Incredibly Strange Perfumes Pt.7 (The Smell of Music: Lounge/Exotica)

From Wikipedia...

Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it. The range of lounge music encompasses beautiful music-influenced instrumentals, modern electronica (with chillout, nu-jazz and downtempo influences), while remaining thematically focused on its retro-space-age cultural elements. The earliest type lounge music appeared during the 1920s and 1930s, and was known as light music. Contemporaneously, the term lounge music also denotes the types of music played in hotels (the lounge, the bar), casinos, and piano bars.

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune

I purchased Pumplelune in a big department store where they were selling a bunch of superknown perfumes for $10 and  $20 because their original boxes had been damaged in a warehouse accident. Tones of "unboxed" scents throwed in big baskets for you to choose. A funny picture of  dozens of people fighting  to get their own bottle of the latest Gucci or Dolce & Gabbana release for $10. While I was looking at all this as if were civil war or maybe a supermarket assault after a cataclism, I saw 2 unattended bottles on a side. I got closer to them and realized they were Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune and Herba Fresca. I rapidly grabbed them both and rushed to the counter. I wasn't expecting too much and actually I wasn't so curiosus about them, but for $20 I gave them a chance. 

Pamplelune is nice. Very realistic in the opening with a big dose of tart, freshly squeezed grapefruit joined by bitter green leaves. It rapidly turns sweeter and a bit warmer with clean musk, vanilla and a "shy" patchouli note. Unpretentious and honest. I won't consider it as an office fragrance  but I'll surely enjoy it in the summer after a day of work and a stone-cold shower.

Rating: 7.5-8/10

Maitre Parfumeur Et Gantier Bahiana 

Bahiana is basically a woody citrus with some floral thrown in but, whereas other fragrances of the same genre tend to dry down to harsh and overly synthetic woody bases, this one smells extremely well balanced.

The usual woody-citrus structure is enriched by a remarkable tropical fruit vibe and slight clean-musky/ambery undertones. The fruity notes are photorealistic but, again, they smell so natural and sophisticated as opposed to the usual plasticky and sticky vibe I get from other fragrances with similar notes. Overall, Bahiana strikes as a modern composition but the srong heritage of Maitre Parfumeur Et Gantier is clearly remarkable throughout and serves as a big plus to turn this fragrance in one of the best in this genre. If you're looking for a unisex summery fragrance that's easy to wear yet anything but dull, this is one to keep in consideration. Very nice.

Rating: 7/10

I Profumi Del Forte Tirrenico

I had a sample of Tirrenico a few monthes ago and, as I'm generally not into aquatic scents, I forgot it in a box. One day I was removing a few books from a shelf and I found the decant again so I gave it a try and I totally got suprised. Tirrenico is litterally amazing and stunning. No ozone bull***t here, but a real marine fragrance. IMO the only one really recalling the wet sand, marine wet woods and shells giving you the feeling of an exclusive, paradisiac beach. Floral patterns (mainly jasmine) and fruity hints provide sophisticated refinements. Great sillage and an amazing lasting power for an aquatic fragrance (10-12 hours). Another good point is the drydown. Many fragrances of the same genre tend to turn into a harsh chemical woody/amber. Tirrenico dries down to a clean musky/mossy base with fennel galore. Fresh throughout, pleasanly bizarre (the marine notes have a slightly stale vibe that may vaguely resemble Secretions Magnifique), anything but dull.

Obviously I immediately decided I needed bottle...and I got it! Together with Sel Marin, one of the very few "aquatic" fragrances that is worth owning.

Rating: 7/10

Comme Des Garcons White 

Another Comme Des Garcons I've been using for quite a while in the past. An extremely exotic concoction of cinnamon, other spices (a lot of) on a woody/floral/fruity base. The whole fragrance has the typical CDG's incensey signature, but here it's drastically toned down to intentionally become barely perceptible. It's more like an overall vibe than a real note/accord. 

