Rich Mess Ryan Richmond

Normally, I think the idea of a “clubbing” scent is a bit outdated. I’ve never been to a club myself, nor do I ever really intend to - I’m just a major introvert. All that to basically say, nothing about something like Versace Eros has ever made me think “Hm, yeah, I can see how this could be associated with clubbing.” Then I discovered Rich Mess. First off, let’s just say that Rich Mess makes Eros look like a safe wear for someone working in the ICU at a children’s hospital. If Amouage Reflection smells like someone with money, then this smells like someone who made billions smuggling cocaine and firearms. At first sniff, you get sparkling champagne and a nice dose of leather - as if your chauffeur accidentally hit a pothole doing 90 on the way back from the Met Gala and your glass of champagne splattered all over the sweaty leather seats of your Rolls-Royce Phantom. Much like what others have said, the initial reaction for most is to recoil immediately - and then come back for more. Once the sweaty/salty opening settles, you’re left with a smooth, beautiful dry down, with lots of leather, hints of vanilla, some grapefruit, some bergamot, some fig, sandalwood, and just the slightest trace of that champagne. But simply listing notes doesn’t do this justice. As jarroditshallbe below so eloquently put it, it smells of “vermouth, tits, cocaine, and leather pant crotch bulges.” Despite how trashy that all sounds, there’s plenty of beauty to be found in this fragrance. This isn’t a clubbing fragrance. This is what an exclusive club for the elite smells like. It’s complex, it’s mysterious, and most importantly, it’s addictive. Definitely not a safe blind buy (even though that’s what I did. I lucked out and absolutely love it), but most certainly sample-worthy in my opinion. It’s edgy, potent, and 100% original. A true niche perfume, in the purest sense. 10/10 Update (11/25/20): I’ve had almost a year with this fragrance and it’s still one of my favorites. Despite how strong it is, I don’t find it to be cloying or headache-inducing. I’ve yet to get my nose on another fragrance as captivating as Rich Mess.

My signature scent for 2023! 🙌🙌🙌 Nobody should rely on a particular fragrance to feel confident but Rich Mess feels like something larger than life that feels like a second skin of confidence. Rich Mess is all about the luxurious things in life and it doesn’t care whether you are a big shot or a nobody, whether you are strikingly rich or a mess. You are invited to experience Rich Mess and it will make you feel like a million bucks!🤑 I haven’t had many fragrances that I call signature scents, namely just two, Zino Davidoff for the late 80’s and Fahrenheit for the 90’s. What exactly is a signature scent? To me a signature scent is a definition of yourself. It’s the smell you want to portray to others whether they understand it or not. It’s the second invisible skin that fits your character. Absolute confidence. Rich mess is a hugely bold fragrance that makes its presence known. It’s a fragrance that screams luxury, fun and satisfaction. Whether you’re invited to the biggest party in town or off to Sunday Mass it will make you stand out with originality and uniqueness. I feel my character and spirit connect seamlessly with this scent. The beautiful bright citrus opening blended with the fig note and champagne is truly a pleasure to the olfactory senses and sets a tone of happiness and confidence. Once the fresh leather starts to kick in it keeps the fragrance vibrant and bright combined with saffron and vanilla. Then as it further dries down you are left with the most impressive and gorgeous dry down probably ever created in the name of designer shifting to niche territory fragrance. The sandalwood and cedar in the dry down are simply made in heaven. I wish my description could really give its true justice it deserves. It’s simply a jaw dropping beautiful timeless fragrance. Rich Mess feels vintage, present, and modern and a fragrance way before it’s time coming to us from the future!

This starts with a big juicy green fig that surprisingly morphs into many facets of leather, initially shifting wittily back and forth between fig and types of leather--patent, car, handbag, jacket--as if to suggest the creator is playing an olfactory game. It's a bit of an intellectual game because who knew that fig and leather had such a clear and strong relationship. And it's a delight to wear. The leather itself, a unisex Hermes saddle variety with a creamy wood enhanced by a rich sandalwood, is very smooth, becoming more deconstructed as you get further away from it. At the skin with about three inches of projection is the classic sophisticated saddle leather, softened with saffron and vanilla, up to 18 inches away there is more of a deconstructed aura of leather which has some of the citrus, some of the sandalwood, maybe a musk. It's an aura that makes you almost subliminally aware of something that smells good, that draws your attention, and once you pay attention you smell the leather, the citrus, the lilies, and the grapefruit which is much deeper red grapefruit note, it's a game of consciousness. Rich Mess smells great and fulfills its niche credentials with more than enough wit and thought to make it top of the line. It's not going to be for leather purists but if you are in the mood to smell great, smell like leather, and also have an art experience this is for you. Hats off to Christophe Laudamiel who is such an artist and such an able communicator. This is a very special fragrance worth trying and if you love fig and leather worth a blind buy.

I got this two years ago or so and wore it religiously to nights out and clubs but then forgot about it and recently rediscovered it. This is THE clubbing fragrance when you want people too turn their heads. The opening smells like a dirty high-end leather jacket, couch, car seat or what have you covered in the driest and most expensive champagne but then dries down into something woody, powdery and slightly fruity, the leather still being there. Don't get me wrong though, even during the dry down is still somehow projects. If Dior's Fahrenheit and Homme Intense 2011, Tom Ford's Fucking Fabulous and Ombré Leather and Chanel Coromandel had a sick and twisted love child it would be Rich Mess. The projection, sillage and longevity is insane. This is definitely not a safe blind buy. This fragrance is ridiculous, borderline offensive and I love it with my whole heart. Easily one of the best frags I own. 10/10

For all intents and purposes, this is a non-musky version of Scent Tattoo by The Zoo (in that it's the same scent profile otherwise), and more woods-floral bias take in place of the musk. Fortunately, this is a more available version of Scent Tattoo, and one that I personally love since it accentuates more on the rubber facet but also gives a sensation of a new pair of kicks (the rubber) and the box it was in (woods/florals), but more emphasis on the rubber in a gourmand-esque fashion. It doesn't quite remind me of new kicks in my personal taste, but it's pretty darn close!!! In any case, this is probably a preference above Scent Tattoo mainly due to the scent profile, but unsurprisingly, easier to get fatigued from, but also projects like crazy. Talk about difficult to work with...in a good way.