Serge Lutens: Chypre Rouge

This is Chene candy-edition.

To enjoy:

1. You must like the smell of oak.

2. You must like the smell of the saturated, medicinal sweetness of gummy bears (it is REALISTIC).

If you haven't tried Chene, never mind, just try Chypre Rouge, and you'll get a rough picture. :)

Between them, I reach for Chypre Rouge more often... not surprising for a sweet tooth. On this note, I recommend that fans of CR, give Parfumerie Generale's Cuir Venenum a try, for a diabetic dose of fruit jam x leather. It is the Britney Spears of leather, a bridging introductory to leather for the minor.

Serge Lutens: Chypre Rouge

This is Chene candy-edition.

To enjoy:

1. You must like the smell of oak.

2. You must like the smell of the saturated, medicinal sweetness of gummy bears (it is REALISTIC).

If you haven't tried Chene, never mind, just try Chypre Rouge, and you'll get a rough picture. :)

Between them, I reach for Chypre Rouge more often... not surprising for a sweet tooth. On this note, I recommend that fans of CR, give Parfumerie Generale's Cuir Venenum a try, for a diabetic dose of fruit jam. The cuir remains elusive, if any present at all.

The Different Company: Bergamote

Humble honesty: (Your favorite "all-natural") Lemon air-purifier , Ellena-style.

More Interesting and "less natural" alternative: Burberry Weekend For Men.

Like?: Yes, enough.

Amouage: Lyric Man/For Men

I fail to understand this one, and despite an absolute love for it, I fail to say why I do when I'm asked, except to simply say that it smells just so good.

Don't worry though, you're not up for something complicated.

Well, it's versatile, inoffensive (anything is, if politely used), and beautiful. Sure, it is easy to say it's just another good-smelling rose one, and it is. And like most Amouages, possess the silky, powdery texture that is the epitome of an Amouage track.

Now, if you're expecting a close-to-life blown up of a rose petal, you'd be surprise. If we're comparing a fresh, moist, waxy rose, with a rose contribution to a potpourri..... it is the latter. But do not misunderstand me. This one smells great even for someone who prefers the smell of natural roses. It does not come across as a rose soliflore, more like a floral mixture.

Lightly spiced, but not in the chili-hot sense (an association I have a cultural habit of making), but rather, a little powdered mixture of the sweetest spices (you'll definitely notice some saffron, the rest is a blur to me), and typically fashioned with sandalwood (yes, what fragrance isn't?) and their famous-by-now frankincense. It might seem, just by brief discussion here, that we're looking at something old-school. It's hardly.

I told you, it isn't complicated, and I've left out the smaller and less significant-smelling bits. Whatever you do or expect, make sure you smell it, because it isn't mind-blowing, and it smells just so good. You might even wonder if it smells a little too familiar, like a favorite body foam.

And you'd wish all body-foams smelled this way.

Oh, if you happen to serve a bottle-collecting kink, you'd be treating yourself to a solid looking/feeling one. Lyric Man is not photogenic.

Oh, and if you're looking for something similar, but livelier/with more complexity(floral mambo jumbo), try Lyric Woman/For Women. (You didn't say less expensive right?).

DON CORLEONE by La Via del Profumo

"...a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."

- Don Corleone, The Godfather (1972)

Spoken by one of cinema's most charismatic mafia dons, those words seem at odds with the ruthless way he deals with his enemies. Don Corleone - the family man, the mafia don - is a study in contrasts, a reunification of contradictions, an iron fist in a velvet glove.

The same perhaps can be said of its fragrance counterpart. Created entirely of naturally derived components by talented perfumer composer Dominique Dubrana or Salaam as he is known now, Don Corleone is an understated yet no less arresting composition involving aromatic herbs, tuberose, tobacco and vanilla. On my skin I get an unmistakable aromatic smokiness from tobacco ablsolue blending into the softly subdued vanilla and floral-herbal elements. But Tobacco Vanille this is not for it wears lightly, nowhere near as sweet given the lighter approach and herbal nuances, with a complexity that only all-natural perfumery can portray.

Sillage may not be its strong suit but the quiet aura it radiates is not without authority. There is an indefinable quality about it that speaks of respect, family tradition, strength and fortitude. Add 'Sicilian flair' to the mix and it seems Don Corleone has just made me an offer I cannot refuse.

Pic: courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Amouage: Memoir Man

"Resonating the fragments of a memoir, this woody and leather fougere fragrance is inspired

by the sombre mood of an existential journey.

Both alluring and philosophical, this fragrance defies conventions and moves beyond sense and reason."

- quoted verbatim from www.amouage.com

For once, the copy despite its grammatical error, can hardly be accused of superfluous hyperbole. Having worn Memoir Man over a couple of days I found it to be a well-behaved gentlemanly fragrance with some pseudo-philosophical underpinnings based on a backstory that leaves plenty of gaps for the fertile imagination to fill. Clever marketing, huh?

