Fragrance Reviews by Oviatt

I love this subtle leather scent. Soft and floral with a bookish leather vibe, this reminds me--for some reason--of Grey Flannel, but as if Grey Flannel's richer European cousin came to town. One of Heeley's greats (along with Cardinal).

This oriental is very classy and wearable--but it actually seems to get stronger with time. As your body heats up this takes on a new life and becomes something more than just an expensive, well-made fragrance: as insistant as a muzzein's call, an irresistable force meeting an immovable object--and something's got to give! Great for the boardroom, even better for the bedroom.

I came to this later in life--I must have been smelling it in the late 70s and 80s, but I don't remember it.... Imagine the shock, years later, when I finally get around to buying some and realize what I have been missing! Justifiably famous for its perception of hairy chested machismo, this is in fact a beautifully balanced scent that starts out as a beguiling clean barbershop smell that takes you through a whole range of worlds (anise, lavender, ambergris) ending in--au fond--hairy chested machismo. And what is wrong with that, at the end of the day? This just plain smells good--it is clean, virile and sexy. Clearly an inspiration for St.Laurent's Rive Gauche Pour Homme, this is where it all started and ultimately--au fond--will end.

What can I say? This is one of the greats--rich, mature, intense...subtle and yet--like the Ghurkas--this takes no prisoners! With Zino and Heritage, this completes my trifecta for rich, dry woody favorites. Best worn, in my opinion, in cooler weather. This is from the golden age of Creeds--emphatic, masculine and worth every cent.

Serious stuff. This is the quintessence of virile, mature and confident manhood in a bottle. All the more powerful because--at times--it smells strongly and deliciously of woman's perfume and yet the testosterone aura is undeniable. Not for everyone but for those who can pull it off, this is a winner! Sweeter than my favorite Heritage and lasts forever. Thank you, Jean Paul.

This reminds me strongly of Van Cleef's Tsar and yet, especially as it wears on you, it is unmistakably a Guerlain (despite the lack of the signature vanilla). Very nice, not deserving of being discontinued.

Recently ran into this hard to find old classic at Carroll & Co. in Los Angeles. Like something out of the past, this product has not changed packaging in 50 years. It reminded me strongly of Knize Ten. It has an interesting Early American/Imperial Russian image thing going on and calls itself "The Aristocrat of Colognes." When considering the great leather scents that Knize, Creed, SMN, Chanel, Piver, etc., produce, this should be in the mix. More is available at: www.ELSHA.COM
(480)540-1601
info@elsha.com

Kiton seems to be taking a page out of Bulgari's book with this one. It smells similar to origanil Kiton, which I love, but with a distinct rubber note--Italian luxury houses seem to equate black with rubber. No real improvement on the original, in my opinion, but still great quality and elegant, simple packaging.

Equipage is--for me--the scent of foreign travel, exotic places, piles of pigskin luggage and hotels de grande luxe; harking back to a day when the field was narrow--the market was not glutted with luxury fragrances for men in 1970. This floral scent is saved from itself by having a rosewood topnote and earthy tonka and pachouli that ensure that it is masculine and sophisticated. It is ironic that--coming from Hermes--it does not have a leather note--almost as if the wearer provides the leather note from the shoes, belt, briefcase and luggage that he carries--all from Hermes, of course!

Hermes has gone on to other--possibly greater--things since this scent was launched (Bel Ami is a personal favorite of mine) but the bar was rasied very high with this one and it still sets the tone for masculine luxury all around the globe.

This was a great fragance and does not deserve its early demise. Complex herbals and florals (I could swear that there was a violet note)were perfectly ballanced and created a real one of a kind scent worthy of the Dunhill name. The musk and Tonka were excellent in the dry-down... and what a bottle! The official line at the time of its being discontinued was that the natural ingredients were too expensive for them to continue with production--not sure if that is so, but it makes sense, as this was great stuff. Dunhill regained some lost ground with their excellent Edition, but they have been on shaky ground ever since....

The Hitchkock Blonde of a scent--what a great image! This "ladylike leather" also summons up the image of another heroine of the screen, Emma Peel. While Mrs. Peel has her kinky leather side (Tabac Blond?) and her demure ladylike side (Caleche?) this is a scent that straddles the two worlds and would keep John Steed coming back for more (as if she would give it to him!).

Having been to the sacred city and monastery of Zagorsk, I can't imagine ANYONE wanting to smell like it--the stench of the unwashed bodies, the miasma of the overflowing public restrooms.... sure, there is swirling incense that hits you like a lungful Moroccan black hash and the hypnotic drone of the chanted orthodox mass that makes you lose your sense of time. A religous experience? Maybe. An olfactory inspiration? No thanks!Having said all of that, the Series 3 Incense: Zagorsk by CdG does manage to create a surpisingly dry, resinous smokey scent that is not without its appeal--they wisely left out the body odor (been there since the time of the Tsars, no mere Soviet invention) and the drains and focused on the woody, smokey incense. Like so many of their scents, this is nothing that I would EVER wear, but I admire the strange and fantastic world that they have created.

The pedigree, the prestige... this should be a great fragance, but on me it opens with lemon Ajax and never drifts from that single note. Instead of summoning up images of posh nightclubs in Berkeley Square, it brings to mind a broom cupboard where the charlady keeps her cleaning supplies. I have to ask myself, do I want to smell like cleaning supplies? (The answer is no)

The strident lavender topnote seems a little harsh and acrid to me, but it soon settles down to a wonderful soft vanilla underscored by the clary sage and rosewood heart notes. Definitely a period piece (along with 1934's other great men's scent, Dunhill) and a "whispering" scent, as the ad campaign goes.

