Lanvin Avant Garde: Better than it has any business being

[MarquisdeSod]

Lanvin is a house that always flies under the radar, an old French fashion house whose fragrance line is an affordable luxury. The trouble is a combination of poor marketing budget and low retail exposure have resulted in neglect of an absolutely fantastic fragrance catalogue, especially for men. Arpege pour Homme, now discontinued is an acknowledged hidden gem, Lanvin Homme and Homme sport were respectable fragrances in their own right. The only real miss was the forgetable Oxygene which has a dill-like note that I find unbearably noxious. Their latest, however, borders on masterpiece, the lovely, Avant Garde.

Avant Garde basically, smells like someone gave the perfumer Shyamla Maisondieu a portfolio consisting of "take YSL's La Nuit de L'Homme and fix everything wrong with it." In other words, the same cardamom-benzoin opening minus the inexpensive musk drydown replaced by a honey-amber the so-called "beeswax note". it's gorgeous stuff, lasts 8 hours, and leaves your skin and clothes smelling very sexy. Now there's lots of La Nuit copies out, Guess Homme Seduction Blue also tries the same trick, the trouble is the ingredient quality of the Guess is...problematic, and evaporates quickly into a non-descript musk drydown I loathe.

What made La Nuit de L'Homme successful, and what makes Avant Garde successful is that both take a different take on the fruit and patchoulli combos in a Polo Black or Armani Code and replace it with a floral-cardamom top that smells wonderful without leaving you smelling either of cheap white musk (Polo Black, Seduction Blue), fetid woods (La Nuit), or vanilla cookies (Eau de Baux). Avant Garde is a spicy-sweet opening which dries down to a honeyed amber that lasts.

The best compliment I can offer is that I've owned La Nuit de L'Homme for a couple years, it's 2/3 empty and I won't be replacing it, Avant Garde is simply that much better. If you find it, buy it, it's a steal at around 30-40 USD for 100mL/3.4oz.

[Tony T]

It has been getting some respect on here as of late..
It is a great frag..
I believe it has more in common with MIP EDT but is more complex..

[bigbz]

Couldn't agree with you more MarquisdeSod! I got my bottle a couple of days ago and this IS a masterpiece IMHO. The fact that you can buy a 3.4oz bottle for under $25 shipped to your doorstep is borderline criminal. If a house can put out something of this quality and price point....it really makes one wonder how in the hell others charge so much and or we're willing to pay so much for what in many cases is much inferior juice. Kind of mind boggling really.

[tdwctdwc]

Great juice. I haven't been reaching for it often (you know when your nose knows a scent in your collection is so good, but simply doesn't crave it anymore?).

Maybe this thread will make me wear it today as SOTD.

[hednic]

Agree - a great inexpensive fragrance. Was trashed when it first came out by many who now seem to have had a change of heart little by little.

(3479)

[sjg3839]

Great fragrance that I should reach for more often. The price won't hurt your pockets either

[Kaern]

I hate it -- smells cheap

[elmagoo]

I think this smells quite nice for the first hour or so, definitely similar to la nuit, but when the opening bits are gone, it drys down to a shrill synthetic smelling base which get's a bit harsh and annoying. Guess the price tells with this one.

[G.303]

I have not come across this yet... When I do I will sample for sure!

[Rüssel]

Wouldn't mind sampling it. That some mention CK Shock as being similar isn't a good sign for me though.

[bigbz]

Wouldn't mind sampling it. That some mention CK Shock as being similar isn't a good sign for me though.

I actually did a side by side comparison last night and they are not close at all IMO, Shock is WAY sweeter. AG is more tobacco with a mild honey sweetness.

[andym72]

I actually did a side by side comparison last night and they are not close at all IMO, Shock is WAY sweeter. AG is more tobacco with a mild honey sweetness.

I was going to mention the tobacco, which the OP seems to have not got at all but it's really obvious to me. Does anyone else get a "coffee cake" note though?


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[bigbz]

I was going to mention the tobacco, which the OP seems to have not got at all but it's really obvious to me. Does anyone else get a "coffee cake" note though?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes the tobacco is very prominent to me as well...especially when I compare it to another scent at the same time with tobacco in it like Shock. No, I don't recall getting a coffee cake vibe out of it...which is a bummer because that would be awesome!(although something tells me Demeter already has one?! )

[mossyoakpenn]

Mmmmmm.......tobacco and some honey-ness.........I may blind buy this one tonight. Thanks guys for making my wallet lighter.

[bigbz]

Mmmmmm.......tobacco and some honey-ness.........I may blind buy this one tonight. Thanks guys for making my wallet lighter.

Your very welcome man! People helping people, it's what Basenotes is all about!lol

[mossyoakpenn]

Absolutely!!!

[Renato]

I bought it today.
I think it suffers from having an opening similar to those of cheap musky scents, before settling down to something more interesting and more complex.
Regards,
Renato

[Ronin]

One heck of a fragrance for sure. For $25 for a 3.4 oz bottle you can't go wrong.

[Randall Flagg]

It's an absolute steal. Very good fragrance.

[Spoombung]

Never tried it but will check it out

[mossyoakpenn]

I just bought it last night, now I have to wait three days for it to get here. I will report back then.

[expressway]

Time to go to Amazon and whip out the debit card!...
Stop talking about great, inexpensive frags. My dresser is running out of room.

[Casts_by_fly]

I have la nuit, Eau de baux, and avant garde. I see the similarities among them but I rank Avant garde last of the three. Not that I don't like it, but I prefer the other two more. I like the sweetness of La Nuit better and the spiciness of EdB better. I would trade/sell my bottle given the opportunity and keep the other two.

thanks,
rick