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Aramis Devin - WOW!!

post #1 of 32
3/3/09 at 8:54am
Thread Starter 
I think I´m one the way to re-discover the good old 70´s classics - all those fantastic fragrances like: Azzaro pour Homme, Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme, Yatagan, Equipage, both Halstons, Z-14 and 1-12, Paco Rabanne pour Homme, Gentleman... and most recently: Devin.
What a wonderful scent! Green, leathery, slightly animalic, with a nice smoky chypre base. I almost forgot how great these Aramis frags are and what a wonderful job Bernard Chant did!! The closely related Cabochard, Azurée and Aramis; the wonderful duo Aromatics Elixier and Aramis 900; and the twins Alliage and Devin. All of them created by Chant, a truly great artist!
Don´t you think, those scents deserve more attention?! IMHO, they are definitely underrated!
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post #2 of 32
3/3/09 at 9:03am
Yep, I wore Devin almost exclusively for most of the late 70s - early 80s.
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post #3 of 32
3/3/09 at 9:26am
Devin is my favorite Aramis fragrance although Aramis 900, Havana, JHL, Tuscany per Uomo and Aramis are not too far behind!
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post #4 of 32
3/3/09 at 10:53am
My Favorite Aramis Scent too.

There is no other scent that features that blast of galbanum and green at the top notes so...skillfully. It's so affordable too. It needs more hype here on BN.
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post #5 of 32
3/3/09 at 11:07am
argh
another one added on the already too large 'need to sample list'
thanks I guess
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post #6 of 32
3/3/09 at 11:22am
  • cpk
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sables View Post

I think I´m one the way to re-discover the good old 70´s classics - all those fantastic fragrances like: Azzaro pour Homme, Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme, Yatagan, Equipage, both Halstons, Z-14 and 1-12, Paco Rabanne pour Homme, Gentleman... and most recently: Devin.
What a wonderful scent! Green, leathery, slightly animalic, with a nice smoky chypre base. I almost forgot how great these Aramis frags are and what a wonderful job Bernard Chant did!! The closely related Cabochard, Azurée and Aramis; the wonderful duo Aromatics Elixier and Aramis 900; and the twins Alliage and Devin. All of them created by Chant, a truly great artist!
Don´t you think, those scents deserve more attention?! IMHO, they are definitely underrated!

I really am impressed about how this guy (Bernard Chant) could take a feminine fragrance and turn it into a masculine (or vice versa) staying true to the innitial idea. I have always admired Aromatics Elixir, which is unwearable by a man unfortunately. And through posts in this forum I discovered A900! Amazing.
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post #7 of 32
3/4/09 at 3:41am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpk View Post

I have always admired Aromatics Elixir, which is unwearable by a man unfortunately. And through posts in this forum I discovered A900! Amazing.

The same applies to Alliage and Devin. The former is wearable by men but defenitely has a rather feminine make-up, while the latter shows how little tweaking is required to edge a feminine into a masculine (and vice versa).
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post #8 of 32
3/4/09 at 8:02am
Yup! A great. I am actually getting a bottle very soon to enhance my powerhouse collection.
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post #9 of 32
3/4/09 at 8:47am
Not so green as 900, but not so leathery and "tough" as Aramis.
I place it somewhere in the same ballpark as Polo Crest and Chevignon, only somewhat greener than either of those.

Yup, it's a real sleeper, this one -- I really wish it would get more "play" here on the board.
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post #10 of 32
3/4/09 at 4:57pm
I was in a brick 'n morter perfume shop today -JUST LOOKING!- and I saw a box of Devin and JHL collecting dust on the shelf. I was sooo tempted, but payday isn't till the 15th...
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post #11 of 32
3/4/09 at 7:55pm
Well, I just went and got me a bottle, for nostalgia's sake, if nothing else. I remember Devin fondly from my teens, and I wonder what I'll think of it after some wear in, um, adulthood.
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post #12 of 32
3/4/09 at 8:31pm
I moved to NYC in the late 70's and Devin had a huge promotion with Bloomingdales - they gave away a green umbrella with a duck-head handle to everyone who bought a bottle of Devin. I still love Devin, but we all bathed in it for years. I prefer Alliage these days.
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post #13 of 32
3/5/09 at 7:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

I moved to NYC in the late 70's and Devin had a huge promotion with Bloomingdales - they gave away a green umbrella with a duck-head handle to everyone who bought a bottle of Devin. I still love Devin, but we all bathed in it for years. I prefer Alliage these days.