Who doesn’t love the scent of their mother’s perfume? My mother, as a young woman, wore Dana’s Platine, until the early sixties when her own mother died, leaving a full bottle of her favorite Bellodgia perfume on her dressing table. My mother took it and made it her own and has worn it all of my life.

What makes this sparkling, spicy carnation-themed floral so unique is that it has a timeless smell. When it was created in the 1920s it was slightly outside the mainstream of fashion for perfume--just as it is today—so it does not summon up any particular era or decade, just the woman who wears it. I hope that this Caron classic continues to find new generations to wear and love it.

The dominant redwood note is beautiful: resious, crisp, woody. There is a gourmand note lurking just beneath the surface that reminds me of... scalloped potatoes? Yes, there I am, in the most beautiful redwood forest, about to be served a potato side dish. Yosemite meets Betty Crocker. As wonderful as the sequoia note is, I have to ask myself, do I want to go around smelling of scalloped potatoes? (The answer is "no")

Knights Templar kneeling in an incense-filled chapel, Arcadian shepherds guarding the secrets of a tomb, storytellers passing down oral histories of the beginnings of time, images of stars, the rose, a queen…. L’Occitane captures the essence of the Grail quest in their fragrances from Provence. There has always been a strong French connection to the Grail legend – L’Occitane is based not far from Rennes-le-Chateau, whose one time parish priest, Berenger Sauniere, is at the heart of a mystery that makes it a pilgrimage spot for treasure hunters and daVinci code readers. Also nearby is the supposed scene of Poussin’s famous Bergeres d’Arcadie painting with its cryptic “Et Ego In Arcadia” inscription.

Fact or myth? One thing for sure is that the House of L’Occitane, who seeks inspiration for their products in the folklore and flora of Provence, has incorporated some decidedly Grail-like elements in their products and marketing. Eau des Baux (In Provence, the knights from the village of Les Baux chose the cypress tree as a symbol of their strength and honor, and a bright star in the sky as their guiding force. In honor of their courage, L'OCCITANE has created a sensual and mysterious blend of cypress and incense named Eau de Baux) harks back to the age of Chivalry. Eau de Berger/Cade summons up images of the very shepherds in Poussin’s painting. The Badian, the teller of tales from the beginning of time, recalls the oral histories passed from one Senechal to the next? L’Occitane’s Rose & Reine speaks for itself....

Even though this has slipped down to become a drugstore fragrance, this is classic, well made men's scent that deserves some respect.

The 1980s was the golden age of Creed releases. Sure, we have the classical period before that which gave us Cuir de Russie, Cypres-Musc and Angelique Encens. Before that we had Creed's archaic period with it's specatular period pieces like vintage Tabarome and Royal English Leather. Following the 80s we have the new age Creed offerings with their unisex appeal... all great fragrances. The 1980s, however, saw the release of Creed's three greatest scents ever: Baie de Genievre, Green Irish Tweed and Bois du Portugal.

While Green Irish Tweed and Bois du Portugal probably far outsell Baie de Genievre, Baie de Genievre, Feuille de Canelle (as it was originally marketed) is the simplest and most elegant of these fragrances, perfectly ballancing it's three simple notes. It's austerity of notes creates one of the purest--yet richest--Creeds available. My favorite Creed.

This is one of the greats. I find that the top note of lavender is slightly acrid (I think the same about Caron's great Pour un Homme) but from there on out it is as close to perfect as it gets. The woods and vanilla are fantastic. This reminds me of Zino and Bois de Portugal but with a definite Guerlinade note coming through. When this first came out, I thought wow--this is beautiful, but much too old and formal for me. Now, in my forties, I think that this is just right. As for the formality, it does wear well with a sweater and jeans (the right sweater and jeans, that is....) but this is also the scent that I like to wear with bespoke suits and black tie.

Héritage, composé par un homme d'aujourd'hui, inspiré par les hommes d'hier et dédié aux hommes de demain, marque une nouvelle étape qui correspond à la volonté d'écrire sa propre histoire.

How right they are!

Along with Bois de Portugal and Heritage, Zino completes my "holy trinity" of rich, woody, complex fragrances that I reach for time after time. I wish I could merge the three into my idea of the perfect fragrance. Zino's bergamot/lavender opening and the tonka/vanilla finish perfectly bookend the floral heart and woods that run throughout. Yes, now that you mention it, there is that "wild, almost sweaty abandon" note, but it is so well hidden by the bespoke suit and inlaid humidor that you don't notice it until you are right in the middle of it... and by then it is too late to matter.

This one of only two fragrances that I had to wash off shortly after trying it on(Le Male being the other). This smells exactly like a market in Chinatown with rotting friuts and vegetables out on the street, strange formenting herbs and spices on the shelves, incence burning at the altar behind the cash register and an underlying smell of drains and sewers. In my opinion, only to be worn if you like the smell of decay and drains.

Ironically, hours afterwards I smelled my hand where I had washed off (or attempted to; it never really came off) the Kouros and there was a lovely, lingering drydown that was delicious. Just couldn't live with the first several hours of this! Creed's Orange Spice has similar topnotes without the nasty notes that follow.

When this was launched in 1984, Dunhill had the launch party at the Ritz in London. They approached Bob, the celebrated mixologist at the Ritz bar, to create a cocktail that tasted the way this cologne smells--and thus the Dunhill cocktail was born. For a few years it was listed on the bar menu at the Ritz and you can still order it, which is guaranteed to bring Bob out to see who the "in the know" drinker is. Edition is a personal favorite of mine, the scent I chose to wear on my wedding day. Bob shared the recipe me me and here it is--splash on some Edition, mix up one of these and enjoy!

THE RITZ DUNHILL

5/10 dry white wine
1/10 Cointreau
2/10 creme de banana
2/10 Cinzano Bianco

Combine all ingredients and shake, serve on the rocks.

Repeat as needed.