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andrey061274 – :
This is like a smoother version of Rive Gauche, which I consider the ultimate “barbershop scent” (i.e. smells like fancy shaving cream). If I didn’t have Rive Gauche already, this would be right at the top of my Want List. But if I ever run out, or you’re just looking to buy something still in production, this would make a great substitute. In contrast, I tried Maison Martin Margiela “At the Barber’s” a few weeks back and found it really harsh.
vetchina – :
Sample review.
Herb Man.
I expected this to have a sharper tone. This is a superior blended herbal cologne that truly is unisex. When I read the notes, I thought this probably isnt for me..but I was dead wrong. I really love it.
Its intersting, unique, super rounded considering the notes used..like Dame turned down the intensity to a 5 from a 10. Its substantial but wont lurch out and offend as it behaves as a skin scent and perfect for spring and hot summers. Fresh and worth checking out. A gem in the collection for everyone
Scotsseitmege – :
Throw this on to effortlessly exude class & sophistication. Although it’s marketed to men, it’ll work well on women with a clean, uplifting, gender-agnostic fragrance wardrobe. It makes me feel like a Boss.
Upon trying this blindly, the top guesses for content were lavender, sage, geranium, with a tiny bit of suede dancing in the background. Now viewing the fragrance notes, I can see the cedar-rosemary-oakmoss as well. Exactly as advertised. Even if 1 or 2 of these notes have rubbed you the wrong way in the past, I thoroughly urge you to try this, since the blend is greater than the sum of its parts.
Dame Perfumery’s official page lists the following notes: petit grain, lemon, bergamot, fern, artemisia, lavender, sage, amber, sandalwood, guaiac wood, musk.
Reviewer Dirt Dog, the author of the book below, mentions Carven Vetiver, Eau de Celeri, and Jardin Sur le Nil, among others. I *love* all of those, and if they speak to you, Herb Man will too. He’s also nailed it when comparing Herb Man to a stroll through desert vegetation.
Dame Perfumery was kind in sending over half dozen sample vials upon purchase of Dark Horse. They’re all sublime, and it’s hard to choose one “Best in Show”. I think Herb Man is The One for me.
maksimtolobov – :
Herb Man is a Rod Carew at bat. In the realm of major league baseball there are not a lot of players that logged 3000 hits. Many have tried hit a baseball better but few have succeeded. For fans of the perfect swing and a sharp line drive, Rod Carew was the man.
To me, a far better name for this fragrance would have been “Desert Stroll”. The feel of this fragrance very much seems to remind me of the Tucson Botanical Gardens. Now this is a funny little garden where they have native and usable foliage instead of acres of roses. Its hard to explain unless you have been there but it is very scented, very native, and almost ugly in its beauty. Its hot and dry and has lots of benches with loads of aloes and other succulents. You get a lot of the same affect at the living desert museum but if foliage is your thing more than “flowers” the Tucson botanical gardens is a place to visit. And if you cannot get there then maybe you can smell like you did.
Now, the star player in Herb Man is clearly sage. And I love it. Sage has a lot of varieties but this seems to be an American desert version of it rather than the European Clary Sage that is so popular in perfumery. But like a walk through the Tucson Gardens this is far more than a one note pony. I suppose that some might call it a fougere with lavender and oakmoss but I would hint that this is more of a green fragrance than a traditional “fougere”. The geranium is perfect and geranium is one of those notes that I really love when its done right. This is a sage scent rather than Geranium Pour Monsieur by Frederick Malle but both of them live in the same realm of “quality”. Rosemary is another note that I really adore but its finicky and hard to do well in fragrances. Its done well here. At this point in time, Jeffrey Dame must be regarded as a master of amber. Lots can hit the fastball but the special ones can handle the curve. Herb man also seems to have a mystery note. I could have scent wires crossed in the brain but there seems to almost be a very hard to remember desert note that I remember from various hikes in the southwest. It almost seems to have a bit of Ocotillo nectar to add a hint of sweetness. The blending is fabulous and as a ensemble piece the notes work and play off each other beautifully. Even if the desert notes blend rather than stand out and become obvious.
