S o t D, Thursday, 26 March 2009

[Mostapha]

Dior Homme.

[jathanas]

SOTE: Chergui - Serge Lutens

[HDS1963]

SOTE: Arpege by Lanvin

[rogalal]

SOTD: My first test of Hermèssence Vétiver Tonka by Hermès.

The opening was that intense blast of pepper I've gotten from other Hermes (Mousson, Terre).

When the pepper settled, the vetiver came through.

It's not the medicinal vetiver of Geurlain, it's the greeny vetiver of Jo Malone (which I personally prefer, BTW).

Later, to my surprise, it morphed into what I've come to think of as "that garrigue smell" (to steal OdysseusM's term) I learned from Sud Est. I never realized it was a product of the vetiver mixing with the pepper. While I think I smell oregano there, it's entirely possible that I may have been mis-reading these notes as oregano on some of my daily reviews. Argh - live and learn...

I was also looking forward to trying this to experience tonka without the omnipresent sandalwood or vanilla it's usually buried in. To my suprise, the tonka + pepper was the citric ambous almost-grapefruit basenotes of Terre d'Hermes.

There was a recent thread on here comparing the two and I think it's an apt comparison. Replace TdH's grapefruit with vetiver and you basically get Vetiver Tonka.

Not that that's a bad thing, but TdH is about 1/4 the price...

Nice, but not $200 nice. But if I splurge and get the 4-pack Hermessence travel size sampler, I'll enjoy this, but it's not FBW for me.

[JBHoren]

Wheatly Brothers (Sheffield) "Wheat Sheaf" 6/8 straight razor
"John Bull" (Rooney Style 1 Size 1) in Super Badger shaving brush
TSD Anise shaving soap
Witch-hazel
Etro Anice EDT

[richard d]

Chanel Sycomore

[Kelsey]

L'artisan - Dzongkha
I have just tested a sample of this a couple times and am loving it.
Today one person complimented it, but another told me I smelled like sawdust...

[SculptureOfSoul]

SotE: L'eau Par Kenzo PH

[Quixotiq]

Frédéric Malle • NOIR EPICES

[Zerby]

I'm wearing Yatagan. Yet again!!!

[G.303]

L'Instant de Guerlain Pour Homme EdT.
Gary

[Hydron]

Sampled I am king by Sean John, nice opening but the drydown is

[globetrekker]

Opium pour Homme - YSL

[dmarino67]

Equipage

[teger]

Victrix by Profumum

[Jock_With_Scents]

Perry Ellis 360 Red

[nsamadi]

Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur

[abc1234]

Chanel Pour Monsieur Concentree

[dynendal]

Today was Creed - Erolfa!

[rogalal]

SOTE: Went shopping, so I now have Vétiver Extraordinaire by Frederic Malle on my left arm.

I've smelled it many times on paper and was always turned off by its astringency. But a helpful fellow shopper suggested that it smells way better on, so I tried it. It's definitely not as harsh on skin as it is on paper, but there's still a little band-aid smell going on.

On my right arm, Barneys Route du Thé Homme. I bought this one for its minty vanilla chai meets tobacco weirdness. Nice!

[OKJazz]

Rose 31 by Le Labo

[tmp00]

Miller Harris Fleurs de Sel

[TigerJuice]

Thursday, I had the chance to re-sample a very highly anticipated and what could be the best offering of Tom Ford's Private Blends:

Tobacco Vanille

I am really not that interested in how the official pyramid on this fragrance is supposed to play out. What I experience from the initital top notes unitl now, more than 18 hours after application, is a very lovely combination of tobacco and vanilla notes. The notes play off each other in a very provocative manner, and what is in my opinion, true fragrance art. I really think this fragrance represents the best of Ford's work I have yet to experience.

Unlike many of Tom Ford's other rather disappointing offerings, I am in absolute love with this fragrance. This could indeed become somewhat of a signature scent for me.

It is very nice, but the price? With Houston sales tax, I am looking at $194.85 USD for the 50 ml spray or $487.13 USD for the 250 ml flacon. This is true of course unless I can acquire this much desired fragrance for less. This is possible, but somewhat unlikely.

By the way, this fragrance DOES get the desired response from the ladies. It happened to me twice today. They HAD to know what I was wearing. This is just icing on the cake.

But as far as a purchase, that ultimately comes down to one's perception of value like most other things.

I hope Everyone has a Fantastic Friday!

Best,

TJ

[Snafoo]

Iris Pallida

L'Artisan Parfumeur