Gender Bender

Gender Bender: Bulgari pour Homme … pour Femme (1996)

05/23/15 05:46:59 (31 comments)

by: Dr. Marlen Elliot Harrison

This is another in a series of fragrance reviews that asks, “How does fragrance transcend gender?” Leave a comment below for your chance to receive a sample, shipped anywhere in the world, free!

Hello and welcome to my new column here at Fragrantica: “Gender Bender,” an exploration of aroma, gender and scented freedom. Though by no means do I personally prescribe to fragrance having a gender, sociocultural stereotypes about masculinity and femininity often prevail at the fragrance counters. Join me as I explore some of my favorite 20th century masterpieces of perfumery in my quest to address the familiar question, “How does fragrance transcend gender?”

Summary: One of the first tea-themed fragrances to hit the market following the success of Bulgari’s Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert in 1992, pour Homme (celebrating its 20th birthday next year) is a quiet second-skin of light musks, roots and woods, the polar opposite of many current offerings on the market focusing on fruity gourmands. In its quiet and conservative manner, pour Homme is the perfect aroma for those who appreciate a steaming cup of Darjeeling but prefer their tea without sugar or spice.

Perfumer: Jacques Cavallier

Try this if you like: Tea aromas; quieter fragrances; lavender; dry, woody scents with a hint of citrus such as Terre d’Hermes; white musks; vetiver.

Pros & Cons: It’s pretty challenging to find any major fault with this surprising composition aside from its linearity and brief longevity. Pour Homme offers a scented aura rather than a fragrance announcing one’s arrival; this is the fragrance to wear when one wants to smell clean and fresh without resorting to typical citrus compositions or aquatics. As a friend once noted, “it’s like the anti-cologne.”

Nearly twenty years after its launch, thanks to the proliferation of musk and tea fragrances in perfumery, pour Homme feels downright gender neutral. Those averse to tea aromas specifically, and to lavender, vetiver, pepper, or woods generally, might be put off, as might those expecting a glass of sweetened ice tea. Pour Homme also relies on a strong, synthetic white musk as its base that some might be anosmic to while others might find off-putting. However, if beachy, light musks are your thing, pour Homme will be a gleeful discovery.

Notes: “Top notes are aldehydes, lavender, mandarin orange, tea, nutmeg flower, bergamot, and orange blossom; middle notes are cyclamen, coriander, carnation, iris, pepper, guaiac wood, brazilian rosewood, geranium and cardamom; base notes are tonka bean, amber, musk, oakmoss, vetiver and cedar.”—Fragrantica.com

“Olfactory Family: Woody Floral Musk; Top Notes: Darjeeling Tea, Water Lily; Heart Notes: Guaiac Wood, Black Pepper; Base Notes: Transparent Amber and Musk.”—Bulgari.com

Reminds me of: Etro Musk (practically identical), SJP Lovely; Atelier Cologne Oolang Infini; Philosophy Amen; Gendarme/Carriere; Jennifer Aniston; Clean Ultimate; Kenzo pour Homme.

Designer’s Description: “A contemporary and classic fragrance for men, Bulgari pour Homme is comfortable and refreshing. Designed for men who are looking for a fragrance that subtly accentuates their personality. The understated bottle design communicates luxury, prestige and masculine elegance.”—Bulgari.com

Number of times tested: 500+ over the last 19 years.

Number of sprays applied for this review: Two sprays to the back of hand from a bottle I purchased online (ca. 2004).

Fragrance strength: Eau de Toilette

Development: (Linear / Average / Complex): Bulgari pour Homme is an aroma with a singular character and where the major accords remain the same throughout. Though the tea accord offers a bit of pepper, by no means does this note play any major role.

Longevity: (Short / Average / Long-lasting) This is one of the most-noted drawbacks to the scent; I find myself applying more sprays of this than I typically do to aid my ability to perceive it after an hour. However, for those working or traveling in close quarters, or for those residing in hot, tropical climates, Bulgari pour Homme is likely a safe choice for a bit of aroma that refreshes rather than overwhelms. It disappears after two-three hours but returns with a bit of activity or body heat.

Sillage: (A Little / Average / A Lot) Launched at a time where one of the fragrance paradigms was “clean, light, comfortable and pure” (in a response to the powerhouses of the 80s), Pour Homme is actually surprisingly quiet, hence my comment about it being a “second-skin aroma”, or as some folks say, “your skin but better.”

Note about the packaging: A simple, transparent glass bottle with the classic Bulgari cap ringed in metal and housed in a gray and silver paper box.

Where can I buy it? Found online for as little as $25 USD for a 100 ml tester.

The Bottom Line: Tea as a perfume? The concept baffled me when I first met Bulgari’s Thé Vert as a young college student. This was right around the time when another fragrance label was launching a concoction of ice cream sundae and head shop (Angel); so many innovations were happening in the world of perfumery! When Bulgari finally launched its pour Homme, I was beyond giddy with anticipation, having loved all things tea and having already been charmed by Thé Vert. I remember the display at Saks Fifth Avenue’s perfume counter in the Boca Raton Town Center, picking up the bottle, spraying liberally on my hand, and then not being able to smell a darn thing. What the …? I had been sniffing heavier aromas like Chopard Casmir and Patou pour Homme Prive; no wonder pour Homme didn’t register!

On another visit, I avoided other scents and went straight for the pour Homme. This time I smelled the faint echo of Fruit Loops breakfast cereal and Chinese tea … an odd perception, I know, but I actually liked it. Not quite as bitter as Thé Vert, though somehow similar at its edges, pour Homme was something that I had really never perceived before and it quickly shot straight to the top of my “must have” list.

Pour Homme opens with a citrus accord (the Fruit Loops?) soon joined by the tea notes (green tea as opposed to smoky brown or black), a watery accord (Aldehydes? Water lily? Lavender? Bergamot?), and the earthier heart of dry woods (vetiver, moss, cedar?). The entire composition is cradled by a non-vanillic white musk (no powder here).

But pour Homme only fully registered when on the skin of a female friend. I don’t know if skin pH and body chemistry influenced my perception, but on Naoko, the bergamot sparkled, the lavender radiated and the musk was softer and simply heavenly. Whereas pour Femme was a sweet, fruity floral, that although elegantly composed along classical lines never struck me as “beautiful,” pour Homme on Naoko was the scent of a thunderstorm on a summer breeze—barely there, but perceptible petrichor—along with a pot of steaming green tea, and skin freshly splashed with a typical “eau de cologne” or washed with a traditional fancy hotel bar of soap (think neroli and vetiver). This is what I had expected the original Cleanfragrance to smell like.

Nowadays, pour Homme has been expanded to pour Homme Extreme with added grapefruit and balsam fir, and pour Homme Soir with papyrus and amber. I can enthusiastically recommend all three to both genders with Soir having the best longevity and sillage thanks to the addition of the vanillic amber. As much as I enjoy Bulgari’s other fragrances such as my beloved Omnia (cardamom, tea and cocoa), Aqua (which reminds me of Bond 9’s Bleecker St), and Thé Vert, pour Homme still manages to be my favorite, highly affordable Bvlgari. Ladies, if you’ve never tried it, and don’t mind a dry, light musk, pour Homme might be your new best friend during hot, summer weather.