Sea Ranch

Here's what it says on the back of the box: Escape into coastal mists and eternal mystery. Always in your element and open to possibility, with scents of California herbs, flour de del, orange flower and tonk a. This for me is all about the tonk a. It smells like a mixture of spearmint and cedar with a slight bit of vanilla holding the base down. Perfection for my chemistry.

I had been looking forward to trying out the new California Aromascapes series by Yosh at Anthropologie, where I am often pleasantly surprised by the niche-quality perfume at mainstream prices. I had heard good things about Yosh, and was excited by the prospect of acquiring some of her perfumes at significantly lower prices than her regular line (as I did from Le Labo--thanks to their similar collaborative arrangement and limited edition series). I believe that this series of perfumes was only recently launched (in perfume time), but this past week I was sent a "fresh cuts" ad from Anthropologie indicating that the bottles had been sharply discounted from the already excellent price of about $50. "What? $25 for a niche perfume?" I exclaimed in my mind. Naturally, in the days to ensue, a trip to the Anthropologie store in Harvard Square became a top priority. So here I am with three of the four perfumes (one of them, Montelena had a horrible opening, so I skipped it, only to discover that by the time I got home it was starting to smell very good... I'll get it the next time around, since I am sure that with such a "do not buy" opening there will be plenty of bottles left by the next round of discounts...). First up: Sea Ranch. This creation is, happily, not really very aquatic at all. I have a pretty deep-seated prejudice against calone, but this is quite far from anything in the realm of Calvin Klein Escape, Acqua di Gio, or any of the other ultra-aquatics which came into vogue in the 1990s. Instead, Sea Ranch is more of a floriental perfume. The orange blossom is dark and enticing, and sweetened with tonka, but the blend is balanced on the other side by fleur de sel! Definitely unique. I am happy with this purchase, needless to say. A word about the packaging. I am sorry but I cannot imagine the typical Anthropologie client being enticed by this utilitarian bottle and somewhat ugly, almost mood-ring like use of color on the boxes. It's important to bear in mind a couple of facts. First, the mainstay perfumes at Anthropologie--as far as I know, the only permanent perfumes in their collection--are the Tocca bottles. Why would someone want this cheap-looking vessel instead of one of those? The answer is, of course, that this perfume is better than Tocca. But who in the world will know this fact beyond OCD perfumistas (most of whom go straight to Yosh for her perfume)? My conclusion: this was a bad call. More aesthetically appealing packaging might have convinced the Anthropologie types to buy this perfume at 1 ounce for $50. As it stands, with no knowledge that it is really a niche perfume in drugstore trappings, consumers would probably pick up the ugly box and say "What? Fifty dollars for THIS?"

A super soft modern aquatic. Sea salt, Orange Blossom, and Tonka whisper quietly on skin. Nice notes, but so hushed that they feel strangled. Also I get a breath of the "banana" vanilla note I get from Casmir.

These were in the clearance bin at my local Anthropologie for about $12, so I thought I'd give them a spin. I'd actually tried them at a fragrance show earlier in the year and was unimpressed, but for $12, I figured it might be worth it. I sprayed some of this one on and took off to do a little shopping thinking I'd return to pick up a bottle later if I liked it. The rest were simply unpalatable. Sea Ranch is ISO E Super at a very high concentration, and that's really all there is to it. There's a slight sweetness upfront that almost reads gourmand and burns off within minutes, and then it's IES all the way at ridiculously high levels. Garbage. Yosh has done and can do much better.