Geranium Pour Moi

Pssst!  Posse!

I haz a secret.

I. Like. Men.

:: crickets ::

sigh.  y’all already knew?  oh.  okay.

(LOL! it’s a good thing March is off to Away – this revelation would leave her… unmoved).

Here’s the thing:  I like how men look, taste, feel – but I particularly like how men smell (men whom I think smell good, at any rate.  Or men I like.  Oh, nebber mind – just roll with this, okay?).  There is a definite difference in how men smell v. women, even when wearing the same scent.  I remember the first time I smelled Geranium Pour Monsieur – I spritzed it on and nearly swooned at its minty beauty.  Then Rex, the Malle SA, spritzed it on his uber-manly self and I nearly climbed up his… okay… ANYHOO!  it was a different scent on him, the mint mixing with the Y-chrome, amping up the clove just enough to smell like … a freshly ironed shirt on a hot Summer’s day?  I can’t quite figure out how it works on men.  I’ve smelled it on several men (including M. Malle himself) and it’s always the same, that alluring man-smell (and, no.  I did not feel the urge to climb M. Malle.  Gitchermindouttathegutter!).  When I wear it the geranium leaf seems a bit more floral whereas when a Y-chrome wears it the herbal-green undernote of the scented geranium leaf struts its stuff in manly fashion (if you can figure this out you’re a better woman than I am).  I’ve spritzed it on several women and it smells largely as it smells on me: gorgeous but not mindblowing.  I’ve spritzed it on several men as well but was careful to make sure they were not men I was already attracted to – there’s no telling what might’ve happened! (I’m currently in a ridiculous state of madness over A Wildly Inappropriate Man – every time I see him (in a public place – we are not dating) I’m nearly blinded by lust.  I thought about seeing if he would let me spritz him with it but I’m afraid I’d end up in the back of a SWAT van).

That damb Dominique Ropion.  Why he do this to meee?  Fragrantica lists notes as thus:  Top notes are Mint, Geranium and Star Anise; middle notes are Clove and Cinnamon; base notes are Musk, Sandalwood, Incense, Styrax and Benzoin.  I’m wearing the body lotion and perfume as I write this and, sweatergawd, I can barely think for imagining this on the Wildly Inappropriate Man.  Is it the geranium? Is it the mint? Probably both, bound by the clove & cinnamon to keep it from flying off into the ether.   I think it’s the amazing skill of M. Ropion, that makes it almost impossible to decipher.  I mean, anybody can combine mint & geranium (I haz done it, myself) but it takes a particular genius to blend them so seamlessly, that all I can smell is the perfection of the pairing.  That geranium top note stays throughout the wearing (I’m on Hour 10 and it’s still lingering) – it stays but never overstays, if that makes sense?

I absolutely adore this scent.  Perfect for a Hot Spring Day, with the green just greening the hell all over the place – but a cool, grey-green.  Sitting outside, under the umbrellas, with this scent wafting……bliss.

Years ago Neil Morris and I talked about the alchemy of a Y-chrome wearing a femme perfume – this was quite awhile ago (I didn’t hate EL O quite that much yet, that’s how long ago it was).  He suggested I spritz one of the more femme-y perfumes on El O, next time we were going somewhere social, and see how women responded.  Now, El O is good looking enough, uber-Guy in that hefty biker-lumberjack kinda way but he really isn’t a guy women flock to.  However, I remember spritzing him lightly with Carnal Flower on our way to a Chamber of Commerce dinner.  Honeydoodles…!!  These extremely conservative women kept circling him like … well, the weirdest part was 99% of those women had probably never spoken more than 3 words to him the entire time we lived here!  It was fascinating.

Why am I yarking on about that now?  Well… I think Geranium Pour Monsieur achieves that same alchemy in a less obvious way – unlike Carnal Flower GPM is a  scent that subverts the notion of femme because it works so well on women but twisting it into this outrageously sensual/sexual scent when worn by a man (at least it does that for me – ymmv).  This is a scent that makes you delight in a fully-clothed man…because you (okay, me/I) have every intention of taking every last stitch of that clothing off. And even if you never do, this perfume causes you (okay, me/I) to always have that thought in the back of your mind.

I cannot think of another ‘masculine’ scent that does it for me quite. like. this.  And yeah, I’m insane.  But I know what I know – and I know that Geranium Pour Monsieur is a very, very seductive scent – lovely on a woman but stupefyingly sensual on a man.

Hmmm….  if I do spritz this on the Wildly Inappropriate Man and I do end up in the back of a SWAT van, will y’all set up a fund to bail me out?  I’ll be in the slammer, reeking of Geranium Pour Monsieur.

 

  • March says:

    I’m over here fanning myself. Lawd. I will 100% have to give this another sniff, I definitely smelled it and thought “pretty!” but it didn’t set me on fire or anything. But I do agree that a lot of scents combined with a nice smell of a man is … nice. We are weird. I hugged a neighbor spontaneously when I found out his dog is very ill — we know each other through our dogs. Anyway I’m consoling this guy and right in the middle of that I’m thinking, hm, he smells really good, just that man-smell. I didn’t do anything gauche though.

