Captain Eau de Toilette (1994)

A cheap bottle but a very pleasant soapy fragrance. Longevity and silage are good. A lovely little cheapie that's well worth a spritz - love it.

It's been said that the original discontinued version of Molyneux's Captain was magnificent: I cannot say, because bottles of it are currently so expensive they're beyond my reach. This is a re-formulated version of it that is supposedly a comedown in quality from the original, but it's still absolutely worth getting given its evocation of pre-IFRA regulations, its freshness, and its availability. You should be able to find this on-line for very money. This is a 1990s idea of what an aquatic scent without actual sea notes could be, which means a fougére with a lot of musk and aldehydes mixed in with some light citrus and light florals. This feels soapy and spring-like, but the dense oakmoss gives it a little heft, too. I'm not in love with this, but I like it quite a bit, and it's great for its price, especially on a hot summer's day.

Released in 1975, this classic has suffered some changes ranging from its clothes to its fragrance. And although it does not possess the same opulence from the heydays of perfumery, Captain for Men still remains a beautiful fougère. It contains notes of lavender, musk, lemon, and marine notes accord. Some say that even after the reformulations, the notes of patchouli and vanilla were kept. My bottle was the ugliest version of all (and ended up going to my father’s wardrobe). It took me some time to discover which version it was, but now I know it is from 1994. When applied on the skin, its fragrance remembers the scent of aftershave lotions from the past, but this feeling is ephemeral because Lavender is very strong and gives the idea of refinement. At the same time, there is a glimmer of something salty, as the appearance of seaweed, a slight salty air. On my skin, this version of Captain for Men didn’t present a lot of evolution and the lasting was also not so good. After 4 hours, I couldn't feel the fragrance anymore. But is a great option for use after bathing or a day at the beach, a moment of relaxation, etc. I dare say that it is a marine version of Pour Un Homme de Caron.

This is has no lasting power and it reminds me of a watered down version of Lagerfeld Classic....minus other ingredients, but it's like LC is at 100 percent power and this is at 20 percent. No no no, don't waste your money on this. I paid 13 dollars for the aftershave and cologne, I gave the aftershave to my friend because it was the better of the two, but they are so weak, they really only last for no more than ,30 minutes.....maybe maybe it's a good cologne to go to sleep with if your significant other loves LC smell....it also reminds me of what they did with chaz cologne by Revlon, the new Reformulations are a joke. I'm literally pressing my nose to my sweater trying to detect it after putting this on 20 min ago....and it's all gone...it's also gone on my skin...no good....stay away.

I found a bottle in a bargain been several years ago, but I don't think I tried it back then. My impression now is that this is nicely blended and does give a sense of the sea without the aroma chemicals we have come to expect from such fragrances. Putting aside the "dollar store bottle," the problem for me is that you can get Horizon by Guy Larouche for about the same price. The only reason not to get that one is if you dislike strong lavender, because it is superior in every way and is clearly stronger. If you want a gentler scent of this type without the strong lavender then this iteration of Captain might be for you (though it does possess a "clean/dirty" quality absent in Horizon, which you may like or dislike).