Jean Paul Gaultier
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The grapefruit arrives with pink pepper in tow, briefly suggesting something sharp and invigorating before the sweetness muscles in almost immediately. There's a momentary fizz of citrus peel and peppercorn heat, but it's fleeting—already you can sense the vanilla and lavender waiting impatiently in the wings.
Lavender blooms with an almost candied quality, its herbal edge softened to the point of submission by vanilla that tastes more of frosting than pods. The vetiver tries valiantly to introduce some woody earthiness but finds itself trapped beneath layers of amber and sugar, creating an oddly confectionery take on what should be a traditionally masculine structure.
What remains is predominantly sweet amber and vanilla with synthetic warmth, the original freshness now a distant memory. The projection softens but the sweetness doesn't—it clings to skin with a slightly plasticky persistence that's more comforting blanket than challenging composition.
Le Mâle Terrible takes the original's fougère bones and douses them in synthetic sweetness, creating something that sits uncomfortably between fresh and cloying. The pink pepper and grapefruit opening promises a spiced citrus lift, but it's barely allowed to breathe before the lavender-vanilla axis takes hold, rendering the composition almost confectionery. This isn't the herbal, slightly camphorous lavender of classic barbershop fougères—it's rounded, sweetened, domesticated. The vetiver, which should provide earthy ballast, feels more like a suggestion than a statement, overwhelmed by amber and vanilla that have an oddly plasticky sheen to them. There's a synthetic quality throughout that's hard to ignore, as though you're smelling an interpretation of these materials rather than the materials themselves.
That said, there's an unabashed sweetness here that some will find comforting, particularly those who want their fragrance to smell decidedly 'fragrant' rather than subtle or natural. It's loud in that early 2010s way—all sharp angles and glossy surfaces, like the difference between a wooden table and one with a high-gloss lacquer finish. This is for someone who wants to be smelled from across the room, who isn't precious about naturals versus synthetics, and who finds the idea of smelling like actual lavender fields rather dull. It's a Friday night fragrance for those who appreciate their scents with a heavy hand of sugar.
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3.7/5 (211)