Ineke Field Notes from Paris


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

  • Aparatchick says:

    I really wanted to love this one, but it just didn’t work for me. I like After My Own Heart and Evening Edged in Gold though. And her customer service is top notch. If anyone wants to dip into this line, I’d recommend trying her sample collection – $25.00 for a beautifully presented set of samples and the cost can be deducted from a full bottle if you decide to buy.

  • Rappleyea says:

    Your wonderful review sent me scurrying for my sample – which I couldn’t find! ACK!! I probably passed it on in one of my “love it or leave it” moods. So now I regret my haste, and will give it another try.

  • nozknoz says:

    Tom, I love to wear FfP in the winter. To me it really smells like the atmosphere I imagine in a Paris cafe – coffee, tobacco, whiffs of the patrons’ scents and leather coats, old wood and beeswax polish, and maybe snacks…

  • Louise says:

    Hi Tom!

    I love Inekes, but they don’t love me ; (

    Chemical bonding was lovely on, until I broke out in hives. All the others smell so yummy on others, and I had high hopes for Field Notes, but it went all muddly on me, and I gave my decant away.

    I’m still hoping for Ineke, and determined to give the Chemical another try.

    Happy Weekend!

  • marina says:

    I can’t figure out if I tried this one. No, that must have been Evening Something Something. That’s the problem with long perfume names…But FNfP sounds lovely!

    • tmp00 says:

      Names are tricky. I think you’d like this one. It has a touch of that “Old School Cary Grant” thing about it…

    • nozknoz says:

      Evening Edged in Gold – I like Field Notes from Paris the best, but love the E name!

  • maggiecat says:

    This sounds lovely, and right up my alley as well. Stay warm and thank you for a great post – I might not otherwise have tried this.

  • Kate says:

    I love this one (am a big fan-girl of Ineke) and don’t consider it a masculine but see how some men would feel more comfortable wearing it than say her new beauty, Gilded Lily. Lovers of tobacco will find this creates a different effect than the smokey or pipe kind of notes. Its tobacco leaf, I think. This is so nicely blended that that beeswax comes out at some point and makes a nice presentation. Love this one but have plotzed over Gilded Lily!

  • karin says:

    And I received the sample from someone else who passed it to me! Yes, this whole perfume world is fun, fun, fun. I’ve made many friends through swapping and sharing stories.

    Bought my husband a bottle of this for Christmas as it’s great on him. There’s definitely something “happy” and uplifting about it. I tried the sample on me before passing it on to him cause I thought it veered more toward masculine.

    Glad you like it, Tom!

  • pam says:

    Tom, this sounds wonderful! Is this marketed as a men’s fragrance? I am just getting started trying some of the “men’s” scents, and am not sure what to try first. Any recommendations? Eau Sauvage is of course excellent and I have tried it. But since everything is divided into two sections, I have just been gravitating to the “women’s” side.
    Stay warm. I’m tired of winter already.

    • tmp00 says:

      I don’t think it’s marketed as one, no. But it sort of has that classic “Mens” vibe to it,

      I think that women can rock anything in the “Mens” section. Certainly any of the Guerlain ones. Habit Rouge is gorgeous on a lady.

  • Ann says:

    Good morning, Tom! Sorry you’re a little chilly, but you’ve got your “little puffs of citrus happiness” (love that!) to warm you up. I agree with you that perfume people are some of the sweetest, most generous folks around. I guess it’s because we love fragrance so much that we delight in sharing the joy.
    Haven’t tried this Ineke yet, but now that I’ve heard the magic words “orange blossom,” this one’s definitely on my radar.