Ho Hang

Just tried on a very small amount of a vintage miniature that I received of this, and so far I am thoroughly enjoying it. There's a lot going on but also a real smoothness and sense that it is a complete and finished product in its own right, and what has surprised me most is the depth of the fragrance. It has deep pools of ambery musky bass notes that seem to shimmer and swirl around each other. Scent profile wise, this sits very firmly and unsurprisingly in the "classic" camp. Think Guerlain's Mouchoir de Monsieur (or Habit Rouge once the initial airiness has dried down and dissipated), but with more tartness, like Boucheron pour Homme or Roja's Diaghilev in the fartger drydown. Performance wise, I will have to give it more wearings and come back to edit this (if I remember), but it has been pinging off my skin beautifully since I out it on. That said, I've often found that certain types of patchouli and musks have a tendency to do that with my body chemistry in a way they don't for my partner, so that might be a me thing. Overall, I'd say this is a beautiful scent for someone who loves classic fragrances, and to someone who doesn't this will smell extremely dated and old-fashioned to the point of being nose-wrinkling. Personally though, I love it and wish a larger bottle wasn't so damn expensive!

I bought a mini because I like HHC so much and am always after hot weather scents. This is really, really good. Creed-quality, and better if you give points for projection and half-life. I get the labdanum and probably some carnation right away, with a woody undertone. In a half-hour, a really beautiful, airy patchouli shows up and stays. I don't get any of the other notes; there is a gorgeous blend apart from the three "primaries" and I don't have enough discernment to pick them out. Suffice it to say that the effect is light, assured, and excellent. I don't get the projection that most folks seem to, perhaps because I don't have an atomizer. There are two problems here. First, HH is discontinued and very expensive. Second, my wife doesn't like this on me. I do not resort to the "don't like it but respect it" card very often, but in this case there is a niche-quality fragrance that moves me (and which my son says is "respectable" and appropriate for me (and can he use it?))... but Mama says it's not me and gives it two thumbs down. If you are interested in something really, really classy, invest in a mini. I may keep a little bit around just because--HH is all that. Scent: 9/10 Sillage: 5/10 Longevity: 7/10

Before the dramatic shift in fragrances to the opulent and indulgent just five or so years later, Ho Hang is at the zenith of the understated elegance that would characterize scents marketed to the male gender. In fact, early advertising for Ho Hang suggested it was marketed to both men and women, foreshadowing a more strident effort in 1975 by YSL for Eau Libre. Here, however, we find it far more in line with the gentleman's fragrances with a citrus aromatic opening with a vanillic-amber body such as Guerlain Habit Rouge and Equipage Gentleman. The rosewood is more forward here, supported by carnation and geranium, lending its floral, woody, coriander-like sensibility to the core of Ho Hang. It feels refined and tempered, nothing is sharp, nothing is flat, it is a simple, yet beautifully rendered melody. What's most impressive is how this clearly older-version vintage has retained its sparkle, it's "wow and flutter" as it were. No dusty, acrid degradation at all, it's all meringue-smooth. When it dries into its base, the musk is balmy and the amber accord is buttery. It really is quite beautiful.

Nothing to compare with..simply unique. It s a kind of teleportation in the past, when everything was so well done, proffesionally, with attention, hard work, and tallent. And yes, natural ingredients. It s a simphony of smells, complex, I can t detect all the notes listed because the synergy created between them are very tricky and all together copmplete the mistery. I love the carnation (here it smells like in no other scent that contains carnation) and geranium. The rosewood is simply stunning, and labdanum a bit sharp when it comes out but so smooth and manly after a while. Long lasting, distinctive, it will put you totally out from the crowds. A real king, still young and handsome. I must say the honeycomb box - and all the bottles packed like this- are the best. In the red box is the reformulated version, good as well but some notes are substituted with non-natural ones and it is a bit sharp and fresher. The vintage is the real masterpiece so if you can afford, buy a vintage one and you will not regret at all. 10/10

