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The 80's, the decade where more was more and men were men.

post #1 of 13
9/27/07 at 8:20pm
Thread Starter 
Why did they use so many different notes in men's fragrances in the 80's?
Example:
Cartier Santos eau de Sport 1989:
Top Notes:
Lemon, Tarragon, Coriander, Artemisia, Bergamot, Green Notes ,
Middle Notes:
Jasmin, Carnation, Orange Blossom, Fir, Thyme, Cedar, Vetiver, Sandal, Patchouli ,
Base Notes:
Benzoin, Vanilla, Tonka, Styrax, Labdanum, Amber, Moss, Musk,
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post #2 of 13
9/27/07 at 8:32pm
It WAS, after all, the era of big hair, big greed, big fragrance.

The complex scents are usually so much better anyway -- linear scents (Gris Clair and plain patchouli oil aside, perhaps) usually bore me to tears.

And at least the frags were generally wonderful and not god-awful like so many other Eighties things -- you know, leg warmers, Leona Helmsley, side ponytails and scrunchies, teen slasher flicks, Saved by the Bell, the Moonwalk, David Hasselhoff, hair feathering, parachute pants, Members Only jackets, Ronald Reagan . . .

And ANYTHING beats the last ten or fifteen years of aquatic, watery, namby-pamby bullshit we've seen. Not that many good frags haven't been introduced in the same period, mind you, but c'mon -- can you even COMPARE the Nineties and the turn of the present century to the Eighties? Take away almost all Lutenses and about thirty or forty other frags and you're pretty much stuck with legions of simpering Tommy and Eternity clones, sad little wannabe frags -- pathetic ghosts that plague my days and haunt my dreams.
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post #3 of 13
9/27/07 at 9:44pm
80's scents are/were just incredible. They could be very powerful and yet at the same time down right sexy (Kouros and Antaeus), pensive and gentlemanly (Bel Ami), and "soft" yet still unmistably masculine (Cacharel).

Today, you could predict what the average scent will smell like before you even go to spray. (Like it or not, could you say the same for Kouros or the original Burberry? Is there anything that comes close today?)

Like noted above, there are some excellent fragrances that have come out in the past few years, but to my nose, the 80's were something else.

(Except for Alf...I still hate that fool...)
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post #4 of 13
9/27/07 at 10:16pm
It was definately the best time in perfumery (mens) for me.

What made it even more special is that it was followed by the nineties, possibly the worst time in perfumery (save Havana and one or two others)
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post #5 of 13
9/27/07 at 10:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rompip View Post

It was definately the best time in perfumery (mens) for me. What made it even more special is that it was followed by the nineties, possibly the worst time in perfumery (save Havana and one or two others)

I disagree, the 90's were the most revolutionary decade for me - the begining of the golden age of the niche frags. Perhaps they went over most of our heads until the 00's, but how can you argue with these beauties:
L'Artisan Parfumeur - Dzing!
Creed - Erolfa, Silver Mountain Water
Serge Lutens - Ambre Sultan, Muscs Koublaï Khän \t
Comme des Garçons - White, Perfume
Demeter Fragrance Library - The entire concept is brilliant.
Gendarme - Gendarme
Lorenzo Villoresi - Piper Nigrum
Comptoir Sud Pacifique - L'Eau de Gouverneur / L'Homme
Diptyque - Philosykos
And on and on.
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post #6 of 13
9/28/07 at 1:58am
Trying to find significant contrasts in perfume production/consumption by decades seems to result in predictable failure. The eighties, to me, are nothing special. Ok, power frags may have reached a culmination point. But were they so extraordinary compared to earlier fragrances like Caron’s Yatagan and Givenchys Gentleman in the seventies? From all we know about wearer’s of Habit Rouge and those great Lanvins of the sixties, they were men! True or not?

Looking the other direction: in a period where the number of new releases doubled or tripled from decade to decade, it is easy to find as many power fragrances for the nineties and the present decade, as have been released during the eighties. Also – we should perhaps not disregard the influence of fragrances worn by two preceding generations. There are possibly more bottles of Knize Ten used today than have been during the twenties to fifties. I also dare speculating that the total production of Old Spice sold may still hold the record above Aqua di Gio. Definitely new is the explosion of shared fragrances from 33 in the eighties, and 183 in the nineties, to (now) 727 in the first decade of the new century. Some of us will still recognize a lot of them as either masculine or feminine, it's more a matter of choice than it was during the twentieth century (source: BN directory).

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post #7 of 13
9/28/07 at 2:24am
There is no point imo in trying to find which period ihas been the best for perfumes: each era has its pros and cons. For sure the 80's have seen some damn good and complex juices and, yep, personally I've never liked the 90's acquatic clones war but there have been some innovative and interesting ones also there. I also don't like what seems to have massively started in the 90s, the run for going all in one direction as soon as it seems to make cash. For example again acquatics, but also gourmands: when the first one comes out making huge sales, other 100 appear like mushrooms, etc... So the perfume is not anymore something artistic, or interesting and well concepted. And again the rise of shared scents demonstrates that marketers have (re)discovered something as old as the world: that scents have no gender so they can double the market niche!
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post #8 of 13
9/28/07 at 5:19am
Ah, if only Jean Desprez' house of Versailles still stood...................those were the days.
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post #9 of 13
9/28/07 at 5:26am
Let's not forget Calvin!
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post #10 of 13
9/28/07 at 7:24am
And let us all bow our heads in loving memory of the glory that was Patou pour Homme.

A potluck will be served in the fellowship hall afterward.
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post #11 of 13
9/28/07 at 12:46pm
Don't hate on Alf...
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post #12 of 13
9/28/07 at 9:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tvlampboy View Post

And let us all bow our heads in loving memory of the glory that was Patou pour Homme.

A potluck will be served in the fellowship hall afterward.

Heh...I almost snorted diet Pepsi out my nose. That is hilarious.
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post #13 of 13
9/28/07 at 11:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by narcus View Post

Ok, power frags may have reached a culmination point. But were they so extraordinary compared to earlier fragrances like Carons Yatagan and Givenchys Gentleman in the seventies?

Yeah, f*** the 80's. The 70's knew the real secret of the power scent: patchouli.
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