Monstrous is a word I usually reserve for the likes of Megamare, a perfume so synthetic and tenacious I can't bring myself to even touch the nozzle for fear I won't be able to get rid of the smell for days. However, Beach Hut Man is monstrous, yet also captivating and addictive rather than domineering and brutal. Nothing else smells even remotely similar to this, and worn in the right context, it shines as a masterpiece of perfumery. Said context is out in the hills of the French Riviera in sunny, mildy warm winter weather. I wore it to go hiking up a small mountain just by Nice in January, and I was like "NOW I get it!", whereas before I'd found it too much. I mean, it is too much if you're going to be indoors at all, or perhaps being indoors requires application with a roller, just one dab to each wrist. Either way, since my hiking day I've been in love with this perfume. Thr orange blossom in the opening is the best rendition of this note for me, it's staggeringly good, and heartbreakingly fleeting, leaving a bizarre but beautiful amalgam of woody green notes. Indeed, this is one of those perfumes where the notes blend seamlessly into one cohesive smell, and you really have to squint to discern them, it's pure genius. Update: Just received new formulation. I hope it will open up and change as it breathes a bit, as for now it's a let down. This is one of my favourite perfumes, and the opening gives me joy every time. Well, here it's a different story. The mint note is different, in fact it smells like the same cheap mint used in You Or Someone Like You, with the same cat piss nuance. It's not spearmint any more. The orange blossom is nowhere to be seen. The sillage smells closer to the original, but up close it's like a cheap dupe. It doesn't smell bad, but it makes me feel sad that my love has been butchered. Update: I'm warming to the reformulation after the bruising experience of wearing it the first time. It'll never beat the old version, but in its own right it's a good perfume. It's slightly more polite than the original so could be useful for workplace wear. The myrhh is more apparent from the start, and the very far drydown does smell more like the original. I can't put my finger on what's missing, but whatever it is is the thing that takes it from 10/10 (my only perfume with full marks) to perhaps 8/10.
