Greysolon

While at a social event this weekend I picked up on someone in the crowd wearing an old school, masculine fragrance. The man wearing it was easy to spot. As he moved through the crowd he was the embodiment of the word "sillage." The experience of observing him was very synesthetic. It was as though my eyes and nose were connected and I could visualize his odoriferous wake. Even though I don't have a great memory for fragrances there was no mistaking the scent. It was the dreaded Viking ship of 1980's perfumery, Drakkar Noir.

If you read reviews of Drakkar Noir you'll soon realize it evokes pretty strong opinions and memories, both good and bad. The one thing most people agree on is that it's a big, powerhouse fragrance. After that, opinions divide. Proponents talk about its rich collection of notes and how it evokes memories of the 1980's. Detractors talk about its suffocating, over the top collection of notes and how it evokes memories of the 1980's.

What's surprising is that, aside from it's huge sillage, I didn't find Drakkar Noir loud in an abrasive sense. Maybe it's annoyingly omnipresent but there weren't notes or accords that stuck out or punched me in the nose. If anything, its many notes are so homogenized that it has a somewhat pleasant, yet monotone, B flat kind of presence. As my ever patient and tolerant wife said, "You know, for as strong as it is, it's not bad. It's sort of nice, actually, but kind of, I don't know, meh, boring."

The other surprise about Drakkar Noir is that it opens with such prominent fougere top notes; a strong lavender matched by savory, mellow lemon. As it dries down, the lavender and lemon recede into the pleasant yet ordinary homogenized whole. After while the leather notes come through, slightly burnished yet, like everything else, homogenous and shoulder shruggingly nice.

If Drakkar Noir was the fragrance worn by a boatload of Vikings to go pillaging I doubt they were wearing horned helmets, chain mail and course linen tunics. Nope, these Vikings would have been wearing khakis, Bass loafers and pastel Polo shirts with the collars turned up.

I was shopping at a discount store last winter and found Very Cool on clearance for next to nothing. As I stood before the jumble of boxes on the clearance shelf, scoffing at the idea that it could be any good, I recalled reading a couple of generally positive reviews by bloggers I respect. Given the price, I couldn't resist the urge to test my skepticism. Well, it turns out the reviews were pretty much on the mark. Very Cool isn't bad. I know, that's sort of a tepid endorsement. But while it's far from being a unique fragrance it does have its merits. Chief among those are the thought and care Tommy Bahama has put into Very Cool's creation and production.

Even though I now own a bottle of Very Cool I don't think I'll ever wear it again. It's just not my thing. Hopefully, It will find a good home with someone who digs its retro vibe. However, there's no denying that this is a well crafted, well balanced fragrance. I don't claim to have a very sensitive nose but I swear I can smell every note listed in the pyramid of this otherwise homogeneous fragrance. The bergamot and tangerine retain just a touch of sweetness but the spices pull the tea (bergamot) and citrus notes more to the savory side. The spices also link the citrus to an earthy, slightly peppery vetiver so everything comes together in a balanced, blended fragrance. By the way, Very Cool is labeled as a "cologne spray" but it wears more like a decent EDT.

The Tommy Bahama bottle is another well thought out aspect of the product. It's aesthetically and ergonomically a beautiful design that embodies the company's seaside image. Not only does the concave, convex curve of the bottle bring to mind a billowing sail or rolling wave but that shape fits right into your hand, as well. Even the cap is designed to look like stone or wood polished in the surf.

Now the downside, which is its limited market. Hopefully nobody will take this as stereotyping or ageism but everything about Very Cool smells like it was designed for Tommy Bahama's older core demographic. It's hard to fault them for that; what else would you expect a company to do? Besides, being just on the grayer side of middle age, I'm right in the sweet spot for being a Tommy customer. This could have been your dad's fragrance if you'd grown up in the 60's, which I did. I think if Tommy Bahama had given this unintentionally retro fragrance a twist and didn't play it so straight to their customer base, they might have had something really special.

In name, Fico di Amalfi may be all about fig, but it also possesses an aromatic grapefruit top note that lasts through the life of the fragrance. Even as the grapefruit recedes, its pleasantly bitter/sour essence stays in the mix, balancing out the dark, molasses-y fig which is the namesake foundation of the fragrance. Fico di Amalfi is definitely a hot weather scent but its deep, rich notes make it a wonderful alternative to the usual summer fare of light, lemon/citrus l’eau formulations.

When I wore Fico this past winter I discovered another indication of its seasonal nature: low humidity on cold days severely diminishes its longevity and sillage. However, when I wore Fico to work on the first warm, humid day of spring I was surprised when a colleague complimented the fragrance. Fragrance use in my workplace is officially frowned on so being noticed is not my objective. That means I wear fragrance for my own pleasure, applying sparingly and in a way that keeps it from dispersing too far beyond my personal space. For someone to notice any of my fragrances is unusual so this may give you an idea of how Fico blooms in heat and humidity.

The sappy, resinous pine notes of Fille en Aiguilles take me back to my childhood in northern Minnesota. My friends and I would spend hours climbing pine trees which resulted in having the smell of pine tar and sap all over our hands. As Fille en Aiguilles develops it also takes on a wonderful, campfire smokiness which is reminiscent of canoe trips along the Canadian border.

Actually, the smoky aspect of the fragrance maybe challenging for some. I've heard its onset described as the 'burnt sugar' accord. It shows up not long after application and is a sort of a resinous, burned sugar aroma. However, any perceived unpleasantness in this accord appears early on and ends up sublimated into the rest of the fragrance as a pleasant smokiness.

One other note about Fille en Aiguilles. It is a fragrance with a strong personality. I don't wear it often but when I do, I find my mood needs to be in synch with the natural environment. Whether it's the time of year, the quality of sunlight, or a cold, overcast snowy day I need to feel as though Fille en Aiguilles is helping me blend into the natural temperament of the day.