LV vs MPG

LV today. A tie years ago.

for usability i'd say LV.
for refinement, quality and craftsmanship MPG hands down.

I have most of the male and unisex MPG'. To me they are all works of art. (or most of them) BUT because they are so outspoken and sometimes even more a statement in itself (iris bleu gris, RdV, eau des iles) i find that i do not wear them that often. LV's uomo for instance is a great great scent, easily wearable on any occasion, but also not that interesting compared to a parfum d'habit, or RdV. Take Santal Noble and compare it to Sandalo. In my view it makes Sandalo look like a 'nice' scent with SN towering over it.
in general i have never been too impressed with LV's offerings. I only own Uomo and Musk and have contemplated some others but i find there are better alternatives out there.

My vote goes to the great Lorenzo Villoresi. A real artist, with a vision and his own style.

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier (it's French actually) makes quality but slightly old-fashioned products, IMO.

MPG is French, not Italian, and its proprietor and chief nose, Jean Laporte, is among the elite creators of fragrances.

LV is a fine house, but they have nothing quite so sublime as Parfum d'Habit, Iris Bleu Gris, Racine, and Santal Noble.

For me, these two are both true niché-houses, all about serious artistry and craftmanship, not about clever marketing and outrageous prices. I'd like to say LV, but in all honesty, MPG is slightly better of the two.

I think I would choose LV. I love Uomo, and think their version of eau de cologne is terrific. Vetiver is nice as well.

I had to respond to this thread, even though I have no definite answer to the question, since these are two of my favorite houses. I'm the very happy owner of many fragrances from both. While I agree that Santal Noble does probably have the edge over Sandalo, there's nothing from MPG that has the startling originality of LV's Piper Nigrum or Yerbamate. I also find LV's Vetiver to be equal to (although very different from) MPG's wonderful (pre-reformulated) version. I think the original poster might have thought they were both Italian houses because Jean Laporte does have a certain flair to his work that makes him seem a bit Italian in certain ways. I definitely think MPG is closer in spirit to LV and Mazzolari than it is to any other French house I can think of.

I have been sampling the fragrances of Villoresi, and I have not found a more consistently excellent line of fragrances. Spezie, Piper Nigrum, Yerbamate, Musk, and Sandalo are all first rate in my opinion. I am fairly new to the avocation of "fragrance enjoyment," so I'm not as familiar with MPG. MPG's Santal Noble (vintage), however, I have tried, and it is a superior fragrance. It is the benchmark I use when comparing Sandalwood prominent fragrances. Villoresi uses a high quality sandalwood in his fragrance as did MPG in their vintage Santal Noble. Having tried at least 10 sandalwood prominent fragrances, Santal Noble (vintage) and Villoresi's Sandalo are at the top of the list. I have not tried the refomulated version of Santal Noble. I think anyone who is interested in niche fragrances needs to sample the fragrances from the House of Villoresi.

Is anyone else familiar with Villoresi and Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier fragrances?

Both are great houses. My top pick from each are Ambre precieux and Sandalo.

They are about at equal levels of quality with the primary differences being that MPG makes about twice as many fragrances as Villoresi and so they have about twice as many that I like compared to Villoresi. My favorites from Villoresi (Uomo, Vetiver, Colonia, Piper Nigrum and Patchouli) are about equally as wonderful as my favorites from MPG (Eau des Iles, Parfum d' Habit, Pour Le Jeunne Homme and Santal Noble). I like the Villoresi bottles much more.

I would be happy to have a lifetime supply of Villoresi Acqua di Colonia, Uomo, Uomo Profumo & Yerbamate. Sandalo doesn't do it for me but it is probably one of the better sandalwood scents out there given the circumstances - that said there aren't any really because Mysore sandalwood is virtually obtainable for commercial use these days. I also own Spezie & Incensi but could probably live without them.

The bottle design is great IMO.

Santal Noble may once have been a wonderful composition - the first reformulation (which I own) is a terrific sandalwood inflected scent with a unique character, but I believe it has been tampered with recently because the bottle I bought after the US distributor drought now has a harsh chemical 'woody' note that destroys it for me. I stand to be corrected on this from anyone who has had a chance to compare them but my nose tells me this one is screwed, frankly. Eau des Isles (vintage) is a fantastic piece of work IMO - a masterpiece in it's own way, and Garrigue (vintage) also quite nice.

As I understand it Jean Laporte retired some years ago and I get the feeling that MPG is just treading water and that a lack of any real direction from within the brand + reformulations due to IFRA or commercial considerations is gradually chipping away at the reputation of this house.

I find the bottle caps garish and clunky, one bottle leaked in transit and with another the atomiser just did not work - I had to take off the whole mechanism and decant the contents into another bottle - extremely shoddy workmanship.

Qualifier - I haven't tried all the fragrances from either - just the above, which I own and Parfum d'Habit & Bois de Turquie (the only new one since Laporte left, I believe), both of which are good.

In terms of an overview of the two I would say Villoresi is a hands on artisanal house that maintains the personal vision of it's creator and MPG is a once great house in slow decline but not without hope if there was an injection of cash and a decision to maintain quality ingredients and up the overall QC.

Love everything that MPG offers.

Wow am I shocked!

of what i have sampled.. i like what Villoresi does but, i like MPG's ceations much better. i find's MPG's releases much more fuller.. Santal Noble, Parfums d'Habit, Iris Bleu Gris, Racine plus many more. of the Villoresi's i really like Yerbamate & Sandalo.. i havent sampled patchouli.. the rest tht i had.. (musk, uomo, piper nigrum, Incensi, tient Niege) didnt do much for me after a while.. i found them to be screechy and well.. it;s a cliche to use this word in basenotes...but.. synthetic.. (pressed hard, i'll add Uomo to my fav list alongside Yerbamate & Sandalo..

Both favourite houses. Piper Nigrum and Route du Vetiver where the first two niche bottles that I bought. LV to me is more classic and elegant. MRG seem old fashioned but always have something original and even subversive (a rooty vetiver, a metallic sandalwood, the sour creaminess in IBG, sheer but flamboyant feminine scents...). A minus (or is it a plus actually.....) the MPG reformulations: makes want to try all versions. RdV is for me the fragrance that I would take with me to my grave. Overall? Please define "quality"....

Think I'm basically with Dutchy. Sometimes LV compositions strike me as a bit crude, and other times they seem simple in the best niche tradition of quality ingredients presented with one note forward and a sort of anti-perfume love of natural smells. As much as I admire and enjoy sniffing the MPG's that I own, I wear LV's much more often. Piper Nigrum I don't miss so much but I wish I hadn't sold Yerbamate.