Hope y’all had a great Thanksgiving.  Mine was full of too much food, but great company and lots of quiet.

It’s another Creed today!  Creed Windsor is described as a recreation of the scent Creed made for King Edward VIII I guess before he bailed on the crown and married Wallis.

The scent description and notes from Creed’s site:

“Classification: Citrus / Green. Windsor is as subtle as the Duke of Windsor´s hand-tailored suits, shirts and ties, following his philosophy, “Royalty need not shout”

• Top Note: Windsor is a tour of the British Empire Edward once ruled. Its top note is British gin, Jamaican lime and a touch of Scottish highland pine.
• Middle Note: “Duke of Windsor” roses, those he preferred in his own garden, the Nuits de Young variety.
• Bottom Note: Bahamian orange, Canadian cedar and a dab of Australian eucalyptus.”

This fragrance carries all the indicators that I’m going to hate it.

• Recreation of some long-ago scent? Check.
• Pretentious copy that makes me roll my eyes?  Check
• Made by Creed? Check
• Royalty involved?  Check
• Gin?  Incense?  Heeeeey, wait a minute.

The open veers fairly traiditional Creed green fragrance, but it’s not heavy green or overpowering like – shh – git, but you would be unlikely to think of anything but Creed on the open.  The gin, lime, pine and eucalyptus seem to be softly falling over a base of inense.  I’m not sure that it is incense, but the woody notes in it seem intertwined in something that is vaguely resinous.  I was so prepared to hate this that when it dawned on me that I really liked it, it was shocking. I just kept sniffing this weird gin-soaked forest that felt like it had been dragged through the local monastery’s brazier and thinking guys would smell amazing in this, but only just a little more amazing than I do.  The drydown softens and melts those notes into a pine needle bed that is soft and inviting.  I was smelling it for several hours, it had a very nice waft to it that wasn’t too much, just the right amount of sillage.  The longer it is on, the more I find my noses buried in it.  It’s got a lovely, interesting balance to the notes that intrigues me.

So we can begin the argument again about the exclusivity and the price, etc.  I like it, others will hate it, I know the argument on Basenotes has begun in earnest.   I have no idea if it is worth it, but it smells great, and this is the green scent from Creed that I can truly love.

I’m happy to give away some samples of this to commenters.  Let’s do 4 small samples to four commenters!

Patty

Hey, there – I  hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving, for those of you who swing that way.  I got my husband back safe and sound, and I’m still sleeping off the turkey, in addition to getting a fair amount of reading done.  Including your comments on the Thanksgiving post – I was a little verklempt reading some of them.  I’m kind of awed that such interesting, intelligent people even read this blog, but then again – that’s perfume (and not entirely the awe-inspiring writing of yours truly).  Perfume folks are cool.

Today’s review was going to be of Fourreau Noir, the Serge Lutens I finally got around to smelling, but I’ve decided to broaden the topic a bit.  You see, I hadn’t rushed to smell it because a) it’s lavender, and b) the reviews I saw weren’t exactly stellar.

Notes for Fourreau Noir are tonka bean, lavender, musk, smoky notes – as Patty says:  *rolls eyes* Let´s assume his next scent will be released with the explanation:  “Made of some stuff that smells.” It definitely smells like immortelle to me as well.

Our own Lee said: … Fourreau Noir, for all its masculine posturing, is a sad little scent, a front of machismo hiding a well of tears… It´s the 80s writ large. All front up front: the male fougere smells of lavender, coumarin, and synthetics such as dihydromyrcenol to give the thrusting metallic edge, the purr of the engine. All sadness beneath: smoky melancholy, myrrh, quietude.

Patty said: Think of it like this, it´s the Sonic Drive-in where Encens Et Lavande, Chergui and Fumerie Turque all show up, their brakes go out simultaneously, and they all wind up in an incredibly interesting jumble on the menu, something like:  “Lavender Pancake Syrup with Hookah.”

But here’s the thing: I’m kind of loving this train-wreck of a scent.  I think much of my advantage stems from the fact that I’m not a guy and have never dated guys who wear much cologne, and so I don’t have endless personal memories of choking on some nasty sharp 80s fougere, the man-whore equivalent of, say, Giorgio or Poison.  Instead, the lavender and metallic-freshness-plus-Comet-cleanser smell prompts a whole different and kind of novel scent-tableau for me.  It’s the virtual-reality version of standing at a stainless steel kitchen sink, steel wool in hand, with the hot water blasting into a skillet squirted with lavender dish soap, and the faint remnants of some kind of dessert (pancakes?  almond cookies?) hanging in the air.

