Review - Bottega Veneta "Pour Homme"

Distinct

I find there are broadly two types of perfume composition, blended or distinct. The distinct style has obvious and distinctly detectable notes throughout the dry-down whereas the blended one can have lots of notes but they are less discernible as individual pieces. Instead they give a merged quality throughout.

Blended

If you imagine an equaliser for smells (instead of sound) that shows the notes from lighter top ones on the left to the thicker bases on the right then Bottega Veneta would be fairly flat, all notes detectable for most of the scent and then they slowly melt apart at different times. Flat is not a bad thing though; think of flat as meaning rounded or smoothed - a good composition.

Bottega Veneta (Or "Potato Vienetta" as someone jokingly called it) produce leather goods, is this a leather scent?

Not explicitly, it's mostly waxy/balmy pine and foggy forests like you'd squeezed a pine branch and sniffed your hand while standing in a mossy, fog-thick expanse in the mountains.

There's a pinch of leather, as much as there is on the bottle which is a tiny leather collar, and it does add to the overall scent. It is soft, supple, almost suede like, creating a very smooth and delicate leather note that anchors the rest of the fragrance, weaving amongst the greener notes preventing them from being overly bright.

The smell is surprisingly heady for something with green notes such as pine and birch fir. The headiness implies a dark mysterious quality, like a shrouded figure. At times it appears green but then that greenness is enveloped by the foggy suede tones that results in a suffocated green medley that I find intriguing.

Source

I describe it as fuzzy and blurred because the scent is very much a cloud, I imagine a grey smog if it was to take a tangible form, but not a choking smog. More like a shroud of scent that wraps around the wearer like a cloak, staying close enough to please those that brush past without screaming it's presence.

So for that reason this scent is a perfect office scent, discreet yet present, like well polished shoes that draw the eye this fragrance adds a soft surround to the wearer that exudes a comfortable warmth.

Some perfumes are designed with very distinct notes or development stages but this one is less distinct; within a few minutes it has settled into the grey warmth that continues to varying degrees for the remainder of it's lifespan. People have had varying results with longevity with this one, the majority say it is low, however I can still smell it after eight hours, albeit significantly diminished in presence.

Look at this bottle, it matches the scent perfectly. That total smoothed, rounded, grey mass with the slight lettering in a barely perceptible white font on grey surround.

It's pleasant, it's comfortable, it's easy to wear and I find it suitable for all weathers although I would say it is most suited for Autumn. A very versatile scent, wearable to work during the day and just as appropriate continuing on to a dinner or evening drinks.

It's a good "dowser"; one that I like to do lots of sprays to chest and clothing, completely covering myself in it. Partly because the spray only gives out a little spritz and also to improve the longevity I'll get it on some fabric.

Bottega Veneta Pour Homme garnered the Basenotes Readers Award 2014 and after using it for a few months it is easy to see why. It's a good quality mainstream men's frag that is very likeable.

Have you tried this, and if so what did you think?

Bonus Comment -

The original Bottega Veneta Parfum for women is also excellent and easily wearable by men. Less peppery, less piney, more leathery, quality frag.