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Robert Piguet's Bandit

post #1 of 21
12/27/07 at 5:32am
Thread Starter 
Hi, I'm intrigued by the reviews I've read about this fragrance and am very tempted to splash out and buy a bottle unsniffed. But before I do so I'd like to consult the opinions of the community.

I recently tried Mitsouko, another chypre, and liked it and hope to add it to my wardrobe. Will I also like Bandit? I would love to hear what you think if you're familiar with both.

I'm also a fan of Fracas, are there any similarities here?

Thanks.
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post #2 of 21
12/27/07 at 6:58am
Nope, no scent relation to Fracas unless the word BOLD comes to mind.
Bandit smells like a bag of marijuana to me.
It is extremely fun to wear, but not as a daily staple.
Bandit will turn heads. Some people will be intrigued (most of us on Basenotes are fans) but it's not the kind of gentle fragrance that will cause everyone to say, "Mmm, you smell nice today."
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post #3 of 21
12/27/07 at 7:26am
Everyone should smell Bandit atleast once, it's quite good. I think it is absolutley NOTHING like Fracas. Perhaps it's chypre-ness can resemble Mitsouko a bit, but it doesn't have that 'Guerlainade' base or peach note that Mitsouko does.

I think a good frame of reference for Bandit is Tabac Blond by Caron and/or Cabochard by Gres. If you like these two - which (correct me if I'm wrong ladies) are classified as leather chypres, then I think you'll like Bandit.

This past Saturday I laid out and got some sun in my backyard (we can do that in Miami - it was in the low 80's F) and I sprayed on some Bandit and laid out in the blistering sun. It was quite an olfactory blanket of a scent and the heat seemed to electrify the moss and leather. It was quite intoxicating.
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post #4 of 21
12/27/07 at 7:51am
As MP mentioned above, Bandit is a softly leathery floral chypre. It's a beauty, but quite distinct and I strongly suggest that you do not purchase it unsniffed.

Just an aside: MP -be cautious with any type of scent and the sun. A friend of mine has permanent, darkly pigmented patches on her wrists because of photosensitivity to a scent she was wearing - I think it was Pheromone. Anyway, I would personally avoid using any scent and then going into the sun. JMHO.
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post #5 of 21
12/27/07 at 9:17am
My nose finds Bandit similar to Safari by Ralph Lauren, enough so I consider them siblings. If you sampled Safari, you're in the ballpark.
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post #6 of 21
12/27/07 at 9:33am
The comparison to Safari is interesting. I never thought of it, but I do see the chypre connection. Still, Bandit is much more butch. I'm not even sure that it would have been launched as a female scent had it been released nowadays. To my nose, it's very close to MPG Racine, which is a (wonderful) masculine perfume.
I'd definitely recommend sampling first, because Bandit is so different than Fracas and Mitsouku that it might be a little too much.
My review of Bandit is here:
http://thenonblonde.blogspot.com/200...ng-bandit.html
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post #7 of 21
12/27/07 at 9:35am
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for your replies. I am taking seattlelight's advice and have ordered a sample from perfumedcourt. I may have to look into Tabac Blond too.

Thanks again.
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post #8 of 21
12/27/07 at 10:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by the non blonde View Post

The comparison to Safari is interesting. I never thought of it, but I do see the chypre connection. Still, Bandit is much more butch. I'm not even sure that it would have been launched as a female scent had it been released nowadays. To my nose, it's very close to MPG Racine, which is a (wonderful) masculine perfume.
My review of Bandit is here:
http://thenonblonde.blogspot.com/200...ng-bandit.html

Bandit is definitely more butch, Safari more tea under the trees of the savannah. I must try Racine.

I liked your review of Bandit, especially the Pirate Jenny connection. Oh yeah. The dryest, brutalest leather my skin can stand (some of those saddle leathers are too much) is Kolnisch Juchten (new version), which I really like. But it's not as sassy as Bandit.
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post #9 of 21
12/27/07 at 10:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by seattlelight View Post

Just an aside: MP -be cautious with any type of scent and the sun. A friend of mine has permanent, darkly pigmented patches on her wrists because of photosensitivity to a scent she was wearing - I think it was Pheromone. Anyway, I would personally avoid using any scent and then going into the sun. JMHO.

Thanks seatllelight - my Puerto Rican skin usually saves me from most photosensitivity, but maybe I shouldn't risk it.
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post #10 of 21
12/27/07 at 12:55pm
Lucky you with your dark skin! My friend is Chinese - with light to medium toned skin - and those spots have been there for many years. They're not fading. I've read about the sun and perfume reactions, but that's the first time I saw it with my own eyes. I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I just wanted to let you know what can happen.
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post #11 of 21
12/27/07 at 5:44pm
I passed by EDP along to my younger daughter, who wears it better than I do. Has anybody got any experience with the parfum? I'm thinking of getting her that one too (and keeping it if I love it)
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post #12 of 21
12/27/07 at 6:52pm
chengfun, I hope you end up with a big bottle of Bandit. For me it was a blind buy, I was at first repulsed and then enthralled. It is now one fragrance I would not care to be without.
Simply LOVE it.
I had a similar rocky road relationship with Mitsouko. Since you respond to Mitsouko, perhaps you will appreciate Bandit more quickly than I did.
Still, I have NO regrets on my blind buy. Sort of like being kissed full on the mouth by a biker dude, giving him a slap and then pulling him in close for more.
That's me and my Bandit.

