I’ve never been a fan of Fendi; the Fendi sisters and their fur-centered business were turn-offs so I never wore Fendi perfumes, though I appreciated some of them from afar — “original” Fendi (discontinued), Fendi Uomo (discontinued) and Theorema (also discontinued; does Fendi get easily bored with its own perfumes or don’t the fragrances sell?) Fendi recently launched Fan di Fendi Pour Homme, a woody-aromatic fragrance,* and I nabbed a couple sample vials for testing.
Fan di Fendi Pour Homme opens with a strong, syrupy accord of pepper and citrus; the “syrup” is quickly diluted with smooth (non-assertive) cardamom, sweet geranium leaf, and, perhaps, a ‘fresh’ element (a stealth smidgen of ozone? tart “rose hips”?) Fan di Fendi Pour Homme’s opening is my favorite phase of the perfume. During the dry down things turn ordinary and except for a nice tobacco element that appears, and then vanishes (and reminds me of a skinny cousin to Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb), a generic/department store vibe emerges — imagine a busy day at the Nordstrom or Macy’s men’s perfume counter, the air full of “fresh” aromas mixing with the scents of sheer woods, modern patchouli and bushels of tonka beans. Fan di Fendi’s amber-y finish is comprised of tonka bean-leather/tobacco-cedar-patchouli, a composition we’ve all smelled many times in men’s colognes and that, in Fan di Fendi, smells lighter than it sounds.
Fan di Fendi Pour Homme is a “grown-up” fragrance, but with its safe character and cleanliness (no smoky or musky tobacco here…no “sweaty” cedar…no authentic patchouli) it just might appeal to a younger audience. Fan di Fendi Pour Homme is a fine (as in “perfectly acceptable”) men’s perfume…without any bold attempts at originality or even a moment of quirkiness.
Fan di Fendi Pour Homme has very good lasting power and decent sillage; though it’s marketed to men, women could wear it.
Fan di Fendi Pour Homme is available in 50/100 ml Eau de Toilette for $59/75.
*Perfumers Benoît Lapouza and Delphine Lebeau; fragrance notes include bergamot, mandarin, pink pepper, rose hips, basil, cardamom, geranium, atlas cedar, leather, patchouli and tonka bean.
So its a must-try, huh? lol:)
Merlin: ha! Maybe a “sniff if you come upon it”….
Well…if I trip over it in the dark, maybe!
“…but with its safe character and cleanliness … it just might appeal to a younger audience.”
That line describes so many of the new, post-IFRA releases, and the dumbing down of this generation’s tastes in perfume makes me really sad. 🙁
Rappleyea: it’s true…the comfort scent of youth: ozone, candy.
I thought this was a very rich, cedar heavy clone of Gucci Pour Homme II. Personally i think it is one of the best male mainstream releases in quite a while.
Rictor: I wasn’t a fan of Gucci Pour Homme II either…but the light tobacco phase in it smells a little like the tobacco in this one too.
Kevin: re the d/c’d frags. If I remember correctly (always debatable) after LVMH acquired the brand the d/c’d all the existing perfumes. Perhaps they didn’t acquire the formulas along with everything else?
Alyssa: it seems the deletions were spread out…not all at once. I wouldn ‘t bet my life on it though.
Not good enough to seek out, and not bad enough to engender a witty trashing – basically useless to me. OTH, if someone were seeking a safe gift for a young man or seeking a respite from Axe, this is not a bad thing.
Noz:right!
This sounds interesting enough to try. Would you say this is unisex even with the pour homme label?
Hajusuuri: yes
Kevin..not only you are right when you talk about this flat stink…but being roman i can really tell yu how the Fendi really are..boring , horrible and full of fur…and yes…i can tell you for sure their fragrances don’t sell….good for them!
🙂
Oh, now see I loved the original Fendi and wish I had a bottle! And I treasure my bottle of Asja. I haven’t cared for any of the newer releases, but I blame the trends in fragrance and IFRA for that.
It would be hypocritical of me to avoid a house that featured fur in its designs as I slap on my Chanel and Hermes, which feature leather, or enjoy my steaks and cheeseburgers.
Jolie: thankfully, for every awful perfume I’m smelling (and this one is NOT awful) I’m smelling some good ones…for a few weeks at the beginning of the year I was smelling really “cheap” new releases, one after the other, at high prices…and blaming IFRA too.
I like this.
I loved the original Fendi for men back in the day, it was drop-dead sexy when worn in small amounts. The original Fendi per Donna may be a bit dated, but I adore it and have several backup bottles. It is my desert island fragrance for sure.
I tried the ladies Fan di Fendi but it didn’t have enough bite for my taste.