Le Male Le Parfum by JPG

Le Male Le Parfum is an entry from the long-running Jean Paul Gaultier series, that was released back in 2020. It’s already one that I’ve tried a few times before, enjoyed, but didn’t write a full review for. I recently saw a mini bottle available for purchase and made it apart of my order, so I could further test it. How does Le Parfum smell? Does it last long? Is it worth a purchase?

What does Le Male Le Parfum Smell Like?

Notes include: cardamom, iris, vanilla, lavender, woods, spices

Click here to try: Le Male Le Parfum

My Full Review

Here’s how Gaultier describes it: Dressed in a black and gold officer’s jacket, this intense eau de parfum is taking leadership of the Le Male range with great style and strength. An elegant woody amber trail capturing the charisma and power of a leader. Attention sailors! The captain has arrived and we’re about to set sail.

Le Parfum opens up with a warm blend of its spicy notes and floral ingredients. The cardamom is the strongest up top. The same note found in Le Male Airlines, but Le Parfum isn’t as intense with it, nor is the overall scent as sweet.

That cardamom spice is joined by some vague spiced accord. I’m not sure what this actually consists of, but I’m pretty sure there is cinnamon in the mix.

The Le Male lavender, is of course in play here. That and the vanilla are two holdovers from the original Le Male formula. But, lavender gets a bit overshadowed early by the iris.

Iris with the emergent vanilla, gives this a powdery undertone that is most present on my skin through about the middle act.

The main difference between this and Le Male is the original had a fresher/crisper profile. This one actually is warmer (not heavy or enveloping) and the amber wood note really helps to smooth things out.

As we shift into the middle, the other spices aside from cardamom fade, and the iris will be less prominent.

What you get more of is the vanilla, lavender, and amber notes? Cardamom and lavender of course will hang around until close to the end. However, the dry down becomes more and more about vanilla and amber and a light generic woody aroma.

It’s kind of sweet, sort of spicy, with a good amount of vanilla.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Le Parfum definitely doesn’t have the same power as Ultra Male and is somewhere close to the original Le Male, in terms of its reach. It’s a bit above the average cologne with its sillage.

This isn’t a heavy cologne or one that’s going to project across the room and leave a scent trail. That opening 30 minutes can come close to that, with enough sprays, but this is straight moderate the rest of the way.

The longevity is better. 8 hours for sure, with the potential to hit 9. That’s seems to be its maximum during all the times that I’ve worn the scent. Better than most from the Le Male series, just not elite.

Seasonally, I’d mostly go autumn and winter with Le Parfum. It doesn’t have to stay there entirely and can indeed venture into the spring.

It’s not so heavy that’ll be melted in mild to moderately warm temperatures. Le Parfum just isn’t built for those hot and high humidity days.

This does have a refinement and simplicity about it, which sort of extends the age range versus many others in this series. It can been worn by teenagers or much older guys. No real problem there, as Gaultier’s copy says about it, Le Parfum is the ‘captain’ of this line.

I don’t think this one is restricted at all to the nightlife. Ultra Male pretty much is. But, Le Parfum is low key enough to be worn to work or casually during the day. While also, having the appeal for date nights or just hanging out around town.

Overall Impressions of Le Male Le Parfum

Overall, do I like Le Parfum? Yes. Personally, I still like Ultra Male more. That one is more difficult to wear often and can be too much, at times. So, Le Parfum is probably going to be a better fit for most guys.

You definitely still get plenty of the Le Male DNA, but this is more refined. It doesn’t have the same level of fresh spiciness (no mint, less cinnamon) which makes it a smoother experience.

I do like that opening act a lot. The cardamom, other spices, and iris give this fragrance plenty of dynamism and Le Parfum has a great balance. The dry down goes more in the vanilla direction and is still plenty attractive.

I’ve seen this also compared to Armani Code EDP. I can sort of get the relation. However, this one is better. The vanilla and tonka in that one, aren’t super enjoyable.

The performance is good. Not a massive beast mode cologne, but it is one that’ll stick around for a good while.

Le Male Le Parfum is well worth trying out and might even become a signature or simply a favorite of many guys out there. I’m not totally in love with it, though, it is a very good fragrance.

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.