by Moosette

Aiiyy!  We are having That Midwest Weather Thing again.  Hummingbirds and margaritas one minute, Dorothy Gale and heavy socks the next.  (at this rate we will have sweet corn in September).  Dang (stomping back up the attic stairs to pull the hoodies back out).  I was all set to review some classic leathers in the heat but Nature has other plans – so I’m going to review niche leathers in the blustery weirdness.  Leather is a note I absolutely adore but don’t always want to wear (except vintage Diorling which I hope to die in sometime way down the line).  And for me they, like oudhs, work best in extreme heat but your mileage may vary.  I’m reading the latest issue of Shotgun News, hence the gun references.

So let’s start with Heeley Fine Leather.  I didn’t even know this existed – I was in Barneys, sniffing Oranges and Lemons Say the Bells of St. Clement’s which, btw, bears a shocking resemblance to 4711 – a reverse “If You Love _________”.  Musette says: save your simoleans, go to Loehmann’s and get the Real Deal for $19.99.

Sorry.  Where was I?  Oh, yeah.  Heeley  Cuir Pleine Fleur, aka Fine Leather.  Bradley spritzed this on me and I was pleasantly surprised!  I’ve had troubles with Heeley in the past, with Ophelia boring me to tears, Cardinal making me sneeze, etc…and then O&LStBoSC just insulting me….but this one, Fine Leather?  It’s really nice.  It’s a soft, flowery leather, not chilly, not oily and there’s a nice powdery aspect to this that makes it a bit more ‘femme-y” than some other leathers but has just enough of the butchy stinkeye to keep it interesting.

Gun quotient: If someone stuck a shotgun in my face and said I had to buy a Heeley this would be the one.

Notes: violet leaf, bergamot, mimosa, aubepine (acaccia), hawthorn blossom, birch, suede, vetiver, cedarwood, castoreum.

Mark Buxton Hot Leather.  I got this in a split – tres cheap, thank Floyd. Oh, Mark.  I expected way better from you.    ‘tis neither hot nor leather.  It’s a lukewarm attempt at ‘cool’, like somebody threw one of those cheap cowhides on a shiny vinyl floor and tried to make it look Bauhaus.  It’s not bad-smelling, don’t get me wrong.  It’s a very nice Generic Masculine-Pretty that has some pretensions to elegance – Tony Curtis wore something like this in 40 Pounds of Trouble, I’m sure of it.   Only his was cool.

Gun quotient:  It would have to be a Very BIG gun.

Notes: citrus, bergamot, coriander, mandarine, orris, jasmine, patchouli, cedarwood and vanilla.  March reviewed it here

Tom Ford Tuscan Leather. Maybe I’m just crabby…but Tom Ford gets on My Very Last Nerve.  I want him to stop preening, take a shower, put his clothes on and act like he’s got some sense.  Then I smell something like Tuscan Leather and I’m reminded that the world is full of  non-greasy, sensible people – and very few of them would have the huevos to create what he does.    Love him or loathe him, we need narcissistic freaks like Tom to keep things interesting.  Tuscan Leather is interesting.  A smoky-woody leather, it’s bling-free, elegantly dry and simple, with all the complex bits on the inside, like a bespoke suit or a vintage Roadster or a swan.  For women this is the perfect leather to wear with an Anne Fontaine pintuck blouse at work and a black sheath and some chunky gold jewelry come nightfall.  For men, it’s a perfect scent, period.  Thanks, Tom.  Sorry I skeeved on ya.

Gun Quotient: No ammo need apply.  I would happily wear this, though I would rather save for a new 12-gauge than for a  full bottle.

saffron, raspberry , thyme, olibanum , jasmine, leather, black suede and amber.

Liz Zorn Sonoran Leather. Yeah, y’all know me as the Liz Zorn FanGirl Absolute.  So it’s always a surprise when I put this one on – and am immediately freaked out.  There’s a whole lot going on here, upfront.  I get jams and plums, cowhides and smoke andfireandtarandsoundandfury(pant!pant!) and it’s terrifying and I always want to cry because I’m so used to loving her stuff and I love leather and……and…then I scrub it off so I don’t have to think about it anymore.

