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Father's Day Gift Ideas: Sean John, Usher, Givenchy, Hermes
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Choosing the right gift for Father's Day can be a daunting task. There are literally hundreds of fragrances to choose from! What to do? Let me help refine your choices by giving you my impressions of some of the popular fragrances on the shelves of department stores and Sephora these days. (Image: Macys.com)
Sean John I am King (2008 - Estée Lauder): Here is the winner of the 2009 FiFi Awards, and it's a very nice scent, particularly if you're not the perfume-loving type. It smells light and fruity-fresh, like pink grapefruit body spray. It doesn't smell complex or heavy like a serious vintage cologne, which is good news to many. It's also resembles one of my favorite Women's scents called Incanto Charms by Salvatore Ferragamo, which is to say anyone who likes these notes can enjoy it: Tangerine zest, Orange, Cranberry, French Berry note, Mediterranean water accord, Key lime pie, Lemon crème, Labdanum, Cedarwood, Vetiver (notes from Basenotes.net). It smells good, rather sweet, and I can understand its wide appeal. I am King is the answer to Victoria's Secret PINK, probably the most well-known pink grapefruit scent, which was the Women's bestseller and FiFi winner in 2002.
Sean John Unforgivable (2007): I liked the Women's version of Unforgivable, which, to my nose, was similar to Usher for Women (aka Usher She), which I had described as a pale version of the discontinued (and recently brought back) Amouage Ubar, an unforgivably dramatic, musky heavyweight of a Perfume. Now, I've had the chance to try the Men's Unforgivable, and it's a great scent, too - musky as well but much, much lighter and sheerer than the Women's, and very much like Creed Silver Mountain Water, a crisp, airy blend with a distinctly musky, aqueous and herbaceous character. The dry down stage is a bit on the acidic, aftershave-y side compared to the Creed creation. It's not the most original, but like Creed's creation, it pays homage to Arabian perfumery while being convertible enough to take us from the office to social events.
Usher Usher for Men (2007): Ah, now here's another one that smells like Creed Silver Mountain Water. Copying Creed must be a trend in the perfume industry; it's not just the Men's, either, because I smelled the newest one for Women by Ed Hardy called Love & Luck, and that one smelled like this, too. So, to recap, Usher for Men smells like Sean John Unforgivable for Men, and Usher for Women smells like Sean John Unforgivable for Women, and they all smell like something else.
Givenchy Pi (1999): Oh, my goodness, this is one heavy, sweet ambery scent, much more than I'd expected. Where have I smelled this before? I believe it smells similar to Guerlain Cuir Beluga, a warm, heavy, rich and powdery-spicy-leather-ambery fragrance. It's quite woody, too, with prominent sandalwood, sweetened by loads of vanilla. I'd also compare it to Creed Jasmin Imperatrice Eugenie. It's a gorgeous, intense scent I associate with scented leather gloves before the turn of last century (the royals used the strong perfumes to cover up the nasty smell of their leather gloves). The bottle is very interesting, sort of mystical-looking, but I think this scent is for the more serious fragrance lovers. By the way, I would not mind a bottle of Pi for myself, which might be good news to those of you who want to wear the kind of sweet scent women like myself are into.
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Hermès Équipage (1970): I think I have to redefine what Fougère (abstract fern) means in my head, because when I hear Fougère, I think of Cool Water, Brut and Jicky. I forget that Fougères can range from light to heavy, powdery to transparent, sporty to elegant, that they can be as varied as any other fragrance family. Équipage smells like a tobacco-leather Chypre scent to me but the notes I've found haven't included these notes. I like this scent very much as it reminds me of Jean Patou Cocktail (1930), a dry Fruity Chypre with crisp lavender over floral-woods. I would describe Équipage as a spicy but dry, somewhat heavy wooded scent softened by florals and moss. The refined finish is a little bit boozy and animalic, but the spicy carnation beginning is prominent and reminds me of Opium or Old Spice until that spiciness mellows towards the dry down. I can't see too many men being able to pull off such an elegant scent but this is a real gem of a find in men's fragrances...all right, maybe President Obama :-) It was created by Guy Robert who also composed Calèche, Doblis, Madame Rochas, Mary Quant Havoc and Amouage Gold.
Happy Fragrance Hunting! Remember, taste is personal and just because I like or dislike something, it doesn't mean anyone else will agree. Sephora has a smart, generous sample program, and, if department store salespeople near you are stingy with testers, there are online sources for sampling many of these fragrances. For more reviews, please see the following links:
Featured Review: Guerlain Homme (2008)
Featured Review: Juicy Couture Dirty English (2008)
Featured Review: ZIRH Ikon (2008)
Featured Review: Tom Ford Private Blend Tobacco Vanille
Featured Review: Yves Saint-Laurent Rive Gauche pour Homme
Christian Dior Eau Sauvage: Taming of the Shrew
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