Bruno Banani
Bruno Banani
86 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The initial burst is almost aggressively fruity—apple and grapefruit collide with an immediately noticeable synthetic sheen, whilst pink pepper adds a peppery snap that feels slightly out of place. The sweetness arrives immediately, uninvited and unapologetic.
The composition rounds into its most palatable phase as cinnamon and nutmeg warm the cashmere accord into something genuinely creamy and almost comforting. For perhaps two hours, there's genuine spiced gourmand appeal lurking here.
Tonka and vanilla dominate entirely, collapsing the fragrance into a one-note syrupy sweetness that clings stubbornly but without presence. The spice and cashmere vanish entirely, leaving only a generic vanilla warmth.
Man's Best opens with the kind of sweetness that announces itself before you've even lifted your wrist to your nose—a confectionery warmth that sits somewhere between mass-market comfort and awkward overreach. The apple and grapefruit arrive crisp enough to suggest freshness, but the pink pepper immediately muddies this impression, turning what could have been clean citrus into something vaguely spiced and decidedly synthetic. There's an artificial quality here that never quite resolves; it's the olfactory equivalent of a room sprayed with something chemical masquerading as fruit.
Where this fragrance attempts genuine character is in its heart, where cinnamon and nutmeg create a genuinely spiced warmth against the cashmere accord—that soft, slightly creamy texture that gives the composition momentary sophistication. For a brief window, there's something almost wearable: a gourmand spice story that recalls cinnamon rolls and mulled wine. The problem is the tonka and vanilla base arrives too aggressively, drowning everything in a syrupy sweetness that reads less "gourmet dessert" and more "flavoured syrup bottle."
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3.9/5 (228)