1740 Marquis de Sade

I had a tester. Off of ONE wear I bought the 100ml bottle. It is now one of my favorite scents but I will probably never get through the whole bottle. Here is why: It opens up DEEPLY animalic and boozy and sexual. The fragrance is loud with monster projection and sillage, even on my skin which normally destroys projection and longevity. It smells like sex. I don't mean tender "marvin gaye in the background" lovemaking either...it smells like a pipe tobacco and Hine cognac fueled swingers party that busted through the velvet rope of some historic mansion tour and went to town on the antique learher chesterfields and didn't care who saw. "To hell with your guided schoolbus tour little Timmy! Show some ID and jump in, or bounce!" Now that being said in a very non-perverted kind of way it smells beautiful and sophisticated (nobody took off their stilletto heels or Brioni neckties for this romp). But it still makes me feel apologetic if not slightly embarassed-and normally I love the unique challenging scents. I got looks all day from people in close proximity that fell somehwere between the "Does your spouse know what you did on your lunch hour...?" To "you need Jesus". In the heart, as it settles down, the immortelle flower scent really shines and it is one of my favorite scents. The leather is surprisingly minimal to me and I get more amber and dried fruits and vanilla as it reaches the dry-down and after 8 hours it smells very similar to what I believe Bond No 9's new Haarlem was meant to smell like...also it smells like a pancake brunch at the four seasons that was just crashed by an over sexed hungover rock band just getting up from the night before. If IHOP hosted the Players Ball, this is what it would smell like. Transcending each stage of this masterpiece is a sultry, barely leathery but ofter more boozy note that has echos of Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille. 1740 is a true opus and if you are a gourmand lover, a leather musc lover, or the kind of person that drinks kopi luwak coffee with hazlenut creamer in your freshly detailed Mercedes...this is for you. Scent 10/10: a true masterpiece but definitely should be carefully selected for the ocassion. Projection 8-9/10: even on me this juice is palpable when Im in proximity. Sillage: 7/10 mercifully, by the time you walk by and someone smells it, you don't have to meet their gaze of judgement...but they definitely will notice it. Longevity: it has been nearly 9 hours now since I gave ONE spray on my left forearm and I smell it just fine within about 12" nose-to-spray site. Would I buy this again: I doubt I'll ever go through the whole bottle but yes if I ever ran out. Who do I recommend this to?: B!tc#es and rouges who don't give a £@&¥

On its opening what I get is a very strong accord of Mulled Wine that i've smelled before on the opening of Atelier's "Gold Leather" followed by Smoke from Birch & a Black Glove Leather. Theres also this combination of notes that create nuances that bounce back & forth between smelling like Geurlain's "Habit Rouge", & Xerjoff's "Richwood" sitting on top of a note of Labdanum that gives a quick impression of Tom Ford's "Amber Absolute". The Spices. Cardamom & Coriander along with Vanilla create somewhat of a Cola vibe that I've noticed is missed by most noses. At the same time you have the Immortelle creating this Maple Syrup vibe. During this stage there are faint moments on my skin where this phantom Cola vibe sends me ghostly reminders of Frederick Malle's "Musc Ravageur". Patchouli then comes in strong with its Earthy character & then settles into this fusion of Habit Rouge & Richwood with strong Smoke, Leather, & Spiced Boozy nuances. Its at this point when 1740 settles into its own character. It settles into this Semi Dark & Earthy, Smoky, skanky Leather fragrance with lightly spiced Boozy undertones resting on top of a vintage style powderiness that gives it just a hint of bourgeois sophistication. NOTE: Theres also a hint of "Skank" here, & i'm sure its Castoreum. As a lot of times in fragrances Castoreum is used to create or enhance Leather notes. 16 hours later you're left with a skin scent that smells like a Vintage Talc nuanced with soft spices, Earthy Patchouli, & the slightest hint of smoke. Which continues to dry down even further into Immortelle & Labdanum, then giving the impression of a Dirty Maple Syrup, or sweet sticky Musky Skin. In its early stages 1740 is the type of fragrance I imagine catching wafts of on a cold November Night in a smoky dimly lit 1920's Jazz Club on a dangerous side of town. In its later stages it smells like the aftermath of the debacherous drunken sex that took place after you left that Club. You can say that 1740 smells like a lot of other fragrances, from Habit Rouge, Richwood, Zino, Beau De Jour, Musc Ravageur, to Amber Absolute, or even things like Maple Syrup, or Cola Syrup...& it does, but it also doesnt. Suffice it to say 1740 Marquis De Sade is a very complex fragrance. Its a very confusing fragrance. But its its own fragrance. An evolving fragrance; that I believe captures the drunken insatiable nature of Marquis De Sade. Lastly, much like De Sade himself this fragrance knows no boundaries. Which would also make it an interesting wear for women. A 10/10 fragrance for me.

