Narciso Rodriguez for Him
Narciso Rodriguez (2007)

The bottle colour says it all - this is notorious for its "niche wet cement" smell. I get the violet, the lavender, and the musk, but how their concoction smells the way it does is a mystery to me. It veers into powdery territory in the deep dry-down, but not enough to bother me.

Narciso Rodriguez For Him puts me in a reflective mood. It makes me want to wear a raincoat and go for a walk alone in the cold rain. Hats off to the house and the legendary perfumer for releasing something stupefyingly daring by 2007 designer standards.

It projects very well for the first 2 hours, and lasts a good 8. No complaints there.

Masculinity Level: Alain Delon wearing a trenchcoat on a grey day, walking hurriedly in the streets of Paris - a gorgeous city when it's drizzling.

I hate it. It smells like pencil shavings in a makeup pouch. Add in some wet stones and that's what this smells like (hyrax?).

So a strong cedar and some iris are in here as well I think.

Did Narciso force Kurkdjian's hand with this one? As normally he tends to deliver crowd pleasers. This one however is definitely intended to be standoff'ish.

Blind-bought this based on hype right before it was discontinued.

I can see why some say this has a wet concrete note. I would say this has more of a damp, wet, sour violet leaf vibe with some muskiness. Definitely not a fresh forest type of petrichor smell. More of an urban jungle where some violet leaves are fermenting on the sidewalk. Despite the simple note breakdown, there is a bit of depth, but I wouldn't say it is very complex. It doesn't evolve too much. There is a bright, zesty, sweet opening, but then the sourness starts to creep in. The opening is actually really lovely and lasts surprisingly long for a sweet, green, fresh smell.

The drydown is intriguing and off-putting at the same time, which is why I haven't sold this bottle yet. Some might say it is inky or stinky (doesn't delve into encre noire inkiness since that is more dry, but still borrows some element from it). This is not worth a blind buy; you must sample this first. If you love Fahrenheit and Encre Noire, then you will likely enjoy this one. I'm not entirely sure if this is niche quality due to its straightforward progression, but it definitely leans into niche territory. It's sort of contradictory; it has a niche smell but it doesn't feel like niche quality. The performance is great and lasts all day. Since this is discontinued now, I'm not sure a long review is necessary. In short, I'll give it a thumbs up for uniqueness and smell, but it is quite a polarizing scent and I'm not sure I fully enjoy every aspect of it.

If you're looking for a petrichor-y scent, I would go with Neon Graffiti by Jazmin Sarai for an ambroxan take on petrichor, or Viola by Fiele Fragrances for a beautiful blend of vetiver and violet leaf that doesn't turn sour. Viola has a more realistic representation of violet leaf, so go with that one if you want a green fragrance.

I finally got a chance to smell Narciso Rodriguez for Him and thought it would be quite different than what I experienced from my sample. The note pyramid intrigued me but the scent itself I don't find all that compelling. As other reviews note, it's got a certain dark quality to it. I like violet notes, but paired with an earthy patchouli, amber and a dark musk it gives a cold, ozonic feeling. Quite like a cloudy, rainy day. Not great sillage but the scent stayed on my skin for a good 7 hours. I didn't hate it, but not one that I would want to wear at all. Neutral.

I understand that this was quite novel when released, and remains distinctive. I don't find any fantasy accord here, and the listed notes are pretty accurate. The whole Narciso Rodriguez parfums aesthetic is a play on musk, and this one is primarily a sweet musk together with notes of violet leaf, on a base of patchouli (somewhat metallic) and amber. It smells nice, but sits a bit too close to skin, though is reasonably long-lasting. One could even think of it as a modern interpretation of Grey Flannel. Unfortunately it's a bit too sharp/synthetic, which is exaggerated if applied a bit liberally due to said projection issues. It got nearly cloying, at which point I decided to part with it. Nonetheless, definitely worth checking out.


3/5

I guess I seem to be one of those people that don't see this scent as so completely unique as to be some kind of unicorn. That said, I do enjoy the creativity within its simplicity.

I can see why some people would say that this smells like wet concrete, though that's not the description that I would use. To me, it's a musky violet. Combined with the patchouli, that balance creates a dulling, wetting effect that would lead one to imagine that this is the smell of the city streets on a cold, rainy day. The amber and musk create a bit of a buttery warmth to this, making sure it doesn't become so drab that it ceases to become a fragrance and becomes more of an odorous chemical. It's pretty linear, performance is very good, sillage is decent and longevity is strong,

I'm a fan of violet in fragrances, and I think that Kurkdjian did a great job with this. For a scent with only four notes, it doesn't come across as anemic at all. As far as when and where to wear this, I would say at night and during the fall and maybe winter. It does have a dreary vibe to it, so outside of autumnal funerals, I'm not sure when I would decide to apply this one. All in all, a very nice fragrance that I really enjoy, but one that needs a very specific time and place to be worn.

Thumbs up.