I consider Bel Ami Vetiver to be the best flanker of all time. With that in mind this is probably the second best of all time. I know JCE has a long and distinguished history and even at Hermes his greatest achievement will probably go down as TdH, but, for my money I would (and do) wear BMV and this more often as I consider them to be his best work at Hermes.

Here he took a true 70's masterpiece of a man's scent in Equipage and without destroying the underlying notes was able to snap it in to modern day. In simplest terms I smell a manly floral topping mixed with light spice overlying the traditional equipage powering along in the back ground. I know from reading the notes break down this is geranium (maybe a slight rose) and clove, however, to my nose I may not pick out each individual note but get the overall affect of it.

I am glad I have a bottle. I wouldn't mind picking up a second one. That said, these days this goes for crazy money if you can even find one, but, if you do you won't be disappointed.

I do not understand why this has not caught on with more people. I know it is difficult to get in the USA but England and the EU? It's like 99 pounds for the bottle at Harrod's and at that price this is a steal. Yes, it is a vetiver and you have that running throughout the composition but the initial hit of spices (clove and cardamon?) is stunning. Even as that hit quiets down the spices still round out the vetiver in a very complete way. This all leads to a soft, woody finish that last a good bit of time. Maybe a little vanilla and a tiny bit of smoke there too. The bottle and the cap (mine is different then pictured) are outstanding also and quite heavy, just plain quality. Such an easy choice for me, especially on days I am not sure what I want to wear as this never disappoints me and I would find it hard to believe anyone would find it offensive. I have to thank Houdini and Les Oderants crew for drawing my attention to this perfect vetiver.

My thoughts are off a bottle from the mid-90's but I imagine this could apply to versions from the 80's-2020 or so, and simply put they are that this is beautiful men's perfume. On my skin I get the herbs and myrrh that opens up in to a rose that is not to floral and then the castoreum hits and I can't get enough of it. It is just what an elegant man should smell like with a hint of rouge or rebelliousness in his attitude. I wish I was the image of what I envision the man who wears this is, however, guess I will just have to settle with smelling like him.

Let me start by saying my nose is so unsophisticated you should stop reading now. That said I am wearing Absolue De Mousse for the first time right now. The initial spray had me regretting my purchase and really my spraying it on my arm. To me the first thing I smell is the scent of orange blossom perfume sold in old Florida citrus stands and tourist stops. This is not the scent of real orange blossoms in the air (driving through a blooming orange grove at night is one of the most magical smells you can experience), it is the orange blossom and soap maybe with rose smell of these inexpensive perfumes. To me always kind of old lady. Thankfully this was gone in about five minutes and slowly so was the soapiness. Again I don't know what I am talking about but the slightly and I mean slightly floral and very green resinous with a hint of leather this settles into around the thirty minute mark is totally different than anything I have smelled in the last twenty five years. To me it almost has a pine sent to it or at least the same type of dry down that is in the family of the original Polo. Yes, I am old enough to have worn that back in the 80's and I almost exclusively did! It is not a copy of it but again the green, resinous and slight hint of leather speaks out to me in the same way. This stuff is powerful too. I sprayed a little on the inside of an elbow and then on the opposite wrist . . . when I realized how the dry down was going I sprayed once on my chest. I have no idea the sillage or projection but it is all I can smell over an hour maybe two hours later. Glorious! I can't wait to see how long this goes . . . and more importantly I hope my wife will enjoy it (or at least not object to it).

I had a bottle of this when Ineke first released it. I wanted something niche I was wearing a suit everyday and wanted something that fit that vibe. It was the mid 2000's and aquatic scents were everywhere. I found Derring-Do to be perfect for spring and summer in Florida's humid heat. I did not get the cool water feeling of it as it was much lighter and more sophisticated to my nose not to mention it just did not smell like cool water. It was a fresh water aquatic (no salt at all) and the floral from I guess the cyclamen and magnolia floated over some very light woods. Fresh, nice in the humid heat and unobtrusive in the office. I never replaced my bottle as I just wasn't that into aquatic scents but if I was wanting something light and fresh for spring this would not be a bad choice.

A little spice, a little smoke, a HECK OF A LOT OF CEDAR! My wife brought this home for me from a closeout at a grocery store or something saying she smelled it in the store an liked it (maybe $30 USD at the time). I sprayed it on a was instantly in love and we went back to see if they had anymore. Unfortunately they did not. Well I used the bottle up until it was bone dry thinking I would find another somewhere and by the time I did it was already going for over $100. Now it is astronomical if you can find it. Was it a great cedar? Yes, one of the best I have smelt. Is it worth hundreds of dollars? Nope, not to me. Enjoyed, loved, remembered, but there are to many great scents to try and replace it with another bottle.