CultureVulture

Gucci Pour Homme

In 2003, Gucci introduced Gucci Pour Homme which, despite its name, is a humdinger fragrance for both men and women. The übermännlich packaging – a heavy cube of clear glass, revealing the amber liquid, topped with a sturdy black lid completing the cube – is breathtaking in its elegant simplicity. With “Gucci” etched into the glass, this perfume bottle could be a Steuben signed and numbered original. Between spritzes it will look terrific on the shelf in your vanity.
Gucci Pour Homme does not bring three different messages to the top, middle, and base notes. As no other fragrance I’ve encountered, it reintroduces its theme each step of the way. Gucci Pour Homme is about incense – not the incense still sealed in the can; rather it is the incense in the thurible, in contact with hot embers, wafting smoke into a sacred space. This infusion of smoke into the incense base, the two inextricably intertwined, is what makes Gucci Pour Homme unique, head-turning, and elegant.
Yes, there are accents. The top notes have some pepper, which never completely disappears. The middle range introduces cured tobacco – a freshly opened pack of unfiltered Camels. Wow. The base notes bring on some ginger to complete the experience.
You get the idea. This is not Place Vendôme. Guerlain and Jean Patou are nowhere in sight. Not a hint of bergamot, vanilla, or lavender. Flowers are nowhere to be found. Rather, Michael Almairac, working for Gucci, appears driven to recreate an exotic eastern marketplace, with the rarest and most exhilarating ingredients. He succeeds big time. His splendid creation lasts for hours. The great Luca Turin even suggests spraying it on an item of clothing – a burnished gold frame complementing the art at the center.
As I said, both genders can enjoy Gucci Pour Homme. My personal preference would be to reserve it for a special occasion – or not. It would be the fragrance equivalent of wearing a tuxedo to the office. It’s the wrong time to look that fabulous.
Some good news: I’ve spotted the occasional bottle of Gucci Pour Homme at Marshall’s and TJ Maxx. Quite a cost-saving. And be careful. Read the packaging. Gucci Pour Homme II is a completely different fragrance. It’s a derivative low-quality imitation of much better scents.
If you are building a diverse and comprehensive fragrance collection, Gucci’s Gucci Pour Homme is a must-buy.

Now that’s Italian. Canali, purveyor of exquisitely tailored men’s clothing, also includes men’s fragrances in its array of products. No matter how diverse your fragrance collection, Canali Men (introduced in 2005) is an excellent addition to it.

High notes and mid-range are all about freshness. The splendid high notes don’t last long enough to my taste. They include an unusual blend of tangerine, cardamom, and nutmeg. They sparkle and tingle the senses. But they are gone in an instant.

For the middle notes, imagine that you drove through the north of Italy, stopped at an orchard, and bit into a fresh, tart rennet apple. The sensation and the scent of that delightful moment will stay with you the rest of the day – just as Canali Men does. This Italian apple lingers long after the base notes arrive.

Canali Men has woody base notes of sandalwood and cedar, and they are exceptionally aromatic, as if they had been crafted into a small tightly-lidded box to hold leather pouches of thyme, cinnamon, bay leaf, and dried lemon peel. The good news: it will last all day.

Not too difficult to find, and if you shop online there is a full range of collateral products.

My suggestion for when to wear Canali Men – if your idea of Casual Friday at the office is more elegant than the rest of the week. A chance for color and fabric with a shimmering Italian luster. Finish the ensemble with generous spritzes of Canali Men. Enjoy yourself and turn a few heads.

What could Guerlain and Avon possibly have in common? It is widely held that Guerlain fragrances are identifiable because they all begin with the same core ingredients – the so-called Guerlinade. I’ve always believed the same thing about Avon fragrances. Whatever else happens in the structure, there always seems to be a very Avon musk and citrus that are part of the plan.

Avon’s men’s fragrances tend to come and go. As a young man, I used to smother myself in something called Clint. It has long since been discontinued, but I feel sure that if I tried all the current products, I would find Clint’s successor.

The marketing team at Avon still thinks that men do not buy fragrance for themselves. That’s the job of their wives, girlfriends, or significant others. So the marketing ploy for a number of the men’s fragrances ties them to male celebrities like Derek Jeter and Patrick Dempsey. And the on-line reviews of the products usually begin with “I bought this for my man, and he …”

Hoping to have a blog entry about an ultra-affordable fragrance, I turned to my local Avon representative for help. Without dwelling on the negative, I cannot recommend three of the four. Patrick Dempsey Unscripted has nothing that resembles a smell from nature itself. It has a harsh, pepper-y chemical edge to it. Derek Jeter Driven smells like citrus and wood concocted from the cheapest available ingredients. The inevitable musk in Black Suede is blended with sweet moss “that will sure please any man” – if he needs a good, strong household cleanser.