A mistake.  And one that I’m glad I was forced to rectify last night.  Wore it après-bain. I was so whupped that I could barely crawl into bed.  Forget getting up to scrub.  Too early to sleep, too tired to think….I read some more Shotgun News and a Brad Thor novel and about 40 minutes into my settledown I brought my wrist up to my nose, wondering ‘what the heck is that incredibly beautiful…?” …It  smells exactly like a Baja California night or how March always describes New Mexico.  Mesquite? No.  That’s barbeque.  Pinon!  Yes, pinon. Or juniper.  That oily-citrus tang.  Just a touch, with those little flowers that always dot the desert floor whenever it rains.  Butter-tan cowhide drying by the fire.  Rough but so rich.  Then just smooth and beautiful. This is a challenging one to wear, going in but I do think it’s worth the effort.   Give it time to drydown and smooth out – once it does it will transport you to a midnight-blue, starlit desert sky.

Notes from Liz:

Leather (suede) Choya Nakh, Birch Tar, Tobacco, Cinnamon, Cloves, Animal Musk Accord, Rosewood, Sandalwood, Tolu.

It also has Jasmine and Rose in lesser amounts.

Gun Quotient:  Her prices are sane.  No armed robbery necessary.  Shotgun (and Shotgun News) safely back in the cabinet.

What are your leathers?  Do you have a particular Leather Weather?  I know lots of folks love ‘em in the winter cold – not meee!  I like ‘em HOT!

ps.  I was going to rave on about the leather note in Tommi Sooni Tarantella but I’ve never been able to replicate that first experience, where the leather just glided in, midway, and gobsmacked me. I’m starting to wonder if I made that up…

Celebrating the opening of Tom Ford’s new boutique on Rodeo Drive, Lavender Palm is his ode to all things Los Angeles.

I don’t know why lavender in particular would evoke LA for Mr. Ford, unless the fact that it and rosemary are sort of the go-to plants garden designers have been using here for the past 20 years.  So much so that they’re kind of the Pasta Salad of the gardening world.  Not that I don’t like lavender; scents like Andy Tauers Reverie au Jardin, Vero Kerns kiki or Roxana Illuminated Perfumes Vera all star the note (and the latter is actually made in Los Angeles) and are all big favorites of mine.  3eme Homme de Caron is an older lavender scent that does fascinating things with the note and can be had online for around $40. There are also perfumes that were created for and dedicated to Los Angeles, such as Le Labo Musc 25, Mulholland, created by LA area resident Keiko Mecheri, or Roxana Illuminated Perfumes Chapparal. They’re scents that while totally different, capture some of the spirit of the city of the Angels.

Then there’s this.

I do like some of Tom Ford’s scents, and appreciate that he does some that are pretty out there.  He’s clearly not afraid to create something memorable that will challenge the usual department store shoppers.  I wonder why he didn’t this time.  It’s a rather pedestrian little thing, with lavender, citrus and vetiver.  On me it was undetectable after three hours.

I usually don’t ask about price until I’ve tried the juice,  so it doesn’t color my perceptions.  I’m glad I did, since I just checked with the boutique to confirm what a commenter on Now Smell This wrote: the 50ML bottle is $250, while the 250ML is a whopping $950, which takes this from “meh” to “are you on crack?”

Sorry, but at the price point Mr. Ford should be dropping in to personally spritz me with it, and tell me I’m pretty..

Tested at the boutique.

by Nava

Yes folks, I’ve gone trolling in my own collection, yet again. It’s coming up on Sniffapalooza time, and much as I would have liked to be there this year, I’m sorely disappointed that I will not be able to make it. I’ve been missing New York quite a bit lately, mostly because I became a great aunt last month, and I was hoping to see my great nephew before he leaves for college. Alas, his christening will be in January; barring any unforeseen blizzards, I’m hoping to make it back for those festivities.

