Skip to main content

Lanvin L'Homme

Image
By shamu1


Lord knows the world has enough fresh woody citrus fragrances.  It's a hackneyed genre of masculine perfume, having been done to death by countless designer firms cranking these things out since the 1990s, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.  Lanvin L'Homme, released in 1997, is one of the early woody citrus releases, but it (along with Essenza di Zegna) stands out because it's one of the best.  That may sound like it's not saying much, but Lanvin L'Homme really is excellent.

I won't get into a long treatise about all of the notes contained in this and how they evolve.  Lanvin L'Homme is sparkling, spicy, woody, transparent and dry.  What I love about this scent is how brilliantly it uses vetiver - the vetiver gives Lanvin L'Homme a woody, dry and somewhat bitter smell, but it also manages to create an effect of sustaining the citrus top notes for several hours.  This results in a fragrance that smells fresh and cheerful from beginning to end, yet never smells dull, synthetic or derivative.  There are also sharp pepper notes flitting in and out of the scent which give it a lot of sparkle and depth. 

Admittedly, this is a light fragrance, but it is not trendy or wimpy.  It's not a sillage machine, but it lasts all day.  Lanvin L'Homme is my idea of the ideal designer fragrance because it's spicy and complex enough to make me want to wear this, yet it's quiet and discreet enough to wear on any occasion and will not offend anyone.  If it sounds like I'm describing a boring "office scent", please don't take it that way.  Lanvin simply managed to create something here that will appeal to both the perfume enthusiast and the masses.  That is no small feat.

MY RATING:  8/10
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La Chasse Aux Papillons Extreme by L'Artisan Parfumeur

By
I read many reviews before or after I do my own and I seem to be at complete odds with the house of L'Artisan. I have previously said on basenotes that for me, L'Artisan Parfumeur is the most over-rated house I have come across. La Chasse Aux Papillons Extreme does nothing to sway that opinion. Yet another linear, floral dominant scent that does nothing to stir me up or inspire me in any way. This house has "pleasant" nailed down to an art form......but damn...can't we go beyond that? The only attempt at polarization so far has been Dzongkha ....and I found it a jumbled mess. At these prices, move me, anger me, hate me.......but please don't bore me. Extreme in a nutshell is a toned down tuberose with assorted "blossom" thrown in the mix. Is it bad? No, it's an acceptable floral scent that's very timid and just lays on my skin smelling like....well....a toned down version of tuberose with blossom this or that added to it. I'm almost a...
6 comments
Read more

Black Suede by Avon

By
Nutmeg, Clove, Amber, Musk, Moss, Wood Notes. Yes.........I am reviewing one of the Rodney Dangerfield's of fragrance. Black Suede has been gracing medicine cabinets, for better or worse, since 1980 my friends. If you're expecting me to inform you ( like others may have already ) that Black Suede is a nasty scrubber, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're expecting a glowing review claiming it's a diamond in the rough, you won't hear that from me either. I will say though that Black Suede doesn't deserve the hate it's received and most of that is due to snobbery aimed at Avon products in general. I kid you not when I state that a close relative to this fragrance is Cacharel Pour L'Homme. The array of spice in both ensure comparison, but the "smoother" of the two is Black Suede due to its implementation of Amber. While wearing Black Suede, one can detect a hint of "drugstore". That quality doesn't manife...
1 comment
Read more

Chanel copying Guerlain. Why?

By
Last month, I had the pleasure of trying Comète by Chanel, the latest addition to their prestigious Les Exclusifs line. This fragrance follows the release of Le Lion in 2020, another standout in the same collection. Like Le Lion , Comète is a beautiful perfume that captures the essence of Chanel’s refined elegance. However, both fragrances bear a striking resemblance to classic creations by Guerlain, leading me to ponder the direction Chanel is taking. Chanel has a great fragrance history. Not as hallowed and old as Guerlain but for past three decades it has far outshone Guerlain. In my view, no other perfume house has come close to Chanel’s excellence in this century. This makes their recent approach of echoing Guerlain classics somewhat perplexing. Have they run out of fresh ideas? Is Roger Dove at the helm of their fragrance division, or have they perhaps shifted towards AI-driven creation ? For those unfamiliar with these recent Chanel releases, Comète is a modern interpretati...
Post a Comment
Read more