Sometimes you just want to smell nice.  On a warm day when you’re running around you might even want something fresh and light.  Rifling through the sample ‘ho pile I came across this little number by San Francisco-based perfumer Ineke.  It has bright citrus and something called “rain notes” (which I actually enjoyed) before becoming a very nice fougère with a lovely woody skin-musk drydown.  It’s listed as a man’s scent but I see no reason at all that you ladies shouldn’t indulge.  If I was, say, March I’d consider keeping this next to the 4711 in the icebox.  Unlike the classic cologne, this has lasting power.  At $88 for 75ML it’s also a relative bargain.

Available at her website or at Nordstrom.  Don’t know where my sample came from.  Space maybe.

Musette

By Tom

I am always wowed by the generosity of the people I meet in this perfume world.  Not only have I made what I feel are true and lasting friendships, but there are people who, at the drop of a hat and for no other reason than a desire to spread the joy, will ship a sample or a decant for sniffage.  In my post  about what to buy your guy, Karin commented about the title scent and was nice enough to offer some to me to sniff.  So, I’m going to publicly thank her and write a review.

Field Notes from Paris is San Francisco based Ineke Rühland’s sixth fragrance.  It’s all about orange blossom, a smell that I absolutely adore and one that is played perfectly here, opening brightly with bergamot, darkened with the notes of uncured tobacco leaf and tonka and finally made luscious with a delightful earthy patchouli, glove leather and vanilla.  The sparkly bergamot/orange blossom opening is like a post-modern Florida Water while the other notes manage to deepen and soften yet buoy the top notes along further far longer then they rightfully should go.  It has lasting power and a surprising amount of throw: one spritz to my wrist before my trip out to errands on this New Years Eve not only managed to get past the tail end of a schnozz-clogging flu but toss out little puffs of citrus happiness as I wandered from Post Office to Library on a decidedly crisp Winter LA day (I’m not kidding, as I type this it’s colder in LA than NY).  I can see why Karin brought it up in a post about classics like Eau Sauvage and Acqua Di Parma: while it’s a very “now” kind of scent there’s a timelessness to it that makes me think that 20 years down the road men (and quite a few women) will still be happily wearing it.

Ineke is available at their website at $80 for 75ML, and they have a handy store finder.  Next stop, Nordstrom Santa Monica Place, Nordstrom card in my teeth.

image: Ineke website

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