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СornickJaydaf – :
Summer-Spring fragrance from my point of view. It’s green with much leather scent, very elegant and quite fresh. It’s the type of fragrance which can get you through the day if you spray more.
de_la_vega144 – :
The original was marvellous, so rich and pleasent but the reformulated version, that´s the actual one is rubbish, just rubbish, what a pity
Seasinkaccifs – :
Fairly heavy cinnamon. Some other green smell mixed in, not sure how to articulate what it is though. To me, a winter scent.
Benladen – :
I got a sample of this in the mail when ordered something else. Thought this might have come out recently, apparently not. but it smells really ambery, real nice. I love amber and this has it. later it dries down a bit and a sweet light spicyness comes in – cinnamon, and it’s not overdosed, it smells just right.
real good scent in my opinion. kinda warm scent. not some bleu aquatic cool smelling generic crap from the past decade or so.
avacleGem – :
I liked it. It is not typically marine as it try to state, it is a fresh and woody and herbal character smell. Not long lasting but smell is good and fresh.
miagkiy – :
Fresh scent but it smells synthetic and kind of strange. Not bad but nothing special.
Deroxfvduv – :
There are a lot of notes listed above, but the only ones I can detect are oakmoss and leather. And I get more suede than leather. But for a bargain bin fragrance it’s not that bad. Not a like, not a dislike. Just meh.
_molot_ – :
Sacre Bleu!!! I can’t believe the number of reviews calling this a “failed aquatic,” or words to that effect. Mais non, mes amis, you have misunderstood! “Bleu marine” is the French term for the color known in English as “Navy Blue.” Moreover, this fragrance was released in the mid-eighties, well before the popularity and glut of aquatic fragrances. Navy Blue is considered a neutral color that goes with everything — classy, understated, and suitable for all occasions, and I think this is more what Bleu Marine’s creators had in mind.
The scent itself seems to straddle the line between chypre and fougere, with a crisp citrus opening balanced by herbal and green notes. As it dries down, warm woody notes appear, mainly sandalwood, with patchouli, amber, and a hint of oakmoss, though not as much as we usually expect from a chypre. It does bear a resemblance to Halston Z-14, but Bleu Marine is lighter, with more emphasis on the citrus and green components than the warm woods of Z-14. Its intensity drops off rather quickly, leaving a subtle base that lasts surprisingly well. On my skin it doesn’t get overly sweet or powdery, but retains a subtle warmth. It’s light enough for business wear, yet complex enough for formal occasions — much like the color it was named for — and at least one woman has called it “subtly sexy.”
It’s a winner in my book!
werwolf-2 – :
The new version is just an aquatic-oceanic floor clenaer.Thank you COTY:( (10/2) Giving two for the bottle design.
kym70 – :
PC Bleu Marine is really a fine 80’s fragrance despite its somewhat “stark” aspect.. It has that ambery fougère appeal with a sweet side and a fresh side as well… But as it has been said before, don’t expect “aquatic” or “ozonic” freshness here.. From crisp flashy herbal top notes things evolve to a darker tone with oakmoss and amber thrills.. Nothing fun or versatile here (I never know exactly when it’s time to spray some Bleu Marine) it’s all about keeping an intriguing and austere low profile (“depressing” is too much of a word).. not a clubbing fragrance by any means.. still I think it’s a must have for all masculine perfume enthusiasts.. Another well executed composition by Martin Gras (Lapidus PH, Cerruti 1881)..
gaiduchara – :
Loove this!!! Got a sample and it smells absolutely wonderful. True, it smells that hundred other fougeres with the same notes but, come on… who can speak of originality in these days of mass production/flanker exhaustion colognes? True, it smells like the Eighties… So? Do you actually think all the current offerings right now will become classics? It smells good, it has a group who would love it, a group who would hate it, so… Live and let live.
I truly love it because it’s such a simple cologne it’s complex.
Update: the true definition of a comfort scent.
temnenkow – :
An 80’s experience.
Unlike most 21st century scents, this fragrances from the eighties are not ashamed to start with a strong blast.
This is not a cute little, light summer flanker. No, Bleu Marine has personality and shows it in a grand way.
The oakmoss, leather and patchouli are vey noticeable but in the background you can smell a whole lot of things brewing, like the labdanum, clary sage and cedar.
Then it slowly gets sweeter but not sticky. Calm and mature.
