Ungaro pour L'Homme II
Ungaro (1992)

If Ungaro Pour L'Homme ll were a person, I'd picture them as bring reserved, but witty and individually minded. It's self assured but very modest. It's such a strange mix but really fascinating to wear. The combination of citrus, florals, and civet seems rational and sane, but pairing them with a creamy tonka bean strikes me as positively psychotic. The menthol effect of the essential oils effectively capture the experience of a chilling spring breeze at the turn of the season, which is why this reminds me of new beginnings.

Immediately after spraying, you get that very spring-like lemon, bergamot scent. But it's a full-bodied, round scent, which also seems suited to cold weather. The lavender note adds to citrus and it's one flower that takes the over the body of the perfume. It's a big lavender, pastoral, spicy and cool. Ungaro Pour L'Homme II then succumbs to the languidness of an oriental, that too doesn't skip the richness of body and warmth found in an orientals depth. This is the marker of an aromatic fougere. Not exactly a chameleon of the scented spectrum, but instead it takes the good and the noteworthy from all parts of what we can call the continuum scent. It mellows out with the tonka beans, the orris root and a slight jasmine. Finally hefty civet which gives it a very intimate and a very human, almost sexual feel in the background. An sensual post-amatory, lying in bed together scent; could possibly be used as a "couple scent", with the two of them wearing it.

Wow. This is sublime.

L'Homme II is nuanced and sophisticated, far beyond what I would have expected from a 1992 release. It does indeed recall a bit of heritage barbershop sensibilities and also the Guerlainade classics Jicky, Habit Rouge and the like. Here, however, we have some more modern aromachems that I presume were made available during this time period, bringing a whole new dimension to this style.

I agree with the below reviewer that the opening is a custard-like texture, perhaps from the vanilla, benzoin, and civet. It renders the lavender, neroli, and citrus creamy and voluminous. This sensation is evident throughout the progression of the fragrance, with the heart notes seeming to unfurl in their own creamy, pastel hues. The florals do not punch, they caress, anything normally spiced or terpenic is wonderfully muted in an impressionistic manner.

The civet note here does remind me very much of my own dilution of genuine civet, plush, slightly sour, radiant with just a touch of animal filth. I do believe that it does impart that aforementioned texture to the florals as well. Civet, whether natural or synthetically reproduced, does magic to pretty much any perfume note it seems, when done with a judicious hand. Jacques Polge demonstrates his mastery here by allowing the civet to be the modifier rather than the showboater (an unfortunate decision often made in more recent niche fragrances). He understands its function here (as he understood the function of castoreum when composing the legendary Antaeus). L'Homme III also somehow reminds me of the capacious aromatic vibe of the oft-overlooked Jean Patou Ma Liberte. Scent molecules suspended just above the skin, weaving in and out rather than plowing themselves into the nostrils with proclamations of pomp and circumstance. This is what we call balance. It's an art, a discipline.

Ardent renaissance-style fumeheads owe it to themselves to seek this one out. Others may want to wait until they've graduated from blue scents and mainstream woody-amber fare.

For me the greatest, but least celebrated of the holy trinity of Ungaro men's scents from the early '90s created by Demachy and Polge who contribute respectively, as I imagine, modernity and classicism, not to mention years of experience of perfumery, towards creating a throwback fragrance of its time. There is a nod to the houses of Guerlain as the aura of Jicky surrounds Ungaro II and Chanel, for whom Polge created the exquisite Chanel Pour Monsieur Concentree 3 years earlier, but to my untrained nose, it is closest of all to the late 1970s formula of Pierre Cardin Pour Monsieur.

Those who dislike civet, which has all but disappeared from modern fragrances in its truest form, civet absolute, should not fear Ungaro II, which has none of the dominant urinous vibe that many despair of in YSL's Kouros or that is at the forefront of 1960s fragrances like Monsieur Lanvin, surpassed by Lanvin for Men in 1979, but with the civet note retained.

Used in the right amounts and to simultaneously amplify and smoothen complementary accords, civet works to increase a scent's longevity and give it a more rounded feel. This is true of Ungaro II, which opens with a long burst of citruses and spice before the lavender really shines through. The drydown is long, slightly spicy and somewhat powdery, but neither cloying nor dated. All of this is supported and intensified by the civet, which never takes over, nor is unpleasant, a testament to the skilful composition of Ungaro II. My 75ml spray bottle and 30ml EDT splash on are between 25-30 years old and both still smell amazing Longevity is great at 10 or more hours on my skin from 2-3 sprays, as is the scent's projection for most of that time.

To summarise, this is the best of the Ungaro trio for me because it has elements of citrus, barbershop and refined golden age men's scents rolled into one, done exceedingly well. Ungaro I is difficult to wear for me, in short, it is simply too esoteric. Ungaro III (and possibly Azzaro's Acteur) is the finest men's rose scent I know and also the least offensive of the three, which explains why it remains in production today in its reformulated state. Ungaro II is a classically masculine scent and the best the house has ever produced. It is as much of an anachronism today as it was on release 30 years ago, and for me ranks amongst the best fragrances which briefly rallied against the tide of unisex and aquatic scents, which quickly became a deluge in the 1990s. 10/10.

Ungaro pour L'Homme II (1992) is the second of three masculine fragrances created by Wertheimer for Emanuel Ungaro, tapping Chanel house perfumer Jacques Polge and then director of reaseach and development for Wertheimer François Demachy. The first of the three was the aptly-named Ungaro pour L'Homme I (1991), a fragrance that came across like a past-meets-future dandy rose chypre that was both darkly saturnine and contradictingly fresh at the same time. Ungaro pour L'Homme II is the least-celebrated of the three, but also the second most-expensive of the triptych because it was discontinued immediately following Wertheimer's severance with Ungaro, while Ungaro pour L'Homme III (1993) had enough sales to convince Ferragamo Group to re-orchestrate it to the best of their abilities and continue selling it under license like it did Salvatore Ferragamo pour Homme (1999). Ungaro pour L'Homme I contained lavender in a brief appearance as a top note, but Ungaro pour L'Homme II is all about that lavender, presenting itself as a musky turn-of-the-century early fougère exercise similar to Guerlain Mouchoir de Monsieur (1904), but modernized with Demachy's touch in the slightest of ways according to the standards of the 90's. Civet plays a key role in this as does patchouli, which also makes Ungaro pour L'Homme II draw some comparison's to Mouchoir de Monsieur's matriarch, Guerlain Jicky (1889), plus a few key others like Caron Pour Un Homme (1934) prior to re-orchestration under the Fraysse family, or Avon for Men (1949) in cologne configuration. There isn't much to say about Ungaro pour L'Homme II as there is the first one, mostly because the hype isn't there, and it is the most anachronistic of the trio.

The opening is lemon, bergamot, orange, lavender, coriander, neroli, and basil all "skanked up" by that opening touch of civet. The civet in Ungaro pour L'Homme II is not on the fecal levels of potency as it is in classic Jicky or Mouchoir de Monsieur, being more like the modern homage to it like Cartier Déclaration (1998) is to Eau d'Hermès (1951). The civet blends in faster to the composition here than it does in those antique Guerlains, smoothing and warming the lavender, which is then joined by a kitchen sink of florals like jasmine, rose, carnation, and geranium. This ode to Guerlain complexity continues with a touch of soapy orris and sharp black pepper to add that modern "pop" which sets it apart from the dense opacity of the Guerlains. The Chanel/Wertheimer proxy for Guerlinade then comes on, which I guess we could jokingly call "Werthinade" or "Polginade", but it shares some similarities to Chanel pour Monsieur Eau de Toilette Concentrée (1989) and Tiffany for Men (1989), which Polge also developed. Amber, sandalwood, tonka, oakmoss, vanilla, benzoin, cedar, patchouli, you name it, the gang is all here in textbook fashion. Ungaro pour L'Homme II could compete with Aigner Super Fragrance for Men (1978), Creed Bois du Portugal (1987), Nicolaï New-York (1989) or Guerlain's own Héritage (1992) in the semi-oriental dry down department for this reason. Wear time is over 10 hours, with good sillage and projection for half of it, plus wears formally enough for black tie use in cooler months, if you don't mind the throwback musk elements which really make this one challenging in ways Ungaro pour L'Homme I wasn't. I can also see why Ungaro pour L'Homme II doesn't get as much talk, and that's because it's far more conventional despite the larger animalic component, so it doesn't stir up opinions as much.

Exploring Ungaro pour L'Homme II is still an expensive proposition, even if not quite as bad compared to its older brother, and with literally no hype to taint your initial reaction, is easier to get a grasp on with first impressions. I guess sometimes social psychology plays a bigger role in enjoying fragrance than we like to admit, because without the echo chamber of "lost masterpiecers" and "Jesus juicers" building Ungaro pour L'Homme II up to a near-religious experience, and with the relatively greater availability (albeit still fairly extortionate in pricing) of the stuff in the aftermarket, one can just sorta of go on cruise control when approaching it and let the nose-brain do most of the talking. My nose-brain says that Ungaro pour L'Homme II is even less essential to own than Ungaro pour L'Homme I, because while the first one has a few less-rare but still discontinued alternatives, this one has many readily-available options which can replace it, several of which were contemporary releases to it. While it is true that Guerlain Mouchoir de Monsieur as also become something of a rare bird (although historically it always has been), Jicky is still a dime a dozen in the gray market if you need your lavender and civet fix. The dry down of Ungaro pour L'Homme II can also be found in pretty much anything I mentioned above, all of which are still produced save the Aigner. All in all, the middle brother of this trio of artistic revisionist history exercises in men's perfume is the least interesting one, but also the richest and most complex of the lot, inadvertently being a commentary on the eventual state of luxury perfume in years to follow. Thumbs up.

