Bogart by Jacques Bogart

A beastly thing, yet with a saintly character. The opening is green, strong, and dirty, but not like cat urine as some greens are; it smells of old leather dancing with bitter scrubland. It punches you in the nose, perhaps due to the oakmoss. As it dries, it softens, revealing lavender and woods, while retaining that brutal masculinity few possess. More macho than Paco Rabanne Pour Homme and of better quality than Quorum. If it weren’t for the headache, I’d wear it more; once you get used to the scrubland blow, it stops hurting and becomes a fougère caress.

I was gifted it; otherwise, I wouldn’t have bought it. It smells very strong and alcoholic, even causing a headache. It’s a peculiar scent, but I don’t like it at all. It seems to smell like something else; perhaps because I’m not used to this, I prefer sweet or citrusy notes. I wouldn’t recommend buying it blindly.

A masculine scent? Reading reviews, I saw others say it smells of caramel, milk, and honey, worthy of an ‘Alpha’. I wonder if those pack leaders, with their short and violent lives, really smell like that. I always thought a hard man smelled of a workshop, metal, skin, and sweat, like my grandfather, and then of barbershop soap. My father too. Were they alphas? Perhaps, but they smelled old school. Bogart smells more like that than a dessert. It’s a personal impression, but the heterogeneity of opinions on virility is surprising. It was hard to get a sample, but it plays in the league of Paco Rabanne, Quorum, and Brut, though its herbal imprint with leather and spiced wood makes it more animalistic. I love it. Although the ‘macho alpha’ thing seems nonsense to me, I agree with @zeroka: this isn’t for everyone. Longevity and projection are excellent. Recommended.

Excellent old school perfume with lots of personality. Not for teenagers with acne. Ideal for formal and professional situations. It has an animal touch that makes it sensual and wild. Activates wonderfully with sport. Very good quality and highly recommended.

Personally, I don’t see it as similar to Paco Rabanne Pour Homme; the latter is a classic fougère, almost syrupy. Bogart is a green fougère with leather: the leather base mixes with the green of rosemary at the start, and becomes more noticeable as it dries. Bogart would be a ‘dirty green’. If you like retro seventies vintage, you’ll like it. I choose Paco Rabanne for its greater finesse and elegance.

Classic fragrance, Mediterranean, barbershop, and strictly masculine. It’s a mix of Agua Brava, Brumel, and Quorum in equal parts, but with better performance than the current versions of those three. Lasts 5 hours. If that style is your thing, go for it; there’s no margin for error on the price. Suitable for temperate and cold climates, day and night, though I don’t see it as seductive for current times. These aromas remind me of family members who are no longer with us; when I wear them, I feel good and remember them. I’m not bothered wearing them; at 34, I feel more comfortable with this than with a synthetic One Million. PS: Paco Rabanne Pour Homme seems superior in all its phases and more refined.

Old school perfume. Green opening, very green, due to the rosemary. Then the leather appears, always with that green that later disappears to join another scent I can’t identify. The leather isn’t alone. I’m not good at describing scents, but it’s an astringent, rough perfume. If it were a wine, it would be one that scrapes your throat due to tannins. I don’t identify the woods well, perhaps a hint, but if I bring my nose close to my skin, I’m not sure. I don’t spray many, a maximum of three or five, but it has moderate projection in the first hours and then drops. Good performance, around 7 or 8 hours. IT IS NOT A METRO SEXUAL PERFUME (with anti-wrinkle creams, dyes, gym sessions, and vitamins). This is an ACTION perfume, not for dates or picnics with tablecloths and trifles. IT IS A MACHOMAN PERFUME, but with sensitivity for men who write poems; although its strength is showing love with outbursts, stealing deep kisses before boarding the ship or plane towards the front of an unjust war. Just like in Humphrey Bogart films in Casablanca.

An old-school perfume whose citrus and green opening reminds me of Paco Rabanne Pour Homme. In the dry-down, I notice a similarity to the dry-out of Loewe Esencia, perhaps due to shared notes. Ultimately, it’s a fusion of both: soapy, green, totally eighties, and very original. Longevity and projection aren’t excellent, but they’re quite good (6 hours projecting well at the start). I understand that concentrations may have been reduced due to reformulations, but I think it’s a genuine vintage jewel.

The first Bogart I bought was 20 years ago. For me, it sums up the power and immense beauty of seventies aromas, such as Polo RL, Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, Van Cleef & Arpels Homme, Brut, or Quorum (the last two from the late sixties and early eighties, but in the same vein). I haven’t tried the current version; recently I picked up a recent bottle of One Man Show and found that the Bogart house made a decent reformulation. I hope they did the same with this jewel, although I have doubts because it’s a pure fougère and the oakmoss is prominent; according to forums, that note has been devastated by IFRA restrictions. If you like ‘retro’ proposals and nostalgia, it’s essential. Some will say it ‘smells old’ (it makes my eyes bleed to read that about a classic), others that it’s outdated. For me, it’s a MASTERPIECE; it’s lucky that, starting the second decade of the 21st century, we can enjoy this piece of history at an irrisible price. Let it continue like this for as long as possible…

Well… it must be reformulated or something similar, because I bought it on Amazon USA and it doesn’t seem like a powerhouse. The opening is extraordinary with that rosemary and saffron in harmony: strong, fresh, evocative of something big coming. Upon drying down, the sillage drops to skin-level and the oakmoss and leather change the opening into a more serious scent, although it remains pleasant and very masculine. Longevity is good, over 10 hours, but feeling like a cologne-type lotion. Compared to Loewe Esencia, it falls short, as the Spanish one is far superior. Even Paco Rabanne Pour Homme has more sparkle and interesting changes. As a curiosity to collect, it’s very acceptable, and for the price, it’s a good acquisition. The bottle is a vintage object in itself, but the box with that signature is worthy of showing off on perfumer forums.

Unfortunately, a deficient perfume… low sillage, very scarce longevity, and a weak scent. Suitable only as a collection piece to learn about the history of aroma evolution. It may have been reformulated or may not interact well on my skin, but on me, it’s very weak and its scent has nothing special. I bought it solely for collection without expecting much.

Although I agree that there’s no age for perfumes, if you’re interested in buying it, you should know that the first thing this scent brings is the vintage: those barber-shop lotions, old school. At first, it didn’t convince me; I thought about giving it away because I didn’t like the first impression. It became very vintage to me. Then, feeling the sillage, I thought about giving it another chance. Thus, as time passed, it became more addictive and now I find it delicious. I won’t pretend to be a master perfumer. It seems green, earthy, and very masculine. If you like strong, daring, and earthy old-school fragrances, it’s yours. And that ‘old’ air might discourage you as it did me at first, but give it a chance and you’ll fall in love with that somewhat foresty, masculine, old-fashioned earth, with superior projection and longevity.

I absolutely love it. It has that Kouros touch but softer and lighter. It’s perfect!

I ordered it online by mistake, thinking it was Pour Homme. These kinds of errors make you smile because they open you up to new sensations. It smells of green grass in a mountain forest after rain, with little rays of sun. Imagine it as a blend of Paco Rabanne Pour Homme and Loewe Essence, with leather, birch, and orange blossom. If you can get your hands on it, you won’t regret it.

Classic, masculine and bold. The opening recalls One Man Show, but it evolves quickly into something akin to Pour Homme: simpler, yet no less beautiful. Notes of rosemary, nutmeg and leather… absolutely delicious! Moderate projection but with presence, excellent longevity and great value for money. I love it; definitely my favourite Bogart.