Can a man wear bal à Versailles

[FlamingShorts]

I love this and want to wear it more often. For some reason I think it suits me. How many people would instantly click that it's a "female" fragrance? Hope Im not embarrassing myself with it. Anyway what "male" fragrance could I say it is if somebody asked?

ps Using EDT.

 

[Sybarite]

Absolutely yes ... many BN'rs wear BaV with pleasure. As do I. I do not think there is anything particularly feminine about this frag .... in fact I actually think the opposite is more true , and it almost seems more masculine to me (but then that could be because of the way it is reacting with my own skin chemistry). ... Also the only version of it that I have is a very old vintage one ... which I might add, is still in absolutely perfect condition. Though even if it were not, it would only add another "off" skanky quality to it, anyway ! ... Ha!

 

[perfaddict]

Anyway what "male" fragrance could I say it is if somebody asked?

Just say "Bal a Versailles" . Seriously.

BaV can be comfortably worn by a man. Sampled it sometime ago and will still get a bottle. I have Miller Harris' L'Air de Rien which has been compared side by side with BaV in another frag blog.

Welcome to BaseNotes, FlamingShorts!

 

[petruccijc]

Most certainly! If you like it, wear it!

 

[Somerville Metro Man]

I love this and want to wear it more often. For some reason I think it suits me. How many people would instantly click that it's a "female" fragrance? Hope Im not embarrassing myself with it. Anyway what "male" fragrance could I say it is if somebody asked?

ps Using EDT.

Honestly it is the first sentence of your post that is the most important factor about whether you can wear Bal a Versailles. If you love it and want to wear it you should. If you carry it off nobody is going to think anything other than "there is a guy who smells good".
And if someone asks you what you're wearing just tell them. Trust me 98% of the people will have never heard of it before. The other 2% are us and its likely you're talking to another perfumista or colognoisseur.
As to whether I wear wear Bal a Versailles, yes I do and I like it.

 

[surreality]

No, it will cause you to grow breasts and lactate.

Of course a man can wear it; if you like it wear it.

 

[Kevin Guyer]

I love Bal a Versailles. I have the EdC which is supposedly close to the original formula. It really does the dirty leather thing well.

 

[mikeperez23]

I love Bal a Versailles. I have the EdC which is supposedly close to the original formula. It really does the dirty leather thing well.

Ooh, I didn't know there was an EdC. Tip!

 

[Kevin Guyer]

Ooh, I didn't know there was an EdC. Tip!

Yes, and you can almost always find it very cheaply online. Heaven knows why it's considered an EdC.

 

[scentimus]

I love Bal a Versailles. I have the EdC which is supposedly close to the original formula. It really does the dirty leather thing well.

My local Marshall's was loaded at one time with this stuff. Personally I found it to be very gross and all I could think of was a very old lady wearing this who clothes smelled like mothballs.

 

[bbBD]

It's great! And if you can find the vintage, it's even better!

 

[kumquat]

I'm starting to think it should be worn mainly by men. It doesn't work for me.

 

[Kevin Guyer]

My local Marshall's was loaded at one time with this stuff. Personally I found it to be very gross and all I could think of was a very old lady wearing this who clothes smelled like mothballs.

Yes, but when a man wears it...........

 

[Hillaire]

Okay, I totally have to encourage you to wear Paco Rabanne La Nuit, if you like Bal....
Seriously, it's very much the same but more hardcore (leathery and dungy), and more "manly" if that matters...

 

[anak]

A MAN can wear anything. Its the people who have doubts about being a man that have to worry about what they wear.

- Ali

SOTD - Opium Pour Femme

 

[FlamingShorts]

Thanks team, I feel better about this one now. I find baV is comforting and says "cuddle me, I could be your favourite teddy-bear"

 

[mikeperez23]

I finally found some vintage EdC today and bought it for a great price.

The EdC has, as a few other threads suggest, a similar leather feel to Knize Ten and (dare-I-say) Tabac Blond.

I think the comparisons to L' Air de Rein by Miller Harris are credible, although this one hints at a much more orientalized feel

 

[Bigsly]

Most of the time, the issue is with the top notes, so the main consideration may be when to spray it on or how to get the top notes to dissipate more quickly (such as by blowing the area dry, as I do).

 

[mikeperez23]

Most of the time, the issue is with the top notes, so the main consideration may be when to spray it on or how to get the top notes to dissipate more quickly (such as by blowing the area dry, as I do).

Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's the fact that I am smelling the Eau de Cologne, but IMO the top notes are very easy on my nose.

 

[Bigsly]

I was speaking generally, not on this frag in particular. I tried it a very long time ago, and it impressed me as too "feminine," but I don't I paid much attention to the drydown, so I wouldn't be surprised if I had a different opinion these days.

 

[DustB]

You guys are hurting me, making BaV hard to resist. I have an old bottle of edt that's part of the next girlfriend collection. So I don't want to break it out until then.