Ungaro II is a bright, hesperidic chypre with a powdery/musky drydown very similar to vintage Chanel Pour Monsieur EDT. Their s some civet in here that you can smell at first whiff, but it is not too pronounced with a conservative application. The civet here reminds me a genuine tincture to some extent. It smells a bit of bad breath and sweaty scalp like the real thing. I would recommend this as on par with Chanel pour Monsieur and it has better longevity.

The top is indeed very reminiscent of Jicky with the lavander,louche civet and vanilla, soon however spices and woods pulls it closer and closer toward oriental territory and away from Jicky's classic (and perhaps seminal) fougere accord and gently but surely toward woody spicy scents such as Chanel PMC, Versace l'Homme, Tiffany PM but where the civet and lavander still stay primarily showcased

Jicky plus wonderfull Cedar and spices makes for a great perfume if not particularly showy initially, it took me a few wears to realize how superlative it actually is.

Incredible

I have 2 backup bottles of the vintage it's that good...

Incredibly smooth, animalic, old-style scent. If you like civet, this one is for you.

Stardate 20170927:

The second of the troika. Great fragrance. Somewhere between Chanel PMC and Jicky.
Dirty powdery floral. Quality stuff.
Has that Polge signature (you see it in Tiffany too). He may have a hand in it since Ungaro was owned by Chanel at the time of Ungaro II launch.

I bought this blind around 2010. Long discontinued, I was expecting something animalic and a “civet above the rest”. I can confirm that U2 is animalic and is a “civet about the rest”. I never understood the Guerlain Jicky connotations because I never smelled Jicky until after I received U2.

The opening is big lavender and light orange/neroli. The citrus notes get subdued by the lavender in a matter of minutes. I'm initially reminded of the lavender in Caron PuH. It's that big and powerful but never overpowering. The civet creeps in like a cat to give U2 its claws. The civet is certainly animalic but it doesn't ever veer too close to the wrong end of the cat, if you know what I mean. The proportion is just right.

With the civet and lavender still creeping around, vanilla comes in to lighten the load a touch. My only complaint is that the base is a bit weak and U2 doesn't last beyond 4 hours. Maybe age has weakened the basenotes so I can give U2 some slack in this area. I would also add that U2 is very unisex and ladies who tire of Jicky may seek out U2 on the vintage market.

7.5/10

Dirty lavender. Ungaro II, Jicky, and Mouchoir de Monsieur are 3 peas in a pod. Good musky drydown you can smell the next morning, somehow remindful a good lavender-prominent was worn the day before. I use the after shave as well.

For reference, I'm 50+.

A 1992 Ambery Oriental that is literally the cat's ass. The use of civet in this particular masculine is about as artistically sexy as you will find anywhere in the designer realm.

The 2nd release of the infamous Ungaro triumvirate, Ungaro II is in stark contrast to Ungaro L'Homme released the year before. Even the colors used for both are completely appropriate.

The opening of Ungaro II is a citric blast with spice. Basil and coriander are integrated with bergamot and constitute an excellent accord. The top of the fragrance is memorable and distinct.

The civet only takes moments to assimilate into the progression. It's very sensual and so well implemented that I cannot help using it as a measuring stick when smelling other creations using the note. The neroli is also very well played and adds a hint of bitter and bite to a borderline sweet texture.

Carnation starts flexing its muscles after 5 minutes or so and begins to ruffle some feathers in an otherwise very smooth accord. The tuning of the floral heart is very commendable and from behind the carnation can be smelled hints of jasmin and pepper. The others add an anonymous "fullness" and they do it well.

In an hour or so, the drydown is realized. I find that Ungaro II has good longevity in its first two accords and enjoy the fact that what I smell the first few minutes lasts a great while on my skin. Once it subsides, a woody amber appears. The civet is still alive and kicking and invites a bit of leather to the party as well.

The extended drydown softens with the addition of vanilla and tonka. This scent is deceiving in the sense that it lasts longer than you think it does. Whether this is attributable to olfactory fatigue or simply morphing into a "close" fragrance after its first hour is an unknown quantity. It really doesn't matter either.

Good is good......and Ungaro II fits that bill perfectly. Big thumbs up from SS for the civet-fest from Ungaro.