HS3

I folded and bought the last bottle of Auguste’s Esprit de Cuir from Luckyscent. I got a sample from a generous basenoter (LS was out of samples) and it was exactly what it had been touted to be. A rich, warm leather in a very old style. Nathan Branch found it a bit sweet for his likings on his blog, but I think that’s what made it for me. Listed notes are citron, geranium, galbanum, jasmine, clove, birch, oppoponax, tonka bean absolute, and oak moss absolute.

I think NowSmellThis summed it up perfectly:

Esprit de Cuir smells like it looks in its glass sample vial: sweet, warm, thick, and golden. Imagine motor oil laced with honey, a pinch of clove, and a few drops of birch tar, and you’ve got Esprit de Cuir once the faint hint of citron dissolves.

The bottle and packaging were actually a bit of a let down for me. While the bottle is beautiful, it’s certainly not hand painted entirely, but maybe just some details here and there. The box it came in had the quality of a box you’d get with snap cracker fireworks. While the idea of the cork is novel and romantic, it’s certainly not going to keep the bottle sealed – I tried using it for a couple days and it was actually wicking the contents out and the cork was actually wet (but never touching the liquid). I ended up opting for keeping the plastic seal it was shipped with in and that seems to work just fine. Don’t get me wrong – it’s still quite lovely and I’m more than pleased. And the contents are what matters anyways!

Here are some shots of the porcelain bottle from Auguste:

I gave a quick first impression of Odin Nomad long ago, but have finally had a chance to give it, along with the other two samples I had, some more attention.

Odin 03 Century – Beautifully blended. For the initiated, you won’t think it’s anything new and certainly relatively. For what it is though, it’s really quite nice. The cypress peeks through nicely, and the musk and amber in the base sweeten it just enough. It does have some unique elements here and there, but ultimately, you’ve got a mild-mannered woody amber with a hint of patchouli to give it some punch. Century is not in-your-face, but seems to have pretty surprising longevity.

*UPDATE* Century has killer longevity – 12 hours and a shower later and I can still smell the musk aromachemicals on my hand!

Odin 01 Nomad – This one holds my interest a bit more than Century. The initial blast has a cleaning supply vibe, but not in a bad way; it’s probably the juniper in the head. That passes within a minute or two and it turns into a tart, creamy cedar. It settles quickly into another variation of the sweetened woody base, this time with tonka instead of amber. The bright tartness (perhaps the bergamot?) hangs around for a while giving a bit of interest. There’s something floral to me as well, but I might just imagining it. Nomad doesn’t have much more tenacity than Century.

Odin 02 Owari – A blast of mandarin with a realistic grapefruit right out of the gate. It’s not the kind of grapefruit I usually loathe, but like freshly torn peel and tart spray. It fades into the heart soon after and a great neroli plays center stage. It’s supported by a slightly sweet base (seems to be a trend here). I can see some resemblance at times to Diptyque’s Eau de Neroli.

Owari seems like something I’d love in warmer months, but I’ve got a stockpile of great neroli scents, so it would have to blow me away to get my wallet out. Century would be nice for someone looking for a safe, woody amber who doesn’t have any of the genre. Nomad is the only of the three that I could imagine for me – it’s nothing daring, but it’s a great, close-wearing scent with decent longevity that would be perfect for office wear. The bergamot, juniper, and sandalwood are a really pleasing combination.

A while back, I ordered a sample set of MDCI fragrances from Claude Marchal, the incredibly gregarious man behind the MDCI brand in France. (you can see that post here) My wife fell in love with a couple of them, and I was smitten with Invasion Barbare. There is a lot in the collection, so even 10ml can sometimes take a while to get through, especially when you’re savoring each spray. I finally reached the end of the decant, nearly 2 years after the sample set purchase and had to get a bottle so I could wear it with abandon.

Stéphanie Bakouche has created for MDCI a complex formula where the soft and the wild, the fresh and the sensual, interact with warm, precious oriental notes.

Here we have an “oriental fern,” spicy and aromatic, with a captivating blend of grapefruit, bergamot, violet leaves, white thyme, cardamome, lavender and ginger headnotes.

A warm heart of cedarwood, bourbon vanilla and musc creates a precious and definitely masculine base which here too contribute to a well-balanced construction, true to the demands of the brand: elegant, precious, masculine and extremely sophisticated.

Here are some photos of the bottle, along with the resin edition of the bust: