Cristobal pour Homme

Edit: updated this review July 1, 2021 Decided to wear Cristobal today - just for me, to cheer myself up. Forgot how much I adore this wondrous elixir! At first glance you can tell this is a class act - the bottle is a work of art, aesthetically beautiful and cleverly designed: smooth and glossy on the front, matt and semi-opaque on the back with two diagonal indentations at a 45 degree angle from bottom left to upper right, shaped to perfectly and comfortably fit the human hand; the T shaped cap surmounted with the double B monogram is a very pale gold on the upper part (to match the golden colour of the juice), the lower part is silver, textured to create the illusion of being bound in silver bullion cord. (the effect is so realistic I found myself trying to loosen and “unwind” the silver cord - which is of course impossible as it’s not actually a cord) Cristobal opens with an intoxicating salvo of aromatics and resin accompanied by a subdued citrus-like note which I assume is Bergamot. The overture heralds a complex, multifaceted symphony of woods, amber, resin, and a very luxurious leather note, supported by florals, tobacco, and a curiously mesmerising nutty gourmand effect which might be the coffee and vanilla. The dry down is warm and woody and lasts for ages. Cristobal really is a powerhouse, a very potent elixir, in every regard, so less is more. Fortunately the spray nozzle (or whatever it’s called) is very responsive and efficient - gentle pressure permits a light application. Every fragrance should come with a spray pump nozzle thing like this. By the gods this smells so good. I absolutely adore woodsy scents and this is very woody - in a hypnotically wonderful way. A beautiful blend that smells amazing, warm, and natural - unlike so many others, Cristobal smells organically pure and natural, creating an impression of superlative quality, class and sophistication. The leather note is amazing and really evokes luxury, like the interior of an Aston Martin, the woody note evokes the wood panelling of its dashboard. One of my secret pleasures is wearing Cristobal just for me. Every time I wear it, I find myself sniffing my wrist to savour the embrace of its sophisticated luxury. Cristobal really is quite unlike anything on the market now. It really is an exquisitely beautiful, intoxicating blend, a rich mosaic of woody, leathery, ambery sophistication redolent of luxury. When I first encountered Cristobal I didn’t like it, but in retrospect I didn’t really give it a chance. It was only when a friend wore it, and it was such a perfect olfactory accessory, that enhanced their natural grace, charm and sophistication so effectively that I fell madly in love and decided to get hold of some of that voodoo for myself. Some years back I was lucky enough to find two bottles at a very reasonable price and am so glad I did. Cristobal is a classy, sophisticated, confident, well-travelled gentleman of the world.

Gerard Anthony and Balenciaga have put together, in my opinion, another absolutely incredible bottle of fragrance! In a word, exquisite. First off, I really like the flacon - sophisticated and classy, but modern. The juice itself, inside, is what its all about - this is very rich, but lifted and delightful. This is a true Oriental Woody of terrific quality - I don't get any synthetic notes here, none at all. Balenciaga is top-notch house and there are no corners cut here. The quality of the ingredients is outstanding! I love the top notes of spice & herbs - artemisia, coriander, white pepper (clean, but a nice earthy kick) along with a dash of nutmeg that helps transition the top into the wonderful tea note here. I get a bit of herbal mint tea mixed with a light Earl Grey (which is black tea infused with bergamot). Very nice - but warming up the entire time with a nice light coffee bean note late in the heart (for transition) towards the amber, benzoin and vanilla in the base along with some very nice, soft & elegant sandalwood and fresh, golden tobacco leaves (lifted note here, nothing like a rolled cigar or heavy). The oriental flavors blend nicely with the wood but never get overly sweet or cloying at all. Harmony. Balance. Beauty. This is exquisite! What I find here is absolute, pure refinement and a masculine fragrance of wonderful depth & beauty. The key elements that make Cristobal Pour Homme so excellent are the wonderful fresh and clean, lifted notes throughout the entire scent (all the way to the pinch of tobacco leaves in the drydown) that keeps this from being another overly-sweet, sugary, heavy and cloying vanilla scent. It is one of the most gorgeous and well-integrated Orientals that utilize vanilla as a balancing basenote - to me, it is vanilla-tinged and not vanilla-centric. Benzoin resin is actually the key base component with amber, so it breathes on your skin and is less heavy. I find a totally natural quality to the benzoin note in this - not synthetic at all...which some orientals can turn towards due to their lack of quality in ingredients. That is why I love it so much! Excellent work by a true artist and master perfumier in Gerard Anthony. To achieve this fragrance took balance, great understanding of how to lift the olfactory senses from the top through the middle and base while allowing the vanilla and amber to add their true "flavor" and warmth - genius. Salud! Final score - 9.5/10. Captivating and revelatory. Near perfection!

