This is another in a series of bargain fragrance reviews, scents that may be found online or at discount stores for US $25 or less. Leave a comment below for your chance to receive a sample, shipped anywhere in the world, free!
Summary: One of Azzaro’s lesser-known offerings, created just before the era of the marine/ozonic trends, Acteur is a surprisingly addictive and easy to wear herbal rose, leather and woods composition that retains the last glimmers of 1980s men’s perfumery while also seeming incredibly modern and unisex by today’s standards.
Perfumer: Maurice Maurin
Try this if you like: Unsweetened rose aromas where the rose is well-blended and toned down; woody aromas; a touch of non-smokey leather; green herbs like sage; must love the sharp and citrusy cardamom to appreciate Acteur.
Pros & Cons: Acteur is neither as brash nor as sweet as many of the Montale and Rosine offerings; expect mossy greens and dry leather rather than wet, dewy herbs or vanillic suede; has a definite old school vibe that many folks who remember the 70s and 80s will relate to. That being said, Acteur could have easily been launched recently among the onslaught of oud flankers. A review of the comments on this one here at Fragrantica underscores a) how much people appreciate this scent and b) how it is truly unlike anything else on the market.
Notes: “Mace, bergamot, calamus, cardamom, rose, jasmine, carnation, cedarwood, oakmoss, amber, musk and leather.”—Basenotes.net
Designer’s Description: N/A, discontinued.
Number of times tested: 10+ over the last two years.
Number of sprays applied for this review: two sprays to the back of hand from a bottle I purchased.
Fragrance strength: Eau de Toilette
Development: (Linear / Average / Complex) The current Acteur has a slightly diminished development compared to the vintage juice, but then again, this is a trend amongst modern reformulations and reinterpretations. That said, the entire ensemble appears at Acteur’s opening. The mossy sharpness of the topnotes soon gives way to the floral leather. As this mid-range develops, some sweeter tones emerge (the amber?) and the musk begins to blossom.
Longevity: (Short / Average / Long-lasting) Even in its modern reformulation Acteur still performs for a good 7-8 hours on my skin.
Sillage: (A Little / Average / A Lot) Not too huge despite notes like leather, rose, and musk. This subtlety makes it a good one for work or close quarters.
Note about the packaging: The bottle and packaging remain the same as the original: a flattened glass bottle with black cap and silver and black label, housed in a coordinating black and silver paper box, all echoing the bottle and packaging for the original Azzaro pour Homme.
Where can I buy it? Found online for as little as $25 USD for a 50 ml EDT.
The Bottom Line: I basically missed this one when it launched and only discovered it recently. And wow am I glad I did! Though I enjoy rose as a perfumery note, and really enjoy working with it as a perfumer, I rarely wear it … likely due to questionable childhood associations and the sometimes bitter sharpness of the aroma. And let me tell you, I’ve tried A LOT of rose perfumes over the last 40 years. Currently, YSL Baby Doll (pineapple and cassis), Victorio y Lucchino’s Hechizo (berries and patchouli), Caron’s Pour Une Femme (orange blossom and incense), Rosine’s Rose d’Homme (leather and lavender), and a perfume from a small UAE house are the only rose scents in my rotation aside from King’s Palace Perfumery’s Wars of the Roses (suede and smoke) andBashert (cinnamon and pomegranate). Enter l’Acteur, different enough from all of these to merit notice and yet good enough to have lasted all these years.
Many men’s scents of the late 70s and 80s played with herbal, spicy, dry and citric tones—think Kouros, Boucheron and Safari—while current offerings are generally, well, sweet. And I so happen to be a fan of sweet gourmands; I love fragrances like Polo Red, V&R Spicebomb, and Valentino Uomo. But there is something compelling about Acteur—it manages to be dry, dated, and rosy, all things that usually spell the kiss of death for me, and yet I love it because everything is so well blended and dare I say it, gentle. Acteur manages to be both a rose and leather scent, but neither one of these notes actually takes center stage. Acteur is, rather, the work of a skilled ensemble, knowing how to draw out the best qualities of its players.
The price seems to vary online, sometimes just a little under $25 USD, sometimes just a little bit over. But for an undoubtedly reformulated older scent, this is one not to miss, especially when compared to the current onslaught of short-lived Azzaro releases.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário
COMENTE O QUE VOCÊ ACHOU DA NOSSA MATÉRIA!