Underrated cheapos: R by Revillon (1995)

Nose (apparently): Maurice Roucel

R by Revillon is indeed the little gem one may assume by reading the reviews. I still haven’t clear what makes it so nice, but well, it is. Basically it is a really clean, pleasantly conventional, decidedly 1990’s scent with a touch of distinction and a truly respectable quality. For this price, I’d dare to say this is probably the best “bang for the buck” you’ll ever find. This is a perfectly compelling and quite remarkable “true fragrance” with the price of a shitty deodorant. A smooth masculine fragrance revolving around crisp woods, tart herbs, a hint of smooth leather, an Oriental spicy accord, a subtle and terribly pleasant sweet-powdery note, something resinous and slightly green (green I mean here “pine” green) floating on the background providing a sort of watery-balsamic feel. Perfect subtle barbershop-like drydown, woody and slightly powdery with still a hint of classy leather. Overall R ranges from balsamic to spicy and woody, mostly focusing on delivering a feel of “ balmy effortless cleanliness”. This places it among the great masculine classics meant for men to splash generously after a shave or a shower: nothing avantgarde, nothing overly “sexy”, nothing meant to rule the club and steal the ladies to other ill-scented boys. Just something to smell good – in its highest meaning - and elegant, echoing Hardy Amies’ golden rule of mens’ elegance (“a man should look as if he has bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care and then forgotten all about them”). Which is by no means something “easy” to accomplish, and that’s what makes R by Revillon a precious little gem. If Roucel really composed this, well, no surprise. Revillon deserves all respect for making such a nice scent at such a honest price. Probably my irrelevant final mark is higher than it should, but who cares, I can’t help loving and supporting the ridiculously cheap price and the understated attitude of this fragrance.

8/10