The brand of warmth immortelle offers is just sth else. Boozy but without any sharp alcohol, comfy, oldschool kind of avant garde, like a Grillet movie, confusing yet sexy as fuck, strange yet familiar & comforting. The leather (labdanum and birch) is way in the back, patchouli is the second herb to immortel, I get no bergamot. I can call it herbal more than anything, but far from the typical herbal, all the herbs here have more character than the average oud. Artemisia isn't at its sharpest full-body presentation here, just some aspects of the herb is present but still the little sharp hints of the plant makes this all more interesting, the leather is smokiness of birch and a body of labdanum with no musc, the texture is oily but not cloying, it has enough space to breathe, the booziness is hard to decipher, it's like a great smelling man who has drunk some great whiskey, not whiskey itself. Oh I love it. It's noticeable and unforgettable but not annoyingly. Instead of shouting a sharp tune de Sade has a damn sexy deep voice. It lasts more than I could measure (8+, probably 10+) and doesn't change much but is deep & interesting enough to never get close to boring me. What does it make me feel? The handsome flirtatious man with great attitude I wished to be one day, as a little boy in 90s. What do I imagine when wearing this? A luxurious crowded party in the old days. A young Marilyn Monroe's laughing to this perfume's flirtatious jokes. Who do I imagine wearing it? You've got it by now. Let's settle on Jude Law with his signature dirty looks. To whom do I recommend it? If you like immortelle, or other oily herbals, like Yatagan, this here is for you, if you enjoy opulent naughty perfumes, this is it, oldschool hippy patchouli, masculine Shalimar, wild Habanita, dirty Noir Patchouli, if you like those ideas try Marquis de Sade 1740. If you're afraid of sweetness or booziness or leather, they shouldn't be a problem do not overlooked this. And really, it's all about immortelle, if you can't handle it leave this, if you don't know immortel and hate wet heavy hippy patchouli, you won't enjoy this. Don't expect a dominant leather or sharp booziness. Playful, charming, mature, flirtatious. Love 🤎🌹

I believe Marquis de Sade from Histoires de Parfums can be considered a modern classic in the leather genre. I'd guess the most appreciated from the house among enthusiasts who know their perfumes. Even though it has been tamed and polished since its original release, dressed up to appeal more to the current tastes by pumping in more vanilla and taking out some of the smoky birchwood, ironing the creases of the leather, I believe it remains still an amazing perfume worth checking out. If you are going to put your perfume into an amazing flacon, you better do it justice. And justice has been done. I think the original flacons Histoires de Parfums had back in the day are some of the most beautiful and original I have come across. The perfume itself matches, offering a complete experience. Overall, it is a smoky leather fragrance, yet offers way beyond that. You get lots of immortelle, a beautiful davana note in the opening, plenty of patchouli and cistus in the base, and even some tobacco. It is quite harsh, especially for the first few hours, a loud and butch fragrance that might polarize your surroundings and sometimes the wearer. In the opening, you get a short-lived burst of spices, mainly coriander, and a sharp, boozy accord from the davana and artemisia interplay. Shortly after, the leather-smoky birchwood pair kicks in. Picture yourself an old, rugged leather garment infused with birchwood smoke over which someone spilled a generous amount of wine. Let it sit like that for a few centuries, and you get the idea. Quite harsh. It starts to mellow down, however, and the immortelle comes into the picture together with the patchouli. They provide a beautiful herbaceous touch and sweetness to the composition. In the base, it becomes resinous from the cistus and the styrax, blending with the smoky leather, the immortelle-patchouli combo, and sprinkled with some woods and faint tobacco. It smooths out the more it lingers on the skin, developing into an intoxicating woody-leather scent with alluring sillage. One of the most unique takes on the leather genre, one of the most complex, and well put together. Relevant, even today. IG:@memory.of.scents

