is a very nice amber, but it was ruined for me when I detected a note of vomit. Â*Perhaps someday I will be able to forget the vomit, and I will try Ambre Précieux once again.

- Racine. Â*I very much like the note of vetiver. Â*Racine is very masculine and it just smells great! Â* Â*Unfortunately, Racine gave me the impression that it was killing some of my brain cells every time I sniffed it.

- Parfum dÂhabit. Â*Testing and wearing Parfum dÂhabit was a very unpleasant experience. Â*It smelled like bad body odor.

I want to try some more of the fragrances of this house. Â*I have hopes that I will discover one or more MPG that I will want to keep in my permanent collection.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 29
3/18/06 at 3:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockford

At this time, I own not a single drop of Maître Parfumeur et Gantier. Last year, however, I had a chance to test some MPG. Briefly, here are some of my impressions:

- Eau pour le Jeune Homme. This is the one I liked the best, and I hope to acquire a bottle of it someday. This one has a beautiful and long-lasting note of Neroli that I find to be quite refreshing. Yes, I definitely want of bottle of this one.

- Ambre Précieux. This is a very nice amber, but it was ruined for me when I detected a note of vomit. Perhaps someday I will be able to forget the vomit, and I will try Ambre Précieux once again.

- Racine. I very much like the note of vetiver. Racine is very masculine and it just smells great! Unfortunately, Racine gave me the impression that it was killing some of my brain cells every time I sniffed it.

- Parfum dhabit. Testing and wearing Parfum dhabit was a very unpleasant experience. It smelled like bad body odor.

I want to try some more of the fragrances of this house. I have hopes that I will discover one or more MPG that I will want to keep in my permanent collection.

It's a funny thing I've noticed about this house. It seems their scents start off with a HUGE blast of topnotes, there is almost always lavender, vetiver, and/or some citrus notes...usually a very powerful start. Then they settle down a bit and start to get warmer and quite nice. But, there often seems to be one or two unsettling notes to me, something that won't let me commit to buying a whole bottle - like the vomit and B.O. notes you experienced, or the intense burn of Racine. I think the only ones so far that have not had an unsettling presence on me were: Garrigue, Santal Noble (which did not last very long), and Ambre Precieux (though I think ambre always has something a little funky about it)...I wish my chemistry meshed better with their scents because I like the way they can mentally paint me a picture of a landscape I have never seen.

This is very opposite what I get from Serge Lutens, where each scent I have tried seems to start off a disturbing mess and then get nicer and nicer the longer I wear it. Ditto for Villoresi.
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 29
3/18/06 at 5:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockford

At this time, I own not a single drop of Maître Parfumeur et Gantier. Â*Last year, however, I had a chance to test some MPG. Â*Briefly, here are some of my impressions:

- Eau pour le Jeune Homme. Â*This is the one I liked the best, and I hope to acquire a bottle of it someday. Â*This one has a beautiful and long-lasting note of Neroli that I find to be quite refreshing. Â*Yes, I definitely want a bottle of this one.

- Ambre Précieux. Â*This is a very nice amber, but it was ruined for me when I detected a note of vomit. Â*Perhaps someday I will be able to forget the vomit, and I will try Ambre Précieux once again.

- Racine. Â*I very much like the note of vetiver. Â*Racine is very masculine and it just smells great! Â* Â*Unfortunately, Racine gave me the impression that it was killing some of my brain cells every time I sniffed it.

- Parfum dÂhabit. Â*Testing and wearing Parfum dÂhabit was a very unpleasant experience. Â*It smelled like bad body odor.

I want to try some more of the fragrances of this house. Â*I have hopes that I will discover one or more MPG that I will want to keep in my permanent collection.

Looking at my post, I realize that I must have a stronger tendency toward looking at life with rose-colored glasses than I ever realized. Â* I experienced vomit, bad body odor, and potential brain cell damage from 75% (three of the four) of the MPG frags I tried, and yet I still have hopes that I will discover some MPG that I will want to keep in my permanent collection!!! Â*What the....??? Â*Do I need to see a doctor or am I just hopelessly optimistic? Â*And what makes it even worse is that even after realizing this, I STILL want to try more MPG!!! Â* Â*

Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â*;D ;D ;D Â*
Reply
Reply
post #21 of 29
3/18/06 at 5:13pm
I think there's something about those "off" notes that pushes us to try even harder to find one or two that work. It becomes like a mission or an epic journey. I just posted elsewhere that I'm sure there will be an MPG in my favorites list by next week...Now that's twisted optimism!
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 29
3/18/06 at 5:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockford

Looking at my post, I realize that I must have a stronger tendency toward looking at life with rose-colored glasses than I ever realized. Â* I experienced vomit, bad body odor, and potential brain cell damage from 75% (three of the four) of the MPG frags I tried, and yet I still have hopes that I will discover some MPG that I will want to keep in my permanent collection!!! Â*What the....??? Â*Do I need to see a doctor or am I just hopelessly optimistic? Â*And what makes it even worse is that even after realizing this, I STILL want to try more MPG!!!