Sniffa got me thinking about my 4 ginormous Tom Ford Private Blends. I bought them at Bergdorf’s, where I sniffed them for the first time at the spring Sniffa 3 -1/2  years ago. Neroli Portofino, Tobacco Vanille and Purple Patchouli were the ones I instantly fell for, but Noir de Noir grabbed me almost as hard. It is classified as an “oriental chypre”, and much as I like to stay far, far away from anything chypre, it doesn’t smell like one to my nose. The notes are saffron, black rose, black truffle, vanilla, patchouli, oud wood and tree moss. My nose picks up mostly saffron, rose, vanilla (of course) and a bit of patchouli and wood. No moss, and no truffle note that potentially reads skank on me.

As I’ve said before, I find the Private Blends well done in the same vein as Serges, and sometimes almost as challenging to wear. I don’t wear these scents very often, with the exception of Neroli Portofino – I wore it fairly regularly this past summer – but when I do, I revel in their complexity. They’re great scents for this time of year, as well as winter when you need a good snuggler to keep you warm.

So, who’s going to Sniffa? Tell me which scents you’re looking forward to sampling, and any other details you care to share. I’m a shameless voyeur…indulge me!

Disclosure: All Tom Ford scents mentioned are from my own collection.

I received a very thoughtful parcel from handsome Lee last week; included were a whack of Humiecki & Graef samples along with a vial of Parfumerie Generale’s new Bois Naufrage, which pretty well sent me over the edge: fig tree, ambergris and “fleur de sel” accord. I can’t decide if I want to strangle handsome Lee or declare my undying devotion to him. I am so enthralled with Bois Naufrage that I cannot yet bring myself to write about it. I will eventually, along with all the Humiecki & Graef loot. I just didn’t have the opportunity to give them proper attention over the past week. Oh, the inconvenience of actually having to work for a living (don’t let the lament fool you – I’m enjoying the crap out of finally getting paid to write!).

In the meantime, I’ve moved on from my general fruit obsession to a more specific one: oranges and orange blossom. I figure it adds to the intrigue by choosing two scents from opposite ends of the spectrum. My $400 bottle of Tom Ford Neroli Portofino and my $30 bottle of Bath and Body Works Orange Sapphire.

Many of us have scoffed at the Tom Ford Private Blend scents, but I have a soft spot for a few of them. I didn’t really need a 250 ml bottle of Neroli Portofino, but in my current fruity mood, I’ve been showing it a lot of love lately. I doubt I’ll ever get to the bottom of that bottle, but knowing I have it provides a strange comfort to me, like an old sweater or a childhood “blankie”. It isn’t what I would consider a comfort scent, but it is a rather potent interpretation of orange blossom. Sometimes orange blossom is paired up with jasmine, which has a tendency to be overwhelming (Armani Code comes to mind), and that can sometimes turn my stomach. Orange blossom has the unique ability to be subtle, yet tenacious, which is what makes it so perfect for warm weather. It doesn’t have that “headiness” to it that tuberose and gardenia do, although I know some of you love to let those scents bloom in the heat. Kudos to you for that; I’d be face down in bed with a migraine.

Neroli Portofino has a bit of amber in it, which warms it up, but other than that, it is orange blossom, straight up and dirty. Not literally dirty, but it’s definitely not doctored up with any additional white flowers. So if that’s how you like your OB, then this is another one Tom Ford did very well.

Now on to the $30 bottle of Bath & Body Works Orange Sapphire. I believe I mentioned a few weeks ago, when I was strung out on fruit salad, that I was somewhat impressed by the newer scents they were trotting out. If you like orange, not orange blossom, this one is fairly interesting. It sort of reminds me of Sarah Horowitz’s Perfect Nectar Perfect Perfume, but it doesn’t have that overripe quality that I found so suffocating. According to B&BW’s website, the notes are…way too long. You can look at them here. My nose gets blood orange, a fair amount of jasmine and raspberry, and a good bit of honey. It’s nice; and pleasant. I could see myself using up the bottle I bought – because if the BOGO deal B&BW seems to always be running is omnipresent, then why not? That seems to be my answer to a lot of questions these days: WHY NOT?

Here’s something for you to chew on this week: Name some scents – high end and low end – that are similar. Tell me what it is you like or dislike about them, and which one you would prefer to own and why. That is your mission, should you choose to accept it. This post will self destruct in 10 seconds.

Disclosure: The bottles of Neroli Portofino and Orange Sapphire are part of my personal collection.