Deauville pour Homme
Michel Germain (1999)

Deauville Pour Homme (1999) came at the end of a decade full of soft, inoffensive, and apologetic masculines based around edgy aquatic aromachemicals like dihydromyrcenol and calone; or pillowy gourmands with lavender, apple, musk, and some limited tobacco-based fragrances. Like with other scents made right at the end of this very beige, reactionary period to the erstwhile loud, mossy, animalic, and virile 80's output, Deauville Pour Homme tries to branch out into something more unique while still being conservative and controlled. Increasingly sharp and ozonic citrus scents or sweeter gourmands ended up being the juice of choice for a millennial generation of young men looking to rebel against the bland, but other ideas were revisited, like the green revivals of Gucci, Jacomo, Calvin Klein, and Salvatore Ferragamo; the semi-orientals by designers like Boucheron, Lalique, and Chanel also gave an alternative to the ozonic that wasn't directly a throwback. The smell of Deauville Pour Homme by Michel Germain is not as far off from his previous "Séxual" line as it's prim and proper name suggests, and is also a fougère/oriental hybrid like Séxual Pour Homme (1997), just minus the cheesy tone-deaf imagery. Deauville Pour Homme Shares a trait with other early Michel Germain scents, in that it was composed by Michel himself, and the Québécois perfumer was arguably niche at the time since he focused primarily on perfumes and only recently moved to be more of a designer with apparel and designer-like appointments of other perfumers to new Michael Germain-named creations. That being said, Michel Germain is not of typical niche quality, and one should expect a good deal of synthetics and moderate performance at most from Deauville Pour Homme. I wouldn't pay a ton of money for this, and it also shouldn't be hard to find. A few flankers of this would manifest later on, but are seemingly online exclusives sold at full retail from Michel Germain himself, so you'll have to fly blind and really bite the bullet to try them unlike this discount gem which can be had at any overstock reseller like Marshalls, Ross, and the like.

This scent opens with a soft and rounded lavender and sage push, with sweet clementine and a bit of bergamot to convey the familiar barbershop tandem along. The onset of Deauville sets the stage for what is a powdery semi-oriental affair with a soapy iris twist that seemingly presages the arrival of Dior Homme (2005) by a few years just as Lalique pour Homme (1997) did two years before it, particularly with its clementine usage and soapy sharp iris ionone that feels more like a prototype Prada masculine. Thyme, nutmeg, and white peppercorn further ease us into a light dusting of spice and herbs which combines with the round top, kindling a glow similar to Chanel Pour Monsieur Concentrée (1989) or Tiffany for Men (1989) but injected with a noticeable effeminate iris and without the petitgrain of the former or sandalwood of the latter. Obviously this is lacking one Jacques Polge pedigree (sorry Michel) despite the comparisons, but is nice "enough" to pass. By the dry down, we begin to see that we aren't dealing with the average semi-oriental, as Deauville doesn't have a creamy woods and vanilla base like so many of this ilk, but rather a bit more astringent and dry tobacco amber base with a dab of oakmoss. Deauville Pour Homme ends in a "semi-oriental lite" bed of pleasant powdery clean, feeling like it was made for a mature man with a penchant for dandy gender-bending that wanted to keep a finger on the pulse of what was new, without explicitly smelling like it a la David Bowie. The presence of iso E super and a laundry musk in the base is a deal breaker to some, and there's no escaping that Deauville Pour homme is a scent of entry-level-designer quality from the end of the 90's, but the cool fact this predates the normalization of iris in men's fragrances makes it a hidden gem in my opinion. I don't get a ton of tobacco myself next to the amber and oakmoss base, but if you really sit with this on the nose for a while, you can definitely tell it's in there. Best use is in office settings, as per the norm with more modern masculine iris explorations, and this could be a year-rounder.

Blending is admittedly not great here either, but I'm not going to knock a cheapie for being cheap when it's executed with this much aplomb. Michel Germain seemed like he wanted to make something classier, a bit more natural, and more work-safe after the heady male and female iterations of the gaudy "Séxual" line for which he is arguably more known. Deauville I'm was guessing was the answer, and despite his Canadian roots, Michel took direct aim at the famous city in the Normandy region of France instead of more local inspiration; the city of Deauville is often cited as inspiration for French perfumers and designers anyway. Deauville Pour Homme fits in the same class of "late 90's ambiguity" as Chanel Allure Homme (1999) and Salvatore Ferragamo Pour Homme (1999), both ironically also Jacques Polge scents like the aforementioned Pour Monsieur and Tiffany for Men which Deauville Pour Homme emulates in pale shadows, although Germain may be the low-key pioneer in his usage of iris in this context, possibly inspiring Jacques son Olivier in his work for Hedi Slimane with Dior Homme. Whether or not you want to call this just another product of 90's fragrance malais that didn't really have a place, Deauville Pour Homme is surprisingly wearable in spite of it. Many designers stayed the cookie cutter course, but when scents like Deauville Pour Homme from the little-known Michel Germain came along to challenge the norm, it was something worth gravitating towards that didn't carry a niche price tag. I don't think Deauville Pour Homme seems very challenging today beyond the iris (like most of its ilk), but wearing it is like wearing a mature-looking, comfortable cardigan sweater you picked up for cheap from the same discounter you'd likely find this perfume. Sadly, Germain doesn't advertise this, and how much it turns up in discounters may be a sign of discontinuation, so be aware if prices someday spike if they haven't already. Bonus cool points for the sharp bottle, which is unintentionally louder and more exciting than the scent it contains. Thumbs up

I like it and it is somewhat unique. Although I haven't smelled Tiffany for Men in a long time, I think this might be what I remember it smelling like. Does anyone else agree (or disagree). I like it for both formal and casual occasions. Hope they keep making this for a while.