Another aromatic fougere this may well be but its artistry is a delight. In particular, the pairing of absinth and mint to herald the arrival of a lavender heart showcases the work of someone who truly knows her stuff. I enjoy this prologue lot, as brief as it is bittersweet, mildly camphoraceous yet hardly medicinal. The accompanying frankincense adds warmth and character but retains a wispiness that allows a mildly barbershoppish fougere accord to radiate right through. Nice but nothing outstanding. Or so my thoughts go. But as Memoir Man hits its strides, I find myself held spellbound by the rhythm of its pulse - the ebb and flow of the basenotes as they warm up on my skin, delivering subtle whiffs of musky woods one moment, creamy vetiver on soft leather in another. Genius! How anyone could deem it a linear scent is beyond me though I suppose a bad case of cold on a review day could throw a spanner in the works.

Like Dia Man, Memoir Man is on the quieter side of Amouage, its sillage seldom venturing further than a foot, but when it speaks, it is with the thoughtful words of a seasoned veteran rather than the prattling of a brash upstart. This is definitely not a scent designed to impress the impressionable crowd (hint), but it is this same cool, self-assuredness that makes it a winner in my books...or should I say 'future wardrobe'?

Notes:

absinth, basil, mint, rose, frankincense, lavender absolute, sandalwood, vetiver, guaiac wood, amber, vanilla, musk, oakmoss, leather, tobacco.

Pic:

Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men

XerJoff: Oroville

I'll 'fess up. Tobacco scents are not the easiest to review. For many of us, when it comes to tobacco-inspired fragrances, we tend to look for familiar associations we have with tobacco from our past - be it the cherry pipe tobacco grandpa used to smoke or the cheap bidi favored by certain groups of people. My own earliest recollection of unsmoked tobacco is the lingering scent on the aluminium wrapper you find inside a cigarette box.

Xerjoff's Oroville is none of the above. For that reason alone, some reviewers may be inclined to think of it as a tobacco lite, with little tobacco. They are not necessarily wrong though some of those opinions might have been shaped by side-by-side comparisons to fragrances with more prominent tobacco accords such as Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille or By Kilian's Back to Black.

Surprisingly, the first note off the top of Oroville was galbanum with its unmistakable earthy yet balsamic profile. But Lanvin for Men this is not, the galbanum giving way to a blossoming spicy floral blend tinged with the peculiar mustiness of clary sage. Unlike in a number of other Xerjoffs, the neroli and orange flowers are very much subdued here, existing mainly to add some piquancy to the sweetish spiciness of the carnation-tobacco blend as it slowly unravels.

At this point of the fragrance development some might venture to suggest "clove cigarettes...??". Well, not quite, at least not to my nose. The aura of tobacco is nowhere near as densely crude nor as sweetly spiced as that of clove cigarettes. Neither does it have the dry unsmoked cigarette quality I find in Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille or By Kilian's Back to Black. The closest I could think of was the tobacco absolute used in Sonoma Scent Studio's Tabac Aurea but where Tabac Aurea's rendition is a little creamy and powdery sweet, Oroville's version leans towards lightly musky woods and dry spices. Distinctively masculine and hardly sweet at all.

Oroville wears close to the skin, perhaps a little too closely for most wearers, with elevated body temperature improving its projection ever so slightly. But I have to admit it is an intriguing, smolderingly sexy scent up close, poised perfectly to start a lusty spark from that little cuddle with a lover. It continues along this line until the 4th hour when the tobacco and spice start to wear off, dwindling down a couple of notches to a warm ambery drydown with subtle hints of galbanum. Not much vanilla though. Overall longevity is good, easily 8 hours on my skin and tenaciously survives even a light shower.

Much has been said of the quality ingredients in Xerjoffs. I'm happy to note that this is not just marketing blurbs. In fact, until Oroville, I have never smelled a tobacco note quite as beautiful. How does it compare to Tobacco Vanille and Back to Black? Let's just say that if the Tom Ford is a loud yet linear powerhouse, and the By Kilian a somewhat bombastic masterpiece, then Xerjoff's Oroville is more of an understated yet suavely classy fragrance for the gentleman who appreciates quality craftmanship. Anyone who expects an edgy, avant garde composition or a mind-blowing showstopper from their USD345 bottle of Xerjoff is clearly missing the point. But if you are the sort who favors a Breguet over a Casio when both tell the time almost equally well, you'll probably understand why there is always a place in the market for the likes of Xerjoff.

Is Oroville full bottle worthy? I honestly do not know. It's probably best to let your bank account be the judge.

Notes:

chamomile, clary sage, carnation, orange flower, neroli, tobacco, musk, sandalwood, galbanum, vanilla, amber.

Photo: author's own