As the world warms up, an uncomfortable-looking, badly proportioned and PhotoShopped piece of sun-broiled beefcake (tattooed of course) contorts himself on a sheet of melting ice, using a threatened species’ hide as a cushion; welcome to the world of Le Beau Mâle*, Jean Paul Gaultier’s latest men’s fragrance. I would describe this “world” as ugly, dumb…not sexy. If you have about 20 minutes of your life to spare (waste), watch the annoying, disjointed, and, I assume, unintentionally, funny Le Beau Mâle promotional videos — talk about much ado about nothing! The Francis Kurkdjian interview is especially weird; he compares Le Beau Mâle to the comic book series Largo Winch; Lady Chatterley’s Lover; You Can Leave Your Hat On (the Joe Cocker song from 9½ Weeks); and A Streetcar Named Desire (Marlon Brando version). Succinctly put, my reaction to all this, the print ads, the videos, and the perfume, was: “WTF!”

Le Beau Mâle is billed as a fresher take (a mix of “hot” and “cold” notes) on original Le Mâle…

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