Father's Day Guide: Masculine Fragrance Recs for the First Guy in Your Life

With Father's Day around the corner, we're rethinking our fragrant gifts, opting for elegance, quiet sophistication and a sense of fun. Why shouldn't dads share in our appreciation of smelling good? After all, as we were growing up, they formed our perception of how males should smell like (I know it happened to me). With that in mind, here's a brief guide of fragrance suggestions for dads and beyond by Perfume Shrine: By no means conclusive, and pliable to inspire classical-leaning boyfriends and adventurous daughters, stealing a spritz or two in a gender-bender game, like when they were little ones.

• For the Traditional Dad

Hermès Equipage 
It's hard to do a more elegant, more traditionally classical composition than this fragrance, originally created by legendary perfumer Guy Robert for Hermès in 1970. A scent of single-malt scotch; rich, warm, with a pungent leathery undercurrent, yet never heavy, it speaks of a lost kind of elegance. Even the modern, reformulated version by Jean Claude Ellena is excellent.  

Aqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta Eau de Cologne
Fresh, sensual and vibrant, Colonia Assoluta comprises crisp notes of hesperidia (Sicilian bitter orange, bergamot and sweet orange) with warmer spicy notes of cardamom, pink peppercorns and paprika, resulting in a hearty, sunny melange that feels reassuringly graceful and dependable.

• For the Trend-Savvy Dad

Dior Homme 
Never mind it's everywhere, this is one of the most interesting masculine releases of the last decade, because it brings a most unusual iris root note, halfway between face powder and dusty dried flowers, into an otherwise masculine formula.

Le Labo Santal33 
Santal 33, a butch, ruggedly woody scent from a hip brand, develops in roughly two main stages, not wildly opposed: The opening is full of the roughened up dry woodiness, as much due to Australian sandalwood as to cedarwood and its synth conspirators, with that characteristic duet which makes its appearence in masculine perfumery to great aplomb. Cardamom makes a welcome respite, although nowhere as prominent as in Cartier's Déclaration. The woods are fanned on copious amounts of ionones from the violet & iris "note" listed. The latter stage includes an amplifying of the ambery-woody tonalities due to the marked presence of Ambrox. As trendy as it gets and very "macho".

• For the Outdoors-Loving Dad

DSquared2 He Wood
Wood is by nature a solid and reassuring substance, but also aromatic reminiscence, personal refuge, vibrant sensation... The creative duo behind fashion brand DSquared2, Dean and Dan, were inspired by their native place, Canada, and designed the bottle of He Wood to be framed by Canadian Red Alder. The scent is among the nicer woody fougères* to come out in recent seasons, cool and warm at the same time.

Annick Goutal Eau de Sud
Less well-known than Eau d'Hadrien, but with a mossier, more dusky feel, it evokes summers in Provence and Tuscany: the freshness of the breeze coming from the groves, the mist of summer sprays and the aromatic herbs off the garden and the warmth of the sun. Citrusy on top but with a peppery middle due to basil Eau de Sud (Water of the South) dries to a mossy-patchouli-leafy scent that lasts rather long.

• For the Sophisticated Dad

Chanel Sycomore
Chanel is synonymous with style and restrained elegance. Sycomore is perhaps its most graceful specimen in their boutique exclusive line Les Exclusifs. Sycomore emphasizes the aristocratic dryness of vetiver's humble origins with a tangy grapefruit opening and subtly cooling, clean muguet notes that complement the Haitian vetiver variety, also used in Guerlain Vétiver. Almost simultaneously it allows soft impressions of a warm incense cloud slowly setting upon evergreen needles, woodfire smoke and rooty dirt to uplift you into a wistful and introspective contemplation.

Amouage Epic Man 
Amouage Epic for Men is luxurious in every sense of the word: It recalls an old-fashioned leathery ~due to castoreum~ fougère* (a little reminiscent of Bel Ami or even Jules), with spicy accents and a light oud/aoud note throughout which is pleasing to me as the dense mustiness of oud usually leaves me with sensory overload unable to smell anything else. The spices, of the cool type, such as prominent cardamom, mace and nutmeg, meddle along with the tea note. The musky drydown phase of Epic Man is sprinkled with incense, in an interplay of animalic with more austere elements.

