Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme
Eau de Toilette, Van Cleef & Arpels (1978)

Animalic masculine classic but must be in Vintage formulation because, well, I just say so this comes highly recommended. Anybody and I mean anybody who appreciates classic masculine fragrances from long ago must include this in their fragrance arsenal. They will not at all be disappointed. This has lots of positive traits surrounding this and the most pleasing is the 8 to 10hrs of skin performance it brings.


9/10

A very dark affair. It opens with rose, carnation, lavender, and various spices including cloves. Dries down to a slightly soapy leather and patchouli.

VC&A PH is Leonard Pour Homme without the castoreum and with more flowers. It also reminds me of Arrogance PH without the invigorating spice that makes Arrogance so badass. I'm not sure which notes cause this, but my nose picks up the same mustiness here that it gets from Geoffrey Beene Grey Flannel. I can't say that I love VC&A PH, but I do enjoy wearing it on cold, dark nights... and as dark as they come, for that matter.

The last reformulation projects really well and last hours and hours on my skin. No complaints on that front.

Masculinity Level: A tragic Nosferatu.

This is one of my favorite rose fragrances. A masculine jasmine, rose, leather and eastern spices on earhty moss....amazing. I smell a distinct nutmeg note too.
I finished my bottle(which I rarely do without getting backup bottle first)recently to find out now it's discontinued!

10/10 Scent
9/10 Performance
10/10 Quality vs Price

One of my absolute favorites, VC&A PH is a confluence of all that I love dearly in fragrance: rose, leather, patchouli, herbs, spices, and woods. The whole is much, much greater than the sum of it parts. When this is unleashed on my skin, I feel like an aristocrat, I enter a fable, I escape the tawdry and mundane, and my imagination is free.

Yes, there is certainly a significant luxury soap element to it, but that to me is what makes it so ravishing. These alipathic aldehydes exalt everything, including the incense base.

Mythical, masculine opulence, like the great dark man who was in those Barclay cigarette ads back in the 80s.

10/10

I have the 3rd formula and it's just like the original formula , it's classic soap leather musk scent that turns into a Barbar shop only difference is the oakmoss, I spray this stuff I feel like I'm in a black suit with a top hat on in a pre Victorion age ..old school dark mysterious, this is for a fall day dress all in black and gray with a black leather jacket the 2nd version the all black box is to avoid and aswell is with the all green box of tsar , 1 St and 3 Rd formulas are the best and almost exactly the same just less Oakmoss and it's place is treemoss and oakmoss on both tsar vca and VCA pH the projection and longtivy are both very good , I always get u smell so good , and some say wow u smell so different but good then compare then what the guys today wear , very manly , in this what lacks in alot scent on today's shelves in department stores , this for 35-40+ men to wear , j can't see a young man wearing this

Too much musk and castoreum for me...
Wife made me wash this one off.
Maybe 3 sprays from a travel atomizer was too much? I suppose one spray to the air, then walk through the mist would be the right amount?
Either way, this isn't for me. Too bad, because I'm a big fan of Tsar and had high hopes for VC&A PH.