Without further ado, a handful of men's fragrance reviews, all of them classic old school men's fragrances.
ENGLISH LEATHER
My father had bottles of this stuff when I was growing up. It's very masculine but it's an old school masculinity that isn't found in current best selling men's fragrances. Mostly I smell leather, like an old beat up leather jacket or a baseball glove. I get a quick dose of citrus oils when it's first applied and in the drydown I catch little whiffs of tonka and cedar. It's not exactly something I want to smell like very often but it's not unpleasant either. Mostly it reminds me of the bathroom in my childhood home where my dad kept his shaving supplies. I remember smelling this on his neck, riding around in his old Army style Jeep. This review would be incomplete if I didn't mention how every time I apply it my skin stings and burns for a few minutes. Not in an allergic way, just in a heavy alcohol way. As an adult I finally viewed the old television commercials for this and had a good laugh. "I make all my men wear English Leather... every one of them" she says in that breathy post-women's-lib-but -still-clinging-to-traditional-methods tone of voice. Hilarious. This stuff is a time machine.
MERCEDES-BENZ
He pulls up alongside the curb. What are you gonna do, say no? The bus is late and it's sweltering outside. You get inside the luxury sedan. It's at least twenty degrees cooler immediately. The interior smells like cool new leather and pristine upholstery. Almost perfumey. Almost like violets. You make small talk as best you can, but are ever so grateful to arrive at your destination. You thank the CEO of your company for the ride and bolt from the car. For the next hour your nose is still filled with the scent of cool violets and a life you'll never afford.
VENDETTA UOMO by Valentino
This is like Tom Ford Oud Wood's sexy older brother. He's quiet with dark soulful eyes you could swim in. When you get close to him, his skin smells like warm cinnamon. You want to reach out and touch him, you can't stop thinking about him. His lips are moving but you can't make out the words because you are too under the spell of this cinnamon and leather emanating from his being. He is like the incense of a church that exists only in your loins.
DUC de VERVINS by Houbigant
I stumbled upon a large batch of old school men's fragrances and Houbigant Duc de Vervins may have been my favorite of the whole lot. This is the aromatic of dreams. Sage, lavender, oakmoss, rosemary. This is the smell of a Simon & Garfunkel lullaby. It's definitely not a leather fragrance, but it does give the impression of expensive clothing, a well cut jacket, maybe with leather patches on the elbows. Argyle socks. A man who does not watch television and his musical taste scares you slightly. I wish my father had worn this one when I was growing up.