Intense, important and very very (very) distinctive. One of the best and most influential compositions by Mr Buxton. A personal favorite!

Rating:8.5/10

Lush Inhale

Ok, first of all, this is weird! Unfortunately "weird" doesn't always mean successful. Inhale is an exotic mix of melony notes (read calone) and plasticky white florals laying on a sweet base. The fragrance has an overall synthetic (and sort of cacophonic) vibe that is as much appealing and exotic as contracting one of those rare diseases while visiting a tropical island. Me? I stick with the tsetse fly.

I can't believe this one paired with Exhale, gave birth to Breath Of God...

Rating: 4/10

Ulrich Lang Anvers 

Anvers opens with a fresh herbaceous accord immediately joined by honey and violet. The whole fragrance is made of a pleasant and gentle sweetness  as the honey note is cleverly freshened by herbs and surrounded by a tropical fruits feeling that make this fragrance quite distinctive. On the other hand I get a few "ordinary aspects" that made me think about  others generic mass market fragrances especially in the drydown where IMO Anvers lacks in personality. Overall this is a nice scent and quite an easywear. Nothing really necessary but if you're lucky you can find it for $20 at a discount store (as happened to me).

Rating: 6.5/10

Vetivers Pt.4 (The Modern)

Lush Exhale

Exhale, accidentally layered with Inhale gave birth to what have become one of the most praised deliveries by the guys at Lush: Breath of God (originally released by the now extinct english firm B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful).

While Inhale represents the bright fruity side, Exhale is entirely built on a woody/earthy vetiver accord enhanced in its smokiness by tarry notes and some leather. The overall effect will make the joy of any hardcore vetiver lover who likes its vetiver dark, smoky and slightly animalic. Excellent.

Recently reintroduced in the Lush range as an oil.

Rating: 8.5/10

Lush Breath Of God 

Original Review April 2011:

Everybody suggested Breath Of God as one of the weirdest fragrances around and as I'm always very curious about strange perfumes I immediatley decided to try it. A bizarre composition with mint, smoky incense/vetiver and fruits that's quite weird indeed. Linear and just a tad loud but definitely distinctive and (somehow) pleasant. It opens with incese juxtaposed to melon to then "evolve" into a smoky vetiver and a sort of woody-fruit-salad that's fresh and dark at the same time. Funny and very wearable, but far from being the masterpiece I expected.

I think I made a big mistake with Breath Of God as the first time I smelled it, I was at Lush surrounded by the loud and cacophonous chemical aroma that is typical of this kind of stores and, as the sense of smell is inarguably bounded and related to memory, my brain is no more able to dissociate the smell of BOG from the fake "natural-justmade-cosmethics&soaps" odor of Lush's points of sale. I decided to buy a 10ml vial anyway and maybe, one day, I'll be able to fully appreciate Breath Of God.

Edit July 2011:

After several wearings I can say I'm addicted. The smoky vetiver juxtaposed to the general fresh vibe is extremely compelling and absolutely unique. Kudos.

Rating: 8.5-9/10

Etat Libre D'Orange Fat Electrician

This is what I call a different take on vetiver. A solid interpretation that is able to emerge in this crowded territory. A fine mixture of opoponax and vetiver laying on a slightly sweet vanilla base and enriched by hints of incense and resinous elements throughout. Easy to wear yet distinctive, simple yet perfectly refined. A nice everyday's fragrance and one of the best releases in the Eldo's range. A valid option if you're looking for a modern masculine but you want to avoid the usual clean-laundered synthetic-citrus loaded with woody maber.

Rating: 8/10

Torre Of Tuscany Vetiver Moderno 

Vetiver Moderno has the typical transparent aspect of many modern niche fragrances. The usual green-citrusy opening it's paired with a smooth yet quite complex floral pattern that's pretty well executed but probably not so original. During this phase nutmeg provides an overall spicy-pungent aspect while the florals work as a sort of kaleydoscopic machine continuely changing from soft white flowers to hints of rose and iris. I can't actually put my finger on what other fragrance Vetiver Moderno reminds me of but, the feeling of deja-vu is quite strong.