“If bullfighting is death in the afternoon....she is death in the evening.” So said a character in “Blood and Sand” of Rita Hayworth as he observed her as she sat in the arena of Madrid devouring Tyrone Power with a look. So the same could be said too of Cristobal by Balenciaga. To me it speaks of Spain, of the dry heat of the Andalusia summer, of flamenco, and tapas. It whispers Hemmingway in my ear as Ava Gardner dances barefoot in a gypsy camp. It is as powerful as Goya’s Naked Maja and as beautiful as Penélope Cruz. It is the sensuous majesty of a matador filtered though the eye of a great design house. It is incredible and it is rare. And it is no coincidence that Cristobal speaks through the filter of a Spain seen in the movies. In the 50’s Balenciaga was the design choice of so many elegant stars of Hollywood. Cristobal is a cinematically grand and sweeping masterpiece that looks back to the glamour of the first meeting of Hollywood and post war Europe. So many masculine perfumes open with sharp violent notes; you will not find that here. The brilliant artemisia carries the white pepper, coriander, lavender and bergamot as they float onto the skin like a fine silk scarf falling in slow motion. It spreads on the skin as easy as caviar on warm toast. It is an amazing opening. As the heart notes come up Orientals come into play with a rich creamy coffee and tea blend that carry in their notes the pure beauty of the romance of patchouli, and sandalwood with a dusting of earthy geranium. This goes on and on and in a very warm and masculine self assured charm as the tobacco and vanilla come into play. Now you are in deep within the true magic of this fragrance. Coffee and vanilla with tobacco and the warmth of the amber and smoky incense of benzoin, this dry down is masterful and majestic. This fragrance is for grown men, not for party boys or fly by the seat of the pants on what is hot at the moment gents. You had better know what you are doing, where you are going and what you want when you put this on. People will take notice. It really projects well and lasts a good eight to ten hours on my skin. It is not a power bomb but rather a persuader, seductive, alluring and always mysterious. Brilliant designed bottle also is a plus. Cristobal by Balenciaga simply stole my heart from the moment it touched my skin. TEN PLATINUM AND DIAMOND STARS **********

A classic (and out of production) one, but it does not smell dated or old at all. Morover, it's extremely classy and you can feel the very high quality to it. Top quality. Lots of charisma and character. Very manly and very elegant (but a different elegance than regular people are used to). It's a weird blend though, hard to define and/or classify. Something in between fresh and warm. It's like (a mix all-together of) floral / citrusy / spicy / oriental / resinous woody / ambery / vanilla / hints of balsamic aromatic tobacco... The result is amazing and DIFFERENT. So CLASSY and UNIQUE. I wear this when I really want to smell different. It speaks of Spain, yes, not the Atlantic and colder one though, no, but rather the Mediterranean one... I'd say it's a "modern classic", like watching a Picasso or Miró painting (rather than a Velázquez). They were painted decades ago but they still look modern and offer that absolute, distinctive and unmistakeable quality, class and uniqueness to their owners. But it could also perfectly represents that delicate beauty and timeless elegance from Sorolla's paintings of those classy and well dressed women from the "Belle Epoque" walking across the seashore whilst feeling that unique Mediterranean breeze on their faces, those refreshing seawater splashes on their naked feet and that cozy warm Sun on their perfumed skins on a typical Summer day... It evoques the atmosphere in an old antique & curiosity shop full of different things and essences but well matching at its best: aromatic plants, lemon & citrics, exotic woods, resins, amber, incense, spices, vanilla, tobacco... Smooth power, refinement and rarety all together. UNIQUE! Like Balenciaga himself was and his style. Very good performance on my skin (but nothing offensive or harsh) and grabs attention. Highly recommended, although it's discontinued and if you really want it, you have to pay almost a "fortune" to get it through Internet. What a pity!

