Faconnable

Grace Kelly and Cary Grant casually tearing along in a sporty convertible along the cliffs above Cannes in “To Catch A Thief”. One lovely gloved hand of Miss Kelly lightly caressing the steering wheel at sixty miles an hour; is there anything more alluring or jam packed with high voltage glamour and seduction? This is the epitome of what we think of as classic French Rivera high octane sophisticated élan. The lifestyle of the rich and famous before Robin Leach leached the soul out of it. There still remains an inkling of this lost allure within the elegantly crafted bottle of Faconnable for Men. One spray of this elixir of masculine elegance and you are transported to the south of France. It is twilight cocktails on the terrace of the Casino at Monte Carlo in a white Tux, a swim out to the float of the beach of the Carleton Hotel. It is the grand staircase and red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival. It is serious as a high stakes game of Baccarat and as much fun as fireworks after midnight with a barefoot bejewled movie star at your side. It opens bright and arrestingly with its well chosen top notes of mint, orange blossom and mandarin orange that does give it a smell of a well made martini. That dissipates quickly into a lush intoxicating Mediterranean garden of jasmine geranium and rose. Toward the end of the middle Sandalwood announces the dry down followed shortly by rich amber and an ethereal musk that whirl seductively around the sandalwood in a smoky slinky dance. It lasted all night on my skin and I awoke The next morning with traces of the dry down still in evidence. Now listen boys, this one is for grown ups! Faconnable for Men is too subtle and complex for simpler younger tastes unless you are a young man who really wants to stand apart as original, daring and smart. In that case welcome to the world of men of confidence, wit, grace and disarming charm. 5 Platinum stars *****

Beautiful, soapy, stunner that made your mouth water, that how it was back in the 90's, the glory days. Many compliments, fond memories from my college years. So I bought this perfume once more last year, because I knew how it smelled, right? The opening is the same: stunning fresh, clean, soapy scent. In my opinion, jasmine is a difficult scent to wear for men, as it can get nauseating, so to mellow it, the bitterness of orange and mint makes it pretty wearable. Geranium and a musk note is also very adept here to support the masculine undertones. It is kind of sweet with the musk and amber-notes, but that's just about that. Unfortunately, the projection and longevity is for 2-3 hours and I'm stretching it. Here over-spraying is a must to engage your olfactory senses. Although cheap, the bottle will not last more than a couple of months. The versatility of the perfume is limited. It is a classy scent, with ruined longevity. You are good to go for any formal occasions and for meeting with friends or colleagues.

Façonnable... ...I'm sitting in a small ocean front restaurant in a small town at the French Riviera. A light seafood dinner, a white wine, my wife, the sunset is reflecting in the waves of the ocean. A nice flower bouquet is decorating the dining table. After diner a nice walk home at the oceanfront promenade. There are two fragrances for gentlemen that i personally associate with the French Riviera....Façonnable and Dior Eau Sauvage Perfume 2017. They are not alike but the former reflects floral summer, suntan lotion and linen shirts and the latter citrus, herbal green and wood.. I don't smell a resemblance to Burberry man and even less to Lanvin homme. The former is less floral and more woody and the latter has got a very prominent pepper accord. The packaging is first class, the frosted glass with the leather strip attached to the cap sitting in a beautiful and decorative metal tin which could have come from the 20's or 30's of the last century.

I had this fragrance for about 20 years ago! I was trying to find this fragrance at a decent price in the internet for months. I ́ve just lost any hope, because it is too difficult to find this fragrance in Portugal! In the last week i went to a local supermarket, nearby my home, and as i was waiting to be served by the local employee, i was peeking a shelf and...i saw this gem! I did not want to believe! It was there...it was waiting for me for long time! I bought it for 12,99€! I asked the employee if that was true. And he said to me: Yes! It ́s true. You cant take the fragrance. We have some fragrances for a long time that we didn ́t sell and, for that reason, we lowered the prices so that people can afford them. After that day, i always peek the shelfs of that supermarket! I never thought to find this fragrance in my village! If you find this fragrance, just buy it! It ́s one of my favourites!

My SOTD today. It's a very nice fresh floral with hints of wood and mint. Although the mint note doesn't last long, maybe an hour or so, then it gets a little musky in a good way. It's in the same vein as Lanvin L'Homme which also has mint, woods and white floral. They don't smell exactly the same, but it gives you an idea of Faconnable's composition. Perfect for late spring and the summer months. It's a nice change from the usual citrus and aquatics. Performance is about average. You can get a 3.3oz bottle online for about $19, so this is a great value. Smells much more expensive than it costs. Leans masculine but women can pull it off easily... unless you're like my wife who refuses to wear men's colognes. All in all, it makes an enjoyable addition to any spring/summer rotation when you like to change things up a bit from what most guys wear nowadays... Sauvage, Bleu, Aventus, etc.