Armand Basi Homme: Your thoughts?

Would love to hear more thoughts on this. I'm looking for a monochromatic frag, and I have to say that the bottle of this scent has me completely hooked. I'm pretty sure I'm going to blind buy this regardless but still, would love to hear more recent opinions as it seems like this scent hasn't been mentioned here in years


Look at that gorgeous monochromaticism and beautiful use of hard lines.

Here are the listed notes for the scent:

Top notes:
cinnamon, lavender and cardamom;

middle notes
nutmeg, tonka bean, lilac, incense and lily-of-the-valley;

base notes
sandalwood, musk, vanilla, guaiac wood and cedar.

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I'm curious how well the monochromaticism of the bottle is reflected in the scent. I've heard some compare it to Le Male, saying it is lighter and less sweet, so I have no doubt that the white aspects are present, but are there any darker elements to the scent? I'm thinking - hoping - that the listed guiacwood will rear its head in the dry down. Guiacwood is basically present in ALL of my favorite scents (Memoir Man, Colonia Intensa, L'Anarchiste, Burberry London, etc - it's present in like 3/4 of my wardrobe faves) and I'm hoping it presents some of its dark smoky woody goodness in the dry down of this scent. Also, how noticeable is the listed lilac note? I absolutely love the scent of lilacs (well, who doesn't?) and it's so rare to find it in a men's scent. In fact, the notes list for this scent basically reads as a dream notes list for me. Combined with the awesome bottle.. yeah, I need this scent! So, tell me more, tell me more please!


Also, does anyone know if it has been reformulated? The above picture is the new packaging, while the original packaging looked like this



To be honest, I really love the new packaging; that box is stellar! It seems easy enough to find sellers selling either version, and I suppose I should go with the old packaging as that is surely what 90%, if not all, of the reviewers are remarking on in their reviews, but I don't know if I can resist the allure of the new packaging. Silly, I know, but it is what it is.

Bigsly, why do you say that? Do you find it lacking development/dynamism? Is it just a sweet amorphous blob, or is there more going on? Is it really linear?

Please share any and all thoughts and details as to why you found it unfulfilling.

Also, did you have the old or new packaging?

Thanks Bigsly. It's not sounding so bad actually, especially as of late I've really taken to many simple and direct scents. I'm thinking the wood note you picked up is probably the gaiac, which is usually pretty smooth, inoffensive, and slightly smoky, and is also sometimes leathery or tea-like (note how it appears in a lot of scents that feature a tea or leather note!).

A few more questions if you'll humor me (and I really appreciate it!):

Just how prevalent is the tonka? Is it like so many modern scents where there is this tonka aura that floats throughout the whole scent's evolution? (a couple examples: Armani Code, YSL L'Homme, Playboy Hollywood, even Allure Homme, heck, there are so many)

Do you recall there being any darkness or smokiness in the base?

Thanks Bossa - the Code comment is interesting. I actually really like Code, I find it to be a simple and direct scent that is imminently pleasurable if not intellectually stimulating or challenging. I've still considered picking some up because there are times when such a simple comfort scent is what really hits the spot. I love that gaiac/anise/floral/tonka accord, I just wish the tonka was dialed back a bit.

Do you find the sweetness and powderiness levels of AB Homme to be more or less prominent than in Code? Is AB Homme more complex to your nose; does it exhibit more development? Does AB Homme have any of the darker aspects that are evident in Code?

Thanks again.

Also - did either of you pick up a distinct lilac note, or is it lost in part of a larger accord?

I like the subtle and light descriptions - scents are always extremely strong on me and I get extreme longevity out of everything, so I really do enjoy scents that most find to be too weak.

I'm actually kind of looking at this scent as a replacement for Reflection Man as I just can't tolerate that scent any more - it's just too much. Too sweet. Too strong. Too chaotic (damn that corn tortilla note when it rears its ugly head!).

I once owned Body Kouros but got rid of it for being overbearing. Le Male I really like, in theory, but it too is just too much, and there's a plasticky quality to the vanilla that really wears on my nerves as the hours go by.

Is the lavender here medicinal at all, or the very smooth and sweet kind? Actually, I should just ask how the lavender here compares to the lavender in Dior Homme, which has one of my favorite renditions of lavender, ever.

If anyone reading this wants to swap me a sample of it for one or more samples that I have (check my samples list, it's mostly accurate - or ask about a specific frag(s) as I may have samples of them) I would really appreciate it.

I know it's not a real expensive blind buy, but there are number of expensive scents I want a full bottle of and I'm thinking I'll really be kicking myself if I waste $35 on this.

Ended up blind buying this and am really enjoying it! Here's the quick initial impressions review I wrote up for Fragrantica:

"Early impressions of this are very good. It has components of Body Kouros, Le Male, Armani Code, and Azzaro Visit (a similar cedar/nutmeg/guiacwood accord in each, although it is more woody and prominent in Visit than Armand Basi PH).

I love the interplay between the light/white notes (tonka, vanilla, lily of the valley, lilac) and the dark guiacwood which is bolstered by some anise-like note. Thanks to the prominent guiacwood, this scent is more waxy/woody vanillic rather than powdery vanilla (as is Armani Code).

Sweet without being too sweet, sexy without being ostentatious about it like 1 Million or its ilk, and very versatile. This was a blind buy that went very very well!"

This is really more like a mix of Body Kouros + Azzaro Visit, with just hints of Code and Le Male. Despite resembling so many other frags in some way or another, as a whole Armand Basi Homme is quite unique. Am I the only one who loves the opening? It's an awesome sweet vanillic lavender underpinned by cinnamon and incense. Excellent! The heart becomes more a mix of Body Kouros and Visit, as mentioned, although there's a darkness present thanks to the guaiac and anisey notes that makes it more interesting than either. It's also not as loud as Body Kouros or as dry and linear as Visit.

I've worn this 4 times in a row now since I've got it. It's an incredibly easy wear - there is nothing in it that is irritating or grating. None of that excessively dry and annoying cedar present in so many current releases. It's sweet but not sickly sweet like Body Kouros. It's really a nice and pleasant wear that is not as linear as some have made it out to be.