Thursday 17 January 2002

Pic of the day: A reasonably complete set of Nemo.

Fragrance day

Yes, once again it is my somber duty to report on the enormous human progress in the field of nose-pleasing! I shall keep this short.

Heard about Nemo? Well, apart from being a famous fictional captain, it is also the name of a fragrance series for us who are born with one X and one Y chromosome. These goodies from Cacharel come packaged in deep reddish-brown, almost black containers. Stylish but not quite sensational. Well, the roughly Y-shaped 50-ml bottle is sort of spectacular. They had that and a deo stick together on sale over at Esthetique. As well they should, for they were in a festive box wishing us all a Merry Christmas, a Joyous Noelle, a Frolicking Weihnachtchen and a Felicia Natalie. Stuff like that. By any name, however, they smell as sweet.

Actually sweet is not quite it. It is definitely a masculine fragrance. As I first smelled it, it felt instantly familiar. 'I know I have smelled this before' I thought. 'Burberry touch, I think.' But then I came home and smelled Burberry again, and it was definitely not that. Right now I think it must be Boss Elements. I had a bottle of Boss Elements once. I still have, but I was stupid enough to store it on the bathroom shelf right under the lamp, and what little is left has changed so it does not smell like it did. These things should be stored in darkness whenever possible, I have later been told. Not too hot, but they don't need or want to be kept in the fridge either. Anyway, I know the smell is not quite the same. Elements was sweeter. Nemo is frankly a little more manly, in my humble opinion. It is not musky, though. Slightly bitter and a bit earthy, I think.

The duration of the eau de toilette is quite good, the duration of the deo seems to be in the middle of the pack. Can't say about the aftershave yet.

***

Onward to another strange fragrance. This one is truly special. Sergio Tacchini. Unlike most, it is made in Italy, evidently by some people who also sell fashion clothes and sports stuff. From a web search I see that they also sell several women's perfumes. But I really don't think the girls at Esthetique have thrown a girlie perfume at me this time. Anyway, it is very special, at least compared to all the ones I've worn before. I can only describe it as warm and dry. It is spicy, not particularly sweet. You can feel the lavender when you know it is there, but the basenote of wood and Vetiver is more dominant. I like it, I really like it, but I don't think I would wear it to work. Going out with the girls, though, definitely an option.

I'm not ready to report on Kenzo pour Homme yet. The shop girls seems quite eager about it, but there is a limit to how many of these I can test and not be confused.