We are bombarded with new fragrances almost daily, so it’s good to take a moment to realize how good some timeless fragrances are, even the ones made almost 30 years ago.
rominburg – :
I saw a bottle of this that appeared to be very, very old in a local shop. I gave it a sniff – a cinnamon-laden woody oriental, loaded with mossy spices. Very sharp and rich. I would have bought it, but the bottle was opaque (it was a splash) and it didn’t feel full. It also had a blue sticker on it that said “made in Brazil” which seemed a bit strange. I figure it was legit – who would counterfeit this scent? – but dunno, it seemed odd to me, so I passed. Probably a very nice oriental that Cardin would have been well advised to keep in production.Update: Grabbed a vintage splash of this one, in the frosted dark blue glass. It’s almost as if Halston Z-14 was welded to Horizon by Guy Laroche. A lemon/citrus note is prominent, and wormwood is quite noticeable throughout the life of the fragrance, yet there is an incredibly rich lavender note behind these woodier tones. Lavender plays up a “fresh” characteristic that the scent might otherwise be lacking, while dry citrus notes and spicy woods create a leathery quality. An interesting fragrance, definitely rich and nuanced by hints of basil and coriander and all sorts of other earthy notes, and something to try if you stumble across it. Cinnamon and clove suggest an oriental slant in the composition, but I’d say this fragrance is a hybrid of every genre. I prefer Z-14 (and could live just fine without Horizon), but having Bleu Marine around is an exercise in perfume nostalgia. Unfortunately the top and early middle phase of the scent are a bit unbalanced with age, but all things considered, it still smells good.
dickkom – :
Together with Aramis 900, the original version of this fragrance was one of the two male fragrances I liked best. It was sweet, flowery and unique. I cannot see any resemblance between the original version and the current one. I just cannot understand why they changed such a marvelous scent.
cojevnikov – :
I am going to begin this review by saying how great Bleu Marine is. There are many detractors and haters below, yet they are clueless to this once glorius fougere. I am referring to my original bottle from 1988 from France before Coty mangled it.
Indeed, there was a time when Pierre Cardin was a luxury brand. Bleu Marine hails from that era. There were magazine tester ads in Vogue and others of the day. I paid around $24 a bottle for it which was not cheap in 1988.
The composition is superb. It opens with a blue green freshness. I do get a little lavender with the herbal green opening. The leather appears with the carnation jasmine and labdanum on a spicy heart. There is also vetiver and patcholi with the oakmoss. The benzoin and coumarin create a soft creamy vanilla base. Its clean and refreshing. It lasts all day. It conjures a snowstorm in November along the Brittany coastline as the sea crashes into the shoreline. You are safe on the shore however, wrapped in this warm blue haze.
Its somewhat ironic that Cool Water came out at the same time. Had the wind blown in a different direction and Martin Gras added calone, this would have been the legendary aquatic. I cannot stand calone. Instead it was forgotten, reformulated and hermetically sealed by todays weird market. There are a few bottles of the original batch here and there for the curious. The box has the silver foil linear design across it.
pioner26 – :
Very unsettling. This “fragrance” smells like a nursing home. It smells strongly of urine and cheap lemon-scented floor cleaner. I’ve never called a fragrance depressing…until now.
bbrokf5saw – :
This is an early attempt at a “fresh” type cologne. Sadly some designers at the time thought that meant bar soap. Opening is similair to Sung Homme, but Sung is a better attempt at this for sure. Has a dated smell to it. I prefer PC Pour Monsiuer
h-wind – :
Typical scent of that era and very similar to the original Perry Ellis for men (1985). Don’t expect an aquatic here. The leather is clear but doesn’t dominate everything; it’s sort of a more complex, balanced, and rounded off version of Aramis in some ways (the drydown). This is not a fougere either, as there isn’t even a strong lavender note. And while it’s not super sweet, the sweetness is obvious. Very nice if you are in the mood for this sort of thing. I’ve heard about reformulations but I think I have the original, if there was more than one.
9InDeX – :
A strange mix. Definitely aquatic, but lovely green too, and yet there’s almost gourmand notes cluttering it up. Probably the leather and labdanum/benzoin giving it a vanilla feel in the base, but it’s a combo that doesn’t quite blend for me. Not bad, but slightly jarrin
dzimon – :
What it smells like:
Top notes: pickle juice
Mid notes: diapers
Base notes: oakmoss (ala Drakkar Noir)
If this sounds like something you’d like, then go ahead and try it. I, for one, will avoid this at all costs.
diversantxb – :
By sheer coincidence, Martin Gras designed both BEST OF CHEVIGNON and the creation I take up now: Pierre Cardin BLEU MARINE POUR LUI. Before addressing the qualities of this fragrance, I feel the need to confess here that I generally steer clear of über-franchised names such as Pierre Cardin, Liz Claiborne, Bill Blass, et al., the list goes on and on, as my distinct impression is that whatever prestige may have once attached to such names has evaporated in a flurry of profit-maximizing gambits. Faced at a crucial crossroad in their careers with the choice: art or wealth, the decision of these sorts of people has always been clear.
That said, the actual quality of the zillions of individual products generated by such corporate machines is in large part a function of the subordinate designers (“consultants”) lured in to participate. Some of them are hacks, pure and simple, who want nothing more than to rack up more cash–and fast. Sometimes, against all expectations, they manage to create something both nice and new.
