1740 Marquis de Sade by Histoires de Parfums

I’ve been wearing this Marquis de Sade for years and finally decided to review it. It smells fantastic, with a sharp, sword-like opening. The immortelle takes a bit of getting used to, but I can’t stop sniffing it; it must be the opening note, the resin, or the coriander. It’s a very noticeable and bold scent wherever you go, with a sensual aura completely different from the rest. Sometimes when someone wears a fragrance like this, you sense a certain majesty, and here it feels quite pronounced. For me, is it versatile? Yes, I dare to wear almost anything, and this 1740 was no exception. If you like dense scents, you’ll love this. Sillage, projection, and longevity: wow, it lasts a long time. 👆⏳

Today I hit the turbo: Sexy Beast mode activated for work. Leather and davana, straight to the point, no half-measures. This could be my favorite leather… although my shelf has warriors like Knize Ten, Antaeus, Eau d’Hermès, and Bel Ami. So better ask me tomorrow. Luckily, I don’t have to choose just one. What is this modern classic about? One word: davana. As far as I know, I haven’t heard it in another perfume, and here it has me completely hooked. It’s strange, bitter, and semi-sweet, like a dried fruit on the verge of fermenting. With bergamot, artemisia, and coriander, the opening is a punch and maintains strength from the start until the dry down. The base is pure magic thanks to the immortelle: sweet and dry, with hay or tobacco notes with honey, which blend perfectly with the leather. Plus, birch, opoponax, and elemi resin create a resinous and balsamic base, slightly sweetened with a subtle touch of vanilla. Marquis de Sade evokes that rogue and cultured character who knows how to discourse with erudite ease on sensual pleasures, as well as to give himself over without reservation to unrestrained depravity. However, here the “wild” part is contained. It never crosses the line into the vulgar; it stays in the suggestive, not explicit. And that makes it even more seductive, keeping me trapped and chasing it all day.

One of my winter favorites. From my point of view, it’s an immortelle perfume. From the start, it makes you feel like a gentleman perfume and makes you feel like a gentleman, or perhaps a master, since it’s dedicated to the Marquis de Sade. Hard notes that unite spices (I notice more cardamomo) with leather and birch, plus the immortelle. They are hard notes but not rough, because it’s very well rounded. 1740 is for mature people, regardless of age, since maturity has to do with how circumstances are faced. Leather and birch are great secondary notes, with immortelle as the main protagonist. That slightly sweet, tipsy aroma, with memories of a sunlit library with character and old books. I recommend it to everyone who loves immortelle, because there are very few perfumes dedicated to this note that I like so much. From memory come Sables by Goutal, Rococo Immortelle by CC, or Immortelle Corse by Parfums d’Empire, though for me this is the one I like most of all. It’s absolutely masculine, very long-lasting, with good projection, and for cold winter or autumn days and nights.

Old school, but for real.

I picked up this fragrance (a 15ml bottle, but the 120ml one will follow when this runs out) and I am E-NA-MO-RA-DO. It’s liqueur-like, herbal, sweet, and earthy. It has a lot of mystery, feels classic and ancient (not outdated, but timeless, as if it came from a remote past, bottled 2 centuries or more ago). It inspires curiosity in people and in oneself. And something curious: I feel like it’s my perfume. Today I wore it, with rain at times (Autumn in Spain), all in black, boots, and a corduroy jacket with an XL scarf, and honestly, I felt like I was traveling through time to a baroque or modernist world. Wrapped in the fragrance, dense at times, with tangible bursts almost chewable. It even changed the way I walk. I felt very elegant in the shopping mall, with unusual self-confidence. It’s mature (I’m already past 40 and it fits me perfectly) and elegant, mysterious, very interesting. I think it’s among the best in my collection.