OMG, I totally forgot about that duck head handle umbrella. I had one too. Gift-with-purchases were really great, weren't they?
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post #14 of 32
3/5/09 at 8:05am
I wore Devin for a brief spell around 1986. I was 18-19 years old. Nice memories when I smell the scent.

First year of college. Living away from home for the first time. What a rollercoaster of emotions. Very exiciting time. But...I would not want to re-live it! It was grueling emotionally as well. Finding yourself as a young man is tricky stuff. I was blessed to start dating my wife at the tender age of 19 and we were married when I was 23. Still going strong!

My scents from that time (in order of preference):

1. Kouros
2. Devin
Oscar Pour Lui
3. Polo
4. Wild Oats (?)
5. Quorum

Holding back the years...

The Joshua Tree by U2 was the big album. It's sweet that I just bought my 13 year old their new CD as his first.
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post #15 of 32
3/5/09 at 11:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckW View Post

I wore Devin for a brief spell around 1986. I was 18-19 years old. Nice memories when I smell the scent.

First year of college. Living away from home for the first time. What a rollercoaster of emotions. Very exiciting time. But...I would not want to re-live it! It was grueling emotionally as well. Finding yourself as a young man is tricky stuff. I was blessed to start dating my wife at the tender age of 19 and we were married when I was 23. Still going strong!

My scents from that time (in order of preference):

1. Kouros
2. Devin
Oscar Pour Lui
3. Polo
4. Wild Oats (?)
5. Quorum

Holding back the years...

The Joshua Tree by U2 was the big album. It's sweet that I just bought my 13 year old their new CD as his first.

Some fascinating biographical parallels here...

By the way, I don't know if this thread has anything to do with it, but I noticed a few members, myself included, list Devin on the current "Today I Bought" thread.
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post #16 of 32
3/18/09 at 6:35pm
I received a recently purchased used bottle of Devin today. Ahh...the memories that come floating into my head, the second I unscrewed the cap and inhaled. Fragrances from your youth, smelled as an adult, are like finding old photographs. The nostalgia just flows.
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post #17 of 32
3/18/09 at 9:21pm
due to this thread and MikeP"s past mentions of this fragrance, I sampled it the other day at the counter. It is quite good and I just might have to purchase a bottle someday. I think this type of green is better than the original polo.
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post #18 of 32
3/19/09 at 12:30am
I have since bought a bottle of Devin and must say i am very glad to be reunited with one of the good things of my past. A great way to move forward.

Aramis Devin is truly underrated.
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post #19 of 32
3/19/09 at 5:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckW View Post

...4. Wild Oats (?)
5. Quorum...

You mean there was a scent named WIld QUAKER Oats??? Wow!!!

BTW, tried Cabochard and found it ws a a lighter version of Aramis, so I bought it right onthe spot and now love it..

Still, I can't get Devin nor Aramis 900 because they are not distributed locally: yet another two on my wishlist.
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post #20 of 32
4/2/09 at 12:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scentologist View Post

due to this thread and MikeP"s past mentions of this fragrance, I sampled it the other day at the counter. It is quite good and I just might have to purchase a bottle someday. I think this type of green is better than the original polo.

I understand what you mean. I think it's because I'm such a fan of galbanum. Most women's fragrances that are galbanum prominent I like also. It's got loads of the stuff in Devin.

Whereas Polo relies on more of the pine note.

Same 'category', but two entirely different experiences.
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post #21 of 32
4/2/09 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sables View Post

I think I´m one the way to re-discover the good old 70´s classics - all those fantastic fragrances like: Azzaro pour Homme, Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme, Yatagan, Equipage, both Halstons, Z-14 and 1-12, Paco Rabanne pour Homme, Gentleman... and most recently: Devin.

I need to try Devin.

Although it missed the 1970s by 2 years, you ought to give the original Calvin a sniff. It's excellent.
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post #22 of 32
4/26/12 at 6:23am
I now own Devin for the first time since 1986. Wearing it today and it's a still a charmer. Warm, sweet and green at the same time. I bought half-full bottles of this and JHL (in the new packaging) off ebay for a combined total of $31, including shipping.