Balenciaga released some awesome men's fragrances (eg. Balenciaga pour Homme, Ho Hang Club): stylish, luxurious and of superlative quality that seem to adapt themselves to each wearer so much that the same fragrance can smell surprisingly different on different people. Smell is a potent memory trigger - and for me, Cristobal is a sensory delight. A ray of sunshine in these dark days, that brings a moment of indulgence, joy and luxury into an otherwise bleak reality. A dry, rich, complex, resinous, amber-y blend that really is intoxicating and seductive - that elicits both intense pleasure and moments of recognition as it evolves. To my mind Cristobal evokes classical masculinity (in the same way as Bel Ami by Hermès), creating an aura around the wearer that radiates classy elegance and luxury. The dryness of the composition is tempered somewhat by the vanilla, yet Cristobal concoctions. is the polar opposite of today's sweet, syrupy concoctions. To some extent our response to any fragrance is crafted by our own experience and tempered by our memories and associations, and for me, Cristobal is happiness. Wish I had the words to effectively describe how this fragrance makes me feel. So intoxicating that I savour the aroma as I inhale for the sheer delight of doing so.

Smells like the top notes of Fahrenheit, a mix of a hot & cold 'something'. I thought it smelt common and ignored it. After several hours I kept smelling something wonderful as I walked in the heat and into a mall. It was creamy, vanillic and in my face, very loud. To my surprise it was this cologne, 1 spray that I had applied to the back of my hand. Fast forward a couple of hours later and it turns into powdery vanilla. Went home, took a bath and it was still there afterwards. I didn't expect this 180-degree transformation. Projection: 10/10 Longevity: 10/10, over 10 hours on skin easily Sillage: immense trails, it lasts too.

this is something else. for the first 10 minutes it throws at me all kind of notes tha remind me of different parfumes i had years ago like escape or chevingnion , roma. but it does not smell like them its just the shifting of the notes on the way to the dry down . after 10 minutes it settle. the 10 minutes start is amazing . the dry down is so so good really love this i need to say that is rare but i dont know to many parfums. performance is ok,6 hours and it fades project for 2 hours , silage 3 hours but after the first hours its a bit quiet . dont care i love it......much recomended..super classy scent. enjoy

Masterpiece of haute perfumery. This juice is a proof of a time when efforts were made to create something outstanding. The fact that it doesn't exist anymore just shows the lack of appreciation by the masses who rather hang on the bandwagon of Invictus or Aventus. This pure beauty is a smooth, elegant, intelligent blend of top quality ingredients. On me sandalwood, white pepper, tobacco and benzoin shine the most in different phases of its devine development. Superb!

One of my all time favorites, someone said it was similar to Rochas Man, not even on the same planet. Much better than Rochas and I like it as well but nothing alike. I will always own it as long as the prices are reasonable, harder to find now. Paid $40 when I first started wearing last bottle was $80, won't pay more than that. But truly an outstanding fragrance.

Very similar to givenchy pi for sure, until the dry down hits, that’s where this fragrance shines for me. the comparison to playboy vip platinum I do not get it. Platinum does the chocolate & watery notes combo very well and share no similarities to this masterpiece.

What a gem!!! I can't get enough of it. strictly for cold weather. I never tried it but i think it's gonna be too cloying in warmer weathers. very good longevity and projection. be careful it could be a bit to strong if you over spray.

Awesome smell. I have a second bottle already.

A very high quality perfume that lasts a long time and has strong projection, some people think Cristobal smells like Givenchy Pi. While it has the resinous, benzoin-rich resin accord in common with the original Pi, the reformulated Pi is not in the same league as Cristobal. It's a rare occasion where it's worth buying a discontinued perfume at the prices asked and hoping that it has been looked after. It's refined and has a depth and quality that most struggle to match today. The blend is beautiful and the quality of ingredients is clearly very high indeed. There's something of a lavender/fougere mixed with a vanilla/benzoin/ambery mix here with lovely bits of sharpness injected by the top notes. It's a consistent, warm smell and feel throughout. I had hoped to smell the coffee note but it's one I don't detect here. It is somehow very masculine and the mix is a dozen times better than the cloying sweetness of many modern perfumes of the last five or ten years. I am certainly going to miss this one when the last few drops of my bottle finally get used. Edit: missing it. Really missing it. Second edit: Life is too short and I get cashback on the credit card so I've bought a bottle at a very expensive price.

