JHL

I love fragrances but I must admit I don’t have a strong enough palate. I think because a lot of smells I don’t know what they smell like in its pure essence. It’s not like tasting booze, cigars or coffee where you more then likely have had many of the notes. When someone says this cigar has notes of espresso with a leathery mouthfeel, or this wine taste like Unripe fruits, or this coffee has notes of allspice and dark berries you have a general idea of what to expect. So when I see all these notes for this or other fragrances I get confused because half of them I have no idea what they smell like on their own. So i like to keep my reviews simple, and tend to relate fragrances basic smells and experiences. I can say oh this so and so fragrance smells like tropical fruit, on a overcast day but can’t exactly tell you why it smells like an overcast day.So I guess this is a disclaimer I should have posted for my first review I ever did, but the only reasoning I’m posting it now is because I have and had may fragrances but this is the first one I’ve had where I notice it’s scent literally evolves and changes. Maybe I am noticing more because I have the week off of work and university is over for the semester, so I am not busy and have more time to actually focus. But this fragrance literally changes like a 3 in one. Many fragrances I’ve noticed do change but a lot of it is subtle until it gets down to the base notes. But this to me is different. I love this fragrance btw. At first not so much, but it grows on me. The first initial burst to me smells very musky and slightly fecal and urine like. Not like a toilet, but I remember reading somewhere the smell of feces and the smell of flowers are the same compound, but in different doses. It’s like this purple flower my mom used to grow that smells offputting and somewhat fecal but it you can’t stop smelling it. A kind of dirty wet clay smell. It reminds me of the almond oil stuff my wife puts in her hair she buys from the indian market. A dirty, pungent oily smell.That fades away quickly and then a waxy, soapy lemon smell comes that I kid you not reminds me of Canoe. A more nuanced, citrus rind version of Canoe. But after a few minutes boom, it changes into something that is heavy on the cinnamon, and a powdery smell that is backed up by sandalwood. That musky, fecal flower smell comes back but now it smells subdued like incense. It all sounds bizarre but it works. It’s a dressier, edgier version of Taylor of old bond street sandalwood. It has a warm and classic smell and I love it. The first few minutes aren’t my favorite, but as it changes it becomes something womderfull

JHL & JHL Vintage aren't similar to each other! & that's when i first sprayed them all on both hands. The vintage JHL is more on the creamy & oily texture, yet clean soapy musk side while the current JHL is more on the cinnamon dry side, and it's not that much of sweetness cinnamon as much as it's herbal with a touch of sweetness. Surprisingly, they intersect and crossroad on a certain point! i mean the current JHL goes quite similar to the vintage one when it settles down (after 3 hours) but on the top or middle note it smells quite dry cinnamon more than clean soapy musk with a creamy texture, while the vintage JHL is mostly linear from top to bottom which makes it quite amusing and alluring. The drawback of the JHL is that it's too weak as it almost vanishes within 2 hours max and stays close to skin but it smells like heaven and much better than the current one. The 2nd drawback is that the vintage JHL is almost extinct now and the ones you can find now is extremely expensive and splash rather than a spray. In general, the curent JHL has cinnamon as the dominant note, then comes the carnation, aldehyde, sandalwood, fir, labdanum, rose, bergamot, & benzoin, while the vintage is bergamot, carnation, amber, sandalwood, musk, rose, jasmines, & lemon. JHL vintage is a piece of heaven indeed and also the current version is superbly beautiful, shockingly, few years back (2 years) i was about to give the current version that i own away to someone! and i have absolutely no idea what kind of heart i was having back then to give up such an amazing blend! It was a mistake and i can't forgive myself for that :p (nah joking). Eventually, this is beautifully amazing. Edit (23rd March 2021) I visited my vintage bottle now, and i have splashed it on my skin.. what came to my mind when i sniffed JHL on my skin is "Musc Tonkin" by Parfum d'Empire (not the Extrait)! it is really musky with big doses of animalic, and i believe it is sexually intense! i can't say that it's quite similar to "Musc Tonkin" but definately has part of its DNA somehow! cause that blend came to my mind right away because i got the same tingly feeling that i usually get when i wear "Musc Tonkin".. Vintage JHL is a masterpiece, & Marc-Antoine Corticchiato is a genius...

