Classic

2 reseñas

Mostrando las más recientes primero.

• Josesan

  November 21, 2018

  

  VAN GILS CLASSIC POUR HOMME: Back to the 80s. This fragrance from Dutch brand Van Gils, launched in 1988 and no longer in production, has been a lucky find. I managed to get a vintage mini in perfect condition, and a few sprays on my arm revealed a sillage and potency I didn’t know existed. It’s one of those classics that blends chypre, fougère, and leather families with an overwhelming aldehydic wrapper. The depth of the 80s erupts from this mini, flooding my body with an uncontrollable force of dry, bitter, rough herbs like thyme, verbena, and cilantro. Over them grows an omnipresent oakmoss—in fact, it’s the very definition of oakmoss, in its purest form. Wet, earthy, moldy, like lichen degrading on cedar and cypress bark. The aromatic arms rise, invading the neurons with a resinous, lustful grandeur, while aldehydic drums beat in the air. It’s the leather jacket guy with studs, a messy pompadour, and shoulder pads; immensely masculine and ambiguous, behind mirrored sunglasses that command respect. The vampire’s embrace, the punk shiver, the suspense in a Hispanic Philology class, a Saturday in a mechanic’s garage, leather stinging the skin, and a black trench coat. The full moon over Paris has transformed Van Gils into a man.

• jerry drake

  October 17, 2024

  

  I know many people don’t like old-school fragrances and probably don’t understand why so many adore them. Van Gils Pour Homme’s opening is brutal—it’s not as citrusy as the bergamot and lemon grass suggest; it’s quite bitter with a vegetal, slightly tar-like touch that’s hard to get used to if you’re not familiar with it. The start isn’t new, but remember it’s an 80s classic. After about 40 minutes, it calms down, becoming spicier and softer as it dries on the skin, though it’s still not entirely friendly. Occasionally, a hint of musk and amber drifts from the base, but thyme and rosemary clearly dominate on my skin. Give it time to become rounder and ‘beautiful,’ with that soapy, dark vibe reminiscent of Lapidus Extreme. It’s still wearable today if you dare to go fully old-school masculine, whose herbaceous and spicy edges no longer seem so harsh. It’s a bottle of bottled testosterone.