Maxim's pour Homme

in general, this fragrance is pretty amazing. the fleeting opening is REALLY amazing. on the one hand this is very well blended and refined, but you could also go over the notes list here and pick out most of them. particularly I pick up on all of the top notes in the, again, very fleeting opening. the bergamot is exceptional (considering this was probably bottled 35 years ago) and the big carnation facet is truly special for fans of the note. In the fast-arriving mid, the rose is more of a sidekick to other notes, as is the clove to the sandalwood. and it's a suuuuper smooth creamy sandalwood. i even pick out the jasmine which is used carefully. i pick up cedar in random whiffs, not so much in others. in the base there's a big load of oakmoss and of course the leather, which is one of the most obvious parts of the fragrance. the leather is certainly a true black leather as opposed to a suede-y type scent, but like the other big parts it's so well blended and smooth that this fragrance never becomes brash or loud like Antaeus does in my opinion (I also don't think it would be redundant to own both). finally, the last 3 listed base notes (patchouli/musk/vanilla) almost seriously give a 'guerlainade' vibe to bring it all together. I don't agree with many of the "smells like" posts lol....Tsar? Really lol? Eh, to each their own. Globe? eh, I dunno...the leather is much different in Globe and there's no fir here. I also don't get much florals from Globe but they play a big role here. Of course, based on notes the closest thing is Antaeus. However, Antaeus is seriously in-your-face and hardcore compared to the refined and seductive Maxims, and if i was taking a woman out on a date id pick maxims over Antaeus every time. If you take the extended dry down separately, it has strong vibes of vintage Passion for men by Elizabeth Taylor and even Ralph Lauren Monogram (the prominent leather bows out to an incensey ambery dry down) On top of all of this.....this is easily found for LESS THAN $40 USD, people! I don't see how that could remain the case much longer because this is a late 80's superstar that's starting to become wider known. i first heard about this scent from Ramsey, possibly best channel on youtube to find "hidden gems" and forgotten fragrances as well as to just plain learn about perfumery. I have only a handfull of back up bottles of anything at all, but I'm seriously considering a back up very soon before prices go up. HIGHLY recommend, 8.5/10

Once upon a time, our favorite master perfumers had their career beginnings, where they would be assigned their briefs as relative newcomers. It's unlikely that we see their complete potential in these early releases, but glimmers of their prowess often shine through. Such is the case of Jean-Claude Ellena (not Ropion), who was tasked with composing the male-marketed follow up to 1984's Maxim's de Paris. Ellena would compose a lush, leathery, mossy chypre that had become de rigueur since the release of Chanel Antaeus, and while the nose can definitely trace this back to its roots, a more polished refinement follows its aggressive showstopper carnation/wet jasmine opening. The spice and aromatics simmer rather quickly to settle into a very mossy, slightly rosy, castoreum-ish leather, leaving a seductive, musky skin scent. It's more than decent!

So few fragrances--particularly masculine ones--use carnation as a dominant note anymore that this smells like very little else on the market right now; the heavy use of oakmoss, coupled with the third dominant note of leather, makes this seem even more like a blast from the past. I love this great 80s scent, although it may seem to people under 30 very old fashioned. But if you are over 30, who cares? This is old school with a vengeance, and smells dark, leathery, spicy, floral, green, and luxurious--everything you would want out of a chypre called "Maxim's Pour Homme." It would not smell at all out of place on Louis Jordan's character in "Gigi." Wear this if only to please yourself! Belle Époque glamour in spades.

Maxim's (I have the original formula) is a paradox. It's clearly a modern fougere with oriental elements, but it somehow conjures up an earlier more genteel time. The Art Nouveau packaging enhances this aura of La Belle Epoch, and the scent brings to mind images of Paris around the turn of the twentieth century. I can imagine sitting in a Parisian cafe seeing posters by Alfons Mucha and Toulouse-Lautrec ... hearing music by Debussy, Faure and Ravel ... watching the passers-by in their finery. Elegant, complex, smooth and refined are all words I'd use to describe the scent of Maxim's, and it's one I still wear regularly.

Maxim's Pour Homme is a very sexy smelling leather chypre fragrance. An elegant and very nice balsamic woody-leather scent with a really enjoyable smoky, and almost sweet floral notes; a bit like the masculine-smelling leather in Bel Ami. Although Maxim's Pour Homme can be worn for any occasion, in my opinion it is best worn for intimate moments and dates. Though it can be worn for a night out, it only radiates within an arm's length, so someone across the room will not smell you unless you walk by them or embrace them. Best worn during the cooler months of the year, day or night. 10/10