One reason: MASTERPIECE One Gender: MAN (Sorry "gender benders" that disagree there are genders). This is a fragrance for men...period! A scent that REAL women loves on a man! Fresh, classic, woody, spicy and absolutely stunning! It's a legend from the 70's (When men was men, women was women and the center of our universe). Although this juice is still relevant today despite being nearly 50 years old! It might be too "dated" for some. Best occasion for this legend is when you want to enjoy being a man. Come on fellas, we all know there's nothing better in our world than a loving woman to feel our manliness. Yeah I know some people hate when I express some scents having a gender. Well, there's very few scents that express MAN as much as Ho Hang. Down vote away snowflakes! It is what it is. And it's not HO HUM!

@interdite -it can be unisex but not in a nowadays "unisex" meaning because it was created in a masculine way. For comparsion, take Sahara Noir, a scent created for women but so masculine in its heart. Ho hang is definitely a masculine scent, with an extreme-luxury barbershop vibe, very complex and vibrant. After all, there are no borders, a candy floral scent can lay down beautifully on a man's skin and a strong masculine scent can have a spectacular vibe on ladies skin. I am sure a woman with strong personality can fall in love with this exquisite fragrance that was labeled indeed, after it was launched, as an unisex frag. Give it a try, there is nothing to lose and go for a vintage honeycomb box and different bottle, pictured in the second advertise not in the main photo.

An absolutely beautiful spicy fougére that's like a cross between Equipage and Habit Rouge EdP, but which may be more beautiful than either separately. Note, though, that the other two are still in production while this has been discontinued--and is now hard to find, and not inexpensive. The name means something like "yummy" or "very pleasant" in Cantonese (because when the perfume was created decades ago, spicy fragrances were known as "orientals"), and that's actually a good name for it. The strongest note for me is the warm but delicate rosewood, which is one of my favorites, and you can separate out the others in the complex mix: geranium, carnation, bergamot, vanilla, patchouli, and many more. This is from a more elegant and civilized era.

My bottle delivers its woody floral heart right away, the left chamber is fresh carnation, while the right is warm rosewood. There are still traces of what has been the top notes’ citrusy context, but they’re faint and soon pumped away. No problem, Ho Hang comes from the golden era of perfumes when the heart and base made a perfume, not the top. And here heart and base are top! Soapy clean, barbershoppy aromatic, and elegantly refined. One of my cherished bottles from a time long gone. *****

I'm in love with this fragrance, the first formula of Ho Hang is amazing, i believe in expensive woody notes as sandalwood, and in a lot of precious ingredients really well balanced. Thsi could be a Chanel perfume, if you love Egoiste by Chanel, Ho Hang is another right choice. Great sillage and longevity, 9,5/10

@shamus1 This is it, plus aromatic orange/citrus oil in the top - nuances only.. This is Ho Hang. The smell of luxury. The opposite of today's fragrance trends. No aggressive, loud, aquatic, pungent or even stinky notes. Too bad it's not being re-released.

On my husband this is magic, very classical, very elegant but with some boost. I love wearing it too on sporty occasions when the temperature is not too high. Soft, creamy, balsamic, classic in a good sense. Not boring at all.

I was given a sample of Ho Hang years ago, immediately loved it and have been buying it ever since. This is a delightful, warm woody oriental, refined yet discrete and long-lasting. Perfect on a crisp, sunny winter day!

It's hard to find in my country. But I'm lucky to fine it. Fresh citrus open and little sweet flower,warm wood at last. Elegance and good long lasting. I love it. HO HANG is not disappointment to buy it.