Dangerous Liaisons & the smell of French Vintage... Imagine the Scarlet Pimpernel, with his cravat askew and missing some buttons from his recent duel with one of Citizen Robespierre's officials. Looking on is Marie Antoinette clutching a bloody handkerchief she used to dab the wounds her fingernails made in her palm. A wooden cart passes by filled with straw and soiled Aristos in silk finery, heading to meet their fate at the hands of Madame la Guillotine, leaving a trail of sweat, fear & days-old expensive perfume. More's the pity. This smells very French and my first thought was 'Marie Antoinette' when I smelt it. There's an angst in it. Although that was possibly because I bought it in the Louvre souvenir shop in summer jammed with tourists. But still... Imagine wearing Magie Noire Lancome on one wrist and Opium (1977) Yves Saint Laurent on the other, with a little straw in your powdered wig that's just caught on fire, and you will be in the ballpark. It's deep, dark, spicy-sweet, herbal, amber, woody & leather-y with the HdP trademark patchouli. This is marketed to men but reads unisex to me. 10/10. I guess what Marie Antoinette & the Marquis have in common is a dangerous flirtation with destiny... Update 07/08/25: Immortelle & deep, dark, fluffy sour-sweet French Vintage... Sprayed this on again today after reading Eddie's article about immortelle. I've loved this scent for a long time (it was love at first sniff), although tbh I wish it had a different name/dedication. I drained at least a half of a big bottle back in 2016-17 (it was the first one I picked from the Histoires de Parfums discovery set). Dark, sweet, woody, resinous & spicy with that slightly fluffy & sour immortelle (the sourness enhanced by elemi), and a vague powderiness that smells distinctly vintage French to me, in the way that Histoires de Parfums does so well. This may be a heavier scent, more for cooler weather, but I like it in summer because it reminds me of tanned skin for some reason. Love it still.

I've stumbled onto a layering combo that's about as close as I've found to Anubis without actually wearing it: Choco Raptor layered over 1740 Marquis de Sade. On its own, 1740 has that gorgeous dry, vintage leather thing going on. It's elegant, smoky, a little dusty, and has just enough animalic character to keep it interesting. The problem? Sometimes it feels a bit too reserved on me. That's where Choco Raptor comes in. Despite the odd name, the chocolate isn't sweet or gourmand. Instead, it adds this dark, bitter richness that makes the leather feel warmer, softer, and much more alive. It almost melts into the leather, giving it the impression of warm skin beneath a broken-in leather Indiana Jones jacket. The whole fragrance becomes deeper, sexier, and noticeably more animalic. The combination reminds me of Anubis, although it takes a different road to get there. Where Anubis is all about perfect balance with its soft suede, incense, florals, hay, resins, and animalics constantly weaving in and out, my accidental pairing leans a little darker and more masculine. It doesn't have Anubis' gorgeous floral heart or Liz Moores' incredible sense of restraint, but it absolutely scratches that same leather-and-skin itch. I'd say it gets about 90% of the way there. My favorite ratio is two sprays of 1740 followed by one spray of Choco Raptor. The 1740 lays down that beautiful leather framework, while Choco Raptor fills it in with smoky cocoa, warmth, and just enough primal edge to make everything feel incredibly sensual. Will it replace Anubis? Probably not. Liz Moores pulled off something truly special with that fragrance. But if you love Anubis and have ever wondered what it might smell like with just a little more darkness, a little more warmth, and a touch more animalic swagger, this layering combination comes surprisingly close. In fact, it's become one of my favorite ways to scratch that Anubis itch when I'm in the mood for something a bit bolder.

