The Tycoon

The Tycoon is the St Giles character dressed for the boardroom: opulent, self-assured and a little intimidating. Michael Donovan's London house asked Bertrand Duchaufour to give each character its own scent, and this one is a modern chypre that takes the wearer confidently from boardroom to bedroom. It opens bright and bitter: green galbanum and pomelo with green lemon and fresh ginger, a tart, dry citrus that wearers call zingy. The heart turns spicy and peppery, with cypriol, black pepper and nutmeg, a touch of celery, magnolia and tea. The base is the classic chypre foundation of oakmoss, patchouli and labdanum, sharpened by animalic castoreum, with the moss dominating the dry-down. It is a loud, piercing scent early on, with brilliant projection and about eight good hours of wear. It works in every season but most easily in spring and autumn, and suits the office, leisure and evenings alike. Opinion is split between those who find it a polished, universally wearable masterpiece and those who find it cool, aloof, stuffy or too bitter. It sits closer to a green, non-floral chypre than to a sweet designer, and wearers read it as masculine-leaning but wearable by anyone who loves galbanum. Sold in 50 ml and 100 ml, it is worth a sample first, because the bitter green opening is the whole point.