    • Musette says:

      LOL! I am HOWLING! because I know persackly what you mean about that – doing something appropriate….and in the middle of it, a totally inappropriate thought!

      xoxox

  • Alityke says:

    I just can’t get past the mintiness. Instant nausea. The smell of geranium & pelargoniums is beautiful & so textural. Hairy, striped leaves & velvet petals. I used to add them to my rose petals & water in the coffee jar ‘perfume’ as a child.
    I used the same jar to experiment making butter, though not at the same time.
    I’ll help with the bail but the trade is more info on the Wildly Inappropriate Man

    • Musette says:

      It’ll all be in the police report.

      But! Just know that it’s nothing illegal or even immoral. Just… probably not the best idea I’ve ever had.

      xoxo

  • cinnamon says:

    Bail … Yes, I’m with you. I’m sure I’ve smelled this but no memory. Sounds like it needs a revisit.

    • Musette says:

      cinnamon –

      If you do try it I urge you to review it! You and I have some Venns…but I’m not sure this is one of them!

      xoxoxo

  • Maya says:

    Count me in on the bail fund, as soon as I stop laughing!

  • Christina says:

    Musette, this blog post was a dream to read! Glad to see you, Portia and others enjoy Geranium Pour Monsieur. Then, I checked Fragrantica reviews, and men were commenting that it was too minty, mentholated (one said it was like Geranium Listerine), or medicinal, but you picked up geranium. What do you guys think? How does it wear on men in your opinion (besides sexily)?

    • Musette says:

      Christina – I pick up the geranium but I also get a noseful of mint! The difference is probably that I actually LOVE the min, which pairs perfectly with the pelargonium. It’s just floral enough to offset that medicinal quality.

      xoxo

  • Kathleen says:

    Why have I not sniffed GPM? It sounds divine in so many ways. You must tell if you spritz it on the Wildly Inappropriate Man! I’ll pitch in for the bail fund!

    • Musette says:

      It’s one of those ‘under the radar’ scents, imo. I only sniffed it out of curiosity, and then I was hooked.

      And darling, I wouldn’t go near that WIM with this scent. Truly, I would not. I can barely manage civilized behavior around him now.

      Thanks for the pitch-in, though. Just. In. Case. I fail to keep my paws to myself…

      xoxoxo

  • Tom says:

    Oh Darlin’ you know if I can bail you out I’d at least bust you out.

    I don’t think I’ve ever smelled this one; I did back in the day get a Miller Harris geranium thing that was the absolute living end on both me and Gaia, the non-blonde. I will have to waddle my a$$ over to Melrose Place and get a sniff on this one.

    There is something about the way some men smell..

    • Musette says:

      Inorite? Sometimes it’s That which tips the scales – he might not be the most handsome thing you’ve ever seen but MAYNE! once you get a whiff of his persona… BOOM!
      I have no idea what tipped the scales on this guy. I mean, in reality he’s Just a Guy. But I have to be verrry careful when I’m around him, lest I embarrass myself with inappropriate behavior 😉

      And thank you! Knowing you’d bust me out means a lot, honeysnakes!

      xoxoxo

  • Tara C says:

    I need to smell this again, I don’t recall being overcome by lust the last time. I think my favorite geranium scent is Aedes Pelargonium, but it’s not a top favorite note for me. Now, spray a handsome guy with Fumerie Turque or Musc Koublai Khan and that would pique my interest right away. 😉

    • Musette says:

      In order to feel the lust, you have to spritz it on someone you’re in lust with (at least that’s how it works for me). Spraying it on yourself (or just sniffing it) is extremely pleasant – but not lust-inducing.

      MKK is not one of my faves, so it would be interesting to see if WIMan could change that… Lordt. I need to stop.

      xoxox

  • Dina C. says:

    You know by now that I love green scents, so I don’t know how I missed out on this gem. My mom used to grow geraniums, and I can still remember their wonderful spicy smell. Adding GPM to my “must sniff” list right now.

    • Musette says:

      Dina C,

      This isn’t quite ‘green’ it’s more ‘associative’ green, which is probably why you haven’t had it on your radar. It’s stunning, though.

      xoxo

  • Pam says:

    I want some of this!

    • Musette says:

      Pam –

      Try it first! It’s definitely an acquired taste, if you’re unsure of the mint. Surrender to Chance (dot come) has it in a sample set of Geranium scents, as well as a standalone.

      xoxoxo

  • Koyel says:

    I’ve never sniffed GPM, but count me in for your bail fund. 🙂

    • Musette says:

      Much obliged, Koyel! You should sniff it, when you can. But sniff it in Spring/Summer – perfect for those temps!

      xoxox

  • Portia says:

    Musette, you are hilarious.
    LOVE GPM, the SA gave me a nearly ended tester because they had no samples. That bottle is never ending. I wear it pretty regularly and it still has juice. Perfect sunshine spritz.
    Portia x

    • Musette says:

      It is funny, that bottle! It will last well into the next millennium, I think. Dunno why or how that works…but I’m happyAF it does!

      xoxoxo