• For the Cosmopolitan Dad

Caron Yuzu Man
Yuzu is named after a Japanese citrus fruit that is renowned for its clean and fresh aroma. It marries vitality with serenity and a feel good factor. In Caron's latest masculine, East meets West in a refined fragrance which also includes Indian verbena and Indonesian basil over the more green, oleaginous notes of Provencal fig and Spanish lentiscus (i.e.lentisque or mastic). The woody basenotes anchor Yin and Yang in this scent bathed in sunshine.

Guerlain Sous le Vent
Technically a chypre, yet poised between that and an aromatic fougère*, Sous le Vent bears no great relation to the mysterious guiles of Guerlain's Mitsouko but instead harkens back to the original inspiration behind it, Chypre de Coty, and another Guerlain thoroughbred ~Jicky. Sous le Vent starts with a rush of subtly medicinal top notes of herbs that smell like lavender, rosemary and tarragon, a full spectrum of Provençal aromata. A tart bergamot note along with what seems like bitterly green galbanum skyrocket the scent into the territory of freshness and a smart "clean". Its next stage encompasses dry accords, soon mollified by the heart chord of a classic chypre composition of dusty moss with sweet tonalities of generous flowers that evoke the banana fruit: ylang ylang notably and jasmine sambac. In the final stages I seem to perceive the dusky foliage of patchouli. Wonderful!


*Fougère is a classic olfactory family -mainly of masculine scents- that relies on a chord of lavender-coumarin-oakmoss

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Summer Fragrances that Last, Top 10 Memorable Masculine Scents

3 Eaux by Lancome: O, O d'Azur & O de l'Orangerie: Fragrance Reviews & Comparison

If you're among those who judge fragrance by its colour as to what to expect smellwise, you're going to be misdirected by the Lancome fragrances trio this summer. Lancôme crowds its counters with three "new" releases: Ô, Ô d'Azur and Ô de l'Orangerie. All three are comprised by the popular-again-concept of a light, chilled "eau" for summer freshening up, but with a new ethereal execution and less of the sscreetchy feel of the 1990s. Of those three, Ô is not new at all: It's a reissue of the classic Ô de Lancôme, reviewed on Perfume Shrine a while ago and still retaining its gorgeous green shade.The other two inadvertedly manage to confuse the customer with their added tint: Ô d'Azur, last summer's edition still circulating, is coloured a fetching light beige, when the name (Blue Water) would suggest otherwise! Ô de l'Orangerie (Orange Grove Water) is coloured a nice, diaphanous celadon, when common wisdom would forsee a yellow tinge, as befits an orange blossom scent! But Pantone scale choices aside, all cater to a laid-back approach to personal scent for the warmer months of the year, with the classic being undoubtedly the best of the three.

Ô de Lancôme falls under familiar concerns: A re-issue is always cause for frantic comparisons among perfume cognoscenti: Is it like it was? Has it been ruined in the process? What happens with restrictions necessitating a slimming course for its body? I am happy to report that Ô de Lancôme hasn't subjected itself to too much Weight Watchers, feeling as crisply green and naturalistically lyrical as it was: Green, like snapped leaves in one's palm, with a citrusy tang which provides an immediate spring on the step, it's no wonder Ô de Lancome, composed by perfumer Robert Gonnon, has been a fresh, bring-on-the-changes scent since its embracement of the revolutionary youths of the 1970s. The re-issue is perhaps a bit attenuated in the final stages of the drydown, gaining the character of a light floral instead of a mossier chypre-like ambience, in tandem with the latest reformulation which happened in the late 1990s, but it's still very good; its execution of transparency without losing substance is akin to that in Bulgari's Eau Parfumee au The Vert. If you liked Lauder's citrusy Pure White Linen Light Breeze a couple of summers ago (this year's Lauder citrus is Bronze Goddess Soleil which you can find reviewed here), you are also advised to try this re-issue: they share the musk aspect under the citrus greenery.

