V for Men

House: Clive Christian

Release:

Perfumer:

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes: Elemi, citrus

Heart Notes: Pink pepper, Black pepper, White pepper, Nutmeg, Iris

Base Notes: Amber, Cedarwood, Amber wood, Frankincense, Vetiver, Vanilla, Oud

Review

A pleasant punch of bright citrus and woody, spice black and white pepper, V for Men does not surprise, but pleases throughout a solid dry down. Yes, there is Oud listed, but this does not dominate a dry, spicy, comfortable woodiness that lasts far longer than other scents in the category. This is expensive to be so comfortable, but if you are looking for a long-lasting pepper scent with a dry, but interesting woody backbone, this might be your scent.

In our wear of a 2020 decant, we do get the oud near the top. The elemi is not overly sharp and the citrus remained as unnamed as the notes. The pepper and nutmeg combo jumps out fast, with the intensity lowered a bit by the ionones in the heart. This is perhaps a bit too much nutmeg for our taste compared to the pepper blend, but it is not enough that one would call this a spice blend instead of a pepper vehicle with nutmeg. Nutmeg actually shares a great deal of the scent profile of pepper, but adds a rubbery, nutty, anisic, and resinous quality that is quite distinct from the woodiness of pepper. The listed notes include frankincense and amber (which can include other resins), but for some reason we get the scent of myrrh from the combined effect.

This is quite light for a perfume of this price point, which was a pleasant, and yet disappointing surprise. Pleasant in that it is lovely to wear with no off notes in the drydown. Disappointing in the sense of, “Is that it?”