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Post by Claire Vukcevic
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Hello APJ peeps!
My husband came to me the other day and told me that he’d seen Burberry Touch for Men for €20 at a local pharmacy and was thinking of getting it. I held my hand up in the universal sign language of “Lemme Stop You There”, remembering the last time he bought perfume on his own (Dior Sauvage, oh the horror, the HORROR), and glumly handed him over a big bottle of Egoiste. “You wear men’s perfumes?” he asked me, confused.
Egoiste by Chanel 1990
Egoiste by Jacques Pole + François Demachy
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, Mahogany, Mandarin, Rosewood
Heart: Carnation, Rose, Cinnamon
Base: Amber, Leather, Sandalwood, Tobacco, Vanilla
Yes, husband. Yes, I do. When perfumes are as good as Egoiste, women will purloin them and claim them as their own. He doesn’t even know about my Dior Homme Intense habit yet.
Anyway, the great thing about my act of supreme generosity is that Egoiste now lives in our downstairs loo, where it gets splashed on with gay abandon onto the husband, me (whenever I go in there), and my two children upon whom I use it as a body spray. The very act of bringing it out into the light has meant that we are all currently luxuriating in the fabulousity of Egoiste.
Egoiste opens with a tight little nubbin of spice, its mandarin orange oil, cinnamon, rose, and lemon notes swirling together to form an effervescent coca-cola accord that never fails to lift the spirits. Sometimes the rose becomes very big, sometimes I barely notice it, as I think it knits itself into the smooth rosewood and tobacco very cleverly.
The new version is definitely weaker and thinner than how I remember it smelling in the late 1990’s, when I recall it being a big hit with several boyfriends. To my nose, the tobacco has been amped up, and it is the crumbling, dusty sort that can smell a little like earth and dried leaves – similar to the tobacco note in Journey Man.
Thank God, though, that the sandalwood in the drydown is still the rich, sweet, spicy gingerbread sandalwood that I love so much in Bois des Iles and Mona di Orio Vanille. Before I moved from Montenegro to Ireland last summer, I sent all my perfumes on ahead of me (strapped to donkeys, over the Alps), and I found I missed my sandalwoods the most. My Egoiste is therefore a bottle I bought in Montenegro a week before I left, procured solely to give me comfort during that tumultuous time of my life, and I clung to it despite the sweltering 40 degree heat. Of course, reunited with my perfumes back in Ireland, I kind of forgot about Egoiste. Until now.
Longevity is ok – about 4 hours and definitely not as strong or as rich as the older versions. It’s perfect for men AND WOMEN who love big, spicy woods perfumes with a coca cola twang and a creamy drydown. For me, it’s pure cold weather comfort in a bottle.
Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like and Bois de Jasmin
CHANEL counters everywhere have Egoiste, go grab a free spritz
What about you guys? Do you wear and love any perfumes from the other side of the gender aisle?
Slán!
Claire
Claire also writes for Take One Thing Off
Australian Perfume Junkies 
Hi Clare. Actually I don’t have anything specifically intended for blokes. My husband wear OJ Woman though, so at least one of us is flexible. Hahahaha.
Those must have been your donkeys we saw walk by …… xxx
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Hi Val!
Oh wow, I bet your hubs totally rocks OJ Woman! I used to think that it smelled like medicated spot cream from La Roche Posay, but recently I think that the Iso E Super did a number on my nose, blocking off large parts of the scent to my nose. Now, strangely enough, I can smell every part of it, even the medicinal, ice-picky part, and I actually find it pretty compelling! I might actually buy it, who knows. Do you wear it yourself?
Kisses, Claire
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Hey Claire, Egoiste never really grabbed me but I loved the ad we had here with all the women opening their windows and yelling. It was fun.
What is interesting to me is the way you write. It’s beautiful and feels so effortless, though I’m absolutely sure it’s effort full. It’s like floating.
Portia xx
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Ah Portia, that’s such a lovely thing to say. You know the way it is yourself – sometimes the review just writes itself and sometimes you can labor over it for days and it still doesn’t sound right. I find it easier to write when there’s a personal angle – if I’m just describing the notes or trying to be very accurate in my review (like in my Ombre Leather 16 review), I bore myself silly and probably also anyone who reads it 🙂
I never saw those Egoiste ads, must take a look! The smell of Egoiste seared itself into my memory when I was 19 and dating (briefly) a Macedonian gynecologist in training. He used to drench himself and his clothes in it, and he also smoked unfiltered cigarettes, so there’s a flashback or two whenever I put it on!
xxx Claire
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HA! Yes, I do know Claire. The muse clearly struck here.
PHWOAR! Your Macedonian sound like a scent-sation. Was he a handsome bugger or was the scent a mask? Strangely I love to kiss smokers because to me they taste so good. I know: weird.
Portia xx
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Not weird at all, Portia! I am a former (heavy) smoker myself but I still love the smell of smoke on a person’s mouth and clothes. Weirdly, I used to hate ashy perfumes like Jasmin et Cigarette and Tea for Two because it reminded me of the smell of cigarettes that lingered on my winter clothes from the previous season when we still smoked. But I love ashiness in perfumes now – Myths Woman is also nicely ashy.
