Parfums MDCI — Round 2

Back we go to the Mad Dogs. This time to review the final two scents in the line. You can see our review of the first three scents here, with some additional information and links to other reviews.  Today we get Parfums MDCI Ambre Topkapi and Parfums MDCI Invasion Barbare

Pierre Bourdon’s scent, renamed by us Rich Banker Boy (Parfums MDCI Ambre Topkapi), is meant to be a men’s scent and has notes of bergamot, grapefruit, pineapple, melon, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg ginger, basil, thyme, lavender, oak moss, vetiver, sandalwood, rosewood, leather, Darjeeling tea, amber, musk, vanilla, jasmine and violet.

Patty: I smell some leather on the open down under all the sparkly citrusy notes, which then dry down into something a little softer. I wish I could smell the tea and leather more in this. It is perfectly wonderful and a great scent and beautifully blended, but like Marina, it’s just not moving me in any profound way, but I’d always be happy to smell this on a guy. Not gonna cross the aisle and put it on myself. will test it on DH and see what he thinks.

March: Those notes up there made me think I was going to get something almost fruity, but Patty’s right — Banker Boy would about cover it. It’s a lovely scent, expensive smelling, but a little too poker-up-the-ass for me. Very traditional cologne. The only part I’ll endorse is it’s got an interesting sweat note on me — like standing behind Banker Boy at the bank with my nose at armpit level, and he’s got one of those sweat rings on his bespoke shirt. Must be the vetiver? No, that’s not a criticism. I like it. If I could smell the tea, my feelings about this would have improved dramatically.

Stephanie Bakouche’s scent Parfums MDCI Invasion Barbare (Borneo Tamed) is also meant for men and has notes of grapefruit, bergamot, violet leaves, white thyme, cardamom, lavender, ginger, cedarwood, vanilla and musk

Patty: I got Borneo’s softer, gentler, less cobwebby side. That means it keeps the discordancy between notes, but does not make you smell like a chocolate covered old librarian. Wait, don’t misunderstand, I LOVE Borneo, but I accept that to love Borneo and wear it is to have people reject sitting next to me. This one has the same weirdness, but is very, very wearable. The drydown makes it even softer, and a lot of the weirdness goes away — I liked the weirdness at the beginning more than the slightly powdery feel it has in the end. I would cross the aisle and wear this definitely.

March: This one!! I want this one!! This one is my keeper. I’m still sulking about my total failure to fall for Rousse, but this takes some of the sting off. On me it’s more or less Annick Goutal Mandragore, crossed with a more manly, sophisticated, classic leather scent — Guerlain Derby, maybe. I am, uh, resolutely ignoring any comparison to Borneo that any other people might have made nearby. You know what I love about this one? Sometimes, when I wear “male” scents, like that nasty Prince Jardinier, or even occasionally L’Instant PH, their masculinity begins to annoy me. They just … start to grate, like listening to your beloved yammer on and on about some total waste of money like groceries when you’re trying to decide how many of the Dior colognes you should buy. Anyway, this somehow manages to hit that perfect gender-neutral sweet spot — a little fruity (but not too), masculine (but not so much), spicy but not obtrusive. The notes say cedarwood, and I believe I get a bit of cedar as Nature intended it, not the hellish note I generally produce. While (surprisingly) I loved the FK2 Rose one we reviewed last week, it’s the sort of thing I’d probably never end up reaching for if I owned it. This is the one that will stick in my mind, leaving me burrowing around for it among the decants when nothing else will do.

By the way, I can’t remember if we ever put anything up about it, but Parfums MDCI has a set of 10 ml samples of each of their five scents, which is a pretty darn generous size. The cost is 45 euros, including shipping.