This is indeed a strange one for me, I also have 1725 and 1899 from this house, which I thought I would not like but simply love. This one can be very polarising to me at times; I am not sure if the reasons I'm about to explain pertain to skin chemistry changes, or simply my own olfactory sense changes, both of which I know can have an effect on my taste of the frag. This can sometimes smell pleasantly unique, albeit I do sense a sweaty smell, but in a strange way it can come across as if it smells like sex, some may relate, some may feel repulsed, I understand both reactions. On other occasions it can smell like straight up like an alleyway full of old piss (sorry, it's a crude description), and obviously needless to say, when it does come across like that, I feel repulsed. To demonstrate to myself, I just sprayed it on my outer fist, and upon first application it had the repulsive smell, but now it's slowly changing to a sweater (in a weird sort of way) version, and it sways between that and a fresh smell that is extremely unique. In this way I can see the relation to L'Air du Desert Marocain Tauer Perfumes, of which I hated, and I feel it's got the same urine/sweat smell. I can also relate to it being similar to Chergui, but Chergui is nowhere as polarising as this, as I feel Chergui has a sweeter and a more uplifting mood. If there is one thing that rings true about this Maison it's the fact it's fragrances (or at least the ones I have smelled) are completely unique, I have over 100 frags, and this house is very unique. I have not been able to wear this outside as I fear that some may think I smell of dry urine, as I do not know if it's simply my nose or not, either way I won't risk it. The other two frags I love, and one of them I layer with Pegasus Exclusive and they smell heavenly together, this one.....I have yet to make my mind up about it. I hope you enjoy this fragrance either way, and God bless :)

Many fragrances advertise a ‘tobacco’ note, and in my experience, most of them fall short of the mark. However, though 1740 doesn’t advertise itself as a tobacco scent, it has the most clean and pure tobacco scent I’ve ever detected in a fragrance. If you’ve ever opened a fresh tin of pure Virginia pipe tobacco, or smelled it in a bulk jar at the tobacconist, you’d be surprised at how light and sweet it is. More than anything, Virginia smells like a pitcher of sweet tea and almost airy. It’s why it’s used so often in blends. Histoires de Parfums 1740 Marquis de Sade is the scent of Virginia tobacco, that same sweet tea like scent but more dense. I assume it’s the labdanum and immortelle that give it a heavier kind of creamy sweetness. Underneath are the notes that people are associating with leather, and smell a bit like the kind of underlying skin muskiness at the base of Amouage’s Jubilation or Dior’s Fahrenheit. There’s something about those sweet leather and musk notes that really makes me fall in love with a scent, and here it’s the same deal. I wouldn’t call this a dark scent exactly, there’s nothing smoldering or smokey to my nose, but it is dense and musky in a clean, almost powdery way, with just enough sweetness to not be cloying. I think it fits well with it’s namesake, as despite the fact that de Sade was a scoundrel and sex fiend, he was also a powdered and pampered aristocrat who exploited the fruits of his privilege until it drove him to perpetual exile. The man, and this scent, is more bourgeois than rogue, and that’s fine (so is, by definition, Jubilation, and I love that too). Full bottle worthy. Edit: I just acquired a new bottle of this, and it seems that the newer bottlings omit de Sade's name completely from the packaging, which I find a little odd and a bit sad, but not entirely surprising. Oh well, at least the smell still retains it's edge.

Strong, and unsettling yet compelling. I'm not sure I would want my date to smell like this, it's not for the faint-hearted and a man smelling like this would probably be a dangerous man, smelling of troubles, not necessarily sweet ones. I do imagine a libertine pulling it off, as well as a modern day predator going clubbing and aiming to seduce... or kill. Exaggerating a bit, but I only see a mature, self confident and a bit wicked man feeling comfortable enough with this scent. Oh, at least until it starts drying down, then it loses some part of its nefarious charm. The scent itself starts medicinal, but quickly transforms into smoke and leather overload. After some time it becomes tamer and more elegant, but the first phases are very enticing. It projects well and has a decent longevity. I decided to give it a try on a cold day and while the closest sitting colleague noticed it, the perfume didn't bother her, she liked it and noticed it reminds her of some kind of incense. I felt no incense there, but spent the whole working day, getting whiffs of some thick smoke as if coming from a bonfire, especially strong on hair where I sprayed. I felt like a person who fell asleep in the ash and took it with themselves upon their return to society, covered in cinder encrusted into both flesh and soul. It may sound freaky, but the scent itself is gorgeous and addictive, as a woman I can say - a confidence booster during a bad hair day.

