Chanel Pour Monsieur 
Chanel (1955)

CHANEL for Men is a bare bones version of Mitsouko that could and should be worn by anyone of any age or gender. If you enjoy citrus chypres this is simply as good as it gets, thanks to its amazing blending of aromatic citrus, herbs, cardamom, and oak moss. Yes, it's somewhat short lived, but beautiful enough to take your breath away, so go ahead and soak your clothing with it.

Delicious, classy, and uplifting. Vintage only.

A warm,sunny,breezy day.just polished off some homemade waffles with a bourbon,maple syrup.coffe in hand, sitting on the back porch reading Jim Harrison.this is an old school, mediterranean style chypre, nothing trendy or modern about this one at all.very sophisticated,very manly,for a perfect man who doesn't need to prove anything.it's easy to imagine the old Bond wearing this one.Pour Monsieur just gets better with time,like a fine wine.the notes have perfect separation and are almost photo-realistic.

A masculine aromatic scent with a huge dose of neroli and petitgrain in the opening which is bitter.a garden full of herbs and green floral smoothness and a kitchen cabinet full of spices basil, coriander,caraway in the middle.after a while it feels more like a barbershop scent,not too dated and not so outrageously soapy as Paco Rabanbe PH for instance.the dry down is a really mossy,which gives it that old-style charm.there is absolutely no need fear you're going to smell like an old man wearing this.

This is a review of the current edt.

Even in its current form, Chanel's flagship masculine fragrance is a cut above other chypres. Some fragrances you need a bit of time to enjoy, but some are love at first sniff. Pour Monsieur is a case of the latter.

Others are assuredly better at describing notes, so I will just say that Pour Monsieur is classy and gentlemanly. It may come across as dated to someone whose only experience with fragrances are the designers offered at Macy's or Sephora.

My 5 ml decant has grown some chest hair over time, obtaining a bit of animalic funk. Otherwise, it is the epitome of a dumb reach, easy-to-wear, feel-good fragrance.

My only complaint is performance. As others have noted, Pour Monsieur is a bit understated. I think that's part of its charm, but if I were willing to pay Chanel prices, I'd want better performance.

It should also be noted that the edt is no longer available in the U.S. market, which is no skin off my back, as I prefer the fuller edp launched in 2014. It does, however, speak to the state of perfumery in the U.S. Just a few years ago I could sample Pour Monsieur edp and Chanel's other “classics” Antaeus and Egoiste at my local Nordstrom. Nowadays, you mention any of these at the Chanel counter and you get a blank stare followed by “we DO have three different concentrations of Bleu de Chanel! Have you tried the Parfum?”

Overall, Pour Monsieur edt gets a thumbs up, but because of performance and cost/availability, does not get a “full bottle worthy” endorsement.