Glacier Le Noir by Maison Alhambra

I tried this in-store while looking for Hawas Black. Although I’m new to perfumes, I never buy blind. I eventually decided to give it a go on my arm with a ‘what the heck’ attitude. On the way home, I started smelling bursts of scent out of nowhere and found it about 95% similar; I was genuinely surprised. Clearly, it doesn’t match the quality or longevity of the original Le Male Le Parfum, but it remains the closest approximation I’ve seen. Although I didn’t buy it that day, I’m keeping it on my list to add to my collection. Blind buy recommendation! Though, if you’re very particular, perhaps not.

It’s a charming and super sexy aroma from JPG Le Male, there’s no doubt about that, and one of the best mass-market male scents out there, something I won’t argue with. To be honest from my experience: if you don’t have the budget for the original Le Male just yet, I recommend buying this Glacier Le Noir to get to know the DNA, as it resembles it somewhat and lets you save while you save up for the JPG. I’ve tried all the dupes and none come close to its heels; the JPG formula is on another level. This Glacier Le Noir isn’t bad, smells good, and won’t leave you looking cheap given the price. It smells and projects better if you let it rest for a few months. In compliments, thanks to that ‘vibe’ of Le Male and the trail, when people approach you, even just someone, they’ll ask what perfume you’re wearing.

I bought it recently; it matches the JPG Le Male Le Parfum quite well, but I feel its weak point is the projection. Despite being a pleasant fragrance, people around me don’t detect it even when they’re close.

It resembles Le Male Le Parfum; the opening is cardamom and cumin, which some find smells like sweat, but afterwards it settles into a very rich scent. It lasts about 5 or 6 hours. It cost me $430 Mexican pesos, which is a quarter or fifth of what the LMLP costs. For the price, it’s good; it doesn’t replace the original, which, in my opinion, is the best in the line.

I’m not sure if it’s my bottle, but it smells very badly of sweat.

A synthetic and plastic Le Male that does resemble it but lacks much quality. Up close, it smells very strange.

Having already the JPG Le Male Le Parfum, I can say this dupe gets too close; I’d say 80%. In itself, the perfume is ultra-synthetic (a bit more than the JPG) but still bearable, has good projection, and very good longevity on my skin at least. Don’t use it on hot days or in the office; if you’re on a tight budget, this perfume is for you. What predominates is the vanilla, meaning it’s very sweet. Personally, this perfume isn’t my favourite (nor did I like the JPG Le Male), however, on the outings I’ve used it, women have liked it a lot and it’s brought me many compliments. In conclusion, if you want a perfume for dates, that is warm and sweet, and you’re on a tight budget, I recommend it.

Arrived and honestly it’s a 4/10. Although I have Le Male Le Parfum by Gaultier tattooed on my skin, this Glacier Le Noir is a different story. It smells odd; at first it’s synthetic and reminds me a bit of LMLP, but as it dries down it smells like amber with plastic. It brings me memories of perfumes from Cuba Paris. To be honest, it disappointed me, although well, I expected it to fail before buying the original. They say it improves with time, so I’ll try it again. Update after 4 months: it improved to an average. It’s 85% similar, but I prefer Khadlaj 25 Experience, which is 90% or more.

I bought a decant to avoid spending too much and I think I was right. It smells very plastic and low quality, especially at first. Something strange is that up close it smells like toothpaste because of that overly artificial mint. In the air it gets a bit closer to the original and perhaps will improve a bit to 60%, but it lacks the shine of the original; it’s poor quality throughout its development and more spicy to my taste. I don’t recommend it sincerely. Perhaps it will improve with oxidation, but for now it’s a pity because I love LMLP.

I bought it blind and I can’t find a good perfume in any of its facets. It has nothing to do with the references: not Dios Home, not Prada, or anything of that sort, so I’m surprised they relate it like that. As a clone, it does have an air of JPG, but of low quality.

It’s a dupe with an 80% similarity. Upon trying it, the opening is a bomb and makes you think it will be equal to Le Male Le Parfum, but in 5 minutes the dry down kills that illusion, leaving an intense lavender and a quite synthetic cardamomo. The opening has juicy vanilla and a potent, fleeting iris, but unfortunately everything lasts less than 5 or 4 minutes. The longevity is 4 hours with 6 sprays and the projection does miracles only for the first hour, afterwards it disappears. This Glacier Noir mixes classic Le Male with that noticeable lavender, and the vanilla sweetness of Le Male Le Parfum. For the price it’s a decent option, but not wonderful.

For me it’s a hybrid between classic Le Male and Le Parfum, which it tries to imitate. It resembles Le Male Le Parfum at 55%. It starts very potent and you think ‘wow, this is going to be a bomb, it’s a Le Male Le Parfum with steroids’, and nothing could be further from the truth, because after half an hour it fades to become a skin scent and turns into an intimate fragrance. I felt its longevity was more than 7 hours but very close to the skin, a pity, because at first it seems like it’s going to be a bomb and nothing like that. I don’t recommend it, mainly because it becomes very intimate and because it’s not an exact clone as one expects, or at least that it resembles it at 85-90%. The good thing is that it’s very cheap abroad, around $22 in Argentina back in June 2022 for 40,000 pesos. The first disappointment I had with Maison Alhambra. One good thing to highlight is its packaging which copies the classic JPG tin very well. The bottle doesn’t look like it but it’s good.