The drydown is clean, musky and woody and it's where a restrained vetiver note plays its main part. Not bad if you like the genre but very far from being outstanding or worthy of being classified as a vetiver-centered composition. Check it out if you're looking for a spring/summer fragrance in the typical transparent style of modern niche perfumery.

Rating: 6.5-7/10

Lalique Encre Noire

A great, clean vetiver with a dark twist. I find Encre Noire to have 3 quite distinct phases while keepeng the same characteristics throughout. The opening is potent, earthy, dark and a bit pungent, then it settles down to a mid phase where vetiver plays its main role with a transparent and clean intepretation. It's bold and somehow polite, clean but not affected and it still mantain the "dark nuance" that makes it so fascinating. In the final phase, the vetiver is enhanced in its licorice aspect and, together with musk and woody notes, give birth to a delighful drydown (assuming you don't mind a consistent dose of Iso E Super). A discreet scent, quite close to the skin but absolutely beautiful in all its parts, bottle included. Not as good as Sycomore but if you're on a limited budget this is a winner.

A crowdpleaser.

Rating: 8/10

Kenzo Kenzoair 

An underrated gem.

It happened by accident that I layered two fragrances. I was testing Encre Noir to write my final review and instead of spraying it on an unscented smelling strip, I sprayed it on a piece of paper on which I previously tested Etro's Anice.

What a suprise to smell the anisic aspect of vetiver amphasized by the real anise note. Especially in the drydown when the two perfumes blended perfectly together.

Well, I found Kenzo Air Intense / Kenzo Air to have a very similar vibe to the above scenario and despites probably not being as praised as Encre Noir, it still has a great charme. Peppery, anisic, funny. Chemical? Yes, most definitely, but very well blended. Does great in warm weather.

If you're wondering about the differencies between the "intense" version and the original, well, I haven't found a substantial one. The "intense" is exactly like the original version but a little bit stronger, that's it.

Groovy bottle.

Rating: 7.5/10

Comme Des Garcons Series 4 Cologne: Vettiveru 



I can easily say that Vettiveru is a valid candidate to be considered one of the best bang for the buck when it comes to vetivers. An incredibly nice composition that improves the eau de cologne formula with a slightly "dirty" vetiver note. The overall effect is quite intriguing with the clean aspect given by the neroli/bergamot/florals combo juxtaposed to a dominant vetiver note that add a earthy/salty vibe that's at the same time refreshing and invigorating. Great lasting power, nice projection, very reasonably priced. One of the best "fresh" vetivers around. Recommended!

Rating: 8/10

Incredibly Strange Perfumes Pt.4 (The Smell of Music: Hardcore Punk)

From Wikipedia...

Hardcore punk (sometimes referred to simply as hardcore) is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A. may have helped to popularize the term with the title of their 1981 album, Hardcore '81.

Hardcore has spawned the straight edge movement and its associated submovements, hardline and youth crew. Hardcore was heavily involved with the rise of the independent record labels in the 1980s, and with the DIY ethics in underground music scenes. It has influenced a number of music genres which have experienced mainstream success, such as alternative rock, metalcore, grunge, thrash metal, emo and post-hardcore.

Hardcore sprouted underground scenes across the United States in the early 1980s — particularly in Washington, D.C., California, New York/New Jersey, and Boston—as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom.

While traditional hardcore has never experienced mainstream commercial success, some of its early pioneers have garnered appreciation over time. Black Flag's album Damaged was included in Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003,[5] and the Dead Kennedys have seen one of their albums reach gold status over a period of 25 years. Although the music started in English-speaking western countries, scenes have also existed in Brazil, Japan, Europe and The Middle East.

Play at maximum volume...

