Patou pour Homme

(Vintage bottle c. 1985) The people at Jean Patou were masters of marketing. Joy was touted as the most expensive perfume ever made. Expensive equaling exclusive. 1000 was marketed as so exquisite and so unlike anything else that it required one thousand attempts at its formulation before it was ready. Patou Pour Homme was not spared any similar hype: the end-all-be-all of masculine perfumes of the 70s/80s craze made with so many natural and high-quality materials that its expense equaled justifiable exclusivity and buzz. The thing is though, for all of Patou's hype around their biggest releases they did actually deliver perfumes that mostly matched the hype. Joy and 1000 are some of the best perfumes made, in my opinion, but I'm an issue-based voter, and Patou Pour Homme... I am not about to say it is anything less than great, because it is, truly, very good. But for the hype generated during its release and for the holy-grail status it has since achieved leading to bonkers prices on the aftermarket? No, it's not going to meet that hype or come close to justifying the price tag. Calm down, boys. I consider myself very fortunate to have gotten a splash bottle for a steal a long time ago. It's been sitting in one of my collection cabinets since, only having worn it a handful of times. I am being stingy with it and keeping it in good condition; it could come in handy one day should I ever want to, say, provide a friend or relative with some mortgage relief - cough. Given its age, the top notes have unsurprisingly muted over the years, but they are largely still intact. If you're lucky enough to sniff PPH in good condition, you'll notice immediately in this top section why this perfume is lauded with that experience becoming more and more clear as the perfume evolves: PPH is a chypre, a fougere, and an oriental - three base genres in one. The opening is dense, hard, and impenetrable. Pepper, lavender, wisps of citrus, woods and green herbs instantly say "70s/80s muscular, man's fragrance." Despite the hard and impenetrable texture it's still feather-weight; like the bone of a predatory bird, it seems unbreakable, but you can balance it on the tip of your pinky-finger without any effort. Then PPH ushers in a shift to another genre via vetiver, patchouli, and oakmoss. Kerleo loved his oakmoss, so be ready for a massive slug of the stuff in PPH. The vetiver leans more woody, and the patchouli loamier. Finally comes the amber territory with plenty of sandalwood and labdanum, which come across as creamy, rich, sticky, woody, and a touch sweet. The movement from the heart to the base of PPH is one of my favorites in classic masculine perfumery. The materials are exquisite and move seamlessly and beautifully. Elegance and richness, class and luxury, all while being as light and smooth as silk. Worth the hype? Worth the stupid price tag it fetches today? No, neither. Its structure of chypre+fougere+amber is pretty special. There are quite a few masculine perfumes of the period that get quite close, but PPH stands out enough from them to be notable, and its luxurious texture and materials do take it up a notch beyond the norm, but the hype and price lead one to think it should make you collapse at the knees and hear angels singing when you smell it. It won't. However, it is still very good, and every fan of classic masculine perfumes should try to smell it if given the chance.

Patou Pour Homme. I honestly hesitated writing a review of this for a long time because I needed to get to know it. I needed to be able to decipher Patou Pour Homme and eliminate, if necessary, any comparisons. I had to find the right time to wear it, places to spray it, and all sorts of other things. Well, now I'm going to review it from my own perspective - not from the hype or praise of some of our other excellent reviewers. For me, Patou Pour Homme is an extremely rich and decadent oriental fragrance for men. It opens up on my skin with noticeable lavender and tobacco (yes, I smell tobacco) notes complimented by spices, pepper, and a cooling petitgrain note. The oily tobacco note reminds me of Havana by Aramis, sort of. There's also a dark leather note thrown in the mix. Overall, the feel is sort of like a big, oily, masculine Mitsouko (crossed with a resinous leather chypre like *vintage* Hermes Bel Ami). There are no unpleasant or "pissy" notes to turn people away - just raw, strong masculinity at its finest. After an hour or two the top notes settle down and Patou Pour Homme gets drier and a little spicier. The patchouli and clary sage rear their heads and echo the top. It's a smooth transition. At this point I'm somewhat reminded of Bel Ami again. Then, soon enough, the base kicks in - the smoothest part. Oakmoss, sandalwood, and a BIG labdanum note set off the grand finale. Overall, the transition from middle to base and the lasting base takes a while, and it is SO enjoyable. The usage of chypre and fougère elements are part of what makes Patou Pour Homme just so damn good. Now, that being said, is Patou Pour Homme the best men's fragrance ever? In my opinion, no. BUT, it is my favorite fragrance. Absolutely. It's my favorite masculine fragrance ever, and of course it's discontinued. As a final note, I don't find Patou pour Homme to be worth the astronomical prices on eBay, Basenotes, Crystal Flacon, etc. But every guy should at least try it. Get yourself a decant from The Perfumed Court - it should last you a good while.