Now, BLEU MARINE POUR LUI is a competent creation, albeit in some ways rather cacophonous and definitely in conflict with its ostensible, misnamed identity. This is not, as the name blares out, an aquatic fragrance. Nor is it really very masculine (pour lui). Instead, after a brief flirtation with vaguely masculine aromaticity, BLEU MARINE POUR LUI ends up as a smooth woody oriental fragrance entirely suitable for women as well as men. For most of its life, this is really a winter perfume, with enough spices and amber to appeal to oriental lovers. But the whole package is all a bit too confusing.
Why use the misleading name and go through the shortlived aromatic stage to get to a completely different fragrance, appropriate for altogether different milieux and circumstances? Perhaps this was a case of trying to be all things to all people–to capture simultaneously as many market niches as possible. In reality, the intersection of those looking for citrus aromatic colognes and those looking for oriental perfumes is rather small, and I’d be surprised if this composition were anyone’s “signature scent”.
As a final, arguably irrelevant, linguistic observation, “bleu marine,” if not a type-o made by a now American company (the über-conglomerate Coty), can only mean “blue Marine” (as in a person who serves in the U.S. Marines). If this were to mean “blue marine,” there would have to be an ‘e’ at the end of ‘bleu’, to read: “bleue marine,” since ‘marine’ is feminine in French.
Lutousethoubs – :
The marine aspect here is a musky whale rather than a cool sea breeze.
As warm seas go Bleu Marine is more elegant and healthier than the sickening staleness of Baldessarini del Mar.
It seems a bit more concentrated now than when it was introduced and can be oversprayed as to cause irritation in others.
The phallic romantic-futuristic bottle is nothing short of a masterpiece.
D.I.moon – :
I tried this fragrance years ago, but can’t remember much about it except that it was by Pierre Cardin.
I bought a 30ml bottle as a treat to see if I liked it again, but was totally disappointed by it lack of sillage and longevity and can only agree with instantjim that it’s not worth paying for scented water that does a disfavour to the wearer by leaving nothing after 15 mins.
I like the fragrance, it’s a fougere very much like Live Jazz by YSL, but I just daren’t wear it without carrying the bottle in my bag for hourly re-sprays!
In my opinion, this inexpensive purchase was a waste of my money and can’t believe the noses at Coty, Spain, could not have improved on the strength and body to this concoction. It’s such a let-down to what could have been a good fragrance.
straga7911 – :
Ok I gave this one another try. After spraying it on it rapidly settles into olfactory obscurity on my skin. After 5 minutes I have to put my nose right up to my forearm (where I put two generous sprays) to detect it. Could it be that it has been reformulated and is now an inferior offering? I initially detect citrus/herbs but it quickly settles into a sort of cheap-smelling generic non-descriptness.
maloy) – :
I bought this one at the same time as Pierre Cardin Emotion for men and I really wanted to like it, but it is so short-lived that after an hour I can hardly detect any traces of it. The Emotion however, is still quite detectable after 2 – 3 hours. The jury is still out on this one for me.
Chung2030 – :
For clarity’s sake, I must start by saying that this is certainly not an aquatic scent of today’s concepts, even though the name might lead one to believe that. No, it is (just to reinforce what’s written in the description above) a deep and rich, ambery fougere nuanced with a lot of herbal and spicy notes. This is rather the typical ’80-s style fougere fragrance, in that it creates a “marine” sensation with a heavy animalic ambergris and oakmoss aura balanced out with cool greens, bergamot, and an abundance of spices, the style that eventually lost to the high-pitched citric-ozonic-Calone scents that have been dominating the scene since the early ’90-s and still thriving in popularity.
I’ve read some words of disdain concerning this scent on other sites, claiming this being a bore with a cheap musty after-shave smell etc. Well, most fougeres tend to give the impression of dated and cheap because they are living in our memories as being overused and abused and a masculine cliché, don’t they? Yet in today’s context I think that a classic and well-balanced fougere can bring back some olfactory excitement.
Bleu Marine can be best compared to Drakkar Noir, although I find the former more wearable and less musty and sharp. Davidoff’s Cool Water is also similar in style, which it predated only by a year or two, but it is less of a traditional fougere than Bleu Marine.
I think it can be best characterized as a deep and rich amber with a lot more things also going on. It starts out with nice green and herby top notes, then a really dense spicy core comes to the fore. The fougere base is rather rich and mossy, with a touch of dry woods. Overall, the scent might be appreciated by some who are sick of the usual Aqua’s.
I have received the “eau de toilette deodorant” spray as a gift a few years ago, and, well, let’s be honest, I haven’t used it very often since. And not because I find it dated, but I find it a tad too rich and forceful to wear as a day fragrance. I love taking a random sniff from the bottle though.