Yes, it’s the day you’ve been waiting for – Tauer Perfumes’ Advent giveaway!  This year Andy did a scent for the event…

“I made an all natural, all botanical Eau de cologne, baptized LE COLOGNE DU MAGHREB, especially for this occasion. I use only natural essential oils, absolutes, and resins in it. It is a classical cologne, with a woody baseline chord, a firework of natural citrus notes, exploding into expensive sparkles, on a background with ambreine and cedarwood from the Moroccan High Atlas.

Like all colognes it is not made to last but it is a fragrant joy, living in the moment, leaving you with the finest veil of woods on your skin.

The prize is a 50 ml flacon that you cannot get from any retailer. It comes in a white cardboard box with ribbon.

Ingredients: Citrus essential oils and absolutes (such as lemon, bergamot, clementine, mandarine, grapefruit, orange blossom absolute, neroli oil), rose absolute and oil, cedarwood, ambrein, cistrose and much more.

We ship to the address given to us and do not contact the addressee afterwards nor will we use the contact information for any other purpose than sending the prize, nor will we forward the address to anybody else.”

So, March, how’s it smell?  Beautiful.  It smells like a cologne Andy Tauer would make, with a lightly incense-y drydown.  But of course.  As Andy wrote to me, “I guess I can‘t hide. I am the incense man.”

Just enter your name below, I’ll choose a winner via random.org, and Andy’s special Swiss elves (Swiss elves are actually made of chocolate! or cheese, I forget which) will mail it to the winner. UPDATE 12/17. COMMENTS ARE CLOSED.  And the winner is …. Allan! I emailed you.

By March

Today we’re having a review-gab of the Posse Swapmania of a couple weeks ago — how it worked out, what you got (and got rid of), any hiccups, etc.

1) It sounds silly in hindsight, but I was actually worried that nobody would show up and play.  As I write this I went back and checked, and there were 1,229 comments.  So … wow.  Thanks, everyone.

2) It seems like the threaded comments format worked out pretty well.  I was concerned that individual threads would get too complicated, and so I’d asked people to list their individual swap items separately.  Some did; some didn’t.  And yet it all seemed to work, in part because people swapped contact info and took their communications off the Posse sooner than I’d anticipated.

3) Late in the game someone posted the helpful detail that you can search comments on a PC by hitting CTRL + F (think “find”.)  Who knew?  I sure didn’t.  This makes it easier if you’re looking for a particular fragrance and/or your swaps.

4) I had some hilarious email communications where I said … wait, what are we swapping?  I assume that happened to some of you.  But we sorted it out.  I think I did seven swaps, both for fragrances I really wanted and chocolate/tea.  There were some very imaginative swaps going on, including foodstuffs, jewelry, and hand-knit items.

5) In hindsight, choosing Thanksgiving weekend maybe wasn’t the greatest idea.  It wasn’t a problem for our friends overseas, and my thinking was that it would give U.S. residents some time while they were off work/school.  But I hadn’t considered the problems this created for those (duh) who were away from home and couldn’t remember what bottles they had, the sizes, etc.  So if we do this again, I won’t pick a holiday weekend.

6) If there were any horror stories, I’m unaware of them.  As far as I could see, keeping an eye on comments, people were behaving with total respect and civility and a sense of fair play.  There were times when multiple people were going after the same items, and/or initial swaps that didn’t work out and people went with the second or third offers.  Again, kudos to all of you.

7) I was concerned that this swap wouldn’t work because people would be too narrowly focused – i.e., I have Fragrance X, and I will ONLY swap for Fragrance Y.  That’s what MUA’s for, right?  But there was some great bargaining and additional throwing-in of samples to balance things.

8 ) Speaking of balance, I was impressed by people’s ability to look beyond the “perceived” dollar value of a particular bottle.  Let’s face it – many of us have paid retail for mass market stuff, while also scoring killer deals on niche scents we got as bargains on eBay or elsewhere.  Nobody knows what a particular bottle really “cost” someone else.  People did what I’d hoped for – they had things they didn’t want, swapped for things they wanted, and didn’t stress too much on disparities in theoretical worth.

9) I’ve already heard several stories of people’s generosity in throwing in extra goodies in packages.  I’ve not heard from anyone who got totally stiffed (swapper or stuff vanished).  I have heard from a few folks who’ve not yet received their end, wondering how that is working out?

10) I’m thinking of doing this again, in the summer – that would be a new season and would give us six months to accumulate more samples/bottles we don’t want.  What say you?

