Todd Oldham (1995)
by Todd Oldham

Someone mentioned this on my boozy scent inquiry thread and indeed it is a strong dose of liqueur. A cherry peachy brandy or possibly sugared cherries preserved in brandy star in the opening which is quite heavy and, as mentioned, suitable for cool weather only. The composition quickly becomes much more grownup, as an animalic note quickly sneaks in, and progressively becomes quite prominent. Add a hint of smoke and a ribbon of vegetal to balance the sweetness, and you have a beautiful Fall/Winter fragrance.

Yeah it's definitely a fall/winter smell due to its warm quality. Very nice perfume. My best friend was the one who introduced it to me (actually I liked it so much on her that I had to inquire about it, and also put it on). It is creamy and rich. Very nice, feminine smell, I highly recommend it.

Yes, it's fruity, but not in that happy-fruity way... it's more like a dark, smoky, spicy anti-fruit carnality. Takes a strong personality to sport this one. It is quite heavy. Use sparingly.

Tood Oldham's signature fragrance (he only ever did one - it's the same as the "crown") is a throwback to the heady scents of the 80s, even though it was launched in the mid 90s. I can't recall the exact notes but I'm pretty sure they consist of peach and possibly something else like kiwi, cucumber, lilac and a lot of sandalwood as well as decent doses of amber and incense. This is a very, very sweet-syrupy-spicy scent; though totally different in composition, it has a very similar feel to Crabtree and Evelyn's Savannah Gardens. Both even share the same deep amber juice color. The Oldham has a certain smokiness, though, that the Savannah Gardens does not, and is as such a bit more cosmopolitan smelling (versus Gardens' charming sense of innocence.) The beauty of the Oldham is its intensity, which stands in contrast to so many scents out today; one or two shots of this goes on and on easily through a full day-into-night wearing. It's a relatively simple composition so it doesn't evolve a whole lot on the skin; the peach packs a tremendous wallop and is a little obnoxious at first but ends up sweetening the whole blend in a rather saucy, sexy way. I like this one a lot and sometimes really relish the idea of cold weather rolling around so I can put some on; it's way, way too heavy to be considered for anything but crisp-to-cold weather.