Jeffrey Dame creations are my most worn fragrances both this year and in years past and even though this one is new to me, I am extremely familiar with them. I was wearing them long before he started his own company and before I knew he was the nose behind Ulysse, Animale Animale and others. I have come to the conclusion that one of the things that I love most about his fragrances is that they all have a solid base. Sometimes we get so caught up in this note or that note or this opening and that dry down that we forget to notice the base. Probably 75% of even the most concentrated of fragrances is base. You could almost argue that 2/3rds of the difference between fragrances considered “niche” and pricey and those considered designer or budget is a better base. Once you get past the first few minutes of a typical perfumers alcohol you could argue that many designer fragrances smell as good as a wide variety of niche. Indeed you often hear fragrance reviewers talking about a line that has a certain dna. Dior Homme has the violet root dna, and Creed has Ambergris, and I do not own any of them but you hear many people talking about the certain profile of Aqua di Parma dna and how it is unique and special. Jo Malone fragrances seem to always be mentioned as being “fresh”. You often hear people remark with these type of fragrances that they ooze quality. Well all of Dame’s fragrances have it. Even his creations for designers and other houses have it. But there is something about the base and DNA of all the Dame house fragrances that is special. And I think much of it is in the base that is “supposedly” neutral. It is hard to describe really but its there and it just has that better than the other guys type of feel to it. Herb man seems thinner than his other creations with more of the standard base. And it is just such a good base. With 85% or more of the fragrance building around a base, its really nice to see one done well.
I suppose that many would see lavender and oakmoss and assume the fougere. But I do not get that fougere feel. It does not feel the 80s powerhouse. Its modern and I would call Herb Man a greenie. The woods and citrus are so well blended down that you almost don’t notice them. They are there but the principal players are Sage, Rosemary, Geranium, Pettigrain, Wormwood and the greens. I might not even have noticed the Guaic and Sandalwood if I hadnt read the profile. I do not get a sawdust feel like I usually do with Cedar. The musk is more noticeable but still polite. Other greenies that I have worn or explored this year include Green Irish Tweed, Fujiyama Homme, Hermes Sur de le Nil, Grass by Gap, Carven Vetiver, Guerlain Homme L’eau Boisee, and I recently reviewed Monsillage Eau de Celeri. Herb Man lives in the same breath of mention as any of them. It is unique to them all but it should be categorized in the same meadow of consideration. Sure, Green Irish Tweed was created to have the smells of a walk through the Irish countryside. Eau de Celeri smells like a path through the prarie. Fujiyama Homme a Chinese Forest, Sur de le Nil a walk by the river Nile. And Herb man seems a stroll through the desert. These are all different places but they are all vegetal, they are all green, and they all have their own unique “flavor”. As far as the enjoyability of scent, Herb Man to me stands toe to toe with any Creed ever made. It has obvious quality, is delightful, certainly unique, has a reference point note with sage, and has a scent journey that travels. Eau de Celeri won all kinds of awards this year and I get it. But I like Herb Man better. The reason is that Herb man has the right amount of sweetness to it that makes it seem superior to my nose. Sweetness is hard to do right and I don’t mind a bit of bitter in my fragrances. I really like the bamboo of Fujiyama and it has zero sweetness in it. It must be very difficult for a nose to divine the proper balance of sweetness in a fragrance so that it is pleasing but does not over sweeten the tea. Herb man gets it right. I would describe the effect of scent as ocotillo nectar and let others decide for themselves. Agave nectar is becoming a popular sweetener and the sweetness in Herb Man is refined, not to much and very natural. Eau de Celeri seems to be a fragrance designed by a woman for how she thinks a man should smell and perhaps how she wants to smell as well. Herb Man seems to be the kind of a fragrance for how a man himself wants to smell, regardless of outside opinion. I do not know if it will be as pleasing to women, or get phantoms of compliments. But the man that wears it will be glad of the pull and his daily choice. And yes, I think a woman could wear this but more with jeans and ponytail than with frills, curls and bows.
Sadly Herb Man does have a flaw. Clearly I am a Dame fanboy and I want to be overly honest when I hear a clank. And in this case, it is with sillage. Jeffrey Dame has written a fascinating and lengthy discourse on the history of sillage and the word cologne and his opinions on it. You can go to his facebook page and it is worth a read.
