Worth pour Homme by Worth

The current version of Worth Pour Homme is a fougère that tried to modernize by shedding weight, yet the result remains hard to digest today. The first thing you smell is a potent cardamom (not listed on the card) mixed with nutmeg, a combination that sometimes turns sweaty and unpleasant. The opening is cold, with citrus and green notes of pine and rosemary that feel frayed. Then petit grain, geranium, and vetiver appear, but timidly, as if the cardamom and nutmeg are suffocating them. In the dry down, it gains subtle leather and moss, nothing spectacular. The overall scent isn’t that of an elegant gentleman, but of an authoritarian, arrogant military man, John Wayne style. It’s too masculine for today’s tastes and sells cheap online, probably because of that. If you collect history, it’s fine, but olfactorily, it’s a challenge.

Looking for rare and classic things, I stumbled upon this 1932 Worth Pour Homme, launched alongside Je Reviens. Both have had a bumpy life in the market, though the feminine version is still in production. People on Fragrantica comment that it smells like Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, but I believe it’s the reverse: Worth is the progenitor from 40 years ago that defined many subsequent proposals. Upon application, it smells old-school with a past formula: flowers, citrus, and wood with a rugged presence, plus a touch of cinnamon. At 10 minutes it’s still linear, but at 15 minutes the magic happens. As the initial notes recede, the similarity to Paco Rabanne confirms itself, but with more wood and pine. At times it evokes Loewe Pour Homme, like a blend of both. It’s wonderful and unique: a lavender, a green forest, and balsamic woods with fresh sprouts. It starts serious, but after 30 minutes its gravity fades, like a man taking off his suit jacket and loosening his tie. At this point it recalls Lomani with its evident geranium. It denotes great masculinity, is elegant, and almost timeless, ideal for three seasons, avoiding winter. In the 60s and 70s it was a standard of elegance, and coincidentally Paco Rabanne was born in 1973 with much of that philosophy. Although discontinued, I managed to get the last version, which is more sober. If you collect perfumes and like history, I recommend it 100%.