Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Chanel Pour Monsieur is no longer a chypre I remember
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Chanel Pour Monsieur is no longer a chypre I remember

post #1 of 15
4/7/12 at 7:06pm
Thread Starter 
When CPM was reformulated, Mr. Polge took much of the oakmoss out of the scent and replaced it with a musky-powdery base that is most pronounced in his concentree version. I can hardly detect any oakmoss and to me, CPM has become a linear citrus-aromatic as opposed to a classic mens chypre. He added the same musky-powdery base to the concentrated version as well as no. 19 poudre. To me honest, the scent is now too powdery for my liking. CPM is sadly not what it used to be.
Reply
Reply

Features on Basenotes

Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
post #2 of 15
4/7/12 at 8:02pm
I recently purchased this but I am not thrilled with it. It is too soft too vanilla. I would definitely welcome a chypre vibe to it.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 15
4/7/12 at 8:35pm
I have mine from way back and it is truly wonderful.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 15
4/7/12 at 11:27pm
I hear you there. I like what's on the market now, which is surprising given my general distaste for reformulations, and I really do enjoy the Concentree, as it seems to me like a better-blended and vanilla-touched version of Bowling Green (a long-standing favorite). But with masculine and feminine chypres of quality on the decline since the oakmoss limitations were set in place it's become difficult to find quality scents like vintage CPM, Mitsouko or Halston Limited, and I've noticed that young people, having little exposure to chypre-styled fragrances, don't seem to like them at all. Is being disapproving of youth culture a natural part of aging? I may be the oldest 27-year-old I know.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 15
4/8/12 at 12:21am
It does go heavier even on floral notes, after reformulation at least (or so I sense)
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 15
4/8/12 at 3:11am
I have both in new versions. The Concentrée is nice the standard PM not unfortunately
Will not repurchase standard PM ever again
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 15
4/8/12 at 11:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shifty Bat View Post

... and I've noticed that young people, having little exposure to chypre-styled fragrances, don't seem to like them at all. Is being disapproving of youth culture a natural part of aging? I may be the oldest 27-year-old I know.

I understand where you are comming from and agree on on apect ( the notion of disappoving of scents that one is not exposed to). That being said, I have much "older" taste then gents 20 years older than me ( this is no exageration).

Also, the older I get, I think I am interested more and more about youth culture. I think it depends what one defines as youth culture as well. There seems to be certain dominating hegemonies out there.

Back to fragrance, I really feel the problem lies in the fact that people just do not smell enough of a variety of fragrances for men. Fragrances are really not appreciated.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 15
4/9/12 at 3:00am
definitely smells like a linear citrus aromatic to me too.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 15
4/9/12 at 3:20am
It sure is sad that it is hardly a pale imitation of it's old self. Chanel should hang it's head in shame over this classic creation.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 15
5/23/12 at 7:10pm
Looked up this topic because I am so disappointed today.. : (

I fell in love with Pour Monsieur, a decant from a well-known source. Today I got a mini-bottle.....not the Concentree......but not the same fragrance! I'm crushed. It has way more lemon, and doesn't have nearly the class or elegance as my (nearly empty) decant. Now I don't even want to try to get a bigger bottle, because I can never be sure of getting the right 'vintage'.

Boo.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 15
5/23/12 at 8:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shifty Bat View Post

I hear you there. I like what's on the market now, which is surprising given my general distaste for reformulations, and I really do enjoy the Concentree, as it seems to me like a better-blended and vanilla-touched version of Bowling Green (a long-standing favorite). But with masculine and feminine chypres of quality on the decline since the oakmoss limitations were set in place it's become difficult to find quality scents like vintage CPM, Mitsouko or Halston Limited, and I've noticed that young people, having little exposure to chypre-styled fragrances, don't seem to like them at all. Is being disapproving of youth culture a natural part of aging? I may be the oldest 27-year-old I know.

I'm 22 and I adore chypre fragrances. I'm amassing quite a huge collection of them now. Have you ever tried vintage Ma Griffe in extrait? It's just lovely.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 15
5/24/12 at 1:36am
I tried this a few days ago for the first time, solely because I have heard it compared to Monsieur de Givenchy. I must agree about the powdery, musky base. If it ever had oakmoss, I cannot particularly detect it here. I did not mind it, but it was not as elegant, or indeed noteworthy, as I had heard. Perhaps I shall try it again.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 15
5/24/12 at 2:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by koala501 View Post

It sure is sad that it is hardly a pale imitation of it's old self. Chanel should hang it's head in shame over this classic creation.

In fairness I think Chanel are probably doing the best they can with the ridiculous restrictions imposed on the whole industry by IFRA. If Bergamot & Oakmoss - two of the three key constituents of the chypre accord - are restricted to an almost negligible degree then, yeah . . . "bye bye chypre" from 21st Century perfumery. It sucks.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 15
5/24/12 at 10:11am
RIP, greatest perfume genre. RIP.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 15
5/24/12 at 10:54am
According to Tania Snachez in The Little Book of Perfumes: "Chanel says that they have unified the two fragrances, and all we have now is the Concentrée, which begins with a conservative lavender fougère top note...and sidles in the direction of the original over time." Personally, I've always detected a lavender note in the original PM's top note.

I was in Duty Free at JFK on Friday and saw bottles of regular PM for sale, the stock/packaging looked brand new. I tried the tester and it didn't smell like the original PM (no lavender or oak moss detectable), or the Concentrée, or a fougère for that matter, so I don't know what/who to believe.

I always thought that the Concentrée version was similar to Tiffany For Men, which Polge also did. BTW: Tiffany fragrances are actually owned by Chanel.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: MFD Archive

Features on Basenotes

Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Chanel Pour Monsieur is no longer a chypre I remember