Versace Man

This jewel is the best Versace fragrance for me. Other gems like The Dreamer and Oud Noir also appeal to me but not as much as Versace Man. The nose behind this perfume is a lady - Domitille Michalon - very competent although a little unknown. Bear in mind that this fragrance was launched in 2003 pioneering a bit this type of scent. I consider it the softer older brother of Oud Noir. It is not an overly masculine fragrance. Quite the opposite. Its scent seems to be on the edge of permitting a unisex aroma classification. My opinions: - Scent - Near perfect oriental background with warm spices and tobacco as frontrunners. - Longevity - 8+ hours - Silage - 4~6 feet (intense projection in the first 3 hours, faint 1~2 feet till the 6th hour, and skin scent for the remaining time). - Where and When? - Spring, autumn, winter (day and night); Formal events, intimacy, at a night out, office, at leisure... you name it! - Age - from 30 till 120. - Compliments - From everybody who likes a good intense woody/spicy masculine scent. A bit ladies magnet :-) - Presentation and Quality - Nice quality sprayer and sturdy bottle but a bit tacky design. - Price/Value for money - I bought it in the price range of 20~25 Euros for 100ml. Great value for money. Now it's an E-Bay rarity so it really depends on your wallet and your desire to own it. - Main Notes According to me - It is a complex scent very well mastered that presents a moderate opening with pepper and flowers + strong closing with immense tobacco, amber and cashmere. In between, you sniff some very well defined notes of saffron and cardamom. - Emotions - dark, sexy, classy, elegant, a bit beasty, woody and spicy. - Exclusivity - It has a faint resemblance with Escada's Magnetism for Men, who is just some months younger. I would say it is pretty exclusive. The combo that I get in the dry down it's a peculiar one composed of an amber base with a pile of pipe tobacco, a wonderful cashmere woodsy scent and a hint of labdanum. The combination is a real head-turner. This fragrance is devoted to centring the feminine attention in elegant men between 30 and 60 years old, using a signature suit, white chambray shirt, silk tie and leather black derbies. George Cloney probably wore this perfume while shooting the Nespresso commercials. I just love this fragrance. IT could easily be worthy of a blind buy if you find a bargain on the web or in an obscure small perfumery. Music: Prince & The New Power Generation - "Sexy M. F."

When I think of class, I can think of luxury, of money and then maybe of decadence. No ... this is not the way. I'll start over. If class happens with seduction and elegance, I can also think of happiness and control. Yes ... I like this option more. So that makes me think of dances, slow dances of an embraced couple, in a seductive environment, with intoxicating aromas, in sumptuous dance halls (music by Sinatra or Aznavour please), undeniably in a great class environment. And I think whether or not I will fit well in that picture. Will I have class? What will cause the seductive environment? Is it the music? Our sure dancing and compass movements? My perfume? What will be the aroma around us? ... Yes it makes sense that the fragrance exerts a strong influence on the perception of class and in the seduction environment. In fact I have always heard that a good perfume and class or class and a good perfume are inseparable. Then what will my perfume be? Certainly it will be a rather masculine, somewhat citrusy and floral, with a semi sweet blend of spices, giving space to cardamom and aromatic resins, a bit woody, and evolving to a strong "noir" final base of dark amber and tobacco. With or without oud? I prefer to choose it later ... sometimes with oud and other times without oud. I think this perfume already exists and that I even received compliments while wearing it. I can only think of Versace Man. It's a shame that this fragrance has been discontinued, but that makes it even more special to me. I want it to remain unique, and I say "unique" because I can not think of another designer fragrance that smells similar to this. I mean, it's dark and rich, and it has a strong scent of moist tobacco leaves. I suppose it might be me wearing this perfume, confident and well-dressed, in a Mediterranean ballroom or club in Portofino, or Puerto Bañus, or Capri, or Estoril. Or perhaps at night on a ship going up the Nile and always with the beautiful woman I love beside me. Certainly class, maturity, and conviction, fit completely into this image. By the way, and if I chose the environment in a cruise boat up the Nile, I would add a touch of oud to the perfume, and I would be wearing Versace Oud Noir, a true flanker of the Versace Man.

