Geranium Pour Monsieur

(Original review written in 2022. "Dislike") Definitely needs some time to cool down after the initial applications. The top notes have a very brief hint of toothpastey mint, and then it immediately smells like a designer citronella candle - which is not at all appealing. There is a bit of vague spice, a bit of vague animalic musks, a touch of synthetic woods. And that's about all she wrote. The performance in this first wearing was quite poor, and the whole of the experience was generally unpleasant. Later revisitations to the perfume only reinforced my initial thoughts of it smelling like a designer citronella candle. It does geranium leaf relatively well, with a hint of tasteful mint to add a cooling dimension and touches of spices and woods for a bit of complexity, but geranium leaf is far from interesting (or pleasant enough) on its own to be the only true star of this fragrance. Additionally, the performance was poor with every subsequent wearing despite application and seasonal variations, altogether making Geranium Pour Monsieur far from notable or praiseworthy in the context of the Malle line-up. And, at its price point it is certainly not within the realm of consideration for ownership. Every brand has a dud or two, and this is one of Malle's. (Updated review 2026) This one bothered me. A lot. I found it hard to accept that Malle and Ropion screwed this up. It has remained in the back of my mind for years. I got to discussing Malle with a fellow enthusiast and Geranium Pour Monsieur came up, and I mentioned my nagging disappointment. They replied with a simple statement: "Sounds about right, you smelled the Lauder reformulation." Of course. I should've known better or guessed as much. Since then, I was on a patient hunt to track down an original formulation and I finally got my hands on one from 2010, going all in to try to correct this opinion with a full bottle blind buy. What I would like to say next directly to Estee Lauder is not professional nor appropriate for a public forum, so I will let you use your imagination. This is what I was looking for all along. The geranium and mint are largely the same as they are in newer formulations, but the cinnamon and clove are far more pronounced providing the geranium with significantly needed breadth and depth. The musk and ambroxan base is actually present in this original formulation, adding a salty and sweaty skin accord that turns geranium's annoyingly chipper grin into a sultry smirk. A gentle touch of styrax helps this along. I still hold that geranium, the plant, stinks. There is a reason it repels pests and animals - myself included. However, the well-judged supporting characters incorporated into the composition give this geranium a magnetic personality that doesn't cause it to lose its fresh and invigorating feeling but adds just enough darkness and raunch to keep it interesting and strip it of its puerile annoyance. Additionally, unlike the new formulations, the original wears long into the day. This, the original, is superb and what I hoped Geranium Pour Monsieur to be. But what's the point. Though I would love to add it to heavy rotation in the spring and summer months do I really want to keep scouring the aftermarket for expensive vintage formulations? No, not really. But at least now my mind is at ease and I have finally experienced what I needed to all along.

Weeks before, Song for the Rose was my default warm weather scent. Already, it has been usurped by Geranium pour Monsieur. Normally, I'd look forward to colder weather to break out my jackets and heavier winter fragrances. With GpM, I have something to tip the balance towards the heat, towards Summer. It's the only scent I've tried that physically cools you down due to the cold sensation of menthol. The opener is bright, clean, fresh and minty, perfect for a pick me up. Sweetness of light rosy-amber compliments the brightness of the opener creating a complex and unique accord. Although the spices are not immediately apparent, they're present to add an additional layer and depth to the scent (the effect is very hard to describe). I can also smell elemi or frankincense imparting a lemony spiciness. Mint subsides after 30 minutes leaving a fresh aromatic sweetness thickened with clove. There is surprising depth and complexity to this fragrance, for what should be a light fresh scent. Two to three hours later, the freshness subsides, leaving musk and benzoin to reveal the 'creamy' undercurrent hidden beneath the higher frequency notes all along. The entire ride produces such starkly different transformations that it exemplifies modern perfumery. Though longevity of the fresher top notes lasts 2-3 hours, the base stays on for over 7. I'm able to catch the scent long after I think its gone. On my first wear, only after an hour, there was a ringing, growing recognition that I had smelled this before. This wasn't from sampling earlier in the year. It must've been the first time I I was introduced to Malle over 8 years ago. I wasn't an enthusiast, didn't think anything of the scent or know anything about the brand. The only thing I took away was the memory of the stoic looking bottles. This story has taken an almost decade long turn before rediscovering the scent, falling for it and owning a bottle. I've come full circle and the closure I get from it is delicious. Give GpM a go, if you can overcome the associations to toothpaste, you may discover a masterpiece.

