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Bel Ami...magical potion!

post #1 of 20
1/29/05 at 1:30pm
Thread Starter 
Well, what can i say about Hermes Bel Ami?
This was one of my first fragrances since discovering Basenotes, and about 30 frags. later, still NOTHING even compares to it.
I am not good at describing scents, but when Bel Ami is first sprayed on, it hits your nose with a wonderful pungency that screams "here i am" and Êreminds you that this is definately a man's cologne, no mistake about it. Soon after the pungency dies down and the notes of citrus, leather and other spices blend into something magical and super-masculine.
And the complements! "Wow, you smell great!" "What's that cologne you're wearing? MMM!!...etc.
I believe De-Odor wrote a great review on this one...search it and check it out!
In conclusion, i just feel so very passionate about Bel Ami. Yes, there are scents that i love almost as much (Santos Concentree, Tsar) but Bel Ami has a warmth and soul that no other, to date, has been able to match.
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post #2 of 20
1/29/05 at 1:48pm
It really is quite a marvelous potion, Bel Ami. Alas, it doesn't suit my chemistry - I have yet to find a scent with leather or tobacco in it that does - but I really do marvel at how much I enjoy it. You see, I generally can't stand big spicy, leathery scents like Bel Ami. Chanel's Antaeus, for example, seems very similar on paper but is just as repugnant to me as Bel Ami is enchanting. It's great stuff.

Forget dogs: Herms is a man's best friend.
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post #3 of 20
1/29/05 at 2:12pm
8) I too admire this fragrance, but I find Bel Ami somewhat challenging, to wear. For me, ONE SPRAY, is enough. That way it keeps people guessing, rather than to announce its comings and goings. Trouble is . . . my bottle is getting old, and it's still almost full. I may have to . . . restock. :-/
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post #4 of 20
1/29/05 at 2:58pm
Wanna hear a strange suggestion? If you like Bel Ami, try out Bandit by Robert Piquet, especially the edp version. A lot like Bel Ami but with some mashed flower stems in it instead of Bel Ami's topnotes.

Both are magnificent. I might be crazy but I think Bandit might make a nice twist for those who love Bel Ami.
--Chris
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post #5 of 20
1/29/05 at 4:07pm
8) Chris, a few months back, as part of a protracted thread about BANDIT, we talked at length, about this enigmatic, fragrance. Did you know that from all we could glean . . . the women's and men's BANDIT, are identical, save for perhaps a bottle cap? Personally, I don't find Bandit to be much like Bel Ami . . . if anything, Bandit reminds me more of E.S. extreme.
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post #6 of 20
1/29/05 at 4:15pm
I am very interested in bel ami and equipage, but dont know where to try it
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post #7 of 20
1/29/05 at 4:20pm
8) Hi Mach,

These fragrances by Hermes are easily found online . . . although, Equipage is getting a little bit tougher to get at good prices. I know SCENTIMENTS carries them both, as does Perfume Bay . . . I'm sure you could find a number of online retailers, who carry them . . . otherwise, although you'll pay more, try Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman's, Marshall Field's . . . any high end department store. Or an Hermes boutique.
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post #8 of 20
1/29/05 at 4:27pm
Herms has jacked up their retail prices in recent years, from about $65 dollars for 100 mL to $100 for the same size. ÊThankfully one can find them at the Garment District wholesalers for $38 for the same size - the new bottles, too. ÊThere was a recent article in the Los Angeles Times about how Herms separates themselves above Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and the rest by pricing their merchandise much higher than even their other extravagantly-priced luxury goods competitors, and the astronomical retail prices of their fragrances ($535 for the parfum of Doblis, for example) is just an example of this philosophy in practice.
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post #9 of 20
1/29/05 at 4:42pm
They're the same. Herms is just homogenizing the bottles. Face it, the old quipage and Bel Ami bottles were pretty dated and dreadful. The new bottles match the "lantern" bottles of Eau d'Herms, Calche, and Eau d'Orange Verte (which also got some a modernized typeface). The boxes also got cleaned up and homogenized, too, made to look more uniform. Unlike Givenchy, however, they didn't just use one cheap bottle with cheap labels slapped on willy-nilly. The Bel Ami bottle is tinted. The Eau D'Orange Verte bottle is frosted. That sort of thing. And none of the juices (with the exception of Doblis, which was supposedly made with all sorts of things that are no longer legal) seem to have been tampered with. It's nice to see a company that can freshen their line's look without having to tamper with the juices. LVMH and YSL Beaut would do well to take note.
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post #10 of 20
1/29/05 at 4:58pm
All that cheesy, cheap wood-grain plastic? Yeah, they were that bad. The new bottles are really nice. Heavy and lovely, thick-bottomed glass. Very classy. Rocabar keeps its distinctive saddleblanket shape, and the women's scents like Rouge and 24, Faubourg also keep their unique bottles. But Bel Ami and quipage look much better in their new flacons.
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post #11 of 20
1/29/05 at 6:59pm
Does anyone remember the original ad campaign for this one?

