There are so many options when it comes to buying men’s colognes that there are some fragrances which get overlooked. Others, such as, Acqua Di Gio are perennial best-sellers and it seems worn almost universally.
Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier is in the latter category, it is a consistent best-selling cologne since 1995, and widely recognized as one which smells fantastic.
In this post, I want to share my thoughts and experiences with this Jean Paul Gaultier scent and find out if it is really worth all the hype? Note: I have updated this review, some 7+ years after the original post, to expand upon and revisit this cologne.
What does Le Male by JPG Smell Like?
Notes include: orange blossom, mint, lavender, woods, vanilla, tonka bean, cinnamon, and more
Click here to try: Le Male EDT by JPG
My Full Review
The opening of Le Male is noticeably geared towards the vanilla note. I for one, really enjoy vanilla based fragrances, such as this and Opium by YSL because it adds a certain smoothness to the presentation.
While Opium goes for a smoky and exotic kind of spice, Le Male is more of a fresh and woodsy type of scent.
Beyond the vanilla note, the spiced mint and cinnamon kick in pretty strong from the beginning, along with the lavender. It can be an intense sort of opening, but it settles down fairly quickly to get to the best parts of the fragrance.
What’s interesting is the slight bergamot note in the top, which adds a citrus touch to a freshly spiced start.
As it dries down, the cinnamon starts to drop off for me, and I get more warmth and woods in the undertones. Amber and tonka bean with woods sitting at the base. On top, is still the vanilla, mint, and lavender combination with a toned down spice.
It is creamier with a bit of a powdered element. It all comes together as very sweet with a green minty spice, sort of synthetic smelling, but that is mostly at the opening stages.
What I’m ultimately left with, is a vanilla and lavender fragrance, with the remnants of a powerful mint.
This is then wrapped in a warm amber/tonka mix on top of wood. Revisiting Le Male, nowadays, I really do get a lot of similarities between it and Luna Rossa Sport. At least, in the main notes.
I think that this is such a popular cologne because of the fresh and clean aroma that it gives off. It is a fairly safe scent, which can be worn just about anywhere and it isn’t overpowering either.
Le Male is good at what it does, which is provide a nice scent, versatility, good projection and longevity, and still manages to be quite sexy and alluring to the opposite sex.
Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility
While we’re on the subject of projection and longevity, this is a pretty good fragrance in terms of both. Longevity wise, I usually get 6+ hours of use out of it, which while not spectacular, is usually enough for most daily purposes.
The projection of would rate as moderate, but it is certainly not weak in my opinion either. It is definitely noticeable during the wear to both you and those around you. Also, Le Male does strike me as a bit synthetic smelling overall, but again, I do enjoy this fragrance.
This stuff used to have better performance beyond the 6 hours, but like all older scents, reformulations can happen and alter what we get out of our fragrances. It’s still very good, but doesn’t have that same power that it initially did.
Update: I have a new bottle here in 2023 and it’s still right in that 6 hour range. It hasn’t suffered any further performance declines.
I would say Le Male is a great choice for a wintertime fragrance or even during the cooler days of Fall. That’s when this cologne performs at its best. It is a basic and fairly inexpensive scent for guys to try out and maybe develop into a daily wear.
It’s also something that will mainly be for teens and men in their early 20s. It can be pretty synthetic and simple, not something that’s going to appeal to someone older with an office job.
It’s not something that will make you stand out as unique, and maybe that’s a good thing for some guys. However, it won’t have most people around you hating you for wearing it either, and a ton of people will simply find it appealing…and that’s sometimes all we need from a scent.
It’s been such a popular fragrance for so long, that it doesn’t have the same unique vibe, it may have once had. But, you’re still going to get something that is nice and attractive to wear.
Overall Impressions of Le Male
Overall, do I still like Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier? Yes, I do. I no longer think that it’s the best JPG fragrance, as that title now belongs to Ultra Male. It’s still high ranking on the JPG cologne list.
Bottles of Ultra Male have been discontinued (update: they continued production), but you can buy them online, and the sillage and longevity are fantastic.
The original Le Male is still an awesome fragrance to wear and always super popular. For me, it is a nice scent to revisit from time to time, because it does bring back plenty of positive memories.
I really enjoy the vanilla/tonka/amber blend that comes through towards the middle of the wear.
For younger guys, this is an easy one to use as an all-around fragrance. For older guys, I’d go with something else. It’s not the best option for someone looking for a more serious kind of cologne. Closer to a playful or casual wear.
The only real downside, is the performance is just decent, but not amazing. However, this JPG scent is usually pretty affordable, which make the performance less of an issue.
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.