I’m gonna risk it all today and go full-on Sexy Beast to work. Leather and davana for this (austere) hedonist, no holds barred. This could be my favorite leather scent... though it’s got stiff competition on my shelf, with Knize Ten, Antaeus, Eau d’Hermès, Bel Ami, and now Rauque. So ask me again tomorrow. Fortunately, I don’t have to pick a favorite. What is this modern classic all about? In a word: davana. To my knowledge, I have not encountered this material elsewhere and in this composition I find it intoxicating. It is weird and bitter and semisweet, like boozy dried fruit that is close to turning. Combined with the bergamot, the artemisia, and the coriander, it makes for a striking impression that is sustained from the opening until the long drydown. In the base, the magic is provided by the immortelle: sweet and dry, reminiscent of hay or honeyed tobacco, it blends beautifully with the leather. The supporting cast of birch wood, cistus, and elemi resin provide a solid, resinous, balsamic base that is sweetened slightly by a light touch of vanilla. 1740 conjures an erudite trickster that can expound on the virtues of sensuous delight and just as comfortably revel in unfettered debauchery. But the funkiness here is subdued; or rather, contained. It never crosses over to skanky territory and remains suggestive rather than explicit. To me, this quality makes it all the more seductive... making me chase it throughout the day.

Most Americans have not much come across the plant known as immortelle. This Mediterranean herb is sometimes called "the curry plant" because it smells so much like garam masala. It's so overpowering that the use of it in fragrance is not exactly commonplace, but when used well (as Annick Goutal did in two of her most famous perfumes, Eau de Monsieur and Sables) it's nearly unforgettable. Histories de Parfums has also put it to splendid use in its fragrance 1740, which used to be known as 1740 - The Marquis de Sade (so named because that was the year of Sade's birth). It's such an unusual fragrance--with strong notes of immortelle blended with leather, artemisia, patchouli and spices--that it's very hard to describe. Basically this fragrance offers an education of the senses, which is why it's well named after Sade. It's juicy and powerful, and even kinky, although it is not animalic. It would be hard to explain where you would want to wear this other than in the privacy of your own home because it smells so unusual; but this would be something you might well want to wear there because it's so intriguing. This is the kind of scent I would want just about anyone interested in fragrance to try just once because it's so well made and so unusual. Not everyone would love it (I'm not even sure I do); but they would appreciate the artistry and the imaginativeness all the same (as I do).

This bottle should require a self-confidence exam before purchasing. I know there are a lot of references to hippies and leather and dirtiness: forget all that. The blend is so good that trying to pinpoint a single idea is missing the point. The point is that you must be ready to wear this fragrance and to be ready you must know how to wear it. You must practice. We can talk about those ultra-complex, ultra-dressy bottles all day, yet this stuff will run you over if you’re not careful. Go too easy and you’re the guy wearing cheap, square-toed dress shoes with a suit; you almost pulled off a look but failed at the finish line. Go too heavy and it wears you; you’re the guy trying to wear that loud outfit when, at heart, you’re more comfortable in monochrome. Get it right, though, and you’re in for a true treat. When to wear: 1. Preferably at night (though I wore it today and had a wonderful time), preferably around others you feel comfortable with and/or strangers you’re indifferent to. 2. When you have the attitude of the bottle’s namesake. 3. If you are a true misanthrope. When not to wear: Do not wear this to a situation where you might feel overwhelmed by the people around you; this is not a confidence-booster, it’s a supplement to the confidence you already have. When really not to wear: You don’t know who the Marquis de Sade was. You’d be wasting everyone’s time.