I really struggle to understand where a “niche” cologne should live. I know what to expect from my other colognes and am generally happy with them. Most of the “colognes” in my collection cost well under $10 an ounce. Niche should be special. My only personal reference with expensive niche is with Jo Malone colognes and they are all short lived but they have decent sillage. I marked Eau de Celeri down in my review of that scent because it is marketed as EDT and it performs like a cologne. Dame is honest and it says cologne right on the front. I expect cologne to live 4 hours and “niche” cologne to live 6. Jo Malone fails in this regard and Herb Man is a bit thin with perhaps 4 hours of slight projection and maybe up to 5-6 of skin scent. It limps across expectations of performance but still stands safe at first. If others can report a solid 6 then I will clap my hands and say good for you. But Dame is a favorite house and as such I must be very careful to grade fairly and perhaps harshly and for me performance is lighter than I would hope. It really falls down in sillage. But my expectations are so high that perhaps I am being unfair. Normally, I think there are people that enjoy light scents which may not invade others space. For me, with a scent this good, I want to be able to smell it on me and not have to strain to do it or hold my wrist to my nose and do chicken dance arm flappies. It is so great that I want enough sillage that I can smell it on myself without effort. And I need some effort and wrist waving for this one. A small mild gripe is that the bottle came primed. It had been sprayed before. I do not care about the missing juice. But I do not like to start the shelf life on products via the first squirt until I’m ready to put it into heavy rotation. If I do not feel that I cannot use a bottle up in the next 3-5 years, I will put it into storage till I drain one of the ones I have and that I can. I love these Dame fragrances and I take care of them. The fact that this one was primed with oxygen inside the bottle makes me wonder about the others. Dame says that his Bill Blass Amazing fragrances have short shelf lives and I do not want any of mine to get old before their times. They are so beautiful and delicate and genteel and natural that I am not certain they will easily last like the synthetic fragrances do.
I also do not know how to properly hint at pricing. I consider $20 an ounce the reference point for designer and niche to live at or under $40 an ounce. But this is cologne strength. It performs like a cologne and as such, it deserves a lower price point. I used to buy a bottle or two of Jo Malone each year and its really fun to buy a set of 10 ml decants and layer them differently every 3 hours over the course of a day and discover what I like and feel like a nose even when I probably am a snot rocket. But Jo Malone has just hammered through huge price increases the last 2 years and with Dame selling at $65, I just dont see the point in paying $125-$150 for 3 ounce bottles of Jo Malone that last 2-3 hours and pffft. In fact, Herb Man sells for $65 which is $20 an ounce and perhaps I would suggest that the reference point for “niche” cologne should be aroud $30 an ounce or less and halfway between EDT designer and EDT Niche. Jo Malone used to sell for these levels and no longer does. I see absolutely no need to pay $120 for a new bottle of Jo Malone cologne when I look at my shelf and see Mate, Heliotrope, and Patchouli as well as other Dame fragrances. Its a stretch to imagine even wanting to buy Jo Malone these days and even if I buy a single bottle this year, its almost becoming a dead house to me. Jo Malone is fun to layer. Jeffrey Dame is so perfect that you don’t need to. Both of these have such fabulous fresh bases that its easy to compare them to each other. And I may pull a sample of herb man and compare it to Wood Sage and Salt even though I’m not a fan of salt and know who would win. Jo Malone is fresh, and delightful. So is Jeffrey Dame. Before you even smell the notes you recognize beauty. But Dame clearly wins on price. I suppose that $65 seems a fair price but its not quite the same screaming value as his EDT fragrances that are a bit more dense, easier to smell, and live longer.
Overall, I am going to grade Herb Man out at 90 or about an A-. I am far more pleased with the scent that I expected or dreamed when I first sniffed a sample. However, being such a good scent, I want to be able to smell it on me and sometimes I have to strain to do it. As a cologne, it does live a shorter life than many EDT’s and Parfum’s but I do feel that many men want a bit of lightness in their fragrances. Being the cologne guy is cliche and there is no danger of that happening with Herb Man. I suppose that it is versatile by being light and wearable in all seasons or occasions but I would only wear this in summer. Indeed I am probably rushing this review because I think the fragrance worthy of notice and waiting a year probably wouldn’t change my opinion very much. There are other good fragrances for spring and fall even in the house of Dame which tilts towards the summer. For me, Herb Man is a summer only scent.
