El

Opening on skin, Él is a throwback to vintage fougères. Upon first spritz, there's a hologram of vintage Kouros, far more realistic than current version. Honestly, closing my eyes I'm smelling Kouros in all its glory minus the bracing aldehydes and bergamot. As soon as it starts to dry down, the spicy core of geranium and bay leaves comes to the front accompanied by what seems like a very healthy dose of castoreum. I can't really smell the slightly pissy and powdery civet, but I get a leathery castoreum in spades with honey sweetening the animal behind. Smelling the flowers showing their spicy side recalls the likes of Paco Rabanne pour Homme, even Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme in all its glory. At this point, Él is more like a barbershop fougere, a bit calmer and less in your face, showing its woody and earthy facets; vetiver predominantly with a slight talcum vibe. The hidden civet appears during the drydown to remind us that the game isn't over. Sillage is quite big, longevity very good. It's strange to find a modern release that has various stages, isn't linear and pays homage to the best of a genre; animalic in a warm way, blending the synthetic civet and castoreum to make it fuse with the skin, modern but decidedly vintage. This tanned hunk starts with a naughty blink in his eye, shows his various facets during development, but at the end of the night when sweaty bodies ask for more action he reminds us that the animal inside is ready to go prowling. It's only just the beginning!

Better than 2017 Kouros. It is similar, but more luxurious and not offputting. I rejected and traded my 2017 bottle of Kouros. I really enjoy EL. There is distinct note separation, compared to a smear of smell in Kouros. EL is spicy and green and animalic with real evolution and progression. The smell is very alive and intimately human. Made in the USA and there is authentic Oak Moss and decent quality animalics. It really stands out in this IFRA era. This is above my usual budget, but I took a chance and am very satisfied. Longevity is better for me than other reviewers, and I consider myself difficult to satisfy with longevity and sillage. Presentation is great. The bottle is class and the sprayer is excellent. The stream is one of the strongest I have seen. Three sprays will be plenty and the bottle will last many years. I am very impressed.

Vintage Kouros, Antaeus, and Polo Green somehow, miraculously, all in the same fragrance with modern quality and ingredients. It sounds too good to be true... and yet here it is. Absolutely fucking gorgeous. Dark, musky, animalic, and bracingly green in a way that's potent and sophisticated all at once. Perfectly straddles the line of being both crassly virile and classy. Something you would get a waft of from underneath a weathered leather jacket on a warm summer night. This scent feels like it deserves mood lighting and a hard drink nearby. It's pricy, but at least we're not looking at Creed or Amouage levels. Also, considering the fact it's several of my all-time favorite frags quite masterfully blended together, AND performs excellently, I'd still say it's well worth it.

Labeled an animalic fougère, ÉL is loaded with the classic smelling mossy notes of oakmoss, vetiver and patchouli and those traditional animalistic base ingredients like castoreum and civet. And when they’re unified they scream, more than they hint, at the idea of available sexuality. There’s a brutish strength and a tenacity to the fougère accord that works wonderfully well with the laurel, sage and rosemary resulting in a very classic smelling, super masculine, musk heavy fragrance that dries down fantastically well.

Kouros may have been the inspiration for this fragrance, but Él is much more herbaceous, aromatic and green, with pronounced mossy notes. Somehow the fragrance seems more clearly structured and the individual notes have more room to breathe. The animalic facets also have sheerer contours, but are perfectly calibrated and incredibly erotic. This is machismo in a bottle, but one that I love to sink into the arms of....