Note Pyramid
Man
Campari is in the middle of Tous Man Eau de Toilette, and once you know that you cannot unsmell it: Gilles Romey put a bitter aperitif note at the centre of a 2004 men's scent and it is still the thing that makes the bottle worth picking up.
The opening is hot and citrussy. Ginger prickles, Sichuan pepper adds a numbing, almost floral heat quite unlike an ordinary peppercorn, and Brazilian orange and grapefruit supply juice and bitter pith respectively. It is lively and a bit loud to begin with.
Then the Campari arrives, bitter and herbal and faintly orange peel like, and it sits against red apple and pineapple in a way that should not work and does. The apple is crisp, the pineapple tangy and slightly fermented, and the bitterness underneath them stops the fruit reading as sweet. This is the part of the fragrance people remember. The base is conventional by comparison and that is probably deliberate. White musk cleans it up, sandalwood and cedarwood supply dryness and a little cream, amber adds a soft resinous glow, and tonka bean brings a soft sweetness with a faintly bitter back edge that keeps the finish from reading as dessert. Twelve materials, and the composition is properly layered rather than front loaded.
The toilette concentration keeps it moderate and sprayable, giving an hour or two of real presence and a long quiet remainder. It suits autumn, evenings out, and men who want a fruity scent with some bitterness in it rather than another sweet one.
Tous traces its own story to 1920 and to Salvador Tous Blavi's training as a watchmaker, and the company he built with Teresa Ponsa still keeps its head office in Manresa. Men's scent belongs to the range it widened into from 2000.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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