I view 95 ratings as being ones that I want to wear even on days when I do not and want to always have in my collection. 90 to 95 is a fragrance that I expect to drain quickly and would buy a backup or replacement bottle. 85 is one that I am certainly glad that I bought and “might” replace. While 80 seems to be a good purchase that is satisfying. Once I drop into the 70s and grade things out with C grades you start getting into occasion of use and value when deciding if it was a good purchase that is repeatable or if you want to use it up and move along to another. So really, 90 is a good rating. If I broke the bottle tomorrow, I think that I would buy another.
My personal opinions about Herb Man are that it is a fragrance that I very much enjoy smelling. I am liking greens these days and this green fragrance gives me an entirely different feel than something like Green Irish Tweed or Sur de le Nil. The fact that I mention the 3 of them in the same sentence says a lot about how good Herb Man really is. It is my newest Dame that I have opened. I have a lot of fragrances in “reserve” that I am waiting to crack. Usually, I only open 1-2 bottles from a house that I enjoy. Short of Nautica, the 4 bottles that I have opened of Dame are the most of any house that I collect or own. Well I have 4 bottles of Creed opened but somehow Creed means gifts and its not my fault. I have worn mate heliotrope and patchouli more than any fragrance that I own this year, and during this season Herb Man is going to knock it down and pass it for most used summer fragrance. I wear about 33-40% colognes in summer and this will most likely be the only niche cologne that I will wear this season and Jo Malone will go unused. I have worn it in hot dry conditions and humid rainy conditions and find that it works far better when its hot and dry. I honestly believe that Dame tests every one of his scents out with a desert walk or hike and Herb Man seems perfectly suited for such pleasures. Within 30 minutes of first application, I put on my shoes and logged some miles. I did a two a day session that first day and enjoyed my time with it and booked more miles than usual. I enjoy lighter fragrances when ripping miles and I do not like heavier scents when breathing harder. I own lots of Dame and on many of them, I am hitting samples that I got from Olfactif or that he sent me rather than some of the full bottles. The fact that I cracked Herb Man and deem it worthy to put it into heavy rotation even though 3 other Dame fragrances are already on the shelf says a lot about how much I like it. I expect to drain the bottle in 3 years and it would have been 2 if I had bought and cracked it earlier in the year. I wear my scents. I don’t buy them to sit on the shelf. And I don’t open them until its possible to drain them dry within shelf life timetables..
I started this review by saying that Herb Man was a Rod Carew at bat. And as such, it absolutely solid. Sometimes its not about how the jersey looks but rather how the bat is swung. Herb Man is a stupid name and as plain as the women’s scents are with 3 note names I would have preferred a 3 note name to Herb Man. I almost missed this one because of the moniker on the jersey except that Dame commands respect. Every single time Rod Carew got into the batter box you could just see him look at the pitcher and you knew that he was special and that one of the best hitters to ever live was there to do his best. Herb man surprised me and I did not actually think it would be this good. It is a Jeffrey Dame creation so I suppose that it should not have jumped up and whacked me with quality but even Rod Carew struck out once or twice and I did not expect this. This rawhide sphere is a solid, perfect swing, crack of the bat slap shot, right up the middle to center field with a man rounding first with a grin and clapping his hands. Its not a homerun but then again, I’ve done my share of griping about the longevity of Creeds and Jo Malones. Its an absolute player in its field. And its hard to really honestly complain when runners progress forward. I know of no sage dominant fragrance that competes at this level. Sage seems to be listed everywhere in many if not most of the best fragrances ever made. Even so, nobody but Dame had the foresight or ability to bat it cleanup and let it be a star. It is completely unfair to boo a single because you want a homerun. Sure, Id like it more dense and easier to personally enjoy with clouds of dust around advanced bases but the sage is hard hitting and Herb Man arrives safely at first with a smile on his face. This is not a Casey at Bat strikeout story. Alex Rodriguez is going to pass Rod Carew in the next few days on the all time hit chart. And Alex Rodriguez made more money last month in June than Rod Carew did over a 19 year career. But ARod won one batting title in his career while Carew had 7 and ARod had to cheat to get to where he is. Rod Carew just did it right. So does Jeffrey Dame. Even when his fragrances have stupid names and stupid uniforms. Honestly, I think his father should do paintings for all of them and maybe he should get his children to come up with better names. But the scent in the bottle is major league.
r1k09 – :
A light herbaceous floral with hints of sweet hiding in the depths.
