Miracle Homme by Lancôme

A gem of the nineties that I got thanks to a forum colleague. It brings back many memories of my youth; I wore it almost daily at my first job in a perfumery. The scent is wonderful; on my skin, my batch lasts over twelve hours. According to Check Fresh it’s from 2022, but since codes repeat every ten years, it could easily be from 2002. Finally, it’s in my collection, and I will enjoy it immensely.

It’s a pity it’s discontinued; it’s very versatile and its scent gives the sensation of transporting you to another place.

Miracle Homme is a woody and slightly spiced fragrance. Its aroma is based on woods; I’d be lying if I said which ones I detect. The only thing I can identify is the pepper, which gives it that spiced and aromatic touch, but generally it’s very pleasant. It’s the kind of fragrance I could wear without any effort. The scent reminds me of a cabin coated with semi-sweet varnish. Its style recalls other early-century fragrances in their handling of spices, perhaps a bit like Xeryus Rouge, but less complex. It seems suitable for autumn and spring. There’s a touch of nostalgia and romance in its aroma; perhaps it brings back memories of the time it was launched. It didn’t achieve the success of its female counterpart, which was a smash hit and remains relevant to this day. If it’s a masterpiece, it has a certain uniqueness, and I believe it could have stayed around longer instead of being discontinued, but Lancôme has never bet much on its men’s fragrances. Its longevity was around eight hours, which is a decent time on skin. I’ll enjoy the last millilitres I have left. If you can find it at a reasonable price, it’s worth having.

In the early 2000s, not all men’s fragrances had a boudoir, rhythm and blues DNA; there was also a small current of woody and spiced lotions that played at updating the semi-sport classics of the nineties by incorporating a bit more maturity. I don’t know if intentionally, but many of these colognes incorporated exotic notes up to that point, nuances of a spiced and earthy sweetness very uncommon, almost edible notes. Maple, bell pepper, cactus, teak, coffee, algae… Miracle Pour Homme (by the way, it’s surprising that both Lancôme and Lauder or Cacharel haven’t released a men’s perfume in decades) was a pretty and well-constructed fragrance; we’re not talking about any masterpiece, but it possessed a truly evocative and dreamy blend that I miss in most current designer launches, which are much flatter not only in the aftertaste but in the magic of a perfume, the one that takes you to imagine moments… Miracle was an autumn walk through the countryside. One eminently melancholic and introspective. There’s nothing of that bold fougère type like Selva Negra, nor a bad Valkyrie riding through the mists. Nor lichens, gutters and Celtic stone walls eaten by moss and dampness. Nor delicate nymphs or wild fauns frolicking in a pond, delicate, rebellious, sensual. The field of Miracle was a mirror that returned the image, almost the archetype, of a man’s solitude. It’s not a fatalistic concept, but nor is it cheerful. And just like that was the image of this pretty cologne. It was paced, with a contemplative slowness. It wasn’t sad. But nor was it happy. Melancholy made into perfume, plus a typically American rather than French finish, much more functional and simple. I won’t detail the notes or currents because I don’t remember the evolution, but I have the tone and dry-down perfectly archived in my head: something with hints of somewhat dry and spiced woods, with certain nuances of crunchy aridity, sweet and earthy, and a few edges of something you want to eat. It could perfectly be the perfume of one of those typical Stephen King protagonists in Maine, quiet, simple men, farmers, fishermen, rural teachers, carpenters, not given to extravagances and with a very marked notion of ideas like justice and good. If I found it at a good price, I wouldn’t hesitate.

For a long time I resisted Miracle and it is not that it is a bad perfume, it is that what is currently asked for it is 100% unjustifiable. Miracle is atypical in its notes but not in its composition, one that shows two faces, and whose opening places us in a coastal and autumnal forest very much in the style of North America’s east. The landscape shows in its exit the most rugged and natural part of this ecosystem; maples surround and envelop the opening of this Lancôme which recalls, without being equal, creations like RSPV by Kenneth Cole, which is extremely beautiful and can be obtained for less than half of what is currently asked for this Miracle, however, not everything is so questionable… Immersed in Miracle, I feel in the middle of a solitary forest, there is nothing there, it is a forest alien to the human, silent and peaceful. Upon waking from the trance of the first spray, I see a cabin in the distance and I head towards it, it is when the boreal part begins to descend as it starts to unveil a beautiful sweetness that recalls the scent of certain yellow flowers but in reality they are the woods that have been fenced by coffee; the rosewood in a creamy tone adds a kind, slightly warm aura; the aura feels vibrant due to the black pepper note. In full dry-down, the fragrance is kind and hard to deny, it brings a lot of confidence around and embraces like a winter bonfire in an intimate way without greater complexity. Miracle is a perfume capable of creating two spaces; one that places us in the distance and another upon drying, this second face is, without a doubt, the cabin in the distance, that welcoming place we want to reach after a long and cold journey in a forest at dusk; its sweet and warm woods create a halo of masculine comfort. For the above, I believe Miracle is a discreet perfume, it suits semi-informal and formal wear well. Its longevity is average with medium to low projection and a duration of 6+, its best use goes in cold seasons. Miracle is worth it if by miracle you find it for under 35 USD in its 75ml version.

Absolutely interesting the list of notes; the perfumer behind the blend is very talented too. It’s a moderate-soft, elegant fragrance that can be used in any season. The coffee mixes well with the forest and a fresh green note in the top combine with wisdom and harmoniously to create a refined, seductive and quality aroma. The only drawback is its timidity in longevity and trail. Slightly boosted, it would be a true wonder. It reminds me more of Midnight in Paris in some phase than Silver Shadow; to be honest.

The opening is one of the most peculiar, as indeed you do not sense fruits or flowers, but there is sweet black pepper accompanied by a note like oakmoss/soft in any case) which usually forms the base in many fragrances but here comes at the beginning, which is slightly disconcerting. Perhaps it feels softly spiced, which is why I anticipate that I see its best use for intermediate seasons. Later, I perceive the note of Brazilian rosewood and soft cedar, not so much coffee, unless it is a slightly toasted impression that was lingering around and which I perhaps confused with the woods. Then follow the woods (I cannot identify the cedar or maple notes well; soft guaiac wood) and vetiver, although in the end it gives the sensation of something musky, light, I am not sure, and the cedar is still felt. A woody, softly spiced fragrance, with moderate to weak sillage, lasting 12 hours, but half of that time felt close to the skin. It is discontinued and I tried it by buying a miniature left there. It is not sold very cheaply on eBay or similar sites, so I could only recommend it for Francis Kurkdjian fanatics.