JHL is a powerhouse. I'd better stick to 1 spray of that bad boy. I went with 4 on Devin today...hope I'm not choking anyone!
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post #23 of 32
4/26/12 at 6:40am
It's a nice scent to reminisce to, I agree ChuckW. All I have to do is take the cap off and inhale and I am instantly transported to when I was a teenager at the mall, at the Aramis counter, looking at the glass cabinets full of bottles, the after shaves, deodorants, the hair gels (does anyone remember Aramis scented hair gel - OMG so 80's!), and those awesome gift-with-purchase umbrellas that you would get if you bought something. Nice memories...
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post #24 of 32
4/26/12 at 6:46am
I like this herbal bitter green scent from the old school of fragrances. They do not make them like this any more.
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post #25 of 32
4/26/12 at 6:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

It's a nice scent to reminisce to, I agree ChuckW. All I have to do is take the cap off and inhale and I am instantly transported to when I was a teenager at the mall, at the Aramis counter, looking at the glass cabinets full of bottles, the after shaves, deodorants, the hair gels (does anyone remember Aramis scented hair gel - OMG so 80's!), and those awesome gift-with-purchase umbrellas that you would get if you bought something. Nice memories...

Yes! I was also captivated by the awesome line of Aramis products. Talk about full-service! The Aramis AS Balm smelled better than Aramis itself (white liquid w/gold cap). I also remember being totally smitten when i first inhaled KL Homme by Lagerfeld at a downtown department store in Huntington, WV when I was around 19. At 19, I was easily smitten...but I'm still a sucker for great smelling things! New West with the rock/crystal deodorant...those are great memories! I wish I had photographs of the classic cologne counters from those great stores of the 80's. And I wish so many of those scents were still available.
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post #26 of 32
4/26/12 at 7:44am
One Christmas my dad recieved Devin as a gift. He immediately gave it to me and that became my first real scent I wore for a long time. It was probably 1979. I would not buy anouther scent until 1983 when an SA talked me into buying Halston (not sure which one) and Gray Flannel.

Strangely enough I neve replace the Devin once it ran out. The beauty of Devin came out about 30 minutes after application and then it just rocked. My bottle was a splash, so it was most likely the after shave. I need to replace this gem in my collection.

Like you guys have said, it brings back some really great memories.
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post #27 of 32
4/26/12 at 8:33am
I was actually able to do a google search and found a photo of the department store I mentioned. It is closed, but the name of the store is still on the front of the bulding and it still looks the same, although vacant. Very sweet memories. Glad I searched it.
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post #28 of 32
4/26/12 at 11:22pm
I believe it was Bryant Gumble who wears this stuff and was complimented on it when he made an appearance on GMA! Its gotta be good!
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post #29 of 32
4/27/12 at 2:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckW View Post

I was actually able to do a google search and found a photo of the department store I mentioned. It is closed, but the name of the store is still on the front of the bulding and it still looks the same, although vacant. Very sweet memories. Glad I searched it.

Sort of 'where it all began', huh ChuckW? Awesome!
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post #30 of 32
4/27/12 at 6:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

Sort of 'where it all began', huh ChuckW? Awesome!

Yes, and a little more detective work found a pic that a lady took recently that was up against the glass door with the lights on! The place was cleaned out, but I could see through the empty store to the back wall where that lovely cologne counter once stood! Awesome. Of course in my fantasies, I would be able to go there today, and gain access for a walk-through, and stumble upon a cardboard box left behind after the closing many years ago. What could be inside? Near full tester bottles of KL Homme, Patou Pour Homme, Monogram by RL, Escada Casual Friday and vintage bottles of Georgio VIP, Polo, and Kouros for good measure! A guy can dream, right?
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post #31 of 32
4/27/12 at 6:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

Sort of 'where it all began', huh ChuckW? Awesome!

It's in the "neshachan" photostream on flickr. "Stone and Thomas" department store. This is the picture looking through the glass entrance back through the empty store. It's actually in very good shape! What boxes could be laying long forgotten in some back storage room?
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post #32 of 32
4/27/12 at 9:19am
I'm another wearer from the late 70's and early 80's. I think it's more suited to me now that I'm in my middle years.

Aramis is, in my opinion, a terrific house and you can hardly complain at the prices, either.
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