A beautiful fragrance.
I can envision seeing a couple in white colored clothing sitting under a tree by the edge of a meadow surrounded by numerous spring flowers and some cat tails in the water. A warm breeze flowing past them with just a ever slight peeking of the sun past the leaves in the tree.
A very pleasant and soft,green,clean and pretty perfume.
Its not a loud scent but it makes up with its longevity and pleasant aroma.
This will definitely entice a closer sniff from your significant other.
** i do have to add. I barely detect any citrus. Maybe just a whisper to add a little something that is special to the green effect.
With all that said.
It’s another win/win from dame in my book.
I’ve yet to experience a bad scent from the house of dame perfumery.
alex0101 – :
We grow our own herbs and this smells like sage fresh from the garden in the opening. Very strong, very herbal. At the opening, it smells more like a strong, essential oil and less like a cologne and for that reason it really didn’t appeal to me as a cologne wearer. However….
It lasted quite awhile and slowly evolved into something that I really liked. The drydown (which lasted hours on me), smelled of a nice, classy, woody, oakmoss cologne. I am going to liken it to perhaps Lauder for Men but that doesn’t mean it felt dated. It became something very much like a classy and wearable cologne that I would go for.
If that sounds good, give this one a try!
SmeabeTumma – :
Received a sample of this. I like the profile of herbs without spices or (much) florals. It’s very well-blended and would fill a spot where I want light and summery but not spices–I don’t really go for aquatics, but can go for this when I want to skip the pepper or cumin (ODL or Declaration).
The performance is a bit less than what I would consider for a FB purchase. If Dame offers this as an essential oil blend, I might bite.
Scent: 8/10
Sillage: 3/10
Longevity: 5/10
wko704speagoessenda – :
I know this is a man’s scent, and sometimes I will try on men’s colognes, but once is sniffed it in the sample vial, I couldn’t bring myself to put it on. It was extremely strong and green. Neither my husband nor I liked it and didn’t wear it, so I can’t give it a proper review.
сергей николаевич – :
I received a sample of this, and I really like it. It’s listed as a men’s fragrance, but I think many women (including myself) can enjoy it too. It’s very clean, refreshing, and as the name indicates – herbal. There is something that sets this apart from the usual eau de colognes, I find this one a lot more interesting. I notice it’s classified as a citrus aromatic here on fragrantica, but it seems more of an aromatic fougere to me. I plan on buying a fb soon!
ea_genius – :
This One’s My Favorite From His Men’s Line.Musk Man And Leather Man Are Great Too.
serik60 – :
I received a sample of this with my order of Dark Horse. I like Dark Horse a lot more. Herb Man certainly lives up to its name after the initial spray – heavy on the rosemary and sage. After a couple hours it dries down to a skin scent of mostly lavender and bergamot. It’s well made, but just not for me.
absettast – :
Herb Man is my first try of Jeffrey Dame’s Dame Perfumery, and it does not disappoint. An excellent herb/floral/wood blend, it rides the traditional opener of bergamot to a cedar/amber/oakmoss base via lavender and sage. Very pleasant and acidic in the opening, expectedly softer in the drydown, Herb Man is, as named, a masculine green scent that, while light enough to be pleasant in the summer, surely has year-round utility, as it’s dense enough to penetrate the cold weather, even as a EDT or EDC, even.
Impressive projection for a fragrance that I inferred might be a lighter, and pretty good longevity for an EDT, becoming a skin scent after a few hours. Moreover, I could see Herb Man working for some women, as it’s somewhat masculine but not distinctly so, just very fresh and herby.
