APOM Pour Homme, from Maison Francis Kurkdjian was released in 2009. The perfumer behind this creation is Francis Kurkdjian. The notes are Amber, Cedarwood, Orange Blossom.
Well here goes another MFK fragrance and I kinda know what to expect from these... unfortunately that something is disappointment. Well that's not fair at all because it's just that my expectations were so high...I want something from this house to come and smack me in the face and make me love it! (I think I'm close with Amyris Homme actually...oh and of course OUD...but I'm greedy and want more!!!) Each fragrance is expertly crafted and the subtlety is remarkable. Somehow Kurkdjian uses ingredients and concepts that don't appeal to me and manages to make them likable, APOM pour Homme is a prime example. Orange Blossom which to me is quite a complex note in and of itself, has a similar quality to neroli for me but with a hint of fruitiness and also something slightly rubbery and off putting. Having said that the unpleasantness takes a few minutes to develop to be fair the opening of this fragrance is stunning as was the last one I tried. The mixture of cedar perhaps gives this effect I don't know? The amber is a great match for the floral top notes of this fragrance and works very well in the composition. On paper again this seems a little simple and feminine but somehow isn't and manages to make great use of few notes to create something slightly more complex than the note breakdown suggests, again this is Kurkdjian squeezing every bit of character out of the different elements. The question is... would I wear this fragrance? No. Not to my taste... I think the price tag is high but if I liked it enough I wouldn't be perturbed. This has quality and if you like white floral and specifically orange blossom this is probably the most finessed fragrance you can get.
To be fair I look back at my review of this posted 2013 (but likely written sometime before that) and I'm amazed by how my tastes have changed but my appraisal of this scent even then, was pretty positive, despite really not liking orange blossom all that much. I was 'stunned' by the opening apparently and now I'm just stunned by the entire fragrance. Yet still something about orange blossom is slightly cloying and here clinging onto the warmth of the resinous base beneath it works perfectly. Kurkdjian is a master of this white floral stuff and APOM evokes the classic French and North African influences pretty perfectly. This is a summery, fresh fragrance but has a cosy warm heart, and as a convert to orange blossom I have a new found appreciation for the stuff and this fragrance.
Well here goes another MFK fragrance and I kinda know what to expect from these... unfortunately that something is disappointment. Well that's not fair at all because it's just that my expectations were so high...I want something from this house to come and smack me in the face and make me love it! (I think I'm close with Amyris Homme actually...oh and of course OUD...but I'm greedy and want more!!!) Each fragrance is expertly crafted and the subtlety is remarkable. Somehow Kurkdjian uses ingredients and concepts that don't appeal to me and manages to make them likable, APOM pour Homme is a prime example. Orange Blossom which to me is quite a complex note in and of itself, has a similar quality to neroli for me but with a hint of fruitiness and also something slightly rubbery and off putting. Having said that the unpleasantness takes a few minutes to develop to be fair the opening of this fragrance is stunning as was the last one I tried. The mixture of cedar perhaps gives this effect I don't know? The amber is a great match for the floral top notes of this fragrance and works very well in the composition. On paper again this seems a little simple and feminine but somehow isn't and manages to make great use of few notes to create something slightly more complex than the note breakdown suggests, again this is Kurkdjian squeezing every bit of character out of the different elements. The question is... would I wear this fragrance? No. Not to my taste... I think the price tag is high but if I liked it enough I wouldn't be perturbed. This has quality and if you like white floral and specifically orange blossom this is probably the most finessed fragrance you can get.
To be fair I look back at my review of this posted 2013 (but likely written sometime before that) and I'm amazed by how my tastes have changed but my appraisal of this scent even then, was pretty positive, despite really not liking orange blossom all that much. I was 'stunned' by the opening apparently and now I'm just stunned by the entire fragrance. Yet still something about orange blossom is slightly cloying and here clinging onto the warmth of the resinous base beneath it works perfectly. Kurkdjian is a master of this white floral stuff and APOM evokes the classic French and North African influences pretty perfectly. This is a summery, fresh fragrance but has a cosy warm heart, and as a convert to orange blossom I have a new found appreciation for the stuff and this fragrance.