I LOVE HO HANG ,IT 'S MY FAVOURITE ,VERY VERY HARD ,IMPOSSIBLE,TO FIND

I often call it Ho Hum. It's definitely in the running among the barbershop spicy fougere clan, but I'm torn between being bored to death by it, or simply struggling to smell the spot of it that I just splashed. It opens with the same anise and powder as Jockey Club, but it's way weaker, and I feel like I'm always waiting for something interesting to happen. Eventually it gets a bit sweeter, more of a spicy oriental, but it's subtle, and the change makes it more fussy and musty to me. It really smells like 1971 in a bad way. I agree that the exotic woods become a bit more noticeable after a while, but again the change is too small for me to notice half the time, or care. The one certain thing about Ho Hang is that if I put it on in the morning, I am guaranteed to forget that I even wore cologne at all that day, and to forget what it even smelled like. It's just too dull and weak to care about.

Its spicy-smoky on me. Elegant and no-nonsense lady I wonder why the fragrance where there is no frankincense, or olibanum have such a seriously smoky aura on my skin. Labdanum plus benzoin?.. Might be. Plus rosewood and tonka bean. Citruses brighten up a picture, but my skin swallows citruses as a hungry whale, so while other people can describe bergamot-lemon nuances I go straight to the base. Its full-bodied, woody, spicy substantial one. Its definitely has an aura of ancient Asia to me, because of this exotic woody smokiness that I get – smell of Chinese temple Guys on basenotes after some light-hearted collaborations came to the point that Ho Hang means “Very Lucky” in Chinese Good luck in finding Ho Hang for yourselves then! And my big hug for this vintage bottle goes to Italy! Thanks, iris_it!

It's too bad Balenciaga won't re-release this, because this is awesome. Ho Hang is so old school, a product of 1970s European style, that I can't imagine this ever being brought back to life in the U.S.. It is so unlike anything popular today, and I can't think of any other fragrance that it's similar to. Most woody fragrances have a sharp-edged dryness to them. Ho Hang does not. Imagine the smell of rosewood, but with all of its sharp edges softly buffed out by amber, carnation, musk and labdanum, and you have Ho Hang. Ho Hang isn't really sweet, but it's not a typical woody scent. Its hallmark is its smoothness. You can't call Ho Hang a wood scent or a floral scent or a sweet scent. Ho Hang is just Ho Hang, and it's unlike anything else.

Ho Hang opens with a light citrus freshness reminiscent of Monsieur Givenchy or original Armani Eau Pour Homme. As it unfolds, the cedar, rosewood and geranium appear, adding a dry woody complexity without overpowering the citrus. On my skin it lasts all day, but in a subtle and unobtrusive way. This is a classy gentleman's scent if there ever was one, and also a wonderful "time capsule" of an aesthetic that seems to have passed out of existence these days.

A little metallic in the opening, which may be the lavender, but thankfully it fades into a gentle spice. Very pleasant, but it doesn't last long. What I'm left with is a faint mustiness.

I just got a mini of this fragrance, probably it is a vintage Version. Tomorrow i will test it full, to see how it performs and will edit the review; now, for the smell...a very strong resemblance to the classic version of Habit Rouge wich was amazing. It really gives a vibe of church (here we have Orthodox churches and the inside smell of them always gave me a strong resemblance to this type of fragrances). Second, you know there are fragrances which smell dated, and that could be in an old man like type, or old women like type...this one is similar to a fragrance type used by all the old ladies, at least here in my country ...i really don't know which notes are the ones that make the association with that type of smell. Not very encouraging, wright? Well, not exactly...i for sure love this type of smell, i would love to see today fragrances make a turn from the shitty shower gel smell to this type again...i would definitely buy this fragrance if it was still available. But as time flew by, and trends really changed, wearing this today will definitely turn a few heads...i bet that at least one person would compliment you on it, and at least one would say that you smell like an old lady. For now, this is my take on Balenciaga Ho Hang. Edit: the performance is moderate, not outstanding. I retract my statement that it smells like an old lady, it doesn't. It smells like an old man, at least that's what my wife told me :))). This type of fragrances, nowadays would be appreciated only by men, and a certain type of men, not all.