A return to old favourites

Yeah, I know what you're probably thinking. You've read this before. Every now and then I post about how I've gone back to trying perfumes I actually own, rather than just get a quick fix from the latest craze. But you know what? It's a valid point and the reason why I do this. The message is - its good to wear perfume one actually owns. After all, why did I buy full bottles of these in the first place?

Now I know that some of you (perhaps many of you) own a lot of full bottles, but my budget does not allow that and in some ways I know that if I owned a lot, I would never ever work my way through my 'stock'. Nevertheless, I do own about fifteen bottles of perfume and over the last few days I wore Guerlain's L'Instant, Gucci Pour Homme (discontinued), Alexander McQueen Kingdom (discontinued) and Bulgari Black (I think discontinued, but not 100% certain). Interesting that about 75% of what I own is no longer in production. The most criminal of these in my opinion is Gucci. How could they discontinue Pour Homme and leave so much dreck on the shelves? Crazy bastards!

Wearing each of these, I came to the realisation all over again that they are brilliant perfumes and deserve to be worn by me more often.

Summer = Citrus

I should just say that generally speaking I am not a huge fan of the citrus fragrance family. I very often love a citrus opening, then it fades fast, leaving me smelling faint woods and musk at best. Some citrus fragrances are excellent - take Eau Savage for example - and have stood the test of time, but there are others that seem to just clog up the shelves at many department stores, all like each other and very often called  sports fragrances. I recently received samples of Acqua Di Parma Colonia and Aramis  Cool Blend. Cool Blend is meant to appeal to a young, new generation of Aramis lovers, and I understand is mean to be a fresh chypre. To me it opens with a strong blast of bergamot and that is pretty much all I smell initially. I'm sure there is more in there, but nothing that stands out. There is a spicy piquancy in the heart, which I thought might be cardamom, but from the notes it seems it is actually white pepper and cinnamon. I did detect a rosiness, but now I think this might be the cinnamon note. The dry down is meant to have a creamy suede, golden amber and sandalwood accord, but I honestly don't detect the suede or sandalwood. I thought  I was smelling musk and amber. I'm not sure why it is classed as a fresh chypre - it doesn't smell anything like a chypre to me, fresh or otherwise, and I fail to see how amber, suede and sandalwood could combine to be a chypre? To me Cool Blend seems quite similar to Bulgari Pour Homme, perhaps not exactly in structure, but it has a similar vibe. It is quite mainstream, but to its credit it manages to avoid a lot of the generic cliches out there in men's perfumery, at least I think so. It smells decent, without any wow factor, and if Aramis are trying to connect to a new generation of men, these guys could do a lot worse than wear Cool Blend.

Colonia was created in 1916 and has notes of Italian and Sicilian citrus fruits, lavender, verbena and vetiver. I'm not sure if there is a difference between Italian and Sicilian fruit, but in any event it opens bright and citrusy, with a smell more of the citrus leaves than the fruit or blossoms, luckily (for me). There is quite a lemonyness to it, which I think must be the verbena, which is very realistic. To me it smells a lot like fresh lemon zest. Once the citrus fades a bit, there is more of a floral aspect. Although not listed, I thought I detected a lovely rose and jasmine combo, quite elegant and restrained, and not too floral for a man to wear. I also thought the herbal note smelled a lot like rosemary, but again, I see lavender listed, so perhaps I am confused. In any event, the heart is a lovely mix of rose, jasmine, herbs, perfectly blended. It smells classy and understated. The dry down seems mossy to me, but that might be lavender and vetiver combining. I think overall Colonia smells expensive, with very good quality ingredients. Although released in 1916, it doesn't come across as old fashioned and dated, at least not to me. Being a cologne, it isn't particularly long-lasting and is fairly subtle and restrained, but I think it is lovely and would certainly recommend it.

So would I buy Cool Blend or Colonia? Well, I think I would definitely go for Colonia. It smells more natural and of better-quality ingredients to me, and although not as long-lasting as Cool Blend, it does more for me while it lasts. I know I am not the new generation, but give me 1916 over 2010 any day, at least in this case.

Le Labo Patchouli 24

Patchouli 24 by niche house Le Labo seems to garner much praise on many blog websites, Basenotes, etc. I came to the Le Labo party quite late and to be honest, with the exception of Oud 27, none of the line has impressed me all that much. They all seem quite good, but lack inspiration, certainly to my nose.

The notes for Patchouli 24 are listed (not officially, as I don't think Le Labo likes to do that sort of thing) as patchouli, styrax, birch and vanilla. The comparisons with Bulgari Black are inevitable, as at first glance they seem quite similar. The opening starts quite brightly, with a brief burst of citrus, but within seconds a smokiness wells up quite strongly. The birch note is immediately apparent and the fragrance takes on a smoky leatheriness that lasts throughout most of the heart and early dry down. This is quite a sweet scent though and its not long before the smokiness becomes tempered by the vanilla note. At this point the comparison with Bulgari Black would seem most obvious. I can see why some people would think this, but for starters Patchouli 24 never has that rubber note that Black has, nor the tea accord. The smokiness is also far more pronounced in Patchouli 24. If anything, that hardcore birch tar note recalls Tauer Lonestar memories, at least for me, but less smoked-meat-and-leather. 


The dry down continues on the smoky, tarry, vanillic theme, rather sweet,  but it never becomes cloying, as the fragrance is well balanced and the edges do smooth somewhat later on. Overall this is an intense perfume, almost certainly the most masculine of the Le Labo line that I've tried. I can see this as a polarising scent - some will love it, others will despise it. I think after Oud 27 this is my second favourite of the line and I think fans of Bulgari Black or Lonestar Memories will like it too.