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The "Monsieur" scents should be a family

post #1 of 11
2/9/09 at 10:40am
Thread Starter 
They cross scent family boundaries, I think, but most of them are citruses as far as I can recall, but when a house names a scent for men "monsieur" I think it places it in a special category. A category more special than "Pour Homme" "Pour Lui" "For Men" "Hombre" "L'Homme" or whatever. Monsieur means more than man--it means somehow the man as he is supposed to be as a social and graceful creature I think.

I'm going to get a present for a friend and it's going to be Givenchy Monsieur. A perfect and ideal scent to make a signature.

Monsieur Balmain, Monsieur Rochas, Monsieur Carven, and blast, what other Monsieurs are there, and which ones of all of them are the best?

I think if I were a perfume house I would set myself the task of making one to join the Monsieur family--I think there's more to the concept than just a name for a men's scent.
--Chris
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post #2 of 11
2/9/09 at 1:03pm
Point taken, but I think maybe the fragrance company is being a cheeky bastard about it.

We perfumistas all know the dictionary definition of Pour Monsieur. But in modern French culture, the word Monsieur is often used in a sarcastic/ironic sense if used as the emphasis in a sentence.

I can think of an alternative appelation of Pour Monsieur being used in the sarcastic sense that:

"This perfume is for the aspirational bourgeois monsieur who needs the reassurance that he's wearing a perfume above his class."

IMHO, a Monsieur does not need a perfume that says Pour Monsieur. He always knows he is a real Monsieur even if he's wearing Cacharel's Anais Anais or a cheap-and-cheery like Joop*.

*: Not biographical, I don't own Anais Anais; but I do own and still wear Joop Jump.
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post #3 of 11
2/9/09 at 1:33pm
Never quite thought of 'Monsieur' like that Chris, but I think I see your point.

If I remember correctly, in The Guide, Turin mentions that Mouchoir de Monsieur by Guerlain was supposedly specially made only for select customers and then they finally released it as a regular fragrance in their line. It makes total sense - the scent is so refined, gentlemanly and special.
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post #4 of 11
2/9/09 at 1:37pm
Monsieur leonard was made for Hulk the green man.
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post #5 of 11
2/9/09 at 1:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jenson View Post

Monsieur leonard was made for Hulk the green man.


I didn't know that Lou Ferigno was a basenoter.
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post #6 of 11
2/9/09 at 2:45pm
They should be a family :brolly:

Actually, I had been thinking of this topic 2 weeks ago when I was getting ahold of a bottle of Carven Homme. I noticed Homme and Monsieur were the 2 bottles that were hard to find ( but Ma Griff and Vetiver very easy to ). Then I thought, Monsieur is an interesting name and unfortunatly a term that is no longer really given to fragrances anymore. It is all pour Homme or L'homme or what not. And how come Yves Saint Laurant does not have a Monsieur ??

I want to make an effort to sample all the Monsieur's out there. So far, only have tried Chanel Pour Monsieur ( and it is the only Chanel that does not make me sick).

And giving Givenchy Monsieur as a gift ? That is a classy choice Chris.
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post #7 of 11
2/9/09 at 4:49pm
Monsieur de Givenchy, Chanel pour Monsieur, Monsieur Balmain, Monsieur Rochas, Signoricci (signor = monsieur)... Yes, there seems to be a pattern among these male respectful/traditional "colognes", and I can't see them being marketed "pour homme"/"for men".

As a complete coincidence, My SOTD was Monsieur de Givenchy, which I love.
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post #8 of 11
2/9/09 at 5:55pm
Monsieur was generally seen more often on labels between 1900 and 1980 approx. That was certainly considered most appropriate in less democratic or socialist times. Moustache, of course, has always been a French icon, and that Guerlain had designed theirs for a Monsieur they didn't really need to spell out.

Traditional French houses are also known to keep their classics for eternities, so when they began to produce second and third fragrances for men, they needed new names for them. Take Rochas for example: Moustache of 1949 was their first. Monsieur Rochas followed Madame Rochas (1960) in the year 1969 only. The feminine Eau de Rochas was followed by Eau de Rochas pour Homme (1993), then came Rochas Man(1999) and Aquaman (2001). And in 2003 it had to be 'Lui'. There are parallel developments in other Paris houses during the same periods. Sadly, Lanvins grand Monsieur and Gentleman are both history.

I see no common fragrance traits for these Monsieurs. Citrus and Vetiver have simply been classical ingredients and quite common at the beginning of modern fragrances for men. Their period really started big after 1960 only.
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post #9 of 11
2/10/09 at 1:39pm
As many have pointed out, many fall under the citrus category.

Most specifically they happen to fall under the main cat. Man's Chypre, and then under the Citrus or Fresh category or in between them.

An example of this might be some already mentioned:
Pour Monsieur (Chanel), Monsieur de Givenchy, Monsieur Lanvin, Monsieur Balmain, etc are around these categories and most share many notes.

Others that might have been named "Monsieur" could have been (but weren't):

English leather (it's much more fresh and citrus than leathery)
YSL PH
Armani PH
Lacoste (for men) old release
Eau de Sport (paco rabbanne)
Armani PH
Eau de Patou
Signorricici 2 (as well as signorricci, like Smeller said)
Lancôme's Trophée
Boucheron PH
Bogart's Eau Fresh
Tabac Original

and many many others.

One example of a "monsieur" that's NOT under these categories might be Carven's Monsieur which happens to be an Oriental-Spicy scent.
cheers!
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post #10 of 11
2/10/09 at 1:41pm
if i were to name a scent 'monsieur'.....

it would be Monsieur Leather Whore.

how's that Chris?
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post #11 of 11
2/10/09 at 2:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by everso View Post

if i were to name a scent 'monsieur'.....

it would be Monsieur Leather Whore.


I guess that would be an oriental-spicy one too?
with leathery notes of course...
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