I can’t stop smelling it.  I don’t want to own it, and I don’t want to wear it, but as an aroma it’s fascinating.  I had no idea that one day Serge Lutens would be able to capture the bouquet of wan despair as I stand at my kitchen sink over a giant pile of dirty dishes after some major extended-family meal, wondering why in hell I ever thought kids were a good idea, and if I should just throw a bunch of crap into an overnight bag and split.  (Once I switched to orange-scented dish soap I got a whole new, cheerful perspective.)   Now, though, thanks to Fourreau Noir I can experience that feeling any time I want (even when I’m out on the town!) not just at eleven at night when I’ve had one too many glasses of prosecco.  The drydown after the first hour or two is actually quite pretty, a very light lavender at that point fading to reveal a combination of immortelle and almond cookie with a resin/incense undertone.   If that were the whole scent I’d be contemplating a decant, it’s very soothing in a second-skin kind of way.

This thing is a hot mess.  But I’m giving it two thumbs up just for engaging weirdness, like one of those outfits on Project Runway that are utter FAIL but sorta mesmerizing at the same time.  More than one of my hot-mess fragrances eventually became something I like (hello, Miel de Bois!) and even when they don’t, at least they’re interesting.  At this juncture, I can’t see waiting through the top notes of Fourreau Noir for that tasty drydown, but I could very well change my mind.

So today I invite you to name something from your own head-scratcher list: a fragrance that you think is (possibly) an utter failure as a scent, at least for you, but one you keep around a sample or decant of, just because you like to smell it.  (Note: this is slightly different than a sadly misunderstood scent that you adore, even though everyone else hates it.)    Or: name a scent that you initially loathed that you’ve come around to, and why your feelings changed.

March

I think the unthinkable has happened: my relocation, my surroundings, possibly my diet, and other contributing factors have altered my chemistry. Things don´t smell the same, and the tenacity of scent on my skin is no longer as impressive as it once was. Now, nothing seems to last more than an hour. Last year, circumstances derailed my sense of smell; now they seem to be wreaking havoc on my skin.

I´ve dragged all my cool/cold weather faves out of hibernation, and once again I find myself bonkers for everything containing incense and woods. Out came Donna Karan Wenge & Labdanum (waves to Lee), along with my beloved Chaos, Satellite Padparadscha, Costes, Jozef Statkus, and the like. After my Ricci Ricci “fruitchouli” encounter two weeks ago, I needed to get my nose back on the right track. But, nothing seems to hang around for very long. The best part of all these scents, for me, is the warm, comforting embraces I´ve always gotten from them. Now, these embraces have deteriorated to those quick shoulder bump/back claps I see men give each other all the time. Like, all of a sudden, a nice solid bear hug requires too much effort.

One scent I´ve rediscovered is Serge´s Five o´ Clock au Gingembre. A lot of people complained that this one was too “perfumey”. I´ve always found it beautiful. It starts out all tangy and gingery, but warms up to this spicy, kind of chai latte scent on me. It has quickly found a place at the front of the line. This one is an underappreciated gem, in my opinion. And Lee, it has that magic ingredient – cistus labdanum.

Before I embark on a post, I always like to get a sense of what´s out there. Last week, I wound up in, of all places, Bath and Body Works. Why? Their newest offering: Twilight Woods. Woods are for me, the equivalent of the dinner bell for Pavlov´s dog. I´ve become so infatuated by them, I´ll smell them anytime, anywhere.

Unfortunately, there´s nothing remotely woody about Twilight Woods. Check out this list of notes: juicy berry, sparkling mandarin, hint of coconut, creamy frangipani, soft mimosa, wet honeysuckle, wild freesia, apricot nectar, oud wood, skin musk captive, vanilla milk and warm woods. Serge Lutens is off in a corner somewhere sobbing.

Again, we´re talking mainstream; my M.O. lately is to poke fun at the scents I´m sniffing, then admit they´re not all that bad. And most of the time, they´re really not. I think B&BW has done a pretty decent job with some of their newer scents – Sensual Amber is a good one, and that Chocolate Amber one they briefly had was even better.  Black Amethyst is a little heavy on the patch for my liking, but all in all, they´ve come a long way from Flowering Herbs and Juniper Breeze. As for Twilight Woods, my nose picks up a good bit of apricot and freesia, and the drydown is more of a sweet musky vanilla than oud and warm woods. It´s nice; but it´s not one I would classify as “woody”. Serge knows his woods; Donna Karan knows hers. Twilight Woods is a grabber when you want a nicely scented body cream and shower gel. And when you can buy three and get three free, how can you go wrong?

Lily has chosen: Claudia is the lucky winner of the Ricci Ricci mini from my post two weeks ago. Claudia, when you´re not busy Black Friday bargain hunting, please click the “Contact Us” link up top,  give us your info, and Lily and I will send you your Ricci Ricci mini PDQ.

Thanksgiving is Thursday, I’m hosting the dinner this year (hellooo, 20lb. turkey!), and on Wednesday morning I’ll be picking the Big Cheese up from the airport (I hope) for his return from Bangkok and Burma, he’s been gone since October.   So I won’t be hanging out on here too much on Wednesday, I’ve got to get the pies baked and the prep work done, but I wanted to wish everyone who partakes a happy Thanksgiving.