Rugged rogues and their indulgences; a swig of scotch, the huff of aftershave, the sweat of a day's toil, the heat from a man's brow, but there's no wincing or squirming here with 1740. No, this is not sadistic to my nose, it doesn't hit me with the funk of depravity. Funk yes, but its funk is more rough and tumble in the grass with an illicit affair and the breath of the weeds and wildflowers mingled with dirt and some perspiration. It opens with what smells like the 1800s cure of what ails you, and elixir of propolis and a liniment of sweet herbs. There is the curious note of davana (dubbed whimsically by Histoires as "Davana sensualis", though I am fairly certain it is Artemisia pallens). The essential oil of the davana plant smells of Apricot Eau-de-Vie, dried fruits, boozy, hay-like, with an undertone of tea leaves. It is one of my favorite essential oils, but it has such a bold personality it seldom appears in fine perfumery. However, it sings a sensuous tune on the skin here, merging into the crux of 1740, the gold-straw glow of immortelle, buckled by a leather and patchouli. It dries into a wonderfully suave hide, tanned and cured, like the faces of the rugged rogues, caught somewhere between dreaming and intoxication. They may be a bit worse for wear, but aren't we all, really?

On the opening, it is an apricot-like, stone fruit leather patchouli with some dry spice hidden in the background. The Davana is divine--note that it is NOT artemisia in the top, as other commentators have noted. On my skin this is not animalic, but a bit erotic with a hint of maybe caraway (dont get much corriander) when you really sniff closely. The immortelle is very well blended into the leather and patchouli, rendering a honeyed, slightly oily leather-wood accord instead of a very medicinal cloying smell, which I've smelled in SL Participe Passe and Atelier Cologne's Blanche Immortelle. I'm not very big into suederal overdoses, and the leather in here is quite warm and more like the inside of an expensive handbag with a bit of makeup, than cold suede boots. I get a bit of very subtle sweetness that keeps it from being too dry. On my skin, this smells like a far darker brother of Daim Blonde by Serge Lutens. Well-blended, and very sensual--highly recommended to leather and patchouli fans and anyone with some adventurous taste (this is not nearly as intense/dirty as other folks have said). I find it quite unisex, but I think this would be chemistry dependent--if anything it skews slightly masculine, but I would love to smell a woman in this.

The opening is sharp, almost aggressive : bergamot and artemisia cutting through like a blade before the fragrance shifts into something altogether darker. The transition is abrupt, as if a door has been shut behind you. The heart is patchouli heavy and spiced, dense rather than opulent. It is not comfortable, i don’t think it wants to be. But it is magnetic. The dry down is where the real character emerges : leather, resins, and immortelle settle into a velvety, resinous base with a quality that is hard to name exactly : it evokes images of an 18th-century cellar, something between aged liqueur and candlewax, sweet in the way that cellars are sweet - wood, spilled spirits, time. The immortelle here reads less as florality and more as fermentation. The connection to the Marquis de Sade is not merely decorative. His years of imprisonment, his provocations, his obsessions, the coexistence of intellectual rigor and pure carnality, this fragrance wears all of it without explanation or apology. The darkness is not romantic. It is structural. This is not an easy wear, but on someone who understands what they are carrying, it is extraordinary. Had the Marquis encountered it, he would not have called it beautiful. He would have called it honest.

This beauty has a slight animalic warmth and is masterfully blended and balanced. It is not challenging in my opinion, but it's definitely creative and unique (which is important to me, at this point in my fragrance journey). Initially, I get an alcoholic fruitiness, similar to pouring a fine port. After about 20 seconds, the herbals start to build and I get a mild leather note blended smoothly with a clean patchouli (leather is not central to the scent in my opinion - more of a complement). If I had to sum the scent up in one word it would be: "beautiful". That being said, this isn't a happy-go-lucky affair; I consider it to lean slightly towards the dark side, which is right up my street. I'm not a fan of spice rack style notes in fragrances (I'm not keen on 2 objectively good fragrances for this reason - Amouage Overture and Spicebomb Extreme, where the cumin is just too much for me), but I'm personally not getting much sweaty spice from 1740 (maybe a slight amount in the extreme drydown, but nothing that bothers me). It would seem that this scent is very skin dependent, so sample before you buy I'd say. This was a blind buy, but I'm very happy with my purchase. A love from me. 9.5/10 Update: 10/10, one of my all time faves.