Upon first spray on test blotter the comparison out of my collection that immediately came to mind is Chypré Palatin by MDCI. Then I compared their note structure as listed on Fragrantica and they are similarly complex, with both sharing aldehydes, amber dominance, a floral mid, and Chypré Palatin's plum and clementine being comparable to the fruity notes of JHL. I can see where MDCI would get their historical inspiration with JHL and it's inspirations Youth Dew, Cinnabar, YSL Opium. I had the opportunity to put my nose briefly on Youth Dew in a perfumery store this past weekend in anticipation of my bottle of JHL arriving today. I can smell why someone would vote a similarity to Paul Sebastian Fine Cologne, given the the common musky powderiness, and spicy oriental character. But I think Paul Sebastian Fine Cologne has a better analogue as a stronger, murkier classic Old Spice. And I think a less complex CK Obsession for Men (and I assume the women's Obsession which I haven't smelled) owe some of their inspiration to this JHL/Youth Dew/Cinnabar/Opium group. I do not, however, perceive much DNA similarity to the interesting, rougher original 1966 Aramis by Aramis (a fragrance my father wore back in the day and one I have and respect). But this JHL is great! Very pleasant and enjoyable scent. I love the DNA. And its historical context as Estee Lauder's gift to her husband, and its DNA ties to Lauder's Youth Dew, Cinnabar, and YSL Opium enrich its value and appeal just that much more.

This is my favourite Aramis considering I've used it the most of all the others. It's most poetic of all Aramis. This is somewhat a dirty scent than clean (in the way an electric guitar's clean tone can be saturated into the "dirt" stage before full blown distortion). I know the original Aramis was an overdriven scent, but the softer, yet more luxurious, JHL Custom Blended Cologne is that woman tone; the sweet, blue & brown bluesy tone that gets the ladies' attention and the guys because of the notes and melodic lines in the solos, the technicality us dudes love. It's a technical scent, rather than a simple and easy cologne. I'll use the electric guitar tone analogy in future reviews. JHL Custom Blended Cologne is now a love song to the '70s and early '80s chypres and smoked, leather, earthy bottles of the Opium and Cinnabar days which men were not allowed near. Those scents are unisex now, in a most masculine (when on a man) and feminine (when on a woman) way. They're sexy as hell because of that, and us finely cultured folk - at least on this review section - understand this clearly. Today, it's calling to the past to bring that style, that human touch, back to the present; the reality of computer formulated, blended, and fine tuned colognes that all end up smelling synthetic whether organically made or otherwise. JHL means Just Have a Life. Batch: B18 from January 2018.

Another stroke of beauty from Bernard Chant, JHL was preserved through the Gentleman's Collection relaunch in 2009, no matter how many would argue otherwise (cue the wailing "shell of its former self"). Six sprays of this is just as intoxicating as Opium or Cinnabar, its radiant and deep. In fact, Bernard Chant collaborated with Josephine Catapano on Estee Lauder Cinnabar, and took its template and like a producer at a mixing board, adjusted the levels, leveraging the cinnamon and carnation, and pushing the musks forward, making its dry down a bit more woody, rugged, and animalic. Spiced aldehydes, with somewhat hesperidic and coniferous undertones, cut through cold air as I apply this on my porch (I prefer to apply stronger fragrances outside these days) and now I feel like I am imbued with benzoin-rich incense, a bit smokey, with a facet that reminds me of Casablanca lilies. This floral stage is ecstasy to my nose, and over time it gets woodier and muskier. It seems to have that Tonquitone musk that I love, the one produced by IFF that mimics that of deer musk: warm, sensual, somewhat floral and definitely animalic. Sadly, as I write this, it seems that even the Gentleman's Collection version has skyrocketed in price. As much as I love JHL, I wouldn't recommend spending an arm and a leg on this, so I do hope that this is a passing phase and prices one day settle.