L’Artisan Parfumeur has a reputation for being daring, innovative, and completely unique. I’d heard enough good about Tea For Two and Mechant Loup (review forthcoming) that I selected both of them for sampling from Luckyscent.

In short, the scent lives up to the name. The opening is smoky and mildly sweet, like tea steeping. In this phase it’s rather interesting, and a somewhat rustic scent in an unusual use of the description. The scent is fairly linear, the base is pleasant and warm, in fact you get that warm vibe all the way through it.

But it still needs to be asked. Do I really want to smell like a hot cup of tea? I don’t drink all that much tea (lazy etc.) but it certainly conjures up those images. That’s not me at all. In fact, when do I wear this? Can’t wear it in a social setting or I’m Buzz Killington.

See?

Jokes aside, it’s unique, it’s warm and inviting, and it’s almost exactly like you made a mess and spilled hot tea on yourself. I respect it for what it is but it’s just not for me.… (More) “Tea For Two – I Made A Mess”

The experiment had to start somewhere really. The package from Luckyscent arrived and all 14 samples were nice and intact. Not knowing where to start, and not wanting to contaminate the thought process by favoring one right off the bat, I’ve been using a random number generator to decide my fragrances for me out of the samples. The very first one? Santal Noble by Maître Parfumeur et Gantier. This one was initially picked completely on a whim. I remembered hearing something about it, but I couldn’t tell you what it was.

To work, then. Initially applying it I could definitely get the sandalwood, but there was a definite…funk to it. Not in the good sense either. It took two days before I realized what it was I was smelling: Coffee beans. It’s a semi-sweet, pungent yet extremely dry opening that left me terribly uncertain about what to expect with it.

It’s something I may have to chalk up to one of two things. One, I’m not quite far enough progressed in this hobby to appreciate Santal Noble. Two, my skin chemistry doesn’t do it justice. Okay, three things. Three, I’m wearing during the wrong time of year (it was just under 100 degrees on the day of wearing). It’s very disconcerting that I really actively disliked it, because it’s one of the most highly rated fragrances on Basenotes that I’ve ever seen, some members going as far as to call it…

“Arguably the best Niche fragrance ever made.”
“This is probably the best woody fragrance ever created.”
“The richest, deepest wood there is.”
“The nectar of the gods, this is sandalwood par excellence.”
“It took me a very long time to appreciate this fragrance, but now that I’ve come to terms with it, I consider it one of perfumery’s towering … (More) “Santal Noble – doubleplusungood”

It’s a bit scary to realize that at this point I’ve only been a fragrance enthusiast for about six months, and my collection has amassed to 34 bottles.  And probably that many samples.  How it started was simple, I ran out of my usual cologne (Polo Blue) and was looking for something new to try.  Being the good boy I am, I got on Amazon and looked at best-sellers and took down a list of the top 20 or so bestsellers and took off to Paducah with list in hand.  Unfortunately, Paducah offers precious little in the way of couture, so a lot of it was stuff I was pretty much not going to find.  One that I did find, however, was Unforgivable by Sean John.  This was pretty late in my testing and I was surprised and a little irritated to find that I actually quite liked it; after all, I don’t really see Sean John as a good representation of my typical life (i.e., being a nerd).

I don’t know what exactly I liked about it.  It’s classy without being pretentious, clean without being soapy, and masculine enough to wear pretty much any time.  Even now it’s still one of my favorite all-around fragrances.  It wasn’t exactly random either in retrospect, as it has three of my favorite notes in the base (sandalwood, tonka bean, and amber) and it really is a very well put-together fragrance.

There is, however, that connection.  Basenoters know what I’m talking about, the connection between Unforgivable and Millesime Imperial by Creed.  “Dead ringer” is a good term to use.  They’re as similar as any two fragrances I’ve ever tried.  The issue is further compounded when you realize that Diddy’s signature scent prior to making Unforgivable was…yup.  Millesime Imperial.

Creed purists will maintain that … (More) “Unforgivable – My Gateway Drug”