I just realized there is another MPG that I tried, but I must have mentally blocked it out because my experience of it was so bad. Â*Many people have already commented on the fecal note in Santal Noble, but this fragrance made me so violently ill that I had to wash it off after only 30 minutes. Â*Vomit, bad body odor, brain cell damage, feces, and violent illness!! Â*Is it any wonder why I own not a single drop of Maître Parfumeur et Gantier??!! Â*And yetÂI STILL want to try more MPG!!! Â*AARRGHHH!!Â*
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 29
3/18/06 at 5:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockford

Vomit, bad body odor, brain cell damage, feces, and violent illness!!


That is why Santal Noble is my favorite fragrance of all time, it represents armageddon.
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 29
3/18/06 at 11:08pm
I have Route du Vetiver in a travel size and never wear it, and of the rest of the line the Ambre Precieux strikes me as the best. The fabled Noble has two notes I can't tolerate--coffee and cake (coconut on white). As someone pointed out, many of the scents are dry to the point of being bleached--Fraicheur Musskisime comes to mind.

Also, on the feminine end of things, there's often an emphasis on fruit accords that turns into bubblegum in such tropical flavors as banana, ripe melon, and papaya, artificially scented. Maybe even jackfruit. And they have created a dreadful exposition of dimestore shower gel with the Jardin du Neroli.

This line has lost footing in some dept. stores and is no longer carried. However, it was wonderful when aesthetic11 had the whole lot of them in the 15ml sizes, to save on costlier impulse buys.
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 29
3/20/06 at 5:06am
Thread Starter 
Well, I went back to the shop today, and as all the MPGs were going at half price, I bought the Amber Precieux.
But I just got a call from my ladyfriend, who had tried out the MPG samples I gave her.
Now I have to go back to the shop and buy her a bottle of Muskissime.
Renato
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 29
3/20/06 at 7:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HackerX

[quote author=Rockford link=1142576922/15#21 date=1142732502]Vomit, bad body odor, brain cell damage, feces, and violent illness!!


That is why Santal Noble is my favorite fragrance of all time, it represents armageddon.
[/quote]


I don't know why, but for some reason I had envisioned Santal Noble to be some kind of smooth, Serge Lutensish, woodsy scent. Probably because of the word "Noble", which to me do not indicate vomiting! You guys make me feel afraid of the decant that is heading my way!
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 29
3/20/06 at 7:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by geastrum

[quote author=HackerX link=1142576922/15#22 date=1142733442][quote author=Rockford link=1142576922/15#21 date=1142732502]Vomit, bad body odor, brain cell damage, feces, and violent illness!!


That is why Santal Noble is my favorite fragrance of all time, it represents armageddon.
[/quote]


I don't know why, but for some reason I had envisioned Santal Noble to be some kind of smooth, Serge Lutensish, woodsy scent. Probably because of the word "Noble", which to me do not indicate vomiting! You guys make me feel afraid of the decant that is heading my way! [/quote]

Worry not! I think he's referring to the house in general. The opening of Santal Noble is a bit overwhelming, but to me there's nothing unpleasant about it. And you're right, it does get smooth as it develops because of the amber. It is a superb woody amber creation with a little touch of sweet insense on the background. My guess is that anything with an intense woodiness could give someone a bad impression, but somehow i think you'd like this one.
Reply
Reply
post #28 of 29
3/20/06 at 8:15am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HackerX

Worry not! Â*I think he's referring to the house in general. Â*The opening of Santal Noble is a bit overwhelming, but to me there's nothing unpleasant about it. Â*And you're right, it does get smooth as it develops because of the amber. Â*It is a superb woody amber creation with a little touch of sweet insense on the background. Â*My guess is that anything with an intense woodiness could give someone a bad impression, but somehow i think you'd like this one.

Ditto.
Nothing remotely vomit-like in any of the ones I've tried.
Renato
Reply
Reply
post #29 of 29
3/20/06 at 1:59pm
Phew. Thank you for your comforting words!
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: MFD Archive
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › MPG - A Niche House I Like