In the newest Ô de l'Orangerie the classic Eau de Cologne mould is most perceived, predominant in the top stages, vibrant, refreshing, snapping with brio.The classic pairing of a bergamot top with light herbal notes and lavender is the combination that evokes cleaning up, splashing on a feel good fragrance to feel "bien dans sa peau", the French expression to denote feeling good about one's self. The concept is great, which is why it has withheld for centuries, but the problem has always been how to extend the duration on skin; traditional perfumers solved part of the problem with using alcohol tinctured with ambergris or musk: a smidge gives a little tenacity so top notes do not evaporate instantly, though too much would completely overshadow the delicate effluvium. Modern perfumers, such as in this case, solve the problem with synthetic musks: The composition progresses to a "clean", non indolic orange blossom that reads as "fresh floral", a "clear" jasmine buyoed by musks, benzoin and a tiny bit of cedar (read Iso_E Super). This gives great lasting power and wafting to what would otherwise be a fleeting cologne. It's pretty, but its lack of character means it won't substitute my beloved Fleurs d'Oranger by Lutens any time soon.

Ô d'Azur originally came out in spring 2010, to commemorate 40 years of the introduction ofthe classic green Ô. It is supposed to evoke that fantasy of so many: a Mediterranean summer, all white-washed houses atop bare rock, brilliant in the sun, with the blue waves crushing softly and interminently. It's not an easy task to do and many fail miserably (see Elizabeth Arden Mediterranean which -frankly speaking- smells nothing Med!), usually suffusing everything with an ironfist of Calone (that synthetic "melon" note). Others manage to evoke the ambience, by going about in unusual ways, like with salty florals: see the magnificent Lys Mediterranee by F.Malle. Perfumers Domitille  Bertier and Sophie Labbé didn't do too bad for Lancôme, although the end result does feel a bit of a pastiche. With the hindsight of thousands of aquatics and diaphanous fruity florals on the market, the composition is reminiscent of several things at once. Still, it manages to stand a bit on the upper side of that abysmal depth, the impression of what could have been "elegant" were it fleshed out properly. L'Oréal regretfully doesn't invest the budget to do so. Official notes include: bergamot, lemon, rose, peony, ambrette seed and musk. Ô d'Azur in reality is pretty, built on an indeterminate cyclamen-rose accord with pink pepper on top, layered over "clean" and skin-like musks (ambrette seed among them) that keep a low hum to the fragrance for a long time, although the fruity and floral touches disappear quite soon.It's a no brainer, but its dullness would probably get to you after a while.

Ô, Ô d'Azur and Ô de l'Orangerie by Lancome come in Eau de Toilette concentration (Sizes are 50ml, 75ml and 125ml. For reference 2.5oz retails for $55, available at major department stores). Even though they remind one of summer limited editions, they're not supposed to be: Lancome means to keep them in the line for good. The commercials and advertising images with Lancome face Daria Werbowy are ticket for fantasy, to be sure.

Chanel No.19 Poudre: A Perfumer's Pride Matter as per Christopher Sheldrake

"The original No.19 was created in the 70s," Sheldrake says in a full-bodied British accent. "This was an era of the emancipation of women and for me this is the epitome of the spirit of Gabrielle Chanel. She was the ultimate rebel who refused to be categorised as the girly, pink flower type of girl. Chanel No.19 is a little bit like wearing trousers for a woman. It enhances the femininity."
Somehow the fragrance's associations with a free feminine spirit faded, along with Charlie girls and the liberated models in advertisements for Virginia Slims cigarettes exclaiming "You've come a long way baby", but other perfumers continue to be inspired by its formula of iris and galbunum [sic]. So Chanel's knights in Savile Row armour went into the laboratory to update No.19 for 2011. "It's a matter of perfumers' pride," Sheldrake says. "We see the inspiration of No.19 everywhere in the market today and we felt that No.19 should be there. No one talks about No.19. This is not a marketing idea. It's a perfumer's idea. No.19 is an icon and we shall defend it." [...]The new fragrance went into test groups along with the original. "It had the same result," Sheldrake says. "A minority of people loved it and the majority could leave it. This is a sign of character. Enough of a minority liked it for us to know it was right. The freshness struck a chord. With No.19 Poudre the notes are cleaner and much sexier."