Not too bad. Reminds me a lot of Chanel pour Homme Concentree, with a sweet, musky mix that lasts a long time. The white pepper really dominates on this one.

Worth a try!

Very well made, high quality ingredients... powdery lavender and soft tobacco mixture is amazing. Soft but tenacious longevity and sillage. A keeper in my stable for sure.

Sharp and Nasty. The dry down wasn't quite as offensive, however I am puzzled why these notes that I usually enjoy turned out so yuk in this one...?

A light, transparent spicy tobacco scent that is very refined. I agree that it's similar to Arpege Pour Homme, albeit a much lighter take on that, and I think it's the iris that makes them similar.

This really is lovely, and very complex, changing all the time during the day. I get herbal, peppery, powdery, anisic notes all in this, drying down to a great spicy tobacco scent. The tobacco is noticeable throughout its development, but becomes dominant in the drydown, though not heavy.

Not the most unique scent in the world, but smooth and sophisticated, and much better than its low price would suggest.

MY RATING: 8.5/10

Great for the first minute, then very powdery. Baby powder. Not too bad if you mix it with something a bit spicier.

First there's a soon-to-become-powdery lavender opening that I find enticing even though I usually don't care for either lavender or powder. The opening holds for a good long time before it moves into a soft spicy / herbal center level that is more texturally spicy than individually-identifiably spicy. The heart level is enjoyable and comfortable if not dramatic, and it doesn't last very long. It soon moves into a soft tobacco and amber drydown – well done and elegant. I suppose the orris and oakmoss were the chief contributors to the slight powdery condition of the opening. All the accords of Deauville are beautifully full and proportioned even though they are soft and discreet.

Excellent scent… Scents perform so differently for different people: I am unsure about the Arpege Pour Homme or Bulgari Man comparisons because I dislike both of those, but I totally enjoy Deauville Pour Homme.

All the reviews so far are very on-point is describing this scent. I say Swanky's review is 110%. I got the Arpege link as well. I wasn't going to review this but I just tried the new Bulgari Man and it is a rip off of this, though the Bulgari is A LOT smoother. The Bulgari got a neutral rating, so does this. The combo might work well in cool to cold weather maybe, but in hot weather it was simply too much. It also is not lovable for me, just 'OK'.

This one is a great value. I, too, found a large bottle at T.J. Maxx for $9.99, after smelling in Bloomingdale's in San Francisco a few years back. It smells good immediately, powdery at first but slowly morphing into a clean lavender/spice scent. For those who myopically can't handle any scent dating from before their year of birth, this is a fine choice from the new school. Very similar to Lanvin's Arpege Pour Homme in my book, so one wouldn't need both. The longevity is fine as well, although it does wear fairly close to the skin. I also like the name: it reminds me of Jean-Pierre Melville's great film "Bob le flambeur."

Whoa, what a sleeper this one is! This was sold at Bloomingdale's for awhile beginning in 1999. Every time I passed their fragrance counter, I never once sampled this hidden beauty. Then, this past Christmas of 2009, I saw bottles and bottles of it for sale at Marshall's -- for just $9.99 a bottle!! Shocked by the price and knowing that I had never sampled it and knowing nothing of what it smelled like, I bought it blind on the spot (I hate doing this). I also was wondering if the reason for my seeing this juice at Marshall's was a result of Bloomies moving it out to make room for something else (I later went by Bloomies and yes, indeed, it had been removed from their cases). In any case, I took it home and opened her up. I was taken aback by its subtlety and smoothness. It oozed class! Its initial understatedness had me at first a bit concerned about whether this baby would go for a long ride or not, but she did not disappoint at all. I was so impressed by the play and wonder of this once overlooked gem that I went back to the same Marshall's and bought FOUR more bottles of this stuff. I kid you not! I parted with one bottle to give to a friend -- he loves it -- and I have the others. I've had nothing but COMPLIMENTS on this wonderful fragrance by others. Makes for a great casual/daytime/office-wear fragrance. I love the art deco-styled bottle, too.

Opens very generic fresh and sweet. Leaves you with a taste of peppery lavender and a slight clean bit of a smooth oakmoss. Mild tobacco and amber dry down. Overall: ok sillage, ok longevity, two factors than make for a ho-hum fragrance but good for the workplace in situations where your fragrance is tertiary.