Back in February, Giorgio Armani released two fragrances: one “old” (Eau Pour Homme) and one “new” — Eau de Nuit Pour Homme*. I wonder if either of these launches generated any real excitement in the perfume-o-sphere? Certainly Eau Pour Homme has its loyal fans, but Eau de Nuit had a quiet launch — for awhile, it was a Neiman Marcus exclusive. Perhaps Armani fragrances are more popular in Europe than in the U.S.?

Eau Pour Homme is a well-made re-issue/reformulation. Contrary to some reports I read online, Eau de Nuit Pour Homme (same bottle design as Eau Pour Homme except the glass is black) isn’t a darker/richer version of Eau Pour Homme; it’s a distinct (if not exactly distinctive) fragrance experience…

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Perfume years are like dog years; time accumulates quickly — the period from birth to old age is brief. I loved my dogs and still think about every one of them, even dogs from my childhood. Being strict with myself when it comes to language, I can’t say I ‘love’ any perfume, past or present; when a perfume passes away (or gets reformulated beyond recognition), I don’t make a big deal about it. Best to think of reformulations as reincarnations; everything changes.

Giorgio Armani Eau Pour Homme is on the verge of turning thirty; truly, that’s got to be at least 60 years old in perfume years (with the changes in taste, and the thousands of perfumes that have come into being since 1984). Eau Pour Homme, being a child of privilege (his father is Giorgio Armani), just got a facelift in his dotage (a newish bottle) and (no matter what Armani PR says) a tweaking of his juice…

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