Jean Paul Gautier Ultra Male: Review

Ultra Male is regularly rated on lists entitled “sexiest mens fragrances”, “best date night fragrances”, “most complimented fragrances”, and is a crowd pleaser amongst many fragheads. 

JPG ULTRA MALE  EDT – THE BASICS:

Top notes

Pear, Lavender, Mint, Bergamot and Lemon

Heart notes

Cinnamon, Clary Sage and Caraway

Base notes

Black Vanilla Husk, Amber, Patchouli and Cedar

Launch date

2015

Pricing

£35 for 40ml

Ultra Male Review

As part of a close-knit group of fragheads who write about scent, I wanted to write this review as I’m the only one who doesn’t like this one. I think Ultra Male has flaws I can’t forgive but I honestly think it deserves to be on every one of those lists I mentioned above.

Strangely, I have a firm appreciation for its drydown and I’ve seen firsthand the compliment power of it (my other half goes nuts for it and she became the proud owner of my unwanted bottle). I've written this very review on my group's joint website and felt I was the only one to give it a balanced view.

My Initial thoughts

I bought my first bottle of JPG Ultra Male around the time it was first released. And I have to say, despite it being too sweet, I liked it. I’m sure there was a small voice at the back of my head screaming “no” but I ignored him. And paid whatever ridiculous amount it was at the time. The irony is, I found myself doing the same thing several years later. But we’ll come to that later. 

As a sucker for sweet fragrances – especially back then – I wasn’t just pulled in, I was dragged in. Sadly, the party didn’t last long. I quickly found myself comparing the scent opening – the mix of lavender, pear, bergamot, lemon and mint –  to shoe polish. Individually, I love every single note that provides the top layer, but something about it all mixed together smelt repulsive to me.

It felt too intense. Having it on my body/clothes gave me a headache. So I tried to use it as a car spray, but the small space made the smell become gag-worthy. I also used it as an emergency scent if I was DESPERATE for something. I ended up choosing to smell like B.O. instead. That's how much I loathed it. Enter, my partner who loved the stuff. I off loaded it to her. She eventually misplaced the bottle, but I was just happy it found a new home.

Memory Block

I quickly forgot about Ultra Male until I developed more of an evolving collection of fragrances and found myself wanting to remember what the original Le Male smelt like, since I finished my original bottle. Except I couldn’t – the store didn’t have a tester. So I tried Ultra Male. Now by this point, my memory had completely discarded any recollection of this fragrance.

My brain lied and said it was a new scent. I had the same initial reaction to it that I did the first time I ever sprayed it – very sweet, but likeable. I then sprayed Le Male parfum for the first time and I loved it. 

Comparing the test strips together, something suddenly came screaming back to me. The memories of Ultra Male. That cloying smell of shoe polish.

Da-da-duuuum!

The hatred returned. I came home and told my partner – she smelt the test strip. Her eyes literally rolled back in her head. She referred to it as “fuckable”. I bought her a new bottle. She takes it with her everywhere.

(Literal) Sweet Irony

The irony for me is there will be times when I smell it on her and I’m hooked. “What the fuck is THAT?”. And then she turns to me, does a cheeky smile and says “Ultra Male”. Damn. Except it’s not ‘damn, maybe I love it?’, it’s a ‘Damn, I still hate it, but once I get past that sickly sweet smell, the follow through is fantastic. I really wish I did like it’. And it’s true: I genuinely wish I could get past the smell of shoe polish to enjoy the dry down, but it truly makes me feel sick.

Still, it’s a creation that I respect and would include if I did my own ‘Top 10 compliment grabbers’. 

This to me, is a sign of a truly tremendous fragrance – one which even a hater like myself can fully appreciate. I actually WANT to like it. But in many ways, I feel more at ease not liking it but still being somewhat of a fan. That to me is respect. The cinnamon and black pepper that confidently walk in after the sweet opening is impressive. It works to perfection and helps me admire the beauty of this fragrance from afar.

Hello, Ladies

The longevity from my own experience – good and bad – is great. It reminds me of Sandy in Grease as it changes from annoyingly sweet to a sexy badass. My fiancee’s 60 year old colleague Sandra told her how sexy she smelt, before spraying herself with reckless abandon with it to “test it”. Sandra then proceeded to allude to it making her so horny she wanted to fuck her partner with it on.

So yes, this IS a compliment beast and unlike me, a lot of people are drawn to the entire transition of the scent. I liked the initial spray, then hated the rest of the journey on my personal being. I still hate the smell of it within the first 10 mins onwards when my partner sprays it, but overall, it’s an edgy, sexy, brilliant sequel to JPG Le Male. For a fragrance of this calibre, I think the cost is fantastic. I paid £35.00 for a 40ml bottle last year.

The darkened bottle looks dangerously more mysterious and whether it’s date night, clubbing, office or I-wanna-smell-good vibes, this is easily a winner. Although, personally I think this deserves more than just the office – unless of course you’re looking to impress or partake in some over the desk activities…

Would I ever buy it for myself? No. I can confidently say that, but am I still won over by its sexual prowess and drydown. Yes, yes I am. The other half definitely is….

Verdict:

I stated it earlier, but this sums it up for me:

“The cinnamon and black pepper that confidently walk in after the sweet opening is impressive. It works to perfection and helps me  admire the beauty of this fragrance from afar”