Wow. Wasn't expecting it to be this good... For starters, the gold trim ain't gold - it's bronze. But that just makes it look even cooler... For everyone that said that this is an uber-masculine playboy scent, I will have to respectfully disagree. In fact, the opening reminds me more of a women's floral soap. Yeah. Elegant, sweet and floral. I'm certain it's the amber, because it has a rather strong presence in both the opening and the transition into the drydown. After the first few minutes, the spices come out - saffron and cardamom mostly, but there is a bit of pepper in there. They get pretty strong for about 3 minutes, and then settle into a more balanced role. That's when the sweetness really starts to shine and the light tobacco blends in masterfully. Maaaaaan, this is really good stuff. If you've ever smelled Oud Noir, it's pretty much the same opening, only stronger, no oud and with more sweetness. I don't get the "grape" or "purple" connotations AT ALL. If anything, it smells more of a deep bergundy, like the colour of saffron. However, don't let the spiciness up close fool you - although it can be a little overbearing in the mid, it's definitely NOT in the sillage. In fact, the scent trail is EXCEEDINGLY elegant, classy and sophisticated, and makes me think of expensive designer clothing. But I STILL feel that this is totally unisex, and would smell incredibly sexy on either a man or a woman. It almost has this upscale, middle eastern spicy quality about it that I just love. What an incredible buy! And yeah, I had to blind buy this because I couldn't test it; but despite my apprehension about its infamous "smoky" reputation, I was delighted to discover that it's far sweeter and more elegant than I had previously anticipated. Plus, the performance is well above average. It's really a shame that this one is before Jeremy Fragrance's time, because I could totally see his girls going gaga for this drydown. PS - if you're reading this Jeremy, think about it! Scent - 9.5/10 Longevity - 8.5/10 Projection - 8/10 Overall - 9/10 - So glad I finally pulled the trigger.

The seductive obvious option Class may make me think of dances, slow dances of an embraced couple, in a seductive environment, with intoxicating aromas, in sumptuous dance halls (music by Sinatra or Aznavour please), undeniably in a great classy environment. It makes sense that the fragrance exerts a strong influence on the perception of class and in a seduction environment. In fact I have always heard that a good perfume and class or class and a good perfume are inseparable. Then what will my perfume be? Certainly it will be a rather masculine, somewhat citrusy and floral, with a semi sweet blend of spices, giving space to cardamom and aromatic resins, a bit woody, and evolving to a strong "noir" final base of dark amber and tobacco... I can only think of Versace Man. It's a shame that Versace Man has been discontinued, but that makes it even more special to me. Well, having two full bottles do help as well. I want it to remain unique, and I say "unique" because I can not think of another designer fragrance with a similar scent. It's dark and rich, and it has a strong scent of moist tobacco leaves, just the way I picture a classy fragrance. I suppose I may be the one wearing this perfume, confident and well-dressed, in a Mediterranean ballroom or club in Portofino, or Puerto Bañus, or Estoril. Or perhaps dancing at night on a ship cruise under the moonlight and going up the Nile... and always with the beautiful woman I love besides me. Certainly class, maturity, and conviction, fit completely into this image. By the way, and if I chose the environment in a cruise boat up the Nile, I would add a touch of oud to the perfume, and I would be wearing Versace Oud Noir, a true flanker of the Versace Man.

Addictive. An intoxicating ambery tobacco with saffron. Versace Man stars an elegant creamy tobacco note reminiscent of The Dreamer or Michael for Men, vaguely reminiscent of pipe tobacco or Bank rolling tobacco, rather than a herbaceous tobacco leaf à la Creed Tabarome. Saffron adds a spicy-floral warmth, cardamom adds a hint of spice, over a resinous woody amber. Not exactly sure what “cashmere wood” is. Cashmeran, maybe? So captivating It's almost mouth-wateringly gourmand, Versace Man evokes a dry salted caramel blond tobacco - like a flue-cured Virginia. Recently got a new batch from 2012 (Euroitalia 2331A) that at first wear after opening seemed weaker than Armani Attitude Extreme, but after letting it stand for a week and giving the flacon a really, really good shake it’s come to life. The tobacco in Versace Man elicits a fond childhood memory of my mum's best friend - a statuesque, glamorous lady who looked like Lauren Bacall, smoked a pipe, and always smelled fabulous. However, the tobacco in Versace Man is a continuation of the tobacco theme in The Dreamer. Supremely elegant, discreet and intoxicating, and very addictive. Update 20 November 2021: Versace Man seems to be one of those fragrances that require "steeping" (or, more accurately, being left in a dark cupboard for a while) when you open a new bottle. The difference between when I first opened this a couple of weeks ago and now is dramatic. Now the rich, slightly sweet, full-bodied tobacco has blossomed into life. Versace Man creates an aura of elegance and mystery - warm, seductive and beautiful. Longevity is deceptive - the dry down is still lovely the morning after a big night out.