How is Caron 3rd Man?

[maxwell_]

After falling in love with Caron Pour un Homme I’m wondering how 3rd man might fit into my collection.
I’m looking for a classy, versatile fragrance and hoping this would fit that category, as I recently picked up Eau Sauvage and have been loving it and interested in other professional smelling masculine fragrances that I can alternate with it.

I’ve heard mixed reviews though, some say the cloves and sweetness prevent it from being versatile, that it’s not for confined spaces, others say it’s perfect for the office. Curious about what everyone here thinks.

[StylinLA]

THIRD MAN is a big time favorite of mine.

I also like POUR UN HOMME and EAU SAUVAGE. These are fairly low key.

THIRD MAN is quite a bit more potent and has a bolder "personality."

I'm not working now and not sure if I would wear it to office. It's not polarizing exactly, but it may not work for everyone.
I wouldn't call it sweet, but it is inordinately "pretty" though still overall a masculine scent. If you like it, it's stunning.

I guess it's technically a fougere, but I never think of it in that way. I think it's quite unique.

It's reasonably priced and odds are you would like it, but I would advocate getting a small decant first. When I first tried it around 10 years ago, I found it a bit "too much." I wouldn't think of it as an overly "mature" scent, but I don't picture this working well for anyone under 40.

[maxwell_]

THIRD MAN is a big time favorite of mine.

I also like POUR UN HOMME and EAU SAUVAGE. These are fairly low key.

THIRD MAN is quite a bit more potent and has a bolder "personality."

I'm not working now and not sure if I would wear it to office. It's not polarizing exactly, but it may not work for everyone.
I wouldn't call it sweet, but it is inordinately "pretty" though still overall a masculine scent. If you like it, it's stunning.

I guess it's technically a fougere, but I never think of it in that way. I think it's quite unique.

It's reasonably priced and odds are you would like it, but I would advocate getting a small decant first. When I first tried it around 10 years ago, I found it a bit "too much." I wouldn't think of it as an overly "mature" scent, but I don't picture this working well for anyone under 40.

Well I’m 27 so now I’m wondering if I can pull it off. Lately I feel drawn to more mature masculine fragrances. (Masculin pluriel and Grey Vetiver for example)

[StylinLA]

Well I’m 27 so now I’m wondering if I can pull it off. Lately I feel drawn to more mature masculine fragrances. (Masculin pluriel and Grey Vetiver for example)

Well, with your tastes, might be fine. I don't think it has an "old mannish" smell, but is more "old schoolish" than MASCULINE PLURIEL an GREY VET. Those two are conservative but modern.

You can get an 8ml decant for like $15. That would give plenty of wearings to figure out if you want full bottle.

Keep us posted. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

[cacio]

I find 3rd man quite versatile and good for professional settings. It's not as classic and timeless as Caron pour un homme, but it is still classic in style. Technically, as stylinla was saying, it's a fougere, distantly related to the classic fougeres of the 70s. But it lacks the macho character of many of them. It rather goes for slghbtly floral and musky, so more subdued. I don't find it sweet, certainly nowhere near the current gourmand. It does have a light licorice/anisic note. But pour un homme's vanilla feels sweeter.

cacio

[speckmann0706]

It’s a excellent masculine classy fragrance work and formal appropriate.

[Brooks Otterlake]

It's well-made, but I wasn't bowled over by it.

[MisterGrain]

I love it: lavender and clove scent, with a citrus opening.

Kinda like old spice, but smoother yet more powerful.

[Rüssel]

It's quite different to CpuH and I could see many guys not liking it. If it's work appropriate would depend on the job and environment but I'd probably not consider it a typical contemporary office scent.

[PStoller]

3rd Man is my favorite Caron masculine (unless you count vintage Tabac Blond, which is arguably manlier than any nominal masculine Caron ever made).

[OldSchoolScents]

Well, with your tastes, might be fine. I don't think it has an "old mannish" smell, but is more "old schoolish" than MASCULINE PLURIEL an GREY VET. Those two are conservative but modern.

I agree with this. 3rd man was one of the first frags I bought when getting into fragrances so it has a special place in my collection. Strong citrus opening with loads of lavender and cloves. The cloves are strong and are the backbone of the scent; if you don't like cloves you will not like this scent. It's pretty conservative and a bit stuffy. A mature gentleman's scent; timeless and not dated. If you like old school barbershop style scents and like refined gentlemanly scents (and it sounds like you do with Pour Un Homme & Eau Sauvage) then you'll probably enjoy it.


Agree whole heartedly with the decant recommendation, cloves can go either way for people and it can be a bit stuffy for some too

[MegaMav]

Stunning fragrance.
Read Tania Sanchez's review:

5 stars "jasmine fougere"

For eye candy, both men and women look at women: men are not simply decorative, as everyone knows. Except once in a great while comes a disastrously beautiful boy who turns every head in the street, even if his hair is overgrown, his grubby clothes fit badly, and he's oblivious to the attention as he goes about his ordinary life - he breaks more hearts running out innocently to buy milk than we ordinary mortals manage to bruise in a callous lifetime. Such boys, with their long dark eyelashes, smooth cheeks, and perfect slender bodies, are called 'pretty as girls.'

