New York Man

This is simply one of the sexiest musky perfume "for men" ever! I never really cared about musks, but this one really blew my mind! How can it be so addicting!? Turns out, maybe it's not a "musky perfume" after all (at least according to other voters); maybe what I perceived as sexy cinnamony musk is in fact balsamic tobacco? Either way, it's really good--animalic and warm, yet tamed with class.

The idea of New York Man was a collaborative effort between Carlos of Brooklyn Fragrance Lover (on YouTube), his Peace, Love, and Perfume (PLP) group on Facebook, and Shelley Waddington of En Voyage Perfumes. The notes include: the “peace notes” of ncense, myrrh, sandalwood, smoke, patchouli, cannabis flower, natural oudh, and resins. The “love notes” are notes of animal musk, ambergris, and castoreum, with bonus notes of scotch and cigars. Shelley classifies this as an animalic woody aromatic. The notes really belie what kind of fragrance this really is, however. To look at the breakdown, one might easily think this was only for fall or winter wear, and that it was gigantically bold and unrepentantly in-your-face masculine. It’s not. Despite the masculine notes, they come together in a wonderfully gentle, way. Myrrh, incense, and resins dominate, but there is a soft greenness and distant jasmine that surrounds the whole scent which makes it quite nice. These subtle touches make it more versatile and open to wear in more seasons. The spices – my nose picks up mostly cinnamon and clove – are wispy and clean, not the aggressive type that jump down your nose and make you want to sneeze. I personally never get whiskey on my skin, which is A-okay by me. A nice, creamy sandalwood provides a pedestal for everything to rest on. As it ages on my skin, anything that was faintly animalic in the opening has toned down, and a spiced sandalwood with hints of leather and musk remain. This is really quite a surprise to the nose. Not your average spicy, woody scent, and by no means a “freshy,” but actually a little bit of both. In going with Shelley’s vision of the refined New York man, she undoubtedly chose to make a perfume that does not scream out for attention, and she succeeded. I get average longevity on my skin, perhaps four or five hours, with one or two hours of a nice cloud of sillage. The person who wears this commands attention, but doesn’t demand it. If you like spices, myrrh, resins, incense, and tobacco, but also want something that is well-behaved and sophisticated, I would definitely opt for this. Women attracted to similar notes should not let the name of the perfume deter you from trying this. While I think smelling this on a man with a three-piece suit would make almost anyone swoon, there’s something about this that lends itself to being worn by women, too – especially once you give it several minutes to dry down on the skin. As with any sophisticated New York man (or woman), there’s much more here than meets the eye, and Shelley Waddington has done a beautiful job at capturing much of it.