L'Homme Rochas
Rochas (2020)

This smells like a rehash of Mugler A*men for a new generation. The sweetness is dialed down and the bright citruses in the opening get it to the outer edges of the blue fragrance genre, but the heavy patchouli contrasted with sweet ethyl maltol is unmistakeably A*men inspired IMO. For me this is very nice especially on a saturday night going to the movies

One of the better "blue" fragrances. Opening is very shower-fresh, think Jaguar Pace, in fact, unbelievably similar. However, where Pace dries down into basically nothing, Rochas is quite herbal. extremely soft dry down though, and you really need to bury your nose into it to find it! I could just be fatigued in the old sniffer today, as I have tested a few fragrances already.

Rochas is an old house, and as such, has some esteem among collectors of vintage perfumes. For the masculine market, the legacy of scents like Moustache (1949), Monsieur Rochas (1969), Macassar (1980), Globe (1990), Eau de Rochas Homme (1993), and Rochas Man (1999) all basically speak for themselves, so after a shakey time carrying on that legacy through the 2000's (mostly due to a flurry of ownership changes), the house returns with L'Homme Rochas (2020). Bruno Jovanovic, who has gotten some attention with his work in the niche realm, is tapped to create L'Homme Rochas, but he plays it relatively safe with the composition. L'Homme Rochas is a mass-appeal "blue" masculine, as one might expect from any house marketing a new scent for men that isn't meant for the boutiques or high-end luxury chains, but it does show a bit of that old Rochas quality distinction from many designer peers in the same segment. Rochas has always had spotty availability in the territories outside Europe, so how much impact this makes outside its home turf is anyone's guess really, and some may see it as redundant considering what's already come before. One thing's for sure: all the old heads worshiping those expensive surviving bottles of Macassar will disown the brand after sniffing this, which is to be expected.

The opening of L'Homme Rochas reminds me very much of a smoother and less-spicy Dolce & Gabanna K (2019), mostly because there is no pimento here, but the blood orange and bergamot that scent has also opens this one. A sweet pineapple similar to Coach Platinum (2018) also emerges here, but it is pushed a bit behind some cinnamon, cardamom, and sage. This sage note combines with geranium, juniper berry, and basil in the heart to create a core "green barbershop" vibe modernized slightly with the sweetness of the top and some woody aromachemical magic from the prerequisite ambroxan in the base. Some patchouli isolate also brings in additional smoothness and body alongside tonka, helping reduce the scratchiness of the "amberwoods" accord made after the scent dries down. All in all, bit of near-fougère woodiness from evernyl finish out L'Homme Rochas, making it a contender with Versace pour Homme Dylan Blue (2016) too. I'd call L'Homme Rochas generalist and best for spring through fall, although thanks to very appreciable longevity and sillage, could also make work in winter as well. Projection is also very good for the first few hours, so watch how much you spray if entering polite but strange company like an office or public event. The sweetness here also reads a bit too "fun" for formal situations, but L'Homme Rochas is definitely no clubber scent.

L'Homme Rochas goes after the flooded general-purpose signature scent market with a well-rounded and conventional but solid fragrance that will excite no one but out-classes and out-performs many things with which it shares shelf space. If this sounds familar, it's because that's the same lane a lot of classic non-designer houses like Guerlain, Lanvin, and Houbigant have all tried to take with their 21st century masculines, at least since 2011's "IFRA reckoning". These kinds of brands don't want overtly daring or artistic compositions unless they carry three times the standard price tag and come in limited editions or lines only sold at places like Bergdorf Goodman, but at the same time don't want to make releases that get confused with your everyday Paco Rabanne or Jimmy Choo, so they opt for "premium performance and refinement", which also explains lines like Guerlain L'Homme Ideal (2014) as well. Whether or not L'Homme Rochas will be seen as a slightly more-artistic and higher-quality alternative to "high street" fragrance, or another weaksauce "blue fragrance" sellout attempt is up to time, although it remains a good low-key cost-effective workhorse fragrance option regardless. If you're in the market for a "dumb reach" kind of scent and don't want to smell like you follow conventional wisdom or shop at the mall, this just might be the trick to stand slightly apart from your peers, like most Rochas masculines. Thumbs up.

Sweet, masculine and soapy clean. Smells like a modern, sweetened twist on the barbershop scent. Definitely getting the green freshness of the basil and geranium. The sweetness seems to be the citrus in the opening with the powdery tonka.

I have the “Tonka” bar soap from Commodity, and this is what the drydown smells like. The citrus fades but you are left with basically soapy barbershop and sweet, light tonka.

The performance is solid, not amazing, which also sums up this scent in general. I kept catching whiffs of this throughout the entire workday, 8-9 hours. It seems to do everything well.