There are plenty of new men’s fragrances to review this spring, but before reviewing Chanel Allure Homme Édition Blanche, I thought it might be interesting to smell and “discuss” the previous Allure offerings for men (both created by Chanel house perfumer Jacques Polge) — Allure Homme and Allure Homme Sport.

Chanel Allure Homme (1998)

Allure Homme contains bergamot, mandarin, citron zest, pepper, vetiver, patchouli, sandalwood, tonka bean and labdanum. The fragrance starts off with an artificial-smelling, alcohol-y and acidic accord; these opening notes are, to my nose, ugly, harsh and sour. Thankfully, Allure Homme’s opening notes begin to subside within 10 minutes’ wear and what comes next is a hazy, well-blended mix of woody, vanillic and earthy notes…

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If you want to know what Chanel’s new No. 5 Eau Première smells like, try this: take a bottle of Chanel No. 5 Eau de Parfum and position it next to a window, preferably overlooking a hedge of roses, where the sun will cast a pinkish light through the bottle. Now cross the room and squint your eyes so that your vision of the bottle of No. 5 blurs. That is Eau Première.

That didn’t work? Try this: picture in your mind the Andy Warhol painting of a No. 5 bottle. Now imagine it repainted by Renoir. This, too, is Eau Première.

Maybe visual comparisons aren’t for you. Then I’ll quote from the “Fashion Rocks” supplement to this September’s Vogue magazine:

A perfume like Chanel No. 5 is a little like the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, an album that did not initially go gold but is considered one of the greatest albums ever made, and has sold a ton over the long run. Similarly, the reformulated Chanel No. 5 Eau Première, launched this fall for a younger market, is akin to a dance-club remix of something written pre-American Idol…

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