Thus discusses an article in The Australian the launch of Chanel No.19 Poudré which we had announced a while ago on Perfume Shrine (alongside the new Chanel Les Exclusifs Jersey). It therefore seems that the introduction of a flanker (aka, a new fragrance coat-tailing on the success of an established one, borrowing some variation of its name), the first time ever for Chanel No.19, is not devoid of noble causes. It is also admitted by Sheldrake that the new fragrance is having an eye firmly set on China and its evolving market, thus being a wise move from a marketing point of view as well.

The rest of the article talks about how Chanel bought fields of irises alongside the ones containing roses which they owned at the south of France, due to the shortages of those in Florence, Italy, and about the impending rise of prices on raw materials by Givaudan by 100% ,which make it a particularly wise move on the house's part. It also typically goes over how iris is a rhizome in perfumery and not the flower, which is probably par for the course of every article in the mainstream press read by non aficionados. Additionally, there is info on the boosting of the galbanum note ibn Chanel No.19 Poudré, a grass essence imported from Iran, which has been fractionalised to remove the more turpenic and sulphurous (i.e.garlic-like) components.

The new flanker will hit counters in July/August in Europe.

Venezia by Laura Biagiotti is Back

A long discontinued best-seller by Laura Biagiotti, Venezia, the fragrance that launched a thousand upstarts and dupes across the globe, is being re-issued by the company due to high demand. Information weaned from German sites wants it to be a re-issue that is answering the huge demand of fans of this oriental legend inspired by Venetian carnival with the tag motto "A seduction of the senses".

Laura Biagiotti was inspired to give a brief for Venezia after a journey to Pechino, while the pierrot hat is reminiscent of the carnival and the traditional Comedia del'Arte figurines, as well as Santi George's bell tower in Venice.

Venezia, the fragrance launched in 1992, its heart of woody spicy oriental notes typically Italian and was circulating into the middle and late 1990s although its genre was snubbed at the time due to the huge trend of aquatics/ozonics that dominated the decade; it garnered a cult following.

the re-issued bottle of Venezia (pic of official, new campaign)

The top notes of Laura Biagiotti's Venezia feature Italian hesperides (i.e. citruses), a green accord, peach, plum and bergamot. The heart is full of rose, carnation, cinnamon and iris, while the base is comprised of sandalwood, tonka bean, benzoin and vanilla.

Additionally we learn that Venezia will hit counters this coming autumn 2011. The new edition of Venezia is sold only in Germany and Italy, but it is not a limited edition. Actually you can buy the Eau de toilette, the Bodylotion and the Shower Gel in those countries.
Users from Europe and USA can buy the re-issued Venezia perfume exclusively online on the official website www.veneziabylaurabiagiotti.com

Les Nereides fragrances: Several Getting Discontinued

According to live reportage at a US boutique which stocks jewelry and fragrances from Les Néréides, "créateurs de bijoux haute fantasie", (and what's more, who buy their stock directly from the company as well), several fragrances in the line are getting discontinued. The reasons might have to do with low turnover as well as impending restrictions that would necessitate too much hassle to reformulate; it doesn't really matter. What matters is that the niche sector is regularly weeding out fragrances as well, as evidenced on these pages before.

The only Les Nereides fragrances remaining in production, according to above mentioned source, are going to be: Opoponax,Patchouli Antique,Oriental Lumpur and Musc de Samarkand. An up to date cursory glance at the official site reveals Douceur de Vanille being in stock, available for sale, while Musc de Samarkand is not.
The rest are definitely going the way of the dodo! If you are intent on some of them, stock up now or take a walk at your local TJMaxx/TKMaxx where some might surface eventually.

thanks to poppypatchouli/POL for drawing my attention to it