 

[sirsmellzalot]

I'll probably get ridiculed for even saying this, but I've heard Bal a Versailles was one of Michael Jackson's favorite frags. That he had some kind of ridiculous stockpile of the stuff and that he would get anxious when he didn't have a sufficient quantity on hand. I know, I know...laugh it up. I did hear that, though, and somewhat recently.

 

[Swanky]

Yes you can. Somerville is right, no one will know what it is. I can't see a woman wearing it, to be honest. I've also worn Jean Nate and Arpege, both of which are marketed to women, but work fine on men.

 

[Kingpharroh]

La Nuit by Paco Rabanne is similar to Bal a Versasilles vintage edp?

 

[graffham]

No. Versailles pour homme is the one to try and, yes, I know it's difficult to find. But there's a reason why we have 'pour femme' and 'pour homme'. The 'sensibilities' and notes to do matter with regards to the intended sex. Why any male would wear Coco or L'huere blue is beyond me.

When you are wearing something as marvelous as Opium homme eau de parfum, you just have to wonder why one would choose the woman's version.

- - - Updated - - -

I'll probably get ridiculed for even saying this, but I've heard Bal a Versailles was one of Michael Jackson's favorite frags. That he had some kind of ridiculous stockpile of the stuff and that he would get anxious when he didn't have a sufficient quantity on hand. I know, I know...laugh it up. I did hear that, though, and somewhat recently.

If Michael Jackson wore the woman's version that's good enough reason to stay away from it! Look what happened to him.

 

[hednic]

No. Versailles pour homme is the one to try and, yes, I know it's difficult to find.

Agree. Versailles Pour Homme is great and glad I own it.

 

[Ken_Russell]

Never tried this in person, but there seems to be quite a genuine consensus among the fragrance fans I asked about this scent being worn by a man, the prevailing answer being yes.

 

[southerngardens]

I agree with the majority on this and that is to wear what you like. I most strongly advise you to go beyond BDV and venture as far into feminines as you dare. Scents carry no insecurity of gender and after I learned that and to be myself it opened up the entire fragrance world to me. I have never looked back and now I have masculine and feminine frags in my collection I love and love to wear ,yes, out in public! Be YOURSELF!!!

 

[david]

Yes. Wear it ~ and if anyone asks you what you are wearing, reply "Bal a Versailles".
It would be misleading to say anything else. I have often asked people what they are wearing, because I have loved the smell ~ and I have been really grateful when they have given me a truthful answer.
Perhap's go easy on the dosage.....it's stroong stuff !

 

[döfä91]

Here's a Homme version of Versailles: Versailles pour Homme - It's for men.

 

[stevolution]

I currently have the Parfum de Toilette and EdT. The Edt is kinda ho-hum to me. The Pdt is much better (richer and darker) but the parfum is my favorite. I went through a tiny bottle of the parfum in no time. It's has a vague kinship to Kouros, but much more wearable.

 

[sjg3839]

If you feel confident.....Sure!

 

[drseid]

Absolutely; and the vintage Parfum in particular is truly great stuff. I recently got a chance to try the "good stuff" thanks to Rubegon's great generosity and find myself quite captivated.

 

[MonkeyBars]

I'm just getting into fems and this one intrigues me. I love animalic accords. How aldehydic do you guys find it? Powdery?

 

[rubegon]

Absolutely; and the vintage Parfum in particular is truly great stuff. I recently got a chance to try the "good stuff" thanks to Rubegon's great generosity and find myself quite captivated.

Cool - I'm glad you liked it! Sorry it was such a miserly sample - I don't have very much of the parfum.

I'm just getting into fems and this one intrigues me. I love animalic accords. How aldehydic do you guys find it? Powdery?

Not aldehydic at all, I think. Huge animalic oriental. I don't find it powdery at all, but that can mean different things to different people. I've heard people describe things as powdery that I just don't get at all.

 

[MonkeyBars]

Not aldehydic at all, I think. Huge animalic oriental. I don't find it powdery at all, but that can mean different things to different people. I've heard people describe things as powdery that I just don't get at all.

Powdery for me is benzoin usually. It all depends on just how sweet that oriental base is.

 

[L'homme vert]

Male 60+ years
I've been wearing Bal a Versailles for the last 40 years in parfum, parfum de toilette, eau de cologne, eau de toilette and the huile de bain concentree, to be honest I really could careless about it being either a femme or masculine frag, I just "ADORE" it and will continue to wear it until I drop, I have stockpiled enough to fill a bedside cabinet & still searching and hoarding for that inevitable rainy day 'lol', my favorite of all concentrations is the parfum de toilette from the late 1980's to the mid 90's, it's so very rich, powdery and loaded with civet, next in line is the pure parfum, 'Bal a Versailles' is one of the most beautiful fragrances ever created "IMO" the earlier extrait contained grey amber as well as the musk's, castoreum and civet, I have a 2 fl.oz flacon that I guard zealously! & I wear 'Bal a Versailles' loudly & proudly!!!!!