Reviews of Lonestar Memories (2006)
by Tauer

Smokey, florals with a bit of a meat-factory weirdness to it. Very strange.

Sweet, smokey. The birch tar smells dry and rubbery. More of an environmental scent, but people shouldn't smell like this, the outdoors should.

Anybody remember Slim Jims? The slender, rather greasy sausage sticks were a favorite snack of mine, with a distinctive smell derived, no doubt, from a heavy dose of artificial "smoke" flavoring. Rub yourself down with a Slim Jim, and you've got Lonestar Memories.

The stuff goes on in a potent burst of barbecue smoke and dry leather. Both notes persist all the way through the development, to be joined by some candied amber in the Serge Lutens style, and then perhaps a bit of cedar and some black pepper. I can see Lonestar Memories as a room spray for the kitchen when you want to feel as if you've just had a barbecue, but I'm not tempted to wear it. Besides, Slim Jims (if they're still made,) are cheaper.

The opening blast was just too harsh but, within a couple of hours, it did settle into something almost wearable. I easily noticed the tar notes throughout its development, while the drydown was slightly creamy.

Unfortunately, my overall impression (especially when compared to L’Air) was that it came across as somewhat unfinished. I also found the drydown in need of a slight kick (but not as OTT as the top notes).

It’s pretty good (after a little patience) but not really for me.

Intense smoke and leather. Deep, penetrating, and lasting. Tar mixed with sweet woods, like a woodpile near a campfire.
This is an unusual, intense, and completely manly scent. Wear it to outdoor events in the country, like a bonfire or a hayride, or just for hanging out at the local sports bar with the guys, watching the game.

EGAD!!!

If you want an idea of what this smells like imagine mesquite wood chips being smoked, a damp horse blanket that has been sitting in the barn for a few months, a cheap pine air freshener, and a touch of cheap leather all being right under your nose. Now imagine you are sniffing these items together with a mouth full of trail dust and you have the experience that is Lonestar Memories.

Being from Texas I thought this could be a great signature scent and I really wanted to like it, but there is no way I can wear this, it flat out stinks.

The openings notes are a big wow! But it dries down to something close to Pinesol.

Opening note is all tannins and tar with a hint of chemical spill at the asphalt site. The drydown softens to a harsh dry leather. These Lonestar Memories are not best of memories in my opinion.

I really wanted to love this scent but something in it lingers much too long on me. The sweet and sharp parts of this scent pierced for hours on me. I normally love birch. leather and smoke scents but something gets in the way of this one. It reminds me of an auto repair facility with all the chemical and petrol scents. Perhaps this scent is meant as a former cowboy who is now working as an auto mechanic? The scent also reminds me of my father's workshop, full of dusty electronic parts and soldering tools.

I admire the uniqueness of this scent and I think it would work on some people, but it is not for me. It is like a piece of art meant to provoke rather than soothe.

Perfume memories are short, which is presumably why nobody has commented on the relation of Lonestar Memories to Faberge’s West. West was done up in more ostentatious cowboy-style packaging and bit the dust some years ago, but the accord was similar, especially if you tone down the birch tar. It made a welcome alternative to Brut at the time, both fragrances sharing some points in common in the basenotes. For old timers like me, Lonestar Memories revives the 1970’s alongside the wild west, and being a nostalgic sort of person, I am grateful to Tauer. Especially as my supply of the Faberge product is down to the last few drops.

WOW! This one kinda' jumped up and stabbed me in the neck if you know what I mean... That birchtar note is VERY pungent! However, after an hour or two, I like it better than Cuiron (sampled the two side by side). It's not as versatile, but is a definite head-turner. It dries down to an almost "smoke and birchtar gourmand" (what a strange concept), with hints of leather, and a slight medicinal quality (probably that birchtar again).

This is not for the office, or everyday wear, but is a marvelous distinctive scent that everyone should sample at least once in a lifetime.

Lonestar is heavy, thick, dark, and greasy. I had really hoped for images of a dusty western US landscape, with tumbleweeds rolling past, cowboy boots, horse saddles, maybe even horses, but instead I get the image of working on a tractor in an old barn, wearing greasy, dirty, leather gloves in the darkness and the dead of winter. I've spent more than a few winter evenings repairing machinery, so this image is very real for me, and not an altogether pleasant image. Those who have never spent a night hungry and cold, working on machinery that tears open your frigid, stiff, and dry skin might want to romanticize such imagery, but for me, it's not all that pleasant. I have a hard time getting past this notion when I smell Lonestar.

