2nd Cumming

The first time I tried this, the whiskey note hit me a little too hard and I wasn't sure how I felt about it. The second time I tried this, it was perfection, and I fell head over heels in love. Scotch, cigar, old books, damp earth, pine/fir evergreen trees, all in a surprisingly light-handed mellow blend, with something sweet, musky, warm and balancing woven through--the white truffle, maybe. I don't pick up a rubber note in this at all, for which I am grateful as rubber is a note that never agrees with me. When I told my husband, who is NOT particularly interested in smells, that I had a perfume that smelled like Scotch, cigars and dirt, he was not impressed and told me I would smell like old man. Then he sniffed it on me, and raised his eyebrows. "That's interesting. That's a good one." High praise indeed, coming from him! Then I asked him to wear it himself, so I could see if I liked it better on him or on myself. Smelled even better on him. I love this juice and will certainly be wearing this again, on nights when I'm staying in by the fire and sipping a hot toddy. It's gorgeous in fall and winter. I want my husband to wear it again, also. This is one we will share, like Tobacco Vanille.

An intensely sexy scent and easily a tie for my all-time favorite. Vinyl, rubber, ashtrays, scotch. Dark, messy. Reminiscent of dive bars at 4 AM, bad decisions, and walks of shame. If you're all sweetness and light, this will give you some mysterious edge. If you're not, this will sharpen that edge. An ex-boyfriend of mine loved this just as much as I did, and a woman who's a close friend likewise thought this was intensely super-sexy. Whether you like this or not depends on your "truth serum" version of what you find erotic. It does *not* smell good... but oh is it good. I live in SF. I could see this being confusing or seeming like an outright mistake in other parts of the world. Um, not for work or a family Christmas party. p.s. I think it's very difficult to make this kind of off-putting synthetic smell work and be sexy, so this scent is actually quite a feat, one of CB's very best, and I love so many of their fragrances. You can see it as a distant, and better, sequel, say to Dior's Fahrenheit. p.p.s. I've tried this in both Absolute and Water formats and so far don't really have a preference either way.

Why is everybody hatin' on this perfume?!? It smells outrageously good. Heavenly. I think it's because everyone hates Alan Cumming, anymore. Or because He's bisexual. Honestly, I look beyond him and adore his perfume. Besides, who knows what other designers are like of the popular perfumes. Buy a full sized bottle. I only have the tiny, tester type.

The more I use this, the less I know how to describe it really, but I'll have a quick go! I think a good starting point is to mention that like most, if not all CBIHP 100ml offerings, it is a water perfume. Which in my experience means it's quite light and with limited silage. Having said that, I've had people ask what I'm wearing when I myself can't smell it much at all. So maybe it's just 'one of those'? It is odd though, because this stuff boasts some heady notes, opening with a toned down and quite addictive petrichor/geosmin note, with a touch of bergamot. It then reveals a nice pine note that is the underlying mainstay of the scent I think, before beginning this really well articulated, evolutionary progression through accords of leather (I get upholstery), smoky peat, soil/dirt, scotch whiskey and tobacco. Hardly a list of notes you'd normally associate with a light, airy perfume! But in a way, I think that works for it and shepards it away from sledgehammer territory, to something quite personal and cozy. Sexy even? And it lasts surprisingly well! It's suggested in the CBIHP propaganda that this stuff smells better the more you sweat/warm it up. I actually find that to be true. As a result, I find it's best suited to liberal sprays under clothing, to the bare chest, bare back, shoulders etc. It's certainly a very odd little number and one I'll admit I was a tad miffed by when I first got it, but I've come to really appreciate it. It is a totally lovely smell and wearing it is a such an interesting olfactory journey. One of the stranger things I own, but I dig it!

I guess there must be something wrong with my sense of smell because i do not smell rubber in this fragrance. The notes I detect the most are the fir, pine and leather. I also get tobacco and just a hint of whiskey. The very beginning of this fragrance is rather challenging because it smells like sweat, a musty kind of sweat that reminds me of a men's locker room. That must be the earth tincture. The smell of sweat quickly gives way to the leather, fir and pine notes. I'm surprised how long this fragrance lasts because the projection is so laid back. I wore the fragrance today but only I could smell it and I can still smell it eleven hours later. Because this fragrance blends the smell of pine and leather so well, I think I will eventually buy a full bottle.