I also am wild about Tabac Blond. Give that one a try.
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post #13 of 21
12/27/07 at 9:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rtamara41 View Post

chengfun, I hope you end up with a big bottle of Bandit. For me it was a blind buy, I was at first repulsed and then enthralled. It is now one fragrance I would not care to be without.
Simply LOVE it.
I had a similar rocky road relationship with Mitsouko. Since you respond to Mitsouko, perhaps you will appreciate Bandit more quickly than I did.
Still, I have NO regrets on my blind buy. Sort of like being kissed full on the mouth by a biker dude, giving him a slap and then pulling him in close for more.
That's me and my Bandit.

I also am wild about Tabac Blond. Give that one a try.

That's very well put! Yes, to me, Bandit is a whip-cracking, rubber-suited wildwoman! I wore it for awhile myself, and ended up trading it, but it certainly has its bold charms.

More than any other frag, I found that one day I would like it, and the next day I wouldn't. That "repulse" and "enthrall" yin and yang.

btw, I love Mitsuoko, but I don't think I'd put the two together. Let's see what you think!
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post #14 of 21
12/27/07 at 11:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zibeline View Post

I passed by EDP along to my younger daughter, who wears it better than I do. Has anybody got any experience with the parfum? I'm thinking of getting her that one too (and keeping it if I love it)

I have both the perfume and the edp.

The perfume is marvellous! I haven't yet sniffed a perfume that is so different from the edp. It has the same character, but is soft and nostalgic.
I am not good at discribing perfumes but this is (almost) my holy grail!
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post #15 of 21
12/28/07 at 8:41am
I love the biker boy anaology! I kind of think of Bandit as a black cat. When you first meet her, she hisses and scratches and scares you off, but once you get to know her, she purrs and caresses and curls up in your lap for a cuddle.
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post #16 of 21
12/28/07 at 10:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by chengfun View Post

Hi, I'm intrigued by the reviews I've read about this fragrance and am very tempted to splash out and buy a bottle unsniffed. But before I do so I'd like to consult the opinions of the community.

I recently tried Mitsouko, another chypre, and liked it and hope to add it to my wardrobe. Will I also like Bandit? I would love to hear what you think if you're familiar with both.

I'm also a fan of Fracas, are there any similarities here?

Thanks.

Try vintage Cabochard as well.
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post #17 of 21
12/28/07 at 11:03am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the suggestion to try Tabac Blond, rtamara41, I have ordered a sample.
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post #18 of 21
1/11/08 at 12:39am
Thread Starter 
I thought I'd post an update now that my samples of Tabac Blond and Bandit have arrived and I've had a chance to test both

I liked Bandit immediately. On me the floral notes are quite dominant with just a hint of leather, the feeling is quite soft. The musk also gives it a slight airy quality. To me Mitsouko feels more serious and ponderous, not a casual fragrance. I could wear Bandit with casual dress but feel that I would have to dress up to for Mitsouko.

I may have one of those chemistries that eat fragrance, I don't tend to find fragrances described as strong by others overwhelming, so I don't find Bandit overpowering. Comparing it to Fracas, I find Bandit more subtle and elegant.

Surprisingly Tabac Blond is the one I find a little repulsive. The smokey and leathery notes are too strong on me. It smells like how I imagine a leather armchair in a smoking room would small. So far I can't help wiping it off each time I've tested it. I usually respond better to fragrances with more floral notes.
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post #19 of 21
1/11/08 at 1:56am
Hi Chengfun. I own a neglected bottle of Bandit. I bought it more because I liked the idea of it than because I liked the scent itself.
Bandit has a lot of attitude, but much as I've tried to love it, it's just not for me. I love Mistouko, and can honestly say there is no resemblance. Mitsouko, and most other scents I like (including Tabac Blond), are warm scents. I find Bandit a cold scent. It's too green for me. It's like getting into a car on a chilly day and sitting on freezing leather seats while rain beats a tattoo on the roof and the windscreen wipers groan back and forth. A Magic Tree dangles from the rearview mirror.
I don't get anything animalic from it, though it's supposed to be a sexy scent. I find it too austere to put me in the mood.
If you are interested in my bottle (I bought it last year and have used it only three times), drop me a PM. I'm in the UK so postage won't be a problem.
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post #20 of 21
1/11/08 at 4:38am
My experience of Bandit is that the EDP is a very different creature from the EDT.
I had a decant of the EDT and found it whipcrackingly leathery and green. I wasn't completely sure I liked it. In fact, I kind of didn't but it was very memorable.
So I tried a spritz when I was in a shop that had some on display and it was a totally different animal - leather yes, but warm, even floral. Very wearable. With a dress even - no need to wear biker boots or stilletos. I realised I had tried the EDP. Remarkably different. (And available pretty cheap on UK ebay I was pleased to find. Consequently I'm now a proud owner of the EDP and have no regrets.)
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post #21 of 21
1/11/08 at 7:02am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wordbird View Post

My experience of Bandit is that the EDP is a very different creature from the EDT.
I had a decant of the EDT and found it whipcrackingly leathery and green. I wasn't completely sure I liked it. In fact, I kind of didn't but it was very memorable.
So I tried a spritz when I was in a shop that had some on display and it was a totally different animal - leather yes, but warm, even floral. Very wearable. With a dress even - no need to wear biker boots or stilletos. I realised I had tried the EDP. Remarkably different. (And available pretty cheap on UK ebay I was pleased to find. Consequently I'm now a proud owner of the EDP and have no regrets.)

The Bandit sample I have is the EDT. I should definitely get the EDP when I want a full bottle since I like the floral notes in the EDT.
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