FRAGRANCE | Mercedes-Benz Le Parfum: A confident scent that lacks confidence
From Bentley (with its oh-so-good Bentley for Men Intense), to Ferrari and
Mercedes-Benz, car-branded fragrances often surprise me with how good they turn out to be
relative to their fairly affordable pricing. I may not be able to afford a
Mercedes-Benz sedan but at least I can get myself a bottle of
Mercedes-Benz Le Parfum without first poring painstakingly over my
finances.
And speaking of Le Parfum, my, what a handsome-looking bottle this is! With
its ombre color design and tasteful combination of shiny and matte chrome
finishes, it sure looks classy and more expensive than how much they're
selling it for. The cylindrical box is supposedly a nice touch as well but
unfortunately mine suffered from being stored too long. The faux leather
casing was left peeling and instead of opening like a door, everything just
stuck together that I had to rip it apart. Too bad. But at least it's not a
multimillion-peso car we're talking about here.
Leather is evident from the very first spray even if it's momentarily buried
under a layer of lemony citrus and a mild peppery sharpness. After several
minutes, though, the citrus dies down and more of the leather comes through.
The pepper, on the other hand, is now muted but not totally gone. To some
degree, the leather accord is reminescent of either
Tom Ford Ombré Leather
or Tuscan Leather, just not as strong, dark, and smoky. Compared to
those two, Le Parfum appears brighter and more approachable.
Although it's the leather that's primarily wafting around, up close and for
several long minutes, I also get some plasticky violets. After some two hours,
I finally get the listed oud, albeit in a much softer state. It's quite
pleasant actually: woody, lightly sweetened, and with nary a hint of anything
animalic. Together with what's left of the leather, they slowly fade on my
skin, their individual traits blurring by each passing minute. It's rather
disappointing, though, how this confident-smelling gentleman starts fairly strong but quickly
loses steam and is practically gone in under six hours, give or take. I'm not saying this should be a monster; I just wish it wore its confidence on its sleeve even a tiny bit more.
Overall, Mercedes-Benz Le Parfum is a respectable masculine fragrance
despite its less than desirable performance. It has an elegant vibe more
suited to formal or business settings. While its scent profile makes it a
typical cold weather frag, its generally weak projection unwittingly makes it
wearable on warmer days just the same. Oh well, so much for owning a Mercedes.
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