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jean paul gaultier - la male

post #1 of 64
3/14/12 at 2:27pm
Thread Starter 
we are probably all aware of the silly, yet distinguished and familiar bottle design.

the scent itself is one of the better mass market fragrances, in my opinion. it is unique compared to the many other scents sold at big box stores.

it is very sweet, so much that it could be sickening if you were to wear it too often, but it is very good to be used on occasion. definitely a worthy addition to any large collection.

your thoughts?
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post #2 of 64
3/14/12 at 2:34pm
To me, the best fragrance of all time.
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post #3 of 64
3/14/12 at 2:36pm
I have no problems with it.
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post #4 of 64
3/14/12 at 2:39pm
i actually think the bottle is fun in a quirky way like spicebomb or bond no.9
classic cologne bottles can be so boring.

love the scent used to wear it a lot last year but kinda died down when I got into Dior homme line
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post #5 of 64
3/14/12 at 2:50pm
I had a bottle once given too me as a gift many years ago. I have nothing against the scent but just have expanded my tastes and have tried so many great frags I just could not go back to Le Male.
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post #6 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:11pm
La Male?

I prefer the Fleurs du Male much more.
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post #7 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:14pm
The opening is nice unfortunately the rest of the duration I find horrid. Try Amouage Reflection Man.
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post #8 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:17pm
I want to like it, but the mint just ruins it for me. It's like I spilled mouthwash on my shirt or dribbled my toothpaste and then put on some great cologne...
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post #9 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:18pm
I have a bottle, I've worn it a total of twice...although I liked it.
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post #10 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:21pm
Excellent juice albeit a tad too popular.
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post #11 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:26pm
I appreciate that it was groundbreaking and opened up new options for masculine scents.

I also get a very similar vibe from Mechant Loup.
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post #12 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:29pm
This is one of those that many really like and others really dislike. I'm simply tepid on it- it's not a bad fragrance, but I find it linear, cloyingly sweet, and even with light application, it leaves a cloud of Le Male around you. If it were less expensive, I'd say it would be a good fragrance for anyone building a collection, but there are so many that are similar (some say better) at the same price or less (Cuba Gold) that I wouldn't recommend it unless you've tried it and decided you really liked it. I bought it blind because I had gift cards to burn up, and I don't regret the purchase, but it's been used as bargaining/decanting leverage much more than its been used as a fragrance for me.
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post #13 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:36pm
It is nice, but rather linear. I recently bought Le Male Terrible which is a very toned down version. More pepper etc, I think mint is not in it. A more professional version of Le Male.
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post #14 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:38pm
I love this fragrance although it is a very common fragrance which kinda takes the shine of it a little. Without a doubt, if you wear this out clubbing, you will more than likely smell like a lot of the other guys there. However, thats not to take anything away from the fragrance which is beautiful and it also has killer longevity!!

I also have to point how how contradictory the title of this thread is, it made me chuckle !
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post #15 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:41pm
I like it. I realize I don't have great taste in frags yet, but at least for the moment, I prefer the minty opening of Le Male to, for example, the opening of Geranium by Fred Malle (bathroom) or Ambre Sultan by Lutens (gum).
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post #16 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icanzapyou View Post

I like it. I realize I don't have great taste in frags yet, but at least for the moment, I prefer the minty opening of Le Male to, for example, the opening of Geranium by Fred Malle (bathroom) or Ambre Sultan by Lutens (gum).

It's a really enjoyable frag. I don't think there's any need to apologize.
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post #17 of 64
3/14/12 at 3:51pm
Far, far too common, don't enjoy the top notes all that much...and still it's enjoyable. Makes one feel like a teenager on the prowl.
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post #18 of 64
3/14/12 at 4:01pm
tbh its good for a designer frag, but there's better
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post #19 of 64
3/14/12 at 4:05pm
Smells like the men's room of a French bistro.
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post #20 of 64
3/14/12 at 4:09pm
Outside Basenotes, 99.9% will give it positive feedback.

