Le Male Popeye

When Jean-Paul Gaultier created the perfume Le Male, in 1995, his goal was to capture the scent of an old-fashioned barbershop. Thus, this fragrance is both fresh and current while carrying a touching and daring nostalgia. Moreover, this is undoubtedly part of the reason for its immense success. It has also earned multiple reinterpretations, including the recent Le Male Popeye. After all, who better than him and his bulging muscles to wear Jean-Paul Gaultier's emblematic sailor shirt?!

When Jean-Paul Gaultier claims the character of Popeye

Popeye is a comic strip from the United States, first distributed in December 1919. Since that day, it has considerably grown in fame, having been translated in the 1930s for audiences around the world. This character embodies a sort of gruff sailor, rather touchy and fond of showing off his physical strength. Although he is not necessarily known for his intelligence, he possesses a certain endearing quality. Moreover, Popeye has many other qualities. He is brave, loyal and even sometimes sentimental. It is precisely all these facets that are found in the perfume Le Male Popeye. It must be said that the idea of associating this character with his perfume logically came to Jean-Paul Gaultier's mind. Indeed, he has always made the sailor shirt his emblematic garment. Yet, no famous sailor had ever worn it. It is therefore quite naturally that Popeye stepped in as the face of the new Le Male Popeye. This fragrance clearly aims to reveal the tender side hidden behind the muscular shell of every man who wears it.

The freshness of Le Male Popeye

Of course, Le Male Popeye does not entirely turn away from its origins either. In this sense, it is heavily inspired by its predecessor. It managed to preserve the latter's masculinity while adding extreme freshness. If Le Male from 1995 is the work of the talented perfumer Francis Kurkdjian at the very start of his career, Le Male Popeye, for its part, was created by Nathalie Gracia-Cetto. Its formula opens with the sun-kissed freshness of neroli, an essential oil derived from orange blossom. For added bite and liveliness, this raw material is here enhanced with mint and aldehydes. Then, masculinity gradually takes over Le Male Popeye. This fragrance takes on woody tones dominated by ambroxan. Sage also reinforces the aromatic and camphorous side of the composition while serving as an excellent fixative. Thus, Le Male Popeye boasts remarkable longevity. It nonetheless closes on a softer note. Moreover, Le Male Popeye's sillage combines a warm, suave vanilla with the creaminess of tonka bean. The bottle, for its part, has kept its silhouette from before. However, Popeye proudly displays his bicep on the front. He is dressed in the designer's sailor shirt and even bears the slogan: I Love Gaultier.