Thursday, June 01, 2006

MYSTERY SCENT CHALLENGE: May, Identity Revealed

So...what was the mystery scent for May?




Van Cleef & Arpels Tsar (1989)


Notes: Bergamot, Rosemary, Thyme, Lavender, Jasmine, Caraway, Cinnamon, Oakmoss, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Amber.





Good guesses, everyone. Stay tuned for another Mystery Scent Challenge when Scenteur7 moves to its new home at PerfumeCritic.com.

8 comments:

marlen said...

Monica, Steve and Dusan - congrats on being the first three players in the Scenteur7 Mystery Scent Challenge. The mystery scent will be mailed next Monday. After you receive it, please enter your Scenteur7-style review here in the comments and feel free to pass on the sample to a friend. Let's see if anyone can Name That Scent!?!

Dusan said...

Hooray, I'm so delighted I'l

Anonymous said...

yay =) and you WILL reveal the answer eventually right? I hate not knowing especially if I like it =P

Dusan said...

Yey, I meant to say I can't wait to be Herm�s Poirot for a day! :-) :-) :-)

marlen said...

Ok, folks...I'm gonna try to get these done this weekend and in the mail on Monday. I'll keep you posted.

marlen said...

Thanks for your review, Steve. After the other two players have left their reviews, I'll reveal the mystery scent. For now, feel free to pass on the sample to a friend and lets see if he or she agrees with you!

marls

Dusan said...

Marls, I want to thank you so much for letting me be a part of this mystery adventure. It's been great! Here's Dusan Poirot at work:

First off let it be known that my vial arrived IN PIECES. Well, in two pieces, to be more precise. I did think it was kind of weird that the envelope should smell so strongly so it was hardly a surprise to discover the little bugger had not survived the cross-Atlantic journey. What is more, there was not a drop of the juice left for a proper on-the-skin test. Oh, well. So, bear in mind that I was unable to witness its development!
NOTES: fresh cut grass, pine (or fir balsam), sweet mint (or basil), lavender, cedar, moss, patchouli, sandalwood, marine notes; there is a hint of fruit and also of something boozy, but I might just be hallucinating from having my nose stuck so close to the paper (Marlen’s “business card”, the scent-keeper) that it gave me a fantastic headache! I detect no florals or citrus, just the herbs. Maybe there is even a whiff of smokiness (tea? tobacco?), but I am sure I’m imagining it – I’m a heavy smoker so what do I know! Overall, the scent is unmistakably masculine – woody, fresh, clean and oh so green with a slightly powdery (I’m guessing moss) drydown.
PROS: Not many. I like green fragrances (Truth CK), but I like them with a spicy or warm twist so this one simply isn’t my thing. The mossy finish, which lends elegance to this otherwise uberherbal and uberfresh monster, is probably the only thing I could appreciate. There is also a sweetness (mint? fruit?) that cuts through the sharpness of woods. Despite disliking it, I find the composition perfectly blended.
CONS: Where do I begin?
REMINDS ME OF: Now this is where I venture my guesses. I may be embarrassingly wrong, but I would say this one invites comparison with my arch-nemeses Escape CK, Hugo by Hugo Boss and Tommy by Tommy Hilfiger or any of their piney-grassy comrades that are known to unleash their anger at me in a similar mean green vein.
DEVELOPMENT: Ahem… the broken vial? Shake the vial as I might to squeeze out at least a droplet (in which process I could have seriously slashed my wrists on the jagged edges), nothing came out.
LONGEVITY & SILLAGE: Despite having zero experience with its development, I’d say this little stinker probably has disastrously potent longevity. Not sure about the sillage, but methinks it is very likely of a similar amplitude as I could swear that it is packed with aldehydes.
WHERE CAN I BUY IT: Why on earth would you want to buy it?
BOTTLEWORTHY: Now let me think…
THE BOTTOM LINE: Joke apart, this scent is perfect for men who like their fragrances fresh, green and decidedly masculine, and have a penchant for classics because, if I am not mistaken, this is no new stuff (oh god, how humiliated I’ll be when I hear it’s a 2006 release!). Having said that, for a predominantly Woody-Oriental fan who nonetheless enjoys other types of fragrance, this is as far from my taste as it gets. It is astounding how it manages to incorporate all of my most-hated notes: LAVENDER (check), CUT GRASS (check), PINE (check, no make that double-check). Even the cedar, which I generally like very much for its meditative qualities, packs a hefty punch, so much so that it ended up searing my nostrils (the birch in Cartier’s Declaration can produce a similar effect, if you spray the fragrance with abandon). The moss and the fleeting sweetness are just about the only saving grace in the juice.
RATING: 4 (out of 10). Surprised? Yeah, well, much as I dislike it, I must admit that it is a seamless and rich composition with quality ingredients.

IMPORTANT *UPDATE*: Gosh am I fickle! Against my better judgment, I’m beginning to like this *rolls eyes*. The scented card smells a bit different now (the next day), guess there was no need for an on-the-skin test after all. Gone is the pungency of herbal notes and the scent I now smell is still fresh, but it’s a marine-like freshness redolent of the seabed rather than the aquatic air (along the lines of Polo Sport). And it’s kind of sexy (yeah, I know, shoot me). On account of this sexiness I’m stepping the rating up to a 5. And that is final!

Dusan said...

Marlen, I'm dying to know what the mystery scent is. When will it be revealed to us? :(