A definite must-try–this could easily be someone’s daily go-to. Can’t wait to try his other scents.
7 out of 10
Deman2010 – :
Like sitting in a herb garden on a warm summer morning. Smelling the aroma of sun warmed plants. I love this one! Herbal, amber euphoria! The amber is a warm backdrop for bracing herbal notes. I can pick out rosemary and sage, but Herb Man has a verdant natural accord highlighted by the lavender. So natural, it makes me feel like a medieval medicine man mixing wild plants for potions. Sillage moderate, longevity 5+ hours.
NOT just for men – this herbal/lavender/amber accord has a clean garden freshness that anyone would enjoy!
cheburatorvitya – :
I am really enjoying this sexy, seductive masculine fragrance! This scent is perfect for warm Spring and Summer weather. It feels vibrant and fresh, perfect for spending an active day outdoors. On my skin it opens with a calming & refreshing burst of lavender, oakmoss and sage. There is a zesty citrusy accord that really feels fresh. My favorite part is the woodsy background, rich with cedar. After about 45 minutes, the amber and geranium start to emerge, creating a sweeter, softer gorgeous dry down. The opening of this scent is very masculine, but as the fragrance develops it becomes more unisex. This is another gorgeous fragrance by Jeffrey Dame.
4aukaaa – :
Very nice fragrance that reminds me a LOT of the original ‘metal can’ version of YSL’s Rive Gauche… Being an EdC it does not project like Rive Gauche though which is really a shame as it is a very nice quality scent… Longevity isn’t bad per say but I personally just need more ‘oomph’ in my fragrances… It does smell really nice though…
YanAurum – :
I got a sample of this along with the Black Flower from Dame Perfumery with a wonderful hand written note. Who does it now a days, that is quite a gesture.
Coming back to the perfume, i loved the fragrance from the time i sprayed it on. It is very good and i could get whiffs of it through out the day .
My only lament with this perfume was if it could last beyond the 8 hour mark, i so wanted it to stay with me like its cousin Black Flower which one can smell faintly for 24 hours even.
If only this was a bit more stronger.
anita_sa – :
I was thrilled to receive this sample from Jeffrey Dame, and my fellow is currently wearing it. His skin DRINKS scent and most fragrances quickly fade to a skin scent on him, but this one seems to have become slightly more vivid, starting with a beautiful blend of the lavender, citrus and sage with a lovely resinous/rosemary quality stepping to the fore to broaden the spectrum. This is holding up on him, rather than disappearing.
Quite lovely, indeed!
SmOOvE178 – :
I love this! The herbs are a little zesty/crisp but the oakmoss adds a little dirtiness. And then the amber and cedar…LOVE! This is sexy!
puballo – :
Wondefully blended , masculine, and with the exception of a slightly more powerful ,moist Lavender , all of the dry herbs and the Geranium get their equal chance in the spotlight. Safe enough for the office without being boring, Its obviously herbal, but if people think you smell like weed, tell em you have a prescription.. nice perfume.
marianna306 – :
This literally brought a smile to my face when I first tried it. The last time that happened was when I first tried Ocean Rain. In this day where many fragrances are leaning towards the unisex, this one holds on firmly to it’s balls.
The notes in this fragrance are crisp, refreshing and sharp – yet subtle. I really agree that it shares some fresh elements with YSL Rive Gauche. But where I feel ‘overdressed’ wearing Rive Gauche to work – I feel perfectly casual/comfortable wearing Herb Man. It’s not a tamed down version of YSL RG by any means, it’s almost like a unique improvisation on a similar theme.
The theme being built on a crisp, fresh, masculine Cedar, Lavender, Bergamont and Petitgrain accord lifted on herbaceous plants like Sage and Rosemary. There are subtle Floral notes in it as well that play off a base of dry woody notes that last and last. The thread that ties it all together is a super soft barbershop note that just floats airily in the background.
Everything comes together smoothly. The top notes are crisp and clean – the mid notes bring out a herbal/floral freshness – and the drydown mellows out to a calm woody green.
I am really enjoying this one after a few wears on the skin. Will try a spray or two on a shirt next just to see what happens.