A quick review – I got several things on my wish list, including Hanae Mori Magical Moon, YSL Cinema, and Jolie Madame (new version.)  Yes, I am just that lame and tasteless, apparently. One thing I swapped for on a whim was Annick Goutal Eau du Sud, because I’ve read several people calling it cumin-y, although cumin is not listed in the notes. I am thrilled.  As you know, I’ve been on a bit of a cumin bender.  I am pretty darned sure that Sud is not at the top of the AG popularity list (it has a miserable 45% rebuy rating on MUA).  I couldn’t even remember what Sud smelled like.  It’s sort of like Hadrien, but more herbal and with a hefty dose of salty sweat, which sticks around for the duration.  It’s both abrasive and oddly refreshing.

Okay, throwing it open to you all.  What did you get?  How did it go?  Any suggestions or issues we should work through?

image:  Hecate and Buckethead blow out the candles on their cakes this summer; she’s worms, he’s sharks, naturally.  They’re wearing swim gear because it was a migraine-inducing-super-soaker party with the more feral neighborhood children.  No, this has nothing to do with today’s post, but I ran across it and it makes me smile.

March

I really thought I’d get a post done tonight, but my mother had surgery this morning to fuse her ankle, and she was in surgery for four hours, then in recovery for five hours, and we finally got home about an hour ago, and I’m just pooped.

I did make it into Barney’s in Las Vegas and sniffed quickly Malle’s Portrait of a Lady and the two new ouds from Byredo.  The Malle had some promise on the open, little skank going on, but then it settled into a really pretty rose fragrance that I’m sure will work for plenty of people, but it’s not one I need to spend my money on.

The new ouds from Byredo were okay, the Oud Immortel appealed to me most, and I would like to spend some more time with it, but neither struck me as some great new take on oud.

The most interesting/entertaining smell in India was when the plane landed.  We had barely landed, and Delhi’s smell started permeating every square inch of the plane – smoke and humanity.  Smoky, pungent, feral. I laughed out loud when I figured out what it was.

So are any of you wishing for a fragrance for Christmas? And what is it, if you are?

Patty

I had a chance to sample a few new fragrances from DSH Perfumes…

Cuir et Champignon – a bunch of you have tried this one.  Dawn says: Cuir et Champignon embodies all the soft and inviting qualities of white button mushrooms, then leads you to a more hidden place where the darker mushrooms grow and on to rich rawhide and dusty leather. It’s, unsurprisingly, an earthy, mushroom-y leather with a hint of tobacco.  It’s got that smutty barnyard aspect (hello, civet and castoreum!) that many of you absolutely love in leather – the earthy direction rather than the smoky/sharp birchtar.  Soft, simple, maybe not the safest choice for work, unless you actually work in a barnyard.  I think it’s incredibly sexy, and not in a white button-mushroom way.  Consider yourself skanked.  Notes are: Bergamot, Clary Sage, Galbanum, Neroli, Wild Chamomile, Cepes (mushroom absolute), Clove Bud, Gardenia, Honey, Orris, Sandalwood, Tuberose Absolute, Castoreum, Civet, Guiacwood, Hiba Cedarwood, Indonesian Vetiver, Leather, Peru Balsam, Tobacco Absolute.

Mata Hari – this is her Outlaw Perfume, made with restricted IFRA ingredients; I very much wanted to try this.  The warning attached to it is hilarious– patch test! Use with caution!  Potential irritant!  Danger danger Will Robinson! Guess what?  My arm didn’t drop off.  It’s a nod to zaftig scents from classical perfumery of the early 20th century, a fruity chypre with leather and peach accents, all botanical.  It takes a few minutes to set up on my skin, after which it’s a powerhouse – the sort of thing that deserves either a night out on the town or some marabou slippers in the boudoir.

Winter White – One of our “skin scents” that adds a natural, “not-too-perfumey” fragrance to the skin. Notes are: Raspberry, Sandalwood, White Rose Accord, Heliotrope, Musk, White Chocolate.  A classic DSH comfort scent that wears more lightly than you’d guess from that list of notes – so, so pretty, it really is a skin scent, a bit like Barbara Bui, very soft and lightly powdery.

Also: her holiday sale’s been extended to the 18^th – the code HOLIDAY10 at checkout should get you 20% off.

