1881 Men

AN ADMIRABLE BARBERSHOP FOUGÈRE 1881 Pour Homme is an underrated fragrance. You can easily buy it online for around 20 euros (for the 100ml bottle). It is one of the aromatic fougere beastie mode fragrances from the 80s that is still being sold today; thank goodness, because it would be a shame if this Cerruti masterpiece were no longer available. Cerruti is still releasing flankers of this EDT. The last one I tried is 1881 Signature for man (from 2017), a fantastic leather scent that sells quite well. ABOUT THE SCENT It's difficult to divide the evolution of this fragrance into top, middle and base notes. I perceive it as a scent that changes very little. Green notes such as cypress and moss are clearly present. There is also a really pleasant woody blend of pine and sandalwood. Throughout, it is fresh and dry and very masculine. You can easily tell that this is an established and classic barbershop scent. It was released in 1990, which to me is not a bad thing. It is a timeless classic that still lingers very pleasantly in the air. In terms of character, it goes with down-to-earth men who exude respectability, the kind of trustworthy men who keep their word. Not necessarily square, but for me a really nice fragrance for natural men. It opens with a very bold and powerful green-fresh vibe. Even in this lively opening, it can't deny its Mediterranean roots. Bergamot and, above all, 'green' galbanum exude a cheerfulness that soon gives way to a spicy, resinous blend of juniper, thyme, cyclamen and cedar. I know exactly this accord from another fragrance that you would never spontaneously associate with 1881 - Aramis New West. The middle notes ensure that this fresh green vibe lasts a little longer, with a very pleasant vétiver, softened a little by ylang and rose. The base notes of pine and oakmoss ensure that this fantastic fragrance remains masculine and green until the very end. While the leather note in the finish underlines the bitter, melancholic flair of "New West", 1881 seems warmer and sweeter, making it the more wearable fragrance. To add value to its low price, the fragrance has a beastly longevity, easily over 12~14 hours. Three sprays are quite enough. For more sillage you can over spray a little - 4 sprays not more. Aesthetically, the bottle is more than acceptable and it has a very good sprayer. Overall, I get similarities to both Aramis New West and Boucheron pour Homme. Different fragrances but evoking the same feelings. 1881 is indeed a very nice and unique juice. MY OPINION: Once again, great fragrances don't have to cost a fortune. What you get here for a few bucks is simply magnificent. 1881 is a truly beautiful summer refresher in the best Italian style. MUSIC: Charles Aznavour - "The Old Fashioned Way"; better still the original French version "Les plaisirs démodés"

This is truly one of the best bargains in perfume today. I first purchased it some twenty years ago and still find it a welcome respite from some of the loud and obnoxious fragrances that seem to dominate these days. 1881 has lost a little of its depth over the years, but still retains a timeless appeal. Smelling it today, it still feels difficult to carbon date this stuff - it could have been released in the 1950s or last week. In a way, 1881 feels like an amalgamation of classic masculine scents - things like Eau Sauvage, Lauder for Men, Balmain. And somehow it just sings! From the herbal opening through the rosy balsamic heart and into the evergreen drydown, this perfume reminds me of my 1980s youth but doesn't feel stuck in time like certain other hallmarks of the era (Drakkar Noir, anyone?). Some people may find this hopelessly dated, but I disagree. It evolves and breathes like a classic perfume but never feels overwhelming. It feels not entirely French, but not quite English either. It seems appropriate that Englishman James Heeley released Cologne Officinale a couple years back - which is very similar. It has the same subtle character and a clean/dirty balance that's really appealing. The Heeley is great too, albeit about 4x the price. And yet I always come back to the Cerruti, which reminds me that not all great perfumes have to cost $200 a bottle. Every refined guy should have a bottle of this hidden in a closet or in the bathroom vanity. I'd also love to smell it on a certain type of woman, on whom its androgynous charm would become more apparent. You can snag a 50ml bottle of this for less than $40 and I find it more appealing than many perfumes at three to four times that price. 1881 is just a versatile and virtuous classic. It pairs equally well with a tweed suit as it does with jeans and a t-shirt.

This is pretty good. Not that it's one of the best but I really think it's one of the most badass scents out there. I got a Tyler durden buzzcut which the hairdresser fucked up but when I was thinking of which scent goes with that all I could think of was this. It's not the most masculine scent I know it's quite laid back while being very masculine... the spray is garbage though. It's got the most badass masculine notes really pine and cypress together, pepper, oak moss cassia, juniper and vetiver.... and then in the heart it's got one of the most exclusively feminine notes which is ylang ylang. This had the potential to be one of the best like Lapidus but maybe due to quality it can't be or maybe even because of the composition. It's pretty good though I like it. I wouldn't call this one of the best fougeres in the market though like the other dude here has(he's welcome to his opinion) maybe one of the best fougeres for the price and maybe one of the best traditional fougeres because if you count in lapidus and Fahrenheit then this has got nothing on those. Maybe creed should clone this... then that would be one of the best fougeres. Let's get creed to clone this so we can buy the Armaf clone of that. Sounds genius!

I picked up 1881 Men about a decade ago, when I was just starting out. Coming back to it now feels like opening a time capsule from the 90s, when men’s fragrances had a very different idea of freshness. This is a largely linear composition built around a green, woody forest accord. Pine and cypress are front and center, wrapped in a noticeable powdery softness that was much more common in that era. It evokes the feeling of walking through a damp coniferous forest, slightly humid, slightly cool. Despite the listed notes, I don’t really get much in the way of florals. What stands out, especially from today’s perspective, is how unapologetically green it is. No sugary ambroxan haze, no loud synthetic projection tricks. Just a calm, slightly dusty, aromatic woods profile that wears close and steady. Some might call it dated now, and they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. But it represents a style that has largely faded. For me, it’s still a classic. Not because it tries to compete with modern releases (if anything, something like Lauder for Men (1985) might feel relatively closer to today’s tastes), but because it reminds me of a time when fragrances like this were the norm. Rating: 8-8.5/10

I love this scent. Bought 100ml back when it started getting hot, ~May IIRC. Almost empty now. At first there was a weird note, almost virtual. Something just bothered me. Reminded me of Lapidus in some sense, making me think it was a poor choice. After the first day day I stopped getting that note. Then some kind of bitter/green note made me obsessed. I still don't know enough about fragrances to articulate but I assume it's at least partly the juniper because it reminds me of gin. There are of course multiple layers to the scent but this dimension of it has had me obsessed. I'm definitely getting the 200ml next, probably multiple bottles. I just love this when it's hot. I'm also moving Boucheron and Lauder up to the top of my to buy/sample list due to the comparisons. A woman I know I always thinks I'm wearing Kouros when I wear this. Idk what that's about. I don't get the comparison at all. But noting it anyway because she's been consistent.