The Guest Nose: Balmain Monsieur Balmain


By Stefush

Monsieur Balmain by Balmain isn’t so much a scent as it is the hologram of a perfect lemon emanating from a bright yellow perfume bottle. It’s a cheeky, fun and deceptively simple fragrance that stands as an excellent bookend to those ponderous woody orientals brooding in the back of your cabinet.

According to the Balmain website, ingredients include mint, lemon, bitter orange, verbena, bergamot, petitgrain, rose, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme, moss, sandalwood, vetiver, sage, cedar and amber. But you can forget about all of that right now, because this scent is simply zesty lemon rind and bright acid that dries down hours later to a dusky pith note. It’s as joyous and invigorating as being woken up by sunlight.

Monsieur Balmain is remarkable in that it’s unrelentingly linear. It's neon-light Vegas Strip lemons all the way down until you reach the rind, and then the ride is over. This is nowhere near your typical "I decided the dryer sheet was enough fragrance for me, thanks" men’s cologne offering. But despite the billboard-sized smiley face shine, it also has enough backbone not to get on your nerves after the first few minutes. There’s a hidden, subtle steeliness (most likely from the ginger/vetiver midnotes) that helps to tone down the sheer citrus blast from the top notes.

Duck! It's a citrus blast!

The original release came back in 1964, designed by Germaine Cellier, who also did up Bandit and Fracas for Robert Piguet. This formulation hung on until the mid-80’s then was discontinued, only to reappear in 1990 with its current ingredients. Evidently the older version also included notes of patchouli and lemongrass as well as a more animalic drydown, which would be an interesting counterpoint to sample alongside this more recent release.

But if you love daring fragrances, sheer exuberance, or even show-offiness in the construction of what you splash on in the morning, Monsieur Balmain is a delight. It’s the perfume equivalent of a great seersucker suit with a straw boater to match. Definitely the scent to wear next time you need to go singing in the rain, and easily one of my all-time favorites.

Monsieur Balmain is available from Amazon.com, FragranceNet.com, FragranceX.com, Perfume.com starting at $33 for 100 ml

Looking for a fragrance recommendation? Visit Fume Finder: the Katie Puckrik Smells fragrance app.

14 comments:

  1. Yay, Stefush!

    Yes, I am all about the sheer exuberance fragrance. This should be a kokology test.

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  2. Sounds like another of the ilk of Dior Eau Fraiche, Eau de Guerlain, Eau de Cologne Imperiale & maybe Chanel Pour Monsieur, with many similar notes.

    The first mentioned is almost a lemon trip all the way for me...

    How is this going to be distinguishable from the rest?

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  3. DomPerrier - comparing M. Balmain to Chanel Pour Monsieur is like saying Big Bird and the dandelions growing in your backyard are the same color. Balmain is bright bright bright! lemon and P. Monsieur is someone passing by a fruit stall and saying, "ah yes, lemons today."

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  4. Hi Katie, do you remember Love's Fresh Lemon? It was all lemon rind. Is this one similar? Sounds like a good gym fragrance.

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  5. Yeah, I had a huge reluctance to include that one in the list for comparison. I smell mainly the oakmoss with only a hint of citrus at the outset...

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  6. M. Balmain sound perfect for the summer, or for a dreary winter day that needs a little fragrant pick-me-up. But my oppressive orientals are asking for a bottle of the vintage to join their patchouli-soaked lot. Sigh. Some habits die hard.

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  7. I have the two Messieurs: Balmain and Givenchy and prefer the latter. The Balmain smells a little one-dimensional to my nose, whereas the Givenchy still contains an intimation of the animalic. Thank you for throwing the spotlight on this much forgotten fragrance though, and hope to hear more from you on Katie Puckrik!

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  8. Olfacta, I used to wear and *love* Love's Fresh Lemon! I've not tried M. Balmain for your comparison question, but the magic of Fresh Lemon for me was the interplay of tart (not harsh or acidic) lemon with a wisp of mystery florals. No goofy vanilla or sugar or nothin'. I even bought it more recently in its watered-down floor cleaner'n'alcohol form, just to chase the dragon.

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  9. Yay Stefush! I love hearing about those unsung classics, and this sounds like good gloom antidote.

    Dante's Bra

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  10. Anonymous/Dante's Bra - If you can remain in any kind of depressive state after a good dousing of M. Balmain, the only real hope for you then is strong health benefits and counseling.

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  11. Nora, well, as you can imagine, alcohol'n'floor cleaner did not live up to the floral lemon brew of yore. But I got the jist of it, as much as a flip-book resembles a movie.

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  12. Olfacta, I fondly recall Love's Fresh Lemon which I wore in the '70's. It and its sister scent, Love's Fresh Musk were favorites as was strawberry oil. Those were fun days when scents were simple as were vices....

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  13. Hi, Stefush. I'm sitting in on a dark, rainy day and reading your piece on Monsieur Balmain. I think I could stand some Gemaine Cellier sunshine right now. I had a French roommate a skillion years ago who wore this and remember the wonderfully lingering lemon. Smiley face with backbone! That describes MB perfectly!

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