I haven’t been feeling particularly thankful recently, although oddly enough all it takes is a funny mini-crisis of the kid-fall-down-go-boom variety to remind me how incredibly lucky I really am.  (Don’t worry, everyone’s fine.)    So I’m not stressing too much, I’m going to crack open the bubbly and have a good time.  That’s my table up there.

So this post could go all gooey right about now, but it isn’t.  Instead I am going to name the first five things I’m thankful for, and I invite you to do the same.  SUPERFICIAL IS FINE.  I’m always OVERTHINKING everything.

1. I still have my daddy, even though he’s really old.

2. I live in a city with lots of interesting cultural things to do.

3. Mitsouko.  The first perfume of my perfume insanity.  The one that made me stop in the middle of a store because my world had just been turned upside down.  The one that redefined for me what a perfume could be.  The first one that I said: I don’t know what that smell is, or what this is about, but somehow … everything has changed.

4. I discovered how much fun nail polish is.  Okay, that’s exactly the sort of thing I’d delete in a Working-for-World-Peace mood, just because I’m ashamed it’s so shallow.  But today?  I’m leaving it.

5. Okay, this one is weird, but … I was always really fussy about food as a kid.  I love food now.  I´m thankful I managed somehow grow up to become a more adventurous eater.  Trying a new kind of food is one of my favorite things to do.

It goes without saying – or mebbe not – that I am incredibly thankful for all the pleasure, and friends, that perfume has brought me.  Safe travels if you’re on the way home to visit family.   And happy birthday Anita/Musette!

March

Hey, first, the winner of the L’Artisan Havana Vanille sample is:  maidenbliss. Click the Contact Us on the left, send me your address and remind me what you won, and I’ll shoot you out a small sample!

Toronto Perfume meet-up:  Date: Saturday November 28th, 2009.    Locationcation: Noor Boutique, Yorkville
Time: Let’s aim to meet at noon (12:00) for a couple of hours. We can stay there, or walk around to some other nearby locations. In the area are various boutiques (Chanel, Geurlain, Hermes) and some other stores like Andrew and Holt. Let’ss see how things go and decide at the time.
To Bring: Yourself, an open mind, maybe some cash, your significant others, and any books, samples, etc.  Daniel will be reading comments, and he’s the organizer, so if you have more questions, mention them in comments!

I’ve had samples that Smell Bent sent me sitting around for a couple of months (insert whatever disclaimers from the FTC that may be necessary soon about no promise for a review at all, positive or negative, etc., etc.).  I have way too many samples I get sent, and my head wants to review what it wants to review only when it wants to, so my slowness to get to something means, well, nothing except my OCD or ADHD spun me off somewhere else for a while.

I spied the packet of Smell Bent scents a couple of days ago and remembered, Hey!  I want to smell those, they have the most ridiculously cute and clever website in the world.  It’s got cuteness down pat, but it’s overlaid with a clever laugh at yourself patina that makes me smile every time I see it.  It’s gotten even better since the last time I went there – now they have calendars with all the great cartoon art that completely enchants me.

Let me tell you something that will make you smile even more.  8 mls of oil perfume at Smell Bent is $20.  AND they are really good. And fun.  And cute.  And clever.  So with all the moaning I’ve been doing about new releases this year with astronomical prices, it makes  me so grateful to see a perfumer who really loves perfume, has a great time with it, making something great for a price point that lets everyone play.  And with Christmas getting closer, these are tremendous stocking stuffers at good price point that the recipient will love.

Horny Little Devil is golden amber, black pepper, filthy musk and a touch of cinnamon.  I was thinking this might be dirtier in the drydown.  Instead it has this great balance between the musk and cinnamon that leaves you poised with the age-old question – do I want to eat it or %$&* it?

Sunshine has notes of sun warmed blood oranges,  rich sandalwood, vanilla-drenched resins and a golden musk base.  The name of this sums it up perfectly, it is an open-mouthed gulp of sun, warmed up with the vanilla and musk without distracting from that full-on happy that comes out of it.

Hungry Hungry Hippie has notes of “freshly baked pot brownies dusted with cassia  over an earthy dose of finely aged patchouli.”  Not that I have any personal knowledge of freshly baked pot brownies, but I think I can imagine the smell of chocolate, ganja and patchouli well enough to say this reminds me of some people I used to hang out with in the ’70s before they got money and started doing blow, then went broke and wound up in rehab.  Normally this combination would send me screaming. Chocolate almost never works for me in perfumes, especially oils, but the combination or addition of the cassia or something makes this pretty great.  The drydown smooths out any of the rough edges of this hippie.

Those are just three that I’ve tried so far.  I’m dying to try some  of the Limited Editions like Pere Noel Coward with notes of sweet immortelle, atlas cedar, balsam fir and pinàµn sap. Yum, right!  I have to tell you, after what I’ve spent on perfume this year, the less than $100 I spent on these have me feeling completely virtuous.

Patty