Which takes us to Avon’s Mesmerize. This is perhaps Avon’s most successful men’s fragrance, and it has remained available for at least twenty years. Among Mesmerize’s best qualities, it contains the least of the usual Avon base. I don’t detect any musk, and the citrus component is a very convincing bergamot. The middle introduces some mandarin, and then the whole thing settles down to a subtle but sweet powder and vanilla. I found myself enjoying Mesmerize’s longlasting base notes. The effect is both comforting and classy.

Mesmerize is truly inexpensive, and the range of products is vast. And of course the products are easy to find – on-line, or through a ubiquitous Avon representative, or, as we have here where I live, at an Avon boutique. What could be more fun?

If Geoffrey Beene’s Grey Flannel is your father’s fragrance, then acknowledge his good taste and follow suit.Introduced by Geoffrey Beene in 1975, Grey Flannel was the first American men’s designer fragrance. In the years since 1975, the folks at Geoffrey Beene have not tinkered with or attempted to “dumb down’ Grey Flannel. (Unlike Brut, which used to be splendid, but now bears no relation to the original.) Grey Flannel is distinctive, innovative, and head-turning; but it is also true to its name – it cries out to be worn with a herringbone sport coat you picked up in Burlington Arcade, Piccadilly, and a shirt & tie brought home from Jermyn Street, St. James.

Grey Flannel  begins with a bitter citrus and some green wood. It’s strong, but it moves on to the middle range pretty quickly. Ah. The long-lasting middle range is first and foremost the violet leaf. This is a not-inexpensive ingredient, and Geoffrey Beene has never compromised on it. It is perhaps the most distinctive and well-loved component of the Grey Flannel experience. I myself simply can’t get enough of this elegant herbaceous aura. Finally, the arrival of the base notes finds the violet leaf sitting atop a soapy wood. A generous application in the morning will last throughout the work day.

Any misgivings about Grey Flannel? Geoffrey Beene is simply not as protective of how and where it is marketed as, say, Hermes is. You can go to a fine department store and pay full retail for Grey Flannel if that makes you feel good. On the other hand, Grey Flannel – the real thing – can be found in drugstores. And recently I spotted a single heavily-discounted bottle in Marshall’s, which I bought post haste. Watch carefully: don’t buy Eau de Grey Flannel. For some reason, Geoffrey Beene produced a Grey Flannel “Lite” to no good effect.

Definitely unisex

Stick your head in Sephora and give yourself a good spritz. For a modest sum, you will undoubtedly want to add Grey Flannel to your fragrance collection.

Guerlain Homme is a success, and all’s right with the world. Amid an advertising and public relations push, the size of which would make Shaw-Wow blush, Guerlain – the Frenchest of the French – has introduced a glorious men’s fragrance.Guerlain Homme

is clearly rooted in a traditional Guerlain base of bergamot and vetiver. It has a mid-range of green tea, cedar, and green wood, a scent that reminds me of scraping my fingernail along the new growth of a flowering bush – a smell that is both fresh and edgy.

The high note, “Mojito,” is new and newsworthy, especially coming from a fragrance house so steeped in tradition. This Caribbean cocktail of rum, sugar cane, and lime exudes excitement and energy.

Guerlain Homme

is a daytime fragrance. The middle and base notes linger nicely for a long time. If you want to experience the Mojito throughout the day, you’ll need to keep the bottle with you for a refresher every now and then.

If you like a full range of layering products – deodorants, body washes, etc. , buy them now while the fragrance is new. It remains to be seen if the Guerlain customer base will support this product forever.

The first thing that needs to go is Guerlain Homme’s advertising campaign. The proto-Tarzan slurping water from a jungle pool with the wild animals. Please. As I’ve said elsewhere, the marketing people at Guerlain refuse to believe that men purchase their own personal care products, especially in the United States. These too-pretty almost naked men have a female target audience for a man’s product.

I’m unlikely to make a lifetime commitment to Guerlain Homme. Jicky and Mouchoir de Monsieur will always be on my shelf. But in the meantime I’m enjoying trying it out, getting compliments from my friends and colleagues, and feeling as modern as I’m ever going to feel wearing Guerlain.