34 Bohemian Cafes

In true Thin Wild Mercury fashion, 34 Bohemian Cafes is evocative, rooted, and expertly blended. The juniper and pepper are bracing - you can imagine this mixed drink hitting your bloodstream - supported by a grungy, atmospheric warmth. The top notes settle quickly into a phenomenal "place" smell: if you had a dusky rose perfume clinging to your clothes when you entered a dim, smoky, intimate space full of leather furniture and sticky wood tabletops, and then you lingered there, doing whatever underground debauchery genuinely suited you, all night long, this is how you'd smell when you reemerged into the fresh air. I imagine this particular Bohemian Cafe has a corner full of tattered secondhand volumes or a table toward the back full of ridiculous but deeply earnest poets squabbling amongst themselves, because something in the drydown - I imagine the iris and musks combined with that gorgeous aged leather and tobacco - really, really brings to mind the smell of old books and papers. Is it a little challenging? Maybe, if you're not a smoke-and-musks person. Is it a crowd-pleaser? Probably not. Is it intense and antique-grungy and melodramatic? Yes, in all the best ways. I'm obsessed. Even if you're not a smoky-musky-woody perfume person, I highly recommend sampling this one, just so you can appreciate the artistry.

For me, this feels like the bridge between the NY and the LA collection, but before we get into it, let's get something out of the way first. Despite the word Cafes in the name, this is not a coffee scent. This is Thin Wild Mercury after all, which means the fragrance was inspired by a different era. There's tobacco smoke, but it's not that simple either. It's in the air, it's soaked in the walls. Pink peppercorn provides a spiced kick, while a dry textured rose grounds the scent with a weariness. There's history, complexity, depth, and character. The reason I connect with this one is because it reminds me of myself. Sitting in a quiet, dimly lit corner of a coffee shop, scribbling together notes, then giving those words meaning, based on life. The adventures of a tortured soul, suffering through grief, finding love, searching for more. The description says poet and yes, I can see the poet, but it's also the rebel, the dreamer, and the visionary all rolled into one.

34 Bohemian Cafes is the home of your grandmother you don’t get to visit often. Or possibly a funeral home. Though I won’t venture there today. The opening is a smooth, rich, almost honeyed tobacco with a hint of sharp pepper spice. It dries soft and smokey, covered over with paper dry florals. Especially that rose. The home this builds is one strewn with intricate doilies, heavy quilts and hand crafted wood furniture. On the walls hang dusty, delicate, bouquets from years past. A pipe smoking habit is poorly hidden amongst the flowers. Such an inviting and soothing scent. Makes me long for a person that doesn’t exist in my life. I think I’ll become her. Easily a daily wear. Any season any time. So lovely.

If Replica By the Fireplace is a roaring living room hearth, 34 Bohemian Cafes is the smoldering embers of an outdoor bonfire. The juniper, pink pepper, floral and other organic notes give this one a lovely outdoorsy quality. It's still incredibly warm and its sweeter notes bring to mind a hot toddy on a cold evening. Wore it for an afternoon hiking in the pacific northwest and fell in love with how it blended with the smell of the forest. Going to be a staple fall/winter wear for me.

I loved this at first smell when I first purchased the NYC sample set from Thin Wild Mercury (later went back for a travel size), and it wasn’t until I read these reviews that it occurred to me that this could be a polarizing fragrance! I think it perfectly nails the boho vibe of an artsy, smokey, jazz cafe filled with leather jackets and instruments. Not great for spring or summer, but I adore it for fall & winter. I guess it’s not a safe blind buy, though!