Nose Note #880 When I've first sprayed it I immediately thought of The Black Knight by Bianchi, the leather is very similar, but de Sade has a strong herbal accord that's dominated by immortel (i.e. a hint of coca cola). Really really nice if you like leather scents. Doesn't smell like "chocolate" to me. If I think really hard it has a Nasomatto/Orto Parisi flare to it, but much more accessible. Mature-smelling? Yeah, definately. But I don't get the old man vibe. To me this is clearly targeted at someone that just likes semi-niche semi-designer stuff, just like what they did with 1899 Hemingway - put a niche brand name on a bottle of Spicebomb and suddenly the juice hits differently. If you have experience Black Knight - this is basically it, but with very little sheep fat smell and a lot of dark green instead, but it's a very specific type of dark green, not like Azzaro Pour Homme. I have nothing else to compare this to. It's just a great thing on its own. I don't know. I just love it. Totally my cup of tea. Very strong, very pleasant. Not an old man scent. Old man is Azzaro, Aramis, Drakkar Noir, Grey Flannel. This is not it and not even close. 8.7/10, just beautiful and very manly

Histoires de Parfums 1740 Marquis de Sade, a fragrance tailored to the classical French school, is, in my opinion, the most intriguing of the original lineup. Dense, baroque, aristocratic. Powdery leather, dominant Immortelle, cardamom combined with labdanum, perhaps too strong, dense animalic honey, labdanum, dried fruit in alcohol, and just a hint of subtly sweaty cumin. Although most people describe the perfume as leathery, I believe that leather plays a secondary role here. It doesn't lean towards Russian leather, which is smoky birch and tar, nor towards Tom Ford's sweet elegant leather. I think the name Marquis de Sade is somewhat misleading, and people subconsciously expect something more scandalous. Even though civet is often mentioned, I personally don't detect it much. The perfume consistently maintains a rich aristocratic atmosphere of old times. Times of new discoveries, new types of spices, new dishes, and, of course, new scents. The creator of 1740 is the brand's founder, Gerald Ghislain. Interestingly, he originally studied at the hotel school Ecole Hôtelière of Toulouse, which is probably why he claims to combine the art of perfumery with culinary art.

In keeping with the moniker of Marquis de Sade, 1740 has the same air as an opulent, high-brow establishment with nonetheless seedy clientele. Much like the Marquis, 1740 seems to be made with sexual dominance in mind, which may sound, quite frankly, bullshit marketing, but this reaction assuredly only lasts until one takes a whiff of its deep and dirty antique leather and the erotically musky, sweetly smoky, powdery funk of davana and birch. As it drys down, immortelle, elemi resin, and labdanum take this initially thick and enveloping scent in an appropriately animalic direction (without pushing it so far that it comes off as sweaty, mind you). This is above all a dark, prurient fragrance that certainly isn't suited for office-wear, but it is just as certainly to-die-for when one is willing to throw caution to the wind (don't just trust me, its rating of 4.23/5 with 2,438 votes is absolutely nuts for a scent as niche and situational as this). There's indie perfumery, and then there's INDIE perfumery - this is certainly the latter. Masculine, extremely long-lasting, strong sillage, ok price, 9/10 scent

Labdanum always has an “evil” or “ominous” quality for me, and 1740 definitely brings that out. Rich, syrupy, golden, sweet evil amber. Soon, it adds a vanilla-caramel undertone, and also some darker leather notes. It’s dense and smooth, but distinctly unsettling, with an “overripe”, overindulgent quality. Davana is a plant in the Artemisia family, but it doesn’t smell herbal, it smells peachy. 1740 does indeed have a dense, jammy, almost boozy peach note that comes to the fore after the labdanum burns off, adding a further sweetness to the ambers. This phase is quite pleasant, hanging out in a peachy-amber golden glow that sinks into deep brown leather. 1740 is ultra-dense, richly nuanced, and quirky. Definitely one of the great ambers of all time. It makes, say, Ambre Russe (another niche amber with fruity facets) look thin and cheap by comparison. I personally tend to prefer ambers with a more salty or roasted, toffee-like flavor profile (Ambre Sultan, O Hira, Ambre Loup) to this fruit-brandy subgenre, but 1740 is still fantastic. Masculine-coded in principle but very wearable on a woman.