Lauder for Men
Estée Lauder (1985)

Not much more to be said, but I'll add one more strong positive. Everyone should consider this perfume for their collection.

Pellucid galbanum, worth the price of admission. Bitter cut spring flower stem, corolla of marigold, crushed lily of the valley and jasmine, green grass, pepper and rose, cedar shavings, moss, delicate sweetness and sandalwood-patchouli in the far dry down. The defining musk in the heart and diminishing thereafter through the woody finish in Lauder for Men is more animalic than you may first think. It is the puzzlingly dialectical necessity that grounds this ambitious exercise in muscular green and white floral clarity.

Don Lauder for Men at brunch this vernal equinox. Slinking home out the scullery exit, embarrassed by their spiritual and emotional feebleness, will be all those wearing Green Irish Tweed by Creed (1985).

In my perception, the following sequence of flavors has definitely been built up:
Pasha Cartier EDT > 1881 Men Cerruti > Lauder for Men
There are all three. I am comparing exactly the old editions of the 2000-2010s.
That is, 1881 Men Cerruti is somehow in between them, as if Pasha Cartier EDT and Lauder for Men were mixed in approximately equal proportions. At the same time, Lauder for Men seems to me to be the most refined and crystallized of this trio. Where Pasha Cartier EDT can be compared to the most "greasy" oil that has not yet been refined, and Lauder for Men is a crystal essence that has gone through all the stages of "purification" and thus got rid of all "excess". On the other hand, it is this "extra" that is more to someone's taste, like unprocessed cold-pressed oil, cloudy and with sediment, with a full palette of shades and facets.

Superb fragrance - any fan of classic masculine fragrances needs to pick this up.

The opening with the clear juniper note reminds me of Cerruti 1881 more than anything, but whereas 1881 is almost aquatic with its silvery sweet clarity, Lauder goes in a more chypre direction, although I do not think it gets nearly as dense, chewy or golden as Aromatics Elixir or Azuree or Aramis.

Dry, piney, refreshing, but with with a sophisticated complexity and a good amount of body coming from dry woods, oakmoss and the barest hint of sweetness. I would describe Lauder as a pine chypre. I would agree with Colbourne that the floral heart notes are wonderfully articulated and really give a flowering-meadow-next-to-a-forest effect. The jasmine and rose have almost no sweetness, but they are there.

The Juniper and Cedar give this fragrance a fresh pungency which will make it noticeable, but it has the complexity and blending to make it enjoyable for the wearer. Although I am sympathetic to the idea that fragrances are not gendered, the coniferous freshness and deep, dry base read pretty manly to me. Less manly than Bogart Signature, but more manly than Aramis I'd say. Who cares, it smells great.

I can't decide if this is for me yet, but I can say that fans of older men's fragrances need to try this one.

Lauder for Men: a true monolith of a fragrance, a men's green floral powerhouse that exudes compassionate authority, simultaneous command and gentleness.

The florals in this, the jasmine, lily of the valley, rose, steer this away from its contemporaries, lending a vibrance and sheen that isn't so often encountered in masculines.

The galbanum note in this is full force in the opening, reedy, grassy, yellow green and just gorgeous, accompanied by a lovely juniper berry note and aromatic clary sage that sustains as the florals enter stage, creating a symphony of titillating olfactory ecstasy.

The dry down is where the spicy, soft carnation is more evident, and then HOLY OAKMOSS (ahhhhhhhhhh....), with the very base of the fragrance a HOLY trinity of sandalwood, amber and musk.

Man, this is a stunner for all times (mind you, I have an older formulation with the green cap, I'm saddened to hear that more recent formulations have rendered this beauty insipid.

Clumsy opening, lovely drydown.

You know those news stories of deep-sea fishermen pulling up their nets and being stunned to find they've caught an otherworldly fish that had supposedly gone extinct millions of years ago? That's Lauder for Men.
And you have to salute Estee Lauder (while also shaking your head), that they are still making this, and other frags from the Aramis line--Aramis, Tuscany, Havana, etc. Who wears these anymore other than dinosaurs like me and the young at heart? Definitely not the young. Anyway, Lauder for Men has to stand as one of the greatest of the 80s powerhouse fragrances, and maybe one of the greatest men's scents of all time, in a bottle that could have graced my grandmother's dressing table. It could easily be a woman's fragrance, but it works so well as a man's. And what is that musk--some hidden civet? It's like the polished gentleman with a wink who still can wield that walking stick as a cudgel in a pinch, and who has a mysterious past. Even my wife, who usually looks upon my cologne collection with bemusement, remarks about this fragrance each time I wear it, saying it's amazing and wear that one more. Enough said and amen to that.