Cumming (2004)
by Alan Cumming

I put this on as the first Mr Brosius scent I had ever tried. I had no idea what to expect but it is quite an extraordinary olfactory adventure. It seems the more you sniff, the more you get and the more the imagination can take hold.

I'm getting a big leather studded armchair, a leather briefcase, including the metallic clasps, a woolly jumper, paper that has been thumbed, there is a bit of fountain pen ink, a cigar that has been smoked but is out and the butt is in a far away ashtray, there is a current bun in the distance, a watered down peaty whisky. There is a peppery skin, very slightly sweaty in a nice way with a trace of that mornings gentlemans cologne left. I'm not getting any fireplace, only the cigar ashtray bit.

Overall, it feels safe and secure, making me have a desire to snuggle up to this comfy person. It is an incredibly evocative smell and it reminds me of the older men in my family although not as an equal, more like an enveloping sort of smell, such as a child would perceive on a grandfathers knee.

I would value this as an olfactory painting rather than as a perfume. I liked the journey and didn't want it to stop. It almost made one sad as it dried down, like a fading memory. Mr Brosius, thank you for this little trip to the past.

3rd November, 2011.

I want to like this more than I do: I'm generally a fan of Christopher Brosius' brashly inventive scents; I think Alan Cumming is a swell guy; and it's always a hoot to be able to answer "Cumming!" when someone asks what perfume I'm wearing. But the truth is that this smells pretty much like several other frags in the CB I Hate Perfume range: a little bit of damp earth, a whiff of greenery, and not much else. (I can inhale until my lungs hurt and don't get any of the whiskey, pepper, leather, smoke, or rubber notes listed in the official description.) I'm happy to keep it in my collection as a curiosity, and it's good to know that all the proceeds go to charity- but for wearability and interest I'll stick with CB's special edition "Faggot" (think incense and burning leaves) ...which come to think of it is also pretty fun to say when people ask me what I'm wearing.

Note: this review is based on the 2010 "2nd Cumming" issue in the "Water Perfume" format, which is described on CB's website as being the same formula as the original "Cumming".

4th March, 2011.

This smelled like glue on me and waiting for the drydown did not help it.

14th January, 2011.

I experienced an olfactory epiphany when I first smelled Cumming: take Olivia Giacobetti’s Dzing!, pare away the vanilla candy to isolate the pungent barnyard and riding boots accord, and you’ve got Cumming. Or something very like it, at any rate. Where Dzing! uses sugary vanilla, Cumming employs smoke, tobacco, and dry aromatics to set off its intensely animalic leather. The resulting scent is more than a little raunchy, but never crude. References to cigars and whisky in descriptions of this scent are accurate, but the unabashedly animalic accent keeps Cumming far from the stuffy men’s club territory occupied by Vintage Tabarome and Baladin.

While Cumming is by no means weak, it does wear close to the skin, so I doubt those beyond arm’s reach will detect it easily. Lasting power is adequate, if unexceptional, with a mossy wood and leather drydown setting in after four to six hours. Lovers of animalic leather scents like Montale’s Oud Cuir d’Arabie or Eau d’Hermès ought to give Cumming a try. It’s just as bold and distinctive, but less loud, and hence easier to wear. Very good stuff.
17 June 2009

12nd December, 2009.

This is a wonderful, transparent scent in true Christopher Brosius style. The accords are very legible, but the fragrance as a whole achieves a nicely abstract effect while still projecting the impression of a smell that one might encounter out in the real world, as opposed to a perfume shop.

To my nose, leather is predominant, with a clear background of freshly plowed earth. I'm afraid the smoke, cigar, and pine notes escape me. SirSlarty hit it right on the head with the "pool water" description, to which I'd add also, refrigerated air.

Unfortunately, the trademark Christopher Brosius Achille's heels are all well in evidence here, too. Like many scents in the CB I Hate Perfume line, this EDT is incredibly weak. Half a milliliter is barely enough to even smell. Projection is virtually nil after the first half hour, and the full experience lasts only an hour or two.

I would give this an enthusiastic thumbs up were it not for the technical flaws.

6th December, 2009.

Hateful name for a fragrance.
even so,,,,yep.

24th November, 2009.