Une Histoire d'Homme Irrésistible
Mauboussin (2017)

I came to try this release because i was curious about Lalique’s Ombre noire, and I also know some of Karine Dubreuil-Sereni’s work for Bon Parfumeur. Although I have not been wowed by anything I have tried, she’s always produced
a nice, calm quality or synthesis in her compositions.

This “histoire” opens coumarin-forward in a way that has led some to compare with Guerlain Vetiver, but it quickly becomes clear that fig is quite prominent and vetiver is not. And it is very well done! Especially in masculines, I mostly find fig notes turning too fruity-tropical for my preferences, but here it is isolated to how the tree with unripe fruit smells in a sudden July heat immediately after rainfall. I am slightly reminded of Dior’s Dune pour homme that I personally find nice, but a bit too generic nineties/naughties duty free staple. With Histoire, that script is rewritten into something I can relate to a lot more, and it dries down more elegantly than many reformulated former designer celebrities like Fahrenheit and Burberry London.

Nicely balanced cedar and sandalwood, bergamot (it’s already a bit figgy) and fig leaf remains detectable, for a good three hours, and as a nice little bubble scent for another four. Such a quality over it makes you think, because it is ridiculously cheap — I have small decants of other scents costing more than my full bottle of Histoire.

I like it a lot, all in all. It is like a carefree memory of urban adventures in my twenties. It makes me feel like the snob enjoying his secret habit of sneaking into a Burger King occasionally.

I reach to this release, after a good amount of hype, with some reluctance. Mauboussin is not a high quality fragrance brand and, despite the original Homme which I find decent but not memorable (talking about the vintage twist and spray bottle), the rest is pretty irrelevant and mediocre. The spicy Private Club flanker is not bad but the budget spent on it wasn't sufficient to make it shine in the drydown, turning it to a let down.

So, this one, created by Karine Sereni, who famously had some highlights (Gucci Homme II, Lalique Ombre Noire and Occitane Eau des Baux), has fig leaf as a note along with some woods. Pretty simple, right? Well, if you are searching for a fig, you can hardy pass this one, since there isn't any fig leaf or even fruit accord here. But, in faxt, there is a fruity quality to it and a creamy woody drydown.

It starts off very fruity and spicy to my nose. Reminiscent of a spicy tea (Gucci Pour Homme II, is that you?). First of all, don't run to it, expecting a clone or substitute for the discontinued, and not that great, Gucci Pour homme II, because you'll not find it here. But it definitely shares some similarities to that spicy tea note.

This is pretty much the main accord here along with a dry and strange sandalwood (possibly a variety that I'm not familiar). It became less sharp and fruity and more woody as it dries. Cedar is present in the background.

The fragrance finishes with a nice and plasant masculine vibe, decent quality and good performance.

The price is excellent and it might become one of the best cheapies for the last years. Nothing groundbreaking, of course, but far better than many other expensive stuff and with a nice and well done composition .

I am surprised by the quality and the composition and, for this price point, you can't go much better than this.

Recommended for any cheapie hunter and afficionados in general. Nice one.

3/5

Fig leaves with shadows and from the branches and boughs, filtered sunlight in the bottle, this one works best on warm skin. It highlights more the bitter-green aspect of the leaves than the lactonic qualities of the fig scent profile. The core of the fragrance is in its woodiness, dry, blond, and not too sharp (the amber woodies are dosed carefully here).

I learned of this through Sebastian (the Perfume Guy). Thumbs up!