Ok guys, ive been reading reviews here for the past year or so. I own 4 separate batches of these. 1 x 120 ml patou pour homme aftershave 1 x 1ml patou pour homme aftershave from fragrancevault 1 x 1.5 or 2 ml patou pour homme edt sample from a sample lot of patou fragrances i got from etsy And 1 x 5ml decant of Patou pour homme edt also from etsy but from a different seller I immediately get a rich green smell at the top and a definite pimento note (heavier on the aftershave version) it's a high quality juice that is very well rounded. I also get spices and light woods, i get a slightly creaminess in the drydown with still some light woods. Its very complex and hard to pinpoint every note. I have an excellent sense of smell, but my nose needs to still develop and become more experienced, and it will as i get more into fragrances... I do not believe this is the holy grail of men's fragrances... i want to be a believer, but it has not happened yet. I do believe its a very good fragrance and masculine, but not in your face, it is soft to medium. I believe polo green is more green and fresh and that deserves to be a holy grail of a man's fragrance. This is hyped up, but i do believe its a wonderful fragrance, i give it 4.5 out of 5. My opinion could change on this in the future and i plan on writing another comment when and if it does. My favorite men's fragrances are Kouros Kouros Fraicheur Tom ford Black orchid (not very masculine but very sensual and high quality smelling) Tom ford tobacco oud Memo paris African leather Lacoste (1984) Patou pour homme prive Versace dylan blue Tom ford ebene fume Penhaligon's halfeti Joop Nightflight And i will also include Patou pour homme Edit #1) i think im going to add : J Cassanova pour homme (1981) Kenzo Jungle davidoff Zino Jean patou pour homme prive To my favorites as well

I recently dug this out of a dark cupboard and had a joyful 80s revival moment. I don't know what to believe about perfumes "going off", but this one smells exactly as I remember it smelling when I bought this particular bottle in the 80s; certainly no complaints about the "longevity" of Jean Patou. There is definitely something old-fashioned about it, that also seems to be becoming very fashionable again, in men's fragrances in particular. I think it has to do with the abundance of herbal notes in there, but maybe it's also something to do with what I consider "dry" floral notes, most notably geranium and lavender. I associate their scents strongly with the South of France in the warmer months. And there is also something that conjures up the particular smells of the region, more specifically how they were used by luxury French perfumers at the time when the French Riviera became internationally known as being the height of sophistication where the rich, beautiful people hung out. As with other French fragrances that have this Belle Époque quality, often through the combination of far more ingredients than are used in contemporary juices, individual notes are often harder to detect (for me at least) and instead there is simply a beautifully blended gestalt. For example, there is a certain creaminess to it, which I am guessing has something to do with the vanilla, but you don't quite detect anything that actually smells like vanilla, if that makes sense. There is something rather grand and indulgent about it all. It's one of the reasons I have never used it too frequently: it feels like it demands a bit of an occasion rather than everyday life. I'm grateful for that now because it means I still have a fair bit left, which is reassuring since it has apparently been discontinued.

absolutely one of my favorite frangrances to wear. I have horded a few mini's that I found here and there...all 10 mil splash bottles which I put into a nice atomizer, this is one of those scents that every time I use it I worry as to running out, that is a shame to waste this. Patou pour homme is a fragrance that every man should smell. I love many of the classics like paco rabanne, azzaro, derby and some others that come to mind so many that have made an impact of me in my youth as well as now, but I gotta tell you this one gives me a cologne woody like no other. just beautiful, simply outstanding. right up there with the original paco robanne for the way that one turned my head around when I first discovered PR. I appreciated PR so much because it was different then anything I had worn at 19 years of age , PPH did the same thing to me when I first smelled it only 2 plus years ago. Some fragrances can make you emotional on how much they touch you..this is one of those ones. In my opinion, if I could only wear one this is at the top of my list. PPH is a statement fragrance.. funny thing about this fragrance is when I do choose to wear this I get just as many compliments from the men I work with as the ladies. I actually had a man about my age ask me not too long ago when I was out and about, he asked , excuse me can I ask you? what is that fragrance you are wearing? I am proud to wear this marvelous scent. maybe not for everyone and I am glad.. it is not so well known these days. hopefully I can still find some when I get thru mine. i cannot think of a better scent that defines men or masculine from my perspective.