Le Troisieme Homme (Third Man) , named after the Orson Welles film and known for a time as No. 3, is a boy like that, a type of beauty described poorly as androgynous, when what we mean is that it is beautiful before it is anything else, including male or female. I smelled it for the first time on a woman and it caught my heart, the way a strange branch in the woods catches the sleeve of your sweater, and I realized I loved it because of the pitch of my voice when I asked for its name. I've never smelled it on a man and wonder if I ever will: Accidents of nature are forgivable, but how many men can pull off deliberate prettiness? Buy it even if you never put it on. TS

[StylinLA]

Stunning fragrance.
Read Tania Sanchez's review:

Yes, that is a great review.

It is indeed pretty, but that shouldn't be confused with feminine though I'm sure some women would wear it.

I can see where some may not like it at all, but boy if you do like it, there's not really much that is similar. I rediscovered it this summer and am kicking myself for having sold a pre-IFRA bottle years ago. But to be clear, it has not been gutted by IFRA. Current version is very, very good and quite potent.

[StylinLA]

Stunning fragrance.
Read Tania Sanchez's review:

Yes, that is a great review.

It is indeed pretty, but that shouldn't be confused with feminine though I'm sure some women would wear it.

I can see where some may not like it at all, but boy oh boy if you do like it, there's not really much that is similar. I rediscovered it this summer and am kicking myself for having sold a pre-IFRA bottle years ago. But to be clear, it has not been gutted by IFRA. Current version is very, very good and quite potent.

[Milan SRB]

3rd man is a great fragrance but don't expect something in the vain of eau sauvage. To me these two are totally different genres 3rd man is closer to something like Chanel Egoiste to me.

[MisterGrain]

Stunning fragrance.
Read Tania Sanchez's review:

Don't forget the reformulation addendum.

2011: This fragrance had been half girlish jasmine, half the hay-and-musk of daddy’s shaving cream. Now it is far closer to the toasty, rum-coffee and lavender of discontinued Yohji Homme. Still great, but not the beautiful androgyne reviewed above. Both would be worth having, though my heart’s with the original. TS

[Kaern]

Like Yohji Homme now ??? My bottle is older than I thought!

I need to test it again -- sounds as though it could be even more stupendous

[rum]

3rd man is a great fragrance but don't expect something in the vain of eau sauvage. To me these two are totally different genres 3rd man is closer to something like Chanel Egoiste to me.

Yes, exactly. It's more of a woody clove bomb than a fresh/aromatic citrus. Far from it.
I have often compared it to Chanel Pour Monsieur EdT without the lemon opening. In fact it's more woody than the Chanel.

[ILikePeeps]

I didn't find it special enough back then to keep it, but now I'm super curious again... I'd really like to smell it again. As I have an older Chanel A Gentleman's Cologne, and I love Eau Sauvage, and Pour Monsieur Concentree... I'm wondering if now I'd love it. hmm

[StylinLA]

I didn't find it special enough back then to keep it, but now I'm super curious again... I'd really like to smell it again. As I have an older Chanel A Gentleman's Cologne, and I love Eau Sauvage, and Pour Monsieur Concentree... I'm wondering if now I'd love it. hmm

Keep us posted. Ten years ago I didn't like it and sold it. For some odd reason, I bought a decant this past summer and was hooked.

mistergrain's note above about the reformulation is interesting. That's the first I've ever seen that noted and it appears Talia Sanchez even commented on it somewhere. Maybe the jasmine was too much for me pre-reformulation. Scent wise, I don't think it's much like EAU SAUVAGE or POUR MONSIEUR CONCENTRE...but perhaps is sort of the same level of well formulated scent with nice finesse.

Never tried YOJI HOMME so not sure how similar that is.

[PStoller]

Never tried YOJI HOMME so not sure how similar that is.

I’ve tried Yohji Homme, but never the reformulated 3rd Man. I have the original Caron; I sold the Yohji, and don’t miss it.

[MegaMav]

Don't forget the reformulation addendum.

I have the vintage and the newest decade stuff, not much difference to me.

[hednic]

Curious about what everyone here thinks.

Own and love Caron 3rd Man

[exploretoi]

I have one bottle from 2015, it still has oakmoss listed and has very good performance (at least on my skin)... The other from 2018 is thinner with and is weaker than 2015.

[kbe]

It is a force of nature. Bold, mesmerizingly beautiful in an almost sub-conscious way for me. it is a fragrance you either "get it" or you don't I would think., Not many fence sitters about this one. I don't wear it as often as I might. I prefer to rotate through my entire wardrobe during the year and it may only get to the roster once in that time, if that. When I do wear it I am reminded of being in the deliciously warm company of a loved one until it finally disappears in the shower or over time.

[freewheelingvagabond]

Amazing stuff.