The Macedonian was very sexy in a round, fleshy way – his lips were thick and almost protruding, and he looked like he would sweat pure butter if you pressed him too hard. The way he danced, oh boy, oh boy…all Macedonians can really dance but this guy was something special. There is something sexy about a man who can dance like he ain’t got no bones 🙂
xxx Claire
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Oh yes. If they can dance they can……
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I’ve just recently discovered Égoïste and also love it! I also love Bois des Iles but the aldehydes sometimes grate on me so this has been a good perfume when I need a warm, spicy sandalwood fix. I’ve also recently discovered L’Instant de Guerlain pour Homme EDP. Love that one, too, and find it very unisex. The blending of soft aromatic and citrus notes with creamy cocao is really compelling to me. It’s been getting a lot of wear since it came into my life. Thanks for spreading the Egoiste love!
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Hi Elisa! How are you! Yes, I know what you mean about Bois des Isles alright. It’s very delicate, whereas Egoiste is sturdy and won’t wilt under pressure. It was a combination of Bois des Isles and Mona di Orio Vanille I was missing when I bought my bottle of Egoiste actually. I had sprayed a strip with it, forgot it in my bag, and when I opened the bag, my nose was met with this incredibly beautiful (and to me, moving) wave of thick, spicy sandalwood. I wondered for a while if I had spilled some BdI or Vanille in there before sending them off on the donkeys, but I finally figured out what it was. Bought a bottle that afternoon. For warm, spicy sandalwood, I am also kind of obsessed with Santal de Mysore by Lutens – have you tried it? It’s incredible.
I love LIDGE! It’s pretty difficult to find in Ireland, though. I enjoy patchouli-cocoa blends so much, and am recently crushing on Mazzolari Lei and Borneo 1834 for my fix of the bittersweet stuff.
xx Claire
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That’s too bad about the LIDGE scarcity in Ireland. I love Borneo 1834 and will look for the Mazzolari. I don’t think I’ve tried the SL Santal dM. I have to admit I don’t love the sandalwood in Santal Majescule which smells like dusty, charred wood to me. Is it different in SdM? I think I’m most particular about the woods category. They’re always too something or other. The closer they smell to their natural inspiration, the better for me. Even sweaty cedar. I have a small bottle of sandalwood EO from the Indian grocery which is my sandalwood reference point.
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Elisa, I think the sandalwood in Santal Majuscule is quite different to Santal de Mysore – the dustiness, the scratchiness of SM (coffee? resin?) is not there in SdM, which smells to me pretty darned close to Mysore sandalwood oil, of which I only have a small sample. It has the same simultaneously syrupy-buttery but also dry, toasted feel of the real thing. It also smells quite like a good, red butter curry for a while with something green and frondy in the mix. It’s over the top and tremendously spicy, but I was surprised at just how close it is to the smell of Mysore, which has a good few weird elements in there alongside the creamy woodiness. Better still, it dries down to a sweet, caramelized sandalwood incense smell that I find very satisfying.
I hear you on the woody pickiness. I have a hard time with cedar, which reads to my nose as (as you said) sweaty, but also a bit bitter, musky, forbidding, male, and oddly watery. I am pretty sure it’s what’s ruining Santal Noble for me. The worst thing in my opinion is when they use loads of Iso E Super in the place of cedar.
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I have never tried Egoiste but it sounds wonderful! I’ll be ordering a sample soon. Thanks for a great story and best of luck with your new life in Ireland!
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Thanks Rickyrebarco! I appreciate that. Coming back to Ireland after 17 years away was a bit of a culture shock, but I am really loving it now. You can’t beat Irish butter, as my hips will tell you 🙂
Cheers, Claire
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you have awesome taste in perfumes, I mean I LOVEEE egoiste and dior homme intense. But in your husband’s defense, Burberry Touch is actually good. I don’t know how it is now but I got a little older bottle and it is surprisingly good. I think even you may like it. It is powdery and inches quite close to being a unisex.
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Thanks, Fazal! Well, I really have no doubt that you are spot on about Burberry Touch, but I have to tell you about my husband’s unfortunate habit of application. He uses perfume like spray deodorant and empties about 10% of the bottle every time he uses it. The noxious, bitter cloud of that Sauvage every morning, I can’t tell you how much nose trauma that caused. I wasn’t about to risk it happening again, but I am glad to hear that at least Burberry Touch wouldn’t have been too bad applied in this manner. Next time maybe! My husband really loves oud oil, though. But even he can’t spray that on as deodorant. I am, however, thinking of getting him some of that Zukoh incense powder to use instead.
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“He uses perfume like spray deodorant and empties about 10% of the bottle every time he uses it” lolzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. that is how my dad would wear givenchy gentleman in 90s before going to office. I fell in love with givenchy gentleman but my sister hated the perfume with a passion!
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Hi Claire (great name btw),
Love reading your reviews and posts and yes, I wear a lot of “masculines”, believing as most of us do, that gendered fragrances are purely a marketing bias that dictates women should like sweets and flowers and men should prefer woody, leathery, herby things.
Excluding the “unisex” category, I wear Must de Cartier pour Homme, Carthusia Numero Uno, Balenciaga pour Homme and Ho Hang Club, Rive Gauche pour Homme (in the can), D & G pour Homme, Burberry Beat for Men, Amouage Honour Man and Gold Man, Arden Men Sandalwood, Aramis, Aramis Devin, Guerlain Heritage, Hermes Equipage, Puig’s Quorum, Carven Le Vetiver, Encre Noire ans so on. Husband has nicked the Fahrenheit and Antaeus and as he’s a chronic over-sprayer (you can TASTE the fragrance when he enters the room) I can’t go back to them!
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