Absolute gem of a fragrance.
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post #21 of 64
3/14/12 at 4:12pm
I recall the year it was released, and having a good friend who immediately became a fan of Le Male. At the time we were teenagers and in love with everything trendy. Le Male was actually not overly trendy where I live, and stayed that way until about seven or eight years ago, when it suddenly began to really pick up steam. Now it's a new "classic" of sorts, I guess.

It was definitely very original smelling in the '90s, with a very intense and potent character. Time has not treated it well. Now it just smells rather dense and sweet, and incredibly synthetic. I still think it is a good reference scent for "that 90s smell."
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post #22 of 64
3/14/12 at 4:35pm
One time someone told me that the old saying "i had to carry a stick to beat the bitches off me" wasn't born from the release of la male!! I didn't call him an idiot to his face but i did chuckle a bit, for the thought of spraying it without a stick handy doesn't even register in this 3d realm in which we reside.
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post #23 of 64
3/14/12 at 4:35pm
Nothing beats this scent! Only thing is that this is smelled everywhere!
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post #24 of 64
3/14/12 at 4:39pm
Upon intial application of this frag I instantly feel sick.
I absolutely hate it.
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post #25 of 64
3/14/12 at 4:44pm
Crazy how our taste can move! I use to love this one, I wore it a lot and emptied out two bottles. Now I wouldn't buy another one: it has become a very synthetic/chemical and "disturbing" smell. I don't even enjoy it on other people
Sad for me
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post #26 of 64
3/14/12 at 4:55pm
I really loved it when i first smelled it. Bought a bottle and only wore it twice.
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post #27 of 64
3/14/12 at 5:13pm
I actually don't mind this fragrance, contrary to how I felt time ago about how mediocre it was.

From JPG, I would chose FdM (EDT and EDC) and Gaultier2 over this though.
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post #28 of 64
3/14/12 at 5:20pm
Try Amouage Reflection Man
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post #29 of 64
3/14/12 at 5:44pm
used to hate it, dont really hate it anymore.
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post #30 of 64
3/14/12 at 8:33pm
I like it, but like better others with some similarities (L'Occitan, Au Masculin...)
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post #31 of 64
3/14/12 at 9:07pm
Not bad
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post #32 of 64
3/14/12 at 10:05pm
The Sailor guards my collection...
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post #33 of 64
3/14/12 at 10:14pm
Try blend it with Kouros.........holy crap this blend is nice for going out and PARTY with the young ladiezzzz !!!

I give Le Lame 8/10 - it's a classic and a trendsetter in the mid 90's, thus a classic
I give Kouros-Le Male blend 9/10 - a crazy animal on testosterone for a night out !
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post #34 of 64
3/15/12 at 4:32am
The bottle is great - the fragrance sucks.
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post #35 of 64
3/15/12 at 4:43am
I find it nauseating and headache inducing.
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post #36 of 64
3/15/12 at 4:45am
I'd pick Old Spice over that, lol.
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post #37 of 64
3/15/12 at 7:28am
Le Male was first fragrance outside of aquatic genre that I sampled (because 1 company sent me sample with my order of Bulgari Aqva, previously I had just another bottle of Aqva, CK One and Acqua Di Gio)). First I was like WTF but smell was intriguing and like nothing I owned before. It was also very powerful and cloying.

I wore that sample for a few times and felt like million bucks wearing it. Later I realized that this is fragrance that I smell most often in the streets. Maybe it is not so popular as one would think but you can definitely SMELL and recognize it in the crowds so it may be reason why one may think that people wear it more often than any other fragrance.

I bought small decant of Le Mal later, which seems to not last as long and doesnt project as much as my sample but sometime I crave to wear it.

Overall I think that it is one of better designer releases, very unique and smells different on different people (on some guys it smells magical, on some just OK). It is also one fragrance that MY PARENTS like best and my mother used to wear it (I had to remove bottle from bathroom because she would use all juice).

Long story short:
- unique
- strong
- some people really love it (I know one lady in her 40s that said this is most sexy fragrance for men)
- bit synthetic and cloying
- popular
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post #38 of 64
3/15/12 at 7:57am
When I first sampled it I thought it smelled really good, but I tested it on a card and it turned out it was actually the scent of the card (paper) itself combined with Le Male that made it smell that way.

