HS3

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.

The first time I had a chance to try Guerlain’s Les Voyages Olfactifs was at EPCOT last year. It was the first time we’d been to a Guerlain boutique and it was fascinating to have a big table full of all the Paris and boutique exclusives. All three from Les Voyages Olfactifs are Guerlain through and through, with the signature Guerlainade and touch of powdery sweetness in the top. They come in enormous 8.3 oz bottles, with screw cap and additional atomizer. I would personally prefer these bottles to have a better integrated atomizer since I keep them with the atomizer on and the great, brushed screw cap off.

Paris – New York is supposed to smell like Manhattan at Christmas time. I’ve never been to Manhattan, but if it smells like this, it must be a marvelous place. It opens with a slightly perfumey, candied note that lingers in the air with a hint of tart mandarin and bergamot. As it dries and throughout the day, you’ll catch wisps of vanilla, cardamom, cedar, and hints of orange blossom. It lasts a full day and then some, and projects in just the right way. It lets its presence be know, but does not announce it loudly. The dry down is gorgeous – a light floral over cedar and vanilla with hints of cinnamon.

I often put a bit of a fragrance on the back of my hand to sniff during the day at work and sample. Today, I decided to grab a random Bond out of my desk drawer at home – I grabbed Astor Place and thought I’d give it some more attention since I’d only briefly smelled it in the store up til now.

When I first put it on, I got a pleasant, but not exceptional plummy fruit note. It seemed nice enough and I thought perhaps it could be something the GF would like when she wanted something light or girly. By the time I had gotten to work, it had fallen flat. I’m not sure exactly what the culprit is, but it’s turned into the smell of shampoo. I lived with a number of girls one year in college, and this is the smell of their just-washed hair while getting ready to go out for the night. I think the freesia may be to blame, but I can’t be certain. What I get now is nothing more than wet Pantene hair. Every now and then, I get a pop of citrus, likely the mandarin sticking its head out for a breath of air.

I wrote most of this earlier and then headed to a meeting. Astor Place did evolve some, but not much. There were a few minutes that I felt like it was going to turn into something better, more tart – but then it settled back into a shampooed head. The juicy mandarin is smothered with the hammering freesia and white florals.

I’m left pretty disappointed for the most part. It’s a pity – the bottle is quite a sight, and the real location seems to be very cool. Perhaps that intersection has a lot of recently washed heads of hair.