Reading Perfumes: The Guide 20181 has got me revisiting old samples, among them Lubin Upper Ten and Upper Ten for Her, both of which received four stars. Turin writes that Upper Ten has “the cleverest accord I have smelled in a very long time,” and Upper Ten for Her is a “perfume doing the splits.” How could I resist…
“Manly, yes, but I like it, too.” Anyone remember those old Irish Spring commercials? Perfume aficionados know that “male” and “female” designations serve best simply as markers — like “rose” or “fresh,” for example — on what to expect, not whether the perfume only suits a particular gender. On the traditional male-female fragrance spectrum, Masque Milano Montecristo weighs heavily male in the leather, wood and tobacco manner, right next door to Hermès Bel Ami. Despite my earlier reference to Irish Spring, believe me, Montecristo doesn’t smell anything like soap. But I like it, too.
Montecristo launched in 2013 and was developed by perfumer Delphine Thierry. Its notes include cabreura, ambrette seeds, rum, tobacco leaves, celery seeds, cistus, benzoin, golden stone, styrax gum, gaiac wood, cedar wood and patchouli.
Montecristo opens herbal, musky and almost vinegar-like before relaxing into leather spiked with tobacco, salt, cinnamon and cumin…
French niche line Majda Bekkali has launched Tulaytulah, a new unisex fragrance named for the Spanish city of Toledo (called Tulaytulah under Arab rule) and intended as message of peace and hope…
Masque Milano is a new Italian niche brand with three fragrances that debuted last year — Terralba, Montecristo and Luci Ed Ombre — and a fourth scent, Tango, due to launch in March…
Between November and March is the period I call “Scented-Candle Danger Zone.” During these cool/cold months, I yearn for, “research,” and then buy perfumed candles…expen$ive candle$. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that a single, $100 dollar candle usually makes more sense budget-wise (and ambiance-wise) than three $33 candles, or five $20 candles. Inexpensive candles almost always smell cheap; their artificial aromas and blends must have been devised by a computer program or a food-crazed focus group who loves cheap candy. I hate candles that smell like carnival food: Caramel Apple Sundae, anyone? CocoNut-ChocoCone? Pumpkin ‘n’ Spice Latte? Ick. And what’s worse than cheap-smelling floral candles? (I guess you could call me a candle snob…or a “candle idiot” if you must…you won’t hurt my feelings!)
But as my hubby says: “Kevin, you pay more in parking fees in one week than you do on one candle!” How nice to have an enabler at home. He’s right. What do I get from parking fees? A concrete space to occupy. A $100 candle gives me pleasure for months (sixty or more hours of burn-time!) I don’t eat out much because my official enabler is a great cook, so I buy a candle, or two, or three, with that saved restaurant money…