Now this is pure class. Restrained, refined, strongly masculine yet sweetly smooth. On a girl like me the vanilla-amber-cedar dry down is devine - clean, yet warm & soft. On men I have noted that their natural man-muskiness changes this into a more husky, lightly spicy tobacco affair, which is delightful. It's sweet, it's spicy, it's warm, it's woody but everything has been combined with skill & such a light touch that all the notes meld & merge harmoniously into one...which screams class. This is ideal for the office (I agree with the previous reviews, apply sparingly). It is very self-assured. My friend describes it as his wedding-party scent as it has good breeding, intrigues friends & charms quality ladies. I think he expects a bit too much from his fragrance, but agree that it is a scent that needs a wearer that embodies such qualities.

I love this. The only problem I have with it (and it's actually keeping me from wearing it) is that I find it very cloying. Almost every time I use it, I start to sneeze. I can use just one spray, and I feel like it's attacking my face. However, it smells divine. A light powdery/citrus/sandalwood fragrance. It lasts forever on my skin, and sillage seems to be good. Too bad I won't be wearing it much, but I'll sniff the cap from time to time. *sigh*

I managed to buy a bottle of Cristobal by Balenciaga. After reading the reviews I still don't find similarity with Rochas Man, sorry. However it strongly reminds me of Joop! Homme. I don't know why since the don't share many notes but still, Cristobal is 80% Joop! Homme, only a bit muted and bit sweeter. It's the quiet introverted version of Joop!. Anyway, more wearable than Joop! too, a safer choice. I like it!

It is indeed somewhat similar to Rochas Man, but i prefer this one, since the flower notes are muted and it smells beautiful.

Oh, nothing really interesting — a bit provincial, maybe somewhere around Versace Dreamer or Carven Pour Homme. There’s a certain dreaminess, a kind of height, some elements reminiscent of Passion by Elizabeth Taylor and a few other scents I can’t recall right now, all marked by a kind of fresh magic — like a countryside football pitch, that sort of feeling. So yes, it’s beautiful. Alright, the guy behind this also did some other scents — Iquitos, Azzaro PH, Balenciaga PH, Rabanne XS (!) — Gerard Anthony. Cristobal is more intense than Dreamer, and it reminds me of something so strongly that I just can’t put my finger on it. It feels identical to a fragrance I can’t quite remember. Hindu Kush? D&G Light Blue? Versace Eros? Oud Silk Mood? Individuel? Legend? The One? I don’t know — just shooting in the dark. In any case, the core note here isn’t really for me.

First off, one point worth noting is that, Cristobal Pour Homme is quite a character by all means, good or bad, it's not a quiet one. It also relentlessly redefined my reception of 'sweetness' for men's fragrance in general, by which it still clearly stands as a men's fragrance containing if not all, one signature note: Lavender. Some put this as fougere, some oriental, while some gourmet, but one obvious feature the moment it sprays out is sweetness, vanilla sweet with a fussy amber-woody undertone and a sharp lavender scream on top. You will recognize it in a way, you have smelled it more or less from someone before, but most likely less, no other contenders could've been any stronger or even as 'bulky', this blurry resemblance to so many others is not a good thing to begin with, it unfortunately assembles all classic men scents in a clumsy manner in my opinion, rather like a cook who's traveled a bit, thinking of himself as 'know it all, seen the world', and starts his own 'fusion' with almost every bit of this and that, you like Thai? We have it, Sushi? Here you go, BBQ? Pizza? Spicy and sweet? Take'em all! For the notes per se, main noticeable accords are lavender, fussy amber/woods and vanilla. I envy those who perceive tea, coffee and tobacco, or maybe sandalwood. My nose simply gets numbed by the first blast of candied lavender within vanilla sweetness, then days later to pick up some tamed woods left on shirt. I don't know how people examine the quality of the material used as I merely get those three piecing notes rampaging like chaos, no shape, no depth, but long lasting boring vanilla 'presence'. Current mediocre niche quality or novelty doesn't necessarily contrast Cristobal and uplift it to a 'high quality' position, though it could still easily sit on now designer shelves and maybe sells well, just don't really see a loss as it's discontinued or even rare now. And, I refuse to call it 'juice'. My rating: 4/10

Blind bought this, just arrived today. Not sure about the scent, but my first thought is that I don't like it. Vaguely reminds me of cheap car air freshener. Not sure if I'll keep it or give it away. 3 weeks later: I ended up giving it away.