Being more objective for a moment, Lonestar very much reminds me of Tauer's first men's scent, Desert Marocain, only here the tar and dirt elements have been amped up. There is still that smoky woodiness that to my mind defines Tauer's first three scents. Lonestar dries down to a scent very similar to Marocain. In fact, Desert Marocain does a better job of bringing to my mind the western US imagery I had hoped for with Lonestar.

I don't want to give the impression that this is in any way a "poor" scent. I like it for what it is, and I can see how, for many, this would bring to mind the desired imagery. It just takes me somewhere else entirely.

First reaction was, Oh my god!! Wanted to grab the fire extuinguisher and put the fire out!! I was shocked and intruiged at the same time.This is one weird scent!! Made me think of Annick Goutals Eau du Fier for a moment .
Do I like it, do I hate it? Wow!. It's leather alright, or is the birchtar? or a combination? wow. Really special. Quickly after the intense (or should I say, scary? ) , it becomes heaven. Oh yes. I love it. That wonderfull mix of the dry leathery notes combined with a very classic base. The rough cowboy changes into a distinguished gentleman. That base of tonka, vetiver and sandalwood. Wonderfull.!!
The mix of dry leather and the woody base linger on the skin for a long time. This perfume is getting adictive , especially with colder, x-mass day coming!

A really evocative one. I get more campfire than leather, and there's also woods and maybe some fields, and lots of other little things that keep coming and going. My only problem with this one is that on the drydown it loses most of its interesting original notes and becomes just another of those nice inoffensive sweetish niche scents, in the vein of L'Artisan or Miller Harris.

This isn't a leather scent so much as a tar scent, and I love it. The closest thing to it may be Comme des Garcons Synthetic Tar, but Lonestar Memories is stronger and warmer and more rugged. The tar accord appears in L'air du desert marocain too, it seems to be something of Tauer's signature. A truly great and original perfumer.

I'm not a big fan of leather, so Lonestar Memories isn't my cup of tea, but I'm giving this one a big thumbs up. Leather and the smell of the desert, sitting around a smokey sagebrush campfire. Great sillage, great longevity. Andy does great desert fragrances; he's a real poet. Suggested this one to a friend and he loves it, and frankly, I think it smells better on him than on me.

My first review ever. How fitting it should be Lonestar Memories. This is one of my favorite fragrances of all time. It' very masculine, brooding and meditative. It never stops revealing itself, no matter how many times I've worn it.
Like the great America West, it opens my mind and my heart. If I have been wearing a lot of orientals, or spices or complex fragrances, their is nothing like the clear fresh invigorating wind of Lonestar Memories blowing all the cobwebs away. Like sitting out in the desert with a campfire burning and a zillion stars up above. The vast expanse of the West burning it's identity into my conscious awareness. Birchtar and geranium, cedar and sandalwood, sage and jasmine. This is an evocative masterpiece. I will never not have this in my collection.

Top:
Geranium, Carrot seed, clary sage

Middle:
Birchtar, cistus, jasmine, cedarwood

Base:
Myrrh, tonka, vetiver, sandalwood

To me, it smells like an old hut in the middle of nowhere. Allow me to explain: I recently lived in New Zealand, and being the fan of the outdoors that I am, I went on some backpacking trips. Some of the huts here basically avalanche shelters. Some were so big they could almost have been hotels. And some were literally abandoned trappers' huts. In them were rusted old wood stoves, dented up ash buckets, some half burned wood, maybe a few wool blankets, lots of dirt, and the smell of decades of use by weary, dusty travellers. After tramping through mountains, sleet, rain, mud, rivers, grasslands and snow (usually all in the same day), the sight, smell, and feel of those huts caused a combination of emotions that I still can't totally identify. For dinner, we usually made some variation of vegetable soup and baked beans. Soon, that aroma mingled with the background smell of the hut, and THAT is what Lonestar Memories smells like. If our backpacks had been made of leather, it would impossible to tell the two smells apart.

I've always appreciated the added quality of niche scents, but this is the first that has truly shocked me. I didn't know scents were capable of this kind of depth. Andy Tauer puts some real soul and emotion into his creations.

If you like leathery, natural, rustic, and "unplugged" scents, Lonestar is going to absolutely blow you mind. Even if you aren't a fan of richer leathers, you will appreciate the sheer artistry of this one. Incense and leather sound like an overpowering combo, and usually they are, but Lonestar's leather is comforing and old, and the incense is gently smouldering birchtar laying in a bed of myrrh and tonka. The effect is warm and soothing yet assertive and very manly.