Okay so sometimes you just have to concede that your tastes have changed or are so varied that you reject things you used to wear off hand...Kouros is one of these. It's strange that I wore what is quite a grown up manly fragrance in my teens and yet now in my 30's I don't have all that many masculine beasts in my wardrobe. I've not owned a bottle in several years and my memory of it in the 90's is pretty strong as it's the kind of scent that leaves a lasting impression. Anyway as soon as I revisited this classic I got all same feelings coming back which indicated to me that if it has been reformulated, it's not all that different. I have to admit that I'm not generally a fan of overly animistic or musky fragrances unless they have finesse and Kouros definitely has that. As fresh, interesting, complex, masculine and as relevant today as it was when released...I'm honestly considering wearing this again. Not going to say much more as there's some great passionate reviews about this one but longevity and projection are massive and my favourite elements of the composition are the strong oakmoss and leathery, powdery, musky drydown with the slightest hint of honey. Kouros is great!
I've never understood the overstatement of how musky and animal this fragrance is? If you are offended by Kouros I really don't think you've experienced many strong animalics or floral musks, because some of those really do warrant the fecal comments. I'm not of course referring to the current formulation which is a pale and slightly sad glimpse of the original, but it still smells fairly good and vaguely similar...while it lasts. No, I'm talking as someone who owned bottles in the 90's and 2000's and have always thoroughly enjoyed the stuff, without it being considered a favourite. I always figured I liked more flamboyant fragrances like Fahrenheit and these others in my wardrobe (when I had a much smaller collection) were just there as standard masculine fodder or filler, that all men should have. So I was overjoyed to find a popular, British Youtube reviewer has started a sample service and has a few good oldies on the books, one of which is a 1984 Kouros. I had to indulge and I could clearly smell it on the bag it arrived in, before I even opened it, bringing back great memories for me. However, if I'm honest the power of Kouros isn't important, it's the subtlety. I love the warm, animal civet smell left behind even though it's a little skanky and I hate fragrances like Amouage Gold which is pretty similar in spirit to Kouros. I think the crucial difference is that Gold is potently floral and mega powdery, making the clean, cleaner and the dirty even dirtier, because the civet in that is putrid, whereas here it's just manly and kinda comforting. I also get that sweaty cumin being heated smell, which when in the context of this fragrance... just works. Truth is I'd forgotten just how good the old formulation is, I hope designer perfumes have a true renaissance, maybe some IFRA guidelines change and allow for the resurgence of greats like Kouros.