Pascal Morabito Or Black

Possibly one of the darkest compositions I've ever experienced. A dense chyprey leather which is almost impossible to describe due to its multi-faceted nature.  Smoky, leathery, mossy, incensey (resinous), herbal, old fashioned, modern, bitter, aromatic..OMG there's really a lot going on here.

I do apologize if I can't go through notes explaination but Or Black makes me feel positively "uneasy" and prefer to simply recommend it as the perfect example of a "fragrance for people who actually like fragrances" as diametrically opposed to the Turin's concept of "a fragrance for people who don't like fragrances". 

On of the most assertive compositions ever. A masterpiece and a staple in my personal wardrobe.

Rating: 10/10

Etat Libre D'Orange Rien

This is one of those compositions that I had to "learn" how to appreciate it. Don't get me wrong, I haven't forced myself or something, it just took a while to appreciate its disturbing power, its extremely dry character. Here I'll report both of my reviews...

March 2011

I think a better name for "Rien" could have been "Tout" as this scent is loud, rich and very straight forward. The opening is harshing and crude with a consistent dose of aldehyde, leather (civet) and a completely desweetened rose. Almost disturbing but I like it. After a few minutes everything is joined by frankincense and the scent stays in the same mood for hours turning in the end into an extremely dry woody/leathery base. For a few aspects Rien reminded me  of Knize Ten or even Bandit but it's way more uncomfortable. It's like they have tried to layer the two perfumes I mentioned with a cacophonic result. Don't get me wrong, Rien smells good but kind of unbalanced. Amazing sillage and good lasting power. Not bad but could have been a lot better.

June 2011

After several more wearings I'm addicted. Now Rien doesn't smell so rich as I used to perceived it in the past, I get it as a straight forward, uncompromising, kind of unsettling and positively crude dry leather. It's like a stilyzed dadaist portrait of Bandit after a steady diet of dryness.

Rating: 8.5/10

Lush Breath Of God

Original Review April 2011:

Everybody suggested Breath Of God as one of the weirdest fragrances around and as I'm always very curious about strange perfumes I immediatley decided to try it. A bizarre composition with mint, smoky incense/vetiver and fruits that's quite weird indeed. Linear and just a tad loud but definitely distinctive and (somehow) pleasant. It opens with incese juxtaposed to melon to then "evolve" into a smoky vetiver and a sort of woody-fruit-salad that's fresh and dark at the same time. Funny and very wearable, but far from being the masterpiece I expected.

I think I made a big mistake with Breath Of God as the first time I smelled it, I was at Lush surrounded by the loud and cacophonous chemical aroma that is typical of this kind of stores and, as the sense of smell is inarguably bounded and related to memory, my brain is no more able to dissociate the smell of BOG from the fake "natural-justmade-cosmethics&soaps" odor of Lush's points of sale. I decided to buy a 10ml vial anyway and maybe, one day, I'll be able to fully appreciate Breath Of God.

Edit July 2011:

After several wearings I can say I'm addicted. The smoky vetiver juxtaposed to the general fresh vibe is extremely compelling and absolutely unique. Kudos.

Rating: 8.5-9/10

Etat Libre D'Orange Secretions Magnifiques 

First of all I would like to express my opinion regarding all the moralistic reactions I've heard / read or even seen about this perfume. It tooks more than a year for me to simply find a retailer in Italy and germany who was stocking this product. In a couple of stores I've been told that they refused to stock SM for its nasty graphic, in other stores they simply found it disgusting and decided not to sell it, but the best I've heard was from a mid aged female clerk who refused to stock the product because she could have found herself in the situation to spray it for customers who wanted to try it. OMG!

Said that, Secretions Magnifique is far from beeing spectacular or surprising. It has a STRONG metallic note throughout, mixed with a barely sweet floral-milky accord. The overall effect is pretty weird indeed, but IMO SM is to semen as it is to blood, saliva or mucus. Honestly, we can't say blood stinks, or mucus stinks they more lay in the organic odours limbo of unpleasant almost "adourless smells". I'd say theyr're kind of cloying.  And that's exactly the effect SM has on me. 

