By Thomas
I’m starting to get the impression that pretty much every fragrance from Estee Lauder dating prior to 1990 required a bit of moxie to wear. Azuree…Youth Dew…Cinnabar… No shrinking violets that I can see. Her first masculine, Lauder for Men, is pretty much the deep end of masculine smells. The deep, deep end.
If I ran things… Lauder for Men would be more difficult to acquire than to simply stroll up to the counter and ask for it. If we really want to protect us from our ambitious selves, any prospective buyers of Lauder for Men should have to arm-wrestle a nearby security guard before they could complete their purchase. Alternatively, the bottle might have a grip-o-meter that required a minimum crush standard in order to spray.
If this fragrance was any more broad-shouldered, you’d have to carry it sideways through doorways. Lauder for Men opens up with bitter galbanum, lemon, thyme, and vague florals – very dry and powdery. It has a vaguely familiar crisp feel to it –a Perfume Not to be Trifled With.
An hour into things…it’s become a big mossy-rosemary-costus-tobacco monster. This…thing…leans back on the couch, kicks its shoes off, and puts its stockinged feet on the coffee table. And no, those feet haven’t been properly bathed in a while. Do I like this? Not sure, actually. Honestly…I nearly marched back to Macy’s and demanded a new bottle, for this one had certainly gone foul.
The tobacco feels more comfortable than that found in D&G Pour Homme, so that’s a positive. Repeated wearings have either dulled my sensitivity to this phase or made me more tolerant of it. My sense of horror has diminished considerably.
Four or so hours into it the costus starts to fade and we’re into the drydown, which is a good deal more conventional – almost too conventional, but how can you argue with mossy-rosemary-tobacco? Very much like this part.
The caveats: the timeline for this scent wobbles quite a bit depending upon application. A modest spray from a distance speeds through the phases considerably faster than a concentrated blast to a small area. Dispersion is a good thing, unless you really really like costus. Not a whole lot of throw which is surprising for a scent like this. Lasts most, if not all the workday.
So, back to that moxie business…this scent won’t please everyone, but it’s solidly made and well-balanced and doesn’t smell like much else on the market. It’s a bit formal – one person hit the nail on the head when he said it was for a night at the opera – but engaging in a slightly off-color way. Collared shirt required. If you’re the well-groomed sort with a strong grip and a naughty streak, you ought to try this.
Year: 1985
Perfumer:
Notes: Lemon, Mandarin, Sage, Coriander, Cardamom, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Oakmoss, Amber
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Outstanding review, Thomas! No matter how many pounds this frag can bench-press, it's going to have a hard time living up to your description.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mark!
ReplyDeleteI have to say that it's quite good but by no means everyone's cup of tea. I wouldn't dare wear it with, say...madras shorts and boat shoes.
I am sorely tempted to seek out Metropolis, as I recall thinking well of that one many years ago.
"Repeated wearings have either dulled my sensitivity to this phase or made me more tolerant of it. My sense of horror has diminished considerably."
ReplyDeleteAhh, that's what I look for in a fragrance -- a diminished sense of horror each time I wear it! ;)
Well, perhaps I phrased it a bit...awkwardly but in truth - that first time I panicked and thought, I can't face my co-workers smelling like THIS! After lunch, no less! (some people...you know, eat during lunch, I just conduct in-store blind buys, all for my art).
ReplyDeleteI've been wearing it since it was introduced as my pretty my exclusive cologne. Wouldn't trade it for any others I've tried. I got a charge out of your description. As with all cologne, one's own body chemistry is not insignificant in how it smells. I have had women and men literally stop me to ask what I was wearing. It's a brilliant fragrance and one I wear well and as long as it is on the market I'll be wearing it.
ReplyDeletei have been using this fragrance since it was introduced , i have yet to come across a similar fragrance.it is quite unique . i have used twenty differant smells but lauder for men is out of this world. would love to know similar mens fragrances.i import it fron usa to india.
ReplyDeletei was wearing LFM in the late 80's and thought i'd never see it again when it was discontinued. Some told me it was back out so I ran home and ordered. Imagine my surprise when i tried it and it was nothing like the scent i remembered. Have my senses changed so drastically or have they changed it. It's so musky and I loved LFM because it was so light and crisp. I don't think it's the same as original. What do your readers think. Oh well.
ReplyDelete