Dawn sent me one of her new Winter White perfume solids to give away (she did solids of some of her most popular scents like Cimabue and Cafe Noir). I’ll include it, Mata Hari, and some other DSH samples in the draw, leave a comment saying if you want it and I’ll pick somebody (US only this time please, I have a prepaid box for it.) UPDATE: drawing is closed, winner is Jennifer, I emailed you.

image and samples: DSH Perfumes

March

by Nava

For the past year, I’ve been looking for a Canadian perfume brand, or a Canadian perfumer to write about. I’m not a big fan of Lise Watier and her Nieges scents, or any of her other scents, and there wasn’t anyone or anything else jumping out at me. A few weeks ago, I pulled my head out of my posterior and realized that Ayala Sender, the SmellyBlog scribe, was the nose behind Ayala Moriel Parfums in Vancouver BC. I “friended” her on Facebook and started following her feed. A thorough perusal of her Web site lead me to place a sample order, and since it showed up on Tuesday, I’ve been in constant swoon mode. I’ve long been impressed by the talents of Serena Ava Franco, Mandy Aftel, and Dawn Spencer Hurwitz; now, I am so happy to have discovered Ayala.

Everyone knows my taste in fragrance runs the gamut through all types and price ranges. I especially love oils and artisanal scents, and whenever I find ones that are worth mentioning, I want to scream about them from the nearest rooftop; or computer, as the case is here. It helps when the perfumer offers an exceptional sampling program, which Ayala does. I ordered 8 1 ml samples for $50.00 (USD). Ayala has quite an extensive range of scents, all of which are handmade from natural ingredients, so starting off with 8 seemed like a good number:

Bois d’Hiver: Notes of incense, spices and fir make this the perfect holiday scent. It has a cinnamony freshness, with a slight bit of incense hovering about, and the brisk green of fir in the background. Bois d’Hiver is a testament to Ayala’s skill, because the scent is simultaneously warm and spicy, yet has a definite freshness I find so uplifting.

Bon Zai: This is “zen” in a bottle. And goodness knows I’ve been needing some. Shiso leaf and agarwood combine for another crisp, yet warm composition that is both zingy and woody. It reminds me faintly of a good Earl Grey tea, but with more depth and warmth.

Cabaret: When I saw the words, “Rahat Loukhoum” used to describe this scent, I knew I had to sample it. Serge’s Rahat Loukhoum is one of my all time favourites, and Ayala’s Cabaret is far less gourmand than Serge’s, with more rose and a bit of powder peeking through. There’s a tad too much rosewater in here for my comfort level, but it would make a lighter alternative to the heaviness of Serge in warmer weather. Although I did find myself dipping into Serge’s Rahat in the height of the heat last summer. That just goes to show you how much I love a good gourmand!

Épice Sauvage: If love the deep, dark woody spiciness of a scent like Donna Karan’s Black Cashmere, this one is for you. I like to call a scent like this a “bear hug” because it envelops you in its warmth and spiciness the way a heartfelt hug from a loved one does. You can’t go wrong with atlas cedar, cardamom and honey.

Espionage: Arrest me and hang me for high treason. This combination of scotch, leather and cigar smoke dries down to a smoky, musky vanilla that is just sublime. I thought the cigars my cousin Simon brought back from Cuba a few weeks ago were the best things I smelled in a long time, but Espionage wins by a couple kilometeres.

Film Noir: I’m very, very, very picky about my patchouli, and this is one of the few I am willing to wear. Dark chocolate and myrrh accompany the patch and the drydown is yummy. This isn’t a dirty, skanky patchouli, rather one that is earthy, loamy and almost green. The dark chocolate compliments it really well, and myrrh adds just a touch of sweetness.

Finjan: This one reminds me of the Wood Coffee scent from Comme des Garçons defunct Sweet series. This is a spiced Turkish coffee gourmand that’s not as sweet as Wood Coffee was, but it has a bit of floral in the background that makes it very interesting. I also get a good bit of cloves and probably some cinnamon; very warming and comforting.

Immortelle l’Amour: There is never any mistaking the sweet maple-y smell of immortelle. It just depends if you like it sweet, or not. This is a sweet immortelle because it’s mixed with vanilla. So, if you’re an Annick Goutal Sables lover, you might not like this one. It’s got vanilla in it, so I’m down; there’s also some rooibos in here that gives it an herbal tinge. Speaking of herbal, Ayala offers this as a scented tea as well.

My sample package from Ayala was definitely the highlight of my week. Taking this short journey through her fragrant word has left me wanting more – more of what I’ve already smelled, and more of what I haven’t. Much as I love a good department store scent, or a fragrance from one of the more well-known noses we love, making this type of a discovery reminds me why I love fragrance so much. Perfumers like Ayala, Serena, Dawn or Mandy can leave you gobsmacked when you smell their creations. I needed a little gobsmacking, and I am so glad I found it in the form of fragrance. Ayala Moriel is a new-found treasure. To learn more, visit her Web site, Ayala Moriel Parfums.

Disclosure: I purchased an 8 scent sample pack directly from Ayala’s Web site.