I prefer to consider Secretions Magnifique as an experimental (almost situationist) piece of art realized through the sense of smell. In my vision this is not a perfume, it's an universally familiar odour and a taboo subject made to provoke reactions. In this context, Antoine Lie perfectly achived his pourpose as SM has become one of the most controversial and discussed scents of the last 20 years. I agree when someone says that perfumery is another thing, but this composition is to perfumery as Derek Jarman's Blue is to cinema. Pure experimentation.

On the skin Secretion Magnifique has a tenacious lasting power and a considerable projection but I can't stand it for more than one/two hours. Would I ever want to buy a full bottle? Maybe not, but I totally respect ELDO's choice to produce and commercialize one of the weirdest fragrance ever created.

My Rating

the concept / project: 10 out of 10

the smell: 3 out of 10

overall: 6 out of 10

Maitre Parfumeur Et Gantier Parfum D'Habit 

Parfum D'Habit's extremely compelling opening has a quite distinctive "lived-in" leather note joined by pronounced earthy undertones and laying on a masterfully refined musk /sandalwood base. The coniferous (Pine?) presence adds a mysterious extra touch of extreme charme. A well balanced and highly recommended "kinda rough" fragrance.

To be completely honest I found the drydown to be slightly more conventional if compared to the outstanding opening but this may be due to the fact that I'm smelling the reformulated version. I've heard the vintage was way more unpolite and unconventional and I'll do everything is possible to put my hands on it. That being said, this is still one of those compositions you encounter every once in a blue moon...

Extremely solid, masterfully crafted and miles ahead from today's anonymous scents. Probably not a fragrance for everyone because of its unapologetic character. Me? A personal favorite, just like my old leather jacket I used to wear to go to punk/hardcore gigs.

Rating: 9.5/10

Frederic Malle French Lover (aka Bois'Dorange)

I'm convincing myself everyday more and more that EP Frederic Malle is one of the best niche houses of the last 15 years and French Lover just makes my beliefs even stronger. An incense-pepper-vetiver scent that is as dry and bitter as much your immagination can go. It opens with a bitter blast of galbanum and woods, and even if not included in the note list I also get laurel galore. After 20 / 30 minutes a strong but sophisticated vetiver shows up together with frankincense. French Lover is a completely desweetened composition that leaves nothing to prettyness but at the same time it's austerely elegant, refined and modern.

If you're into fragrances such as Sycomore, Vetiver Extraordinaire or Memoir Man,  you will probably dig this. Even if they don't share many objective similarity we can say they're in the same vein, they have a similar effect. Don't get me wrong, French Lover with its bone-dry structure and the overall lived-in vibe can result disturbing to someone but its extremely sophisticated composition make this scent unique and immediately recognizable.

IMO this is an important and potentially influential release, kind of trendsetter in the modern male perfumery. After two years from its entrance on the market it already counts a few clones (i.e. Comme Des Garcons Monocle Scent # 2 Laurel).

Great projection and tremendous lasting power (12 hrs on my skin). A superb work and one of my favourite from this house.

Something to carefully avoid if you're into fresh and clean type of stuff.

Rating: 8-8.5/10

Other fragrances you might want to check:

Etat Libre D'Orange Charogne

Etat Libre D'Orange Je Suis Un Homme

Robert Piguet Bandit (Review)

Yves Saint Laurent Kouros (Review)

Vero Profumo Onda (Review)

Knize Ten (Review)

Knize Sec

Santa Maria Novella Nostalgia (Review)

Comme Des Garcons Garage

Comme Des Garcons Tar

Lush Dirty

Gres Cabochard

Hermes Bel Ami

Caron Yatagan (Revew)

Caron L'Anarchiste (Review)

Geo F. Trumper Eucris (Review)