When I tried it on my skin I thought it was just OK but nothing special, a little too sweet and vanilla-ish for me though. I grew bored with it already in about a week and never touched it since. And when I smell it on other people now I catch myself actually disliking it...
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post #39 of 64
3/15/12 at 8:10am
Wow
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post #40 of 64
3/15/12 at 12:14pm
it's a synthetic bomb that crys out to all within a football field's length that the wearer has arrived ...
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post #41 of 64
3/15/12 at 12:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by showgoeson View Post

Outside Basenotes, 99.9% will give it positive feedback.

Absolute gem of a fragrance.

Thanks for that fictional statistic
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post #42 of 64
3/15/12 at 11:28pm
I think it's well done and I always give it a try when I see it in a department store. That being said, I can never fully decide if it's worth a full bottle. Maybe one day.
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post #43 of 64
3/16/12 at 12:01am
For the love of pete- will someone please correct the thread title?? Merci mille fois
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post #44 of 64
3/16/12 at 3:08am
That bottle cracks me up, haha.
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post #45 of 64
3/16/12 at 4:13am
I like it to death, my top1 of all time
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post #46 of 64
3/16/12 at 8:53am
I like it but to me there is better, expectially if you have explored to other fragrances and niches. It's is known to be a good night out scent. But I don't see why this couldn't be a good signature scent...expectially on cold days. May not be a good idea for the office/work because it projects so much that someone will notice and possibley be offended. Romantic scent (or as they call it between the sheets scent) could be a good one but I would perfer something that stays close to the scent on romantic nights lets say Chanel Allure Edition blanche.
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post #47 of 64
7/25/12 at 1:01am
I really really detest Le Male
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post #48 of 64
7/25/12 at 1:04am
Thread Starter 
lol, i spelt it la male
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post #49 of 64
7/25/12 at 1:11am
In a word: vile
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post #50 of 64
7/25/12 at 2:12am
Good scent ruined by people who grossly over-apply. One spray on the chest is enough, anything more than that and it does become sickening. I recall driving down the street in central Lausanne and smelling it very strongly from a douchey guy walking next to the car about 20 metres away. True story.
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post #51 of 64
7/25/12 at 2:21am
Though not one of my favorites, this one can surprise you. Wore it on a whim one summe day at about 11:00 AM and I could not believe how well behaved this was in the scorching heat. Never got cloying at any point and lasted a good 10+ hours, all the time discernible in gentle wafts. Yes I'm sure it was Le Male !

The number of sprays is key of course.
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post #52 of 64
7/25/12 at 3:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Primrose View Post

La Male?

It's the limited edition transexual version.
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post #53 of 64
7/25/12 at 3:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fraghead View Post

It's the limited edition transexual version.

LOL

Tried Le Male once in a department store. One spray on my wrist and it was all I could smell all day, despite having tried about 5 other fragrances as well.
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post #54 of 64
7/25/12 at 5:58am
Thread Starter 
the thing about le male was that i wasn't a big fan of it at first, when i was trying out fragrances. i thought fragrances were supposed to be clean-citrus or powerful woodsy, but not sweet like Le Male was. however, as I tried it more and more, I liked it a little more. Buying a 4.2 oz of it was still a big risk at the time, but I did, and over the past month, I've definitely appreciated it much more.
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post #55 of 64
7/25/12 at 4:53pm
Still a fan of the ol' man-in-a-can. It's one of those designer scents that I can admire and wear even if my friends wear it.

I haven't worn it as much lately, though.
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post #56 of 64
7/25/12 at 5:56pm
Don't know what it is but the terrible version smells actually less terrible on skin than the original version.

Also it's less intense.
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post #57 of 64
7/25/12 at 7:11pm
A lot of great reviews on it. It's one of the few fragrances that is extremely hyped on youtube. Just blind bought a bottle.
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post #58 of 64
7/25/12 at 7:23pm
A classic that I will always have in my collection!!!
Gary
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post #59 of 64
7/25/12 at 7:40pm
I kept it for about 6 months before I sold it when I was 20 yrs old. felt too sweet for me after that point
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post #60 of 64
7/25/12 at 8:34pm
People hate it because of its popularity. It's that simple. However, when used with responsibility it's a fantastic fragrance.
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