It's incredible how much a nose can develop and learn to distinguish perfume notes. Never has this seemed more apparent to me than now, having just sprayed GPM on my inner elbows while lazing around on a Sunday. The first time I got my nose on this in the boutique on Avenue Victor Hugo (RIP) it was on card, and I smelled almost the whole range with the wonderful sales assistant (my first time experiencing Frédéric Malle fragrances). I immediately thought "toothpaste blast"! Months later I got my hands on three 10mls in a set, and wore it properly, and of course I noticed a whole lot more, notably that the dry down was vastly different to the opening, and there was more complexity to the minty geranium (although it was still giving me Colgate freshness). I noticed some sort of fixative base after a few hours, my least favourite bit of this scent. Now, today, I get spices! My first thoughts were "woah, this is skanky". I never noticed the skank before. Perhaps it's the cloves. I've been delving into retro spicy scents recently (Tabu, Équipage, Derby, Opium, Sybaris, Mandate, Parfum Sacré...) plus some less retro ones (Serge Noire, Fate Man, Figment Woman, Heaven Can Wait, 8 88...) and so I feel like my nose has started perceiving spices differently. Géranium Pour Monsieur seems like a different scent now, a shifting, complex, earthy, spicy, green, foresty bouquet. While the mint is there, it's far from my mind. Of course I shouldn't blow my own sophisticated nose horn too much, this is actually a testament to the genius of this perfume. I'm really taken aback by how much can come from a simple little flacon. It's never going to feel like me, as in I don't think I'm ever going to buy a full bottle, because I just don't wear it that much. It's more olfactive art to me than the type of scent I reach for, but what a marvel, honestly.

I have to say I really enjoyed this fragrance, I kinda expected monsieur geranium to be a modified version of Monsieur, despite being from different perfumers and the fact FM doesn't do flankers, not sure why I thought that then? In any case I love geranium as an ingredient, it's up there with labdanum as a favourite of mine and I appreciate that it does have somewhat of a minty quality but this is definitely amped up by the addition of a hefty mint note. I really like the smell of fresh mint and always have it growing in my garden but I can't say that I like it so much in perfume. I suppose the little hint in some perfumes is nice and I do like stuff like Guerlain Homme intense so why not? This stuff is UBER minty and opens with a real smack in the face of mint, but it's still very refined and not too sharp and in some senses addictive. There's a kind of woody powder surrounding it and hints of clove and anise but very fresh like a fennel sort of vibe. It's lovely and as the minty smell dies back (which incidenatally takes a couple of hours) the geranium really shines as a lovely thing. Masculine, clean and just plain lovely, I'm huge fan of geranium and this smells very high quality and precise in it's delivery. It's a low lying scent for me which does project to begin with but becomes more subdued. I have to say I adored the drydown, I thought it was heavenly but makes me want to seek out the Guerlain and Dyptique listed in the smells like because I'd like a cheaper alternative. Without smelling either this could be far superior but a very nice perfume when the geranium starts to shine and the base comes out later on. I liked it.

A few months back, an upstart indie perfumer told me that he was going to revolutionize the fragrance world by using mint in his compositions as it has "never been done before." I cocked my head like a befuddled Bichon Frise as I immediately thought of Geranium Pour Monsieur. Impressed with his certainty and confidence, I attempted to share outstanding examples of mint in perfumery, including this one, to which he replied that he had no interest in learning about other perfumer's works. Godspeed, I guess? Geranium Pour Monsieur is indeed just as much geranium leaves as it is mint, though some who give it a sniff would have you guessing otherwise, as they can't seem to shake off the association of mint with toothpaste and mouthwash. I can respect that, but the mockery some have toward Geranium Pour Monsieur leaves me feeling suspicious as to their discernment of scent even if particular notes don't please them personally. I for one, perhaps because I am familiar with fresh mint leaves, only perceive their beauty here as they accompany, even enhance the geranium in Dominique Ropion's composition. Geranium is one of my favorite notes in fragrance, and to my nose this is much more geranium than mint (a whole lot of Pelargonium graveolens oil!), but the latter does play a significant role, just as much as the anise, clove, cinnamon fleshes out the accord and makes this a more modern interpretation of an old school men's aromatic, with exceptional ingredients and dynamics. In the dry down I detect benzoin, sheer white musks, a somewhat powdery sandalwood, and traces of geranium are still there. Truly stunning, in my humble opinion.