Thanks to a decant from Mark, I recently got to sample Bel Ami. I was expecting something really over-the-top, maybe even dated, but found instead a smooth, fabulous, leathery chypre. I like it. A lot.

Here's an excerpt from an article: "Daily Record" (Glasgow, Scotland), 12/10/1996, Millar, Kim. Roja Dove talks of people falling into three perfume families - natural, oriental and floral. Apparently the Bel Ami Man falls under "Mr. Natural" category.

Mr. NATURAL

Keep it calm, girls. This man is so subtle, stylish and sexy it brings tears to your eyes. This hunk positively smoulders with sexy potential. Everything about him is understated so, if you want to know exactly what he smells like, you have to get very close indeed. Doctor, lawyer or plumber makes no difference - this natural man has IT in spades!

Choose from: Givenchy Gentleman, Bel Ami, Hermes
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post #12 of 20
1/29/05 at 7:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mgarisbn

8) Chris, a few months back, as part of a protracted thread about BANDIT, we talked at length, about this enigmatic, fragrance. Did you know that from all we could glean . . . the women's and men's BANDIT, are identical, save for perhaps a bottle cap? Personally, I don't find Bandit to be much like Bel Ami . . . if anything, Bandit reminds me more of E.S. extreme.

Mgarisbn, I remember the thread you mention, and I don't think the distinction applies. My bottles of Bandits (edt and edp) are I think the standard women's bottles. Neither says for men at all, but I all the same I find them fantastic and, as I mentioned, a nice twist on the material that Bel Ami does so well.
--Chris
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post #13 of 20
1/29/05 at 8:05pm
It sure as hell is - love this one. I've swapped out decants to four different members recently - good to see!
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post #14 of 20
1/30/05 at 2:15am
For some reason I haven't got into Bel Ami, not even after several tries, so I've come to the conclusion that it just isn't "my kind of a scent" :-/ In the beginning I really adore the peppery opening and also the vetivery drydown is awesome, but yet it leaves me kinda "cold". Oh and to my nose Moschino pour homme (OKKO) smells very similar to Bel Ami, but the first mentioned is more ambery (sweeter) and projects out even more!

-T-
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post #15 of 20
1/30/05 at 2:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DustB

Wanna hear a strange suggestion? ÊIf you like Bel Ami, try out Bandit by Robert Piquet, especially the edp version. ÊA lot like Bel Ami but with some mashed flower stems in it instead of Bel Ami's topnotes.

Both are magnificent. ÊI might be crazy but I think Bandit might make a nice twist for those who love Bel Ami.
--Chris

Thanks for the suggestion, looking forward to trying Bandit soon!
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post #16 of 20
1/30/05 at 7:27pm
A friend of mine recently bought it... he boasted about his new purchase to me without knowing that I have tested it before, in fact I am certain he thought it was some sort of a new exclusive cologne that only Saks carried. So he has been wearing it every time we'd go out and frequently (intentionally or unintentionally) would let me have a sniff off that proud hairy chest of his. After a while of "sampling" I have to say... masculine - yes, impressive - NO. It smelled old fashioned, classy and rich, but it didn't make me go "whoa!". There was some kind of musty and stale quality to it that reminded me that mid life crisis is just around the corner and that just because you bought it at Saks doesn't necessarily guarantee success. I have to admit that as much as I loathe Dior Higher Energy, that smelled much better on him.

I told him to try something else.

maksidrom
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post #17 of 20
1/30/05 at 8:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by maksidrom

A friend of mine recently bought it... he boasted about his new purchase to me without knowing that I have tested it before, in fact I am certain he thought it was some sort of a new exclusive cologne that only Saks carried. So he has been wearing it every time we'd go out and frequently (intentionally or unintentionally) would let me have a sniff off that proud hairy chest of his. After a while of "sampling" I have to say... masculine - yes, impressive - NO. It smelled old fashioned, classy and rich, but it didn't make me go "whoa!". There was some kind of musty and stale quality to it that reminded me that mid life crisis is just around the corner and that just because you bought it at Saks doesn't necessarily guarantee success. I have to admit that as much as I loathe Dior Higher Energy, that smelled much better on him.

I told him to try something else.

maksidrom

So, do you dislike the scent, or your friend's pompous approach to wearing it?
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post #18 of 20
1/30/05 at 8:34pm
Some scents are so singular, they stick in ones mind (nose?) forever. I adore Bel Ami. It is one of those no-mistaking-it-for-something-else type of scents. It's long lasting as well. My favorite leather-chypre scent. And DustB is sort of right: Bandit is a close second cousin of Bel Ami but I can tell them apart immediately.

(BTW, Bandit seems to be hard-to-find but it's definitely worth searching out a bottle.)

I prefer the older bottle style: it's as singular as the fragrance itself.
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post #19 of 20
1/31/05 at 4:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by VanillaCloud

So, do you dislike the scent, or your friend's pompous approach to wearing it?

I neither like it or dislike it. I just think it's overhyped.
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post #20 of 20
1/31/05 at 6:42am
I love Bel Ami. It's one of my "Go To" winter fragrances when I can't decide what to wear. Something in Bandit that I don't care for, but can't quite put my finger (or nose) on it.
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