Sixes & Sevens

This latest limited edition release from Slumberhouse, Sixes & Sevens, is, as many have said, not as boastful as their typically beastly and provocative dark juice. Josh Lobb's house does feature lighter and brighter options (consider Sadanne, Pear + Olive, Grev, and perhaps even Kiste) but what I've come to love the house for is its dark, potent, pungent offerings that I tend to adore for their performance and appropriateness in winter (i.e. Norne, Ore, Jeke, Zahd, Sova). Sixes & Sevens mainly smells of leather and resins (benzoin, frankincense), with hints of castoreum, orris, cumin, sandalwood, and oud each adding some intrigue. Among these background players, castoreum is what I notice most, though it's used in such restrained quantity as to not jeopardize the prominence of leather being the principal accord and resins being the backup singers. As some have reported, and I now concur, the fragrance is a bit less daring and significantly less intense, in terms of performance, than most of the Slumberhouse catalog to date, and that's not to say that that wasn't wholly Josh's intention. In this respect, it's a departure from the norm, perhaps allowing for a more agreeable, more versatile option that can be enjoyed on more occasions throughout more seasons. I get only modest projection for the opening hour, and it becomes a skin scent, albeit steadily so, within a couple hours of applying. Certainly it still feels comparably as strong as other niche wintery offerings, but its contrast to other dark juices in the house is palpable, performance-wise. The elephant in the room, though, is the pricing, $200 for 30ml (contra the usual $160 for 30ml) with an additional option of $500 for 100ml, of which all bottles of both sizes sold out almost immediately anyway, meaning that it can only be obtained via the secondary market at predictably-inflated pricing. Given the diminished performance of the juice, Sixes & Sevens is a tougher sell at its retail pricing, limited edition status notwithstanding. In conclusion, Sixes & Seven is good, perhaps very good, and if I'd gotten in on blind buying a bottle via the house directly (I would've opted for a 30ml for $200), I would keep it and enjoy it, but I'm not all that inclined to track it down for $200 (or realistically, much more) given that it does not push the envelope like most of the fragrances in the catalog, and though these fragrances set perhaps an unrealistically high bar to keep reaching over and over again, it's the selling point for the juice: powerful, provocative potions, pardon the alliteration. 7 out of 10

A very interesting new offering from the eclectic Slumberhouse line, this is a woody aromatic scent with slight animalic overtones. The perfume marks a slight change of direction for this line, in that it is surprisingly light, wearable and soft compared to most other offerings of this house. The perfume begins with aromatic notes of cumin, leather, incense, rue and fir. The heart contains notes of iris, opoponax and walnut. The perfume settles into a musky powdery base of musk, civet, castoreum, benzoin and sandalwood. Unisex (slight masculine leaning) with soft to moderate sillage and good longevity. Unique and haunting in many ways but in somewhat familiar territory of other offerings of this line to be considered groundbreaking . Enjoy!

This is a high quality spicy sandalwood fragrance with soft, buttery leather and animalic undertones. It begins with a rich, creamy sandalwood accord, spicy and flanked by a very warm, living, animalic musk. The musk lends it an ultra-comforting feel and a rich depth which makes it a pleasure to wear during these colder months. Though there's a bit of funk within the musk, the animalic elements in Sixes & Sevens really avoid the more challenging facets such as the barnyard, sexual, or fecal varieties that can be found in certain animalic fragrances such as Muscs Koublai Khan or Songe d'Un Bois d'Ete. As a result, this one's actually very easy to wear and doesn't really run the risk of being off-putting or offensive to others. At the same time, the quality of the sandalwood and musk really give Sixes a rich, deep, and luxurious feel. Though the scent is quite dialed in and focused, it has significant dimension and depth. I've noticed two apparent transitions while wearing Sixes. The first concerns its heat. While Sixes starts off warm and cozy, its heat gains in intensity over time and becomes fiery hot at times, as if there's a stove in its heart. This intensity builds and builds and then at time is waxes and wanes, vacillating between comforting warmth and scorching heat. Similarly, there is the dryness factor, particularly as it pertains to the sandalwood. While the sandalwood starts off with a very buttery, waxy quality, it becomes increasingly dry as the fragrance becomes increasingly hot. In the end you are left with a very desiccated, smoky woody sandalwood which is quite different than how it was in the initial couple of hours. Overall, this is a very nice scent. It has leathery and buttery undertones, waxy and dry elements, and varies in the intensity of its heat. As far as how it smell, much of it reminds me of the original Gucci Pour Homme. There's something of that "pencil shavings" smell at play here, albeit with a more animalic slant. It is not, in my opinion, a challenging scent to wear--in fact it's pretty easy to wear--and seems like a a really good choice for a cold night around close company. Overall, the perfumer is demonstrating increased skill, showing he is capable of dialing a scent in and really creating a well-focused, seamlessly composed fragrance while still keeping things interesting and cutting edge. One of my favorite Slumberhouses. Great overall performance. Final rating 9/10.

Sixes and Sevens is a wonderfully smooth musk-sandalwood-cumin number that doesn't project much, but really REALLY works well. The dirty animalic funk is kept in check by the cumin and the sandalwood lies buried below providing a nice base overall. Don't be mislead of concerned about the musk-cumin parts, they are suitably tamed and do NOT distract or anything like that. No, this is not an Amouage cumin, not an Areej musk, this is a few levels below that, but not meek or forgettable. The overall feel of the scent is winter, possibly an autumn scent, however, the elephant in the room is that this one is LONG out of print, and it was limited to start with. If you get your hands on this, you are both lucky and committed. The prices this commands online are unholy and unreasonable, so, if indeed you cannot source this one, Al Oudh by L'Artisan is remarkably similar...

firstly, cumin dominates this scent from beginning to end. but it's not an astringent, 'high', caustic or even pickled cumin. it's quite smooth, full-bodied and levelled out. many people believe that it carries a 'sweat' note to it, or BO, to be more precise, but i don't get that here... playing second fiddle to the cumin is the animalic aspect. musk, civet, or whatever, is definitely present, and not overbearing. it sits comfortably alongside the cumin, and the two vibe off each other. lastly, there's the sandalwood-resin backing singers that add to scent. my nose isn't fine-tuned enough to be able to discern (yet!), but all three aspects work quite well together. this might need to be sprayed on...

Scent - iris, benzoin, leather & cumin. Season/Time of Day - I prefer to use this one in the colder months, during the day. Projection - I didn't get noticed, I didn't get a compliment. Longevity - I get 24hrs consistently.

I loved this in the opening - a ton of hot, sweaty cumin backed up with some sexy, animalic civet and castoreum. Swoon! Sadly, the animalic bits faded quickly on me leaving only some stale cumin behind.

Cumin, leather, castoreum, civet, and sweet thyme. It's quite leathery, cumin, and animalic. It has opoponax, thyme, elemi, fir, & sweet olibanum. It's quite beautiful animalic blend. Beauty.