Forget buying it blind. I tried it and it smells like aged rum, incredible! As if it had been preserved for centuries. It’s extremely rare, causes mystery, and the woods are excellent. Indescribable, unique, with a slight but present sweetness. It lasts MANY HOURS; so far, it’s the longest-lasting one I’ve tested (longer than my vintage Kouros and the Amouage decant). Its only downside: it’s not versatile and is very strident if people aren’t used to these experiences. But I like it, and that matters. Just don’t abuse the atomizer (or the decant) hahaha. Verdict: I MUST HAVE IT, but first try its supposed older brother, Sables by Annick Goutal. It has me speechless, this HdP masterpiece, and I’m searching for the right batch for the beastly experience of its longevity. HARDCORE.

Oh, what a well-made and direct thing! Old-school and overwhelming as few. Strong notes fluttering around and leaving a trail. I’m surprised it’s so potent since it’s not an old fragrance; it has left me astounded with its performance. IT LASTS like few others! After 2 hours outside with 1.5 sprays of the decant, walking through a bakery and coming home, everyone in my family could still smell it, saying it smells old. Meh, I like it. It arrived with the Aramis Tobacco, and the truth is, 1740 leaves it in the dust. For a lascivious man, perverse like the Marquis de Sade, and erotic without absolute discretion.

Elegant copy-paste! The Marquis de Sade, philosopher and writer, inspires this dense fragrance just like his name. It smells like a worn leather cape in Europe before the 19th century. It moves away from the 1725 romanticism to show a robust, punchy personality. Leather dominates, but elemi and coriander give it a deep, spicy, nervous heart. Perfect for autumn, winter, or formal night outs. Top-tier quality, ideal for men over 35 who are set in their ways and crave powerful scents.

The opening smells like olive to me. I don’t like the absinthe. Second perfume with it, and in neither of the two have I liked it. Too much immortelle in the heart. Extreme sweetness. I guess not. Leaving the sample half-used.

1740, after giving it many chances, is a “no” for me. The fragrance is well structured, and the longevity and trail are good, but that persistent and constant background of the leather-liquorish-sweet accord due to the combination of tobacco, immortelle, and opoponax disgusts and overwhelms me, giving me the sensation, the stench, and the acidity of being in a wine cellar full of drunk people who won’t stop smoking. I haven’t enjoyed this 1740 at all. Rating: 4

Just arrived, I’m testing it, or rather, sniffing it. I’m not understood, just a low-tier enthusiast. First impression is sweet brandy punch. The liquor volatilizes quickly and settles into a stable state of wood, tobacco, and something dry. It seems the liquor wants to escape but blends with the wood and tobacco, creating an intoxicating, subtle, and deliciously aphrodisiac atmosphere that invites sin. Gradually, old leather emerges and I detect vanilla. Definitive, friends: quality and harmony in every ingredient. It’s dark, intoxicating but not disturbing, masculine and sensual. A good tool for seduction. I like it a lot, will use it a lot in winter. Recommended.

Pff, what a beast of a perfume. Leaves me speechless, tremendous and fascinating. It’s a destructive leather with resins, woods, and spices: opoponax, patchouli, cardamom… All wrapped in immortelle, in the style of Sables but less sweet and with less presence. Narcotic, dense, dark, and atrocious. Sometimes the leather dominates, other times the sweetness of the immortelle shines through with smoky notes that might come from birch. Occasionally it gives a sensation of dry hay that gets sweetened, other times it’s tobacco-heavy and I love it. I don’t see it as the younger brother of Sables (I love both), but it recalls the immortelle and that syrup, so the connection is clear. Here it’s less raw, more tamed, with the leather and opoponax stealing the show. Drier and less sweet. A must-try for lovers of the dark and leather. I see it as very masculine, hardly usable in summer, and of low versatility, though that’s subjective. Not for everyone. The trail is good, dry down is great, and the longevity… ultrasonic. Verdict: Very good.

1740 is like a younger brother to Goutal’s Sables, perhaps with a nobler, less raw treatment. The opening is fascinating: a mix of immortelle, pipe tobacco, and leather, nuanced with a floral veil that relieves the ensemble. Unfortunately, by the end of the day, it becomes cloying with that liquor-like sweetness (almost poisonous) radiating from the immortelle that doesn’t fade. The immortelle here, more than ever, might be your thing or not, but be assured it won’t leave you indifferent.