For Men

John Richmond for Men has been on the market since 2010 and belongs to a moment in mainstream masculine perfumery when spicy amber compositions were the default. The bottle does most of the shouting: black glass with a silver guitar-pick charm reading "it's only rock 'n' roll". The fragrance itself is more moderate than that suggests. It opens on ginger and bergamot, a combination that gives an immediate hit of fizzy warmth rather than plain citrus, with African orange flower adding a soft floral brightness that softens the edge. The heart is where it does something slightly unusual for the category: watermelon supplies a watery, faintly sweet transparency that is more often found in aquatics, and it is set against pepper, cardamom and rosemary, which pull hard in the opposite direction towards dry herbal spice. That tension is the most distinctive thing about the composition, and whether it works depends largely on how much you enjoy melon in a masculine fragrance. The base is entirely conventional and all the better for it, with Virginia cedar giving dry woodiness, amber providing warmth and musk smoothing the finish. Longevity is moderate rather than exceptional and projection settles quickly. It is a straightforward, inexpensive everyday scent that does not demand much thought, and the transgressive branding is entirely cosmetic.