Fragrance Review: New Haarlem Revew (Bond No. 9)

via [ Drexel University  ]

 

 The only Bond No.9 worth paying full price for. There are other good ones like China Town and Brooklyn...but just good...not lavish.

Group: Sweet Oriental

Smells like: The pleasure one's mouth receives upon eating a sweet Turkish delight or Baklava, while immediately emulsifying the dessert with a coffee with light cream and sugar.

Rating: 9/10

This stuff is amazing. Forget about the deliciousness and the mouth watering aspect of this fragrance. There is so much complexity to this fragrance despite only having about 5 to 6 notes.

Only my man Maurice can do something like this. What Roucel has done here is take a simple note, Coffee, and turned it into a fragrance that evolves into the various stages of a wonderful time in New York City history: old school Harlem!

In the era the fragrance tries to depict...Harlem was a "New" Haarlem (that's how it was spelled back then with two a's)..and that's what the fragrance is portrays...the evolution of a wonderful part of Manhattan that was slowly becoming inspired by speakeasies that play Miles and Coltrane in the background...jazz clubs with a smokey airiness of coffee is it clashes with the sweet perfumes of the waitresses mingling with the woody colognes worn by cats in fedoras and suits and canes and tie bars...who, after a long night of snapping fingers and dancing and playing cards, would step out, woman in hand, letting all the aromas inside their beloved joint to succumb to what's left of the nature in Manhattan.

Coffee with Lavender is hard to picture...but throw in the sweet earthiness of Pathchouli and a light cedar base..and Roucel not only created the perfect combination of Coffee and florals, but so well blended that anyone who embarks on this trip is sure to be pleased.

New Haarlem is very sweet, but EXTREMELY tolerable...and ready?...waitt for it...YES..tolerable EVEN in the SUMMER (long as you go light on the trigger). Most will tell you that this is a cold weather scent...true, but I don't think it's exclusive to cooler moments. The reason is, New Haarlem is this phenomenal airiness to it..overtime the coffee mellows out, and the patchouli/lavendar/vanilla begins to rise - the gorgeous thing about this evolution is, in the cooler periods..one will say "Wow, this is perfect for the winter..what a cozy and warming scent but sweet enough to distract my senses."..During warmer moments, catching whiffs of this gorgeous scent one will think "wow...what a crisp, sweet, coffee'ish, airy scent."

Very versatile.

Longevity: 9+ hours (12+ on clothing)

Sillage: Mesmerizing scent trail. "I want to eat you alive.." type compliments to "what...is...that...fragrance...I can't stop sniffing you!" ...thank god I got all day ;-) I wore this in Miami once, yes, Miami...two sprays, one on each forearm, and catching whiffs of this was such a delight while walking along Ocean Drive, letting the breeze from the Atlantic carry this composition around me.

Projection: Not a MONSTER in the sense of Godzilla...but let's call it Bigfoot...will get the job done should one stumble upon it.

9/10

Will always be a part of my collection. Always.

Fragrance Review: Musc Ravageur by Maurice Roucel for Editions de Parums Frederic Malle

DON'T PANIC! This IS NOT a Polo Black review...it is a review for Musc Ravageur! So you might ask then,  what is the guy from the Polo Black ads doing in a Musc Ravageur review? Well...what I like to do (and I will do this for women's fragrances when I start reviewing them) is to put a picture of the type of person that, to me, the fragrance represents. I may even put pictures of scenes or moments that a fragrance reminds me of. When I see Nacho Figeuroa (the man in the photo - a polo or rugby player from Spain I think), I think of Musc Ravageur. This guy fits the bill, no lie.

Musc Ravageur, though complex in every way possible in evolution, can be described very simply: "Sexual Tension in a Bottle."  'Nuff Said.

This stuff is sexy as all hell. Imagine the sexual frustration of a 14 year old boy in his first Rated R movie which just so happens to be...I don't know...Eyes Wide Shut. Apply that to an adult who is refined and cautious with the ability to let his or her self-control go...put those traits in a bottle...and you have this raunchy yet exalted scent created by the legend himself, M. Roucel.

Now, the only caveat here is the opening which I will get to later.

Major Notes: Again, I won't write all the notes, and I will focus on what dominates and what I get. So...Cinnamon, Cloves, Bergamot (VERY fleeting though), vanilla, guiaic wood, musk, sandalwood.

Opening: I don't get much lavender, I do get the bergamot but it is very fleeting. I used to wear Dolce & Gabbana pour home and if there is a fragrance that will make certain your nose knows what bergamot is, its D&G PH. So I get the bergamot. Imagine taking a boat load of cinnamon, half the amount of cloves (you have to know what cloves smell like...it is abundant in indian curries and marinades so I know this stuff far too well).. flood all that with vanilla, and sprinkle some musk powder all around it, and that's what you get. A cinnamon/musk that really reminds many of "old men." That's what my sister calls it. She hates the opening. I love it. You just have to try it out to experience it - no other way around it. Hit or Miss.

Mid-Dry: Okay..here we go. the middle notes basically make the entire concoction sweeter. Fine. Then comes the dry down. God have mercy y'all. In Eyes Wide Shut...you guys want to know what Stanley Kubrick sprayed in that orgy room to get everyone going? He doused the room in Musc Ravageur 7 hours before everyone arrived. Once they smelled the dry down...all hell broke loose. The end of this fragrance is a milky..extra CREAMY extra FROTHY vanilla-bean, with cinnamon drizzled on top, musc  lurking in the background trying to make its way up but having a hard time...and a touch of spice. A dry-down that makes every morning-after worthwile, and the walk of shame thereafter, shameless.

Projection/Sillage/Longevity: From the opening to mid notes..this stuff projects for sure. After about 4 hours, it becomes a skin scent - and I think that was the intention behind this fragrance - meant for intimate moments (to ravage the mind and security of the one to be intimate with) and to free the wearer (to ravage one's own sense of innocence). Sillage...when it does leave a projecting scent trail, it is magnificent. Pure bliss I must say. Yet, it rarely does so (for me) and for those who wear it and walk by me. (My friends and family always..i mean ALWAYS use my fragrances so I have a good idea of the sillage and projection of most fragrances). Longevity...this is phenomenal. This stuff lasts for days..on my skin it lasts 9+ hours which is godsend because my skin sucks. On clothing, it will last until you wash it..and then some.

Versatility: Eh..not the best.  It is a nice scent and you can use it whenever you want...much better for cooler weather as it definitely gives a chilling sweetness to the colder air versus warmer days. In my opinion, it just works better in the evening and cooler days...for laymen, go ahead and use as you please..doubt you'll kill anyone AS LONG AS YOU GO VERY LIGHT...because in the end..it is just a nice smell.

Compliments: I have worn this a lot...MANY TIMES....I have gotten compliments..BUT not many and hose received were in the juice's initial projection phase...so this is attestation to the fact that people do enjoy the opening...but as far as the drydown..no one has had the pleasure of smelling that phase on me so I don't know. All I know is, if that drydown projected, the world would notice. For a fragrance deemed the "holy grail" at times, you'd think more compliments, right? No..not really! Interesting....

Overall: 8/10.  Very nice scent, extremely complex, and changes each time you wear it. Problem is, it is VERY close to the skin for those of you who enjoy fragrances that need to be noticed. This is intended to be a skin scent, and quite honestly, I've tried every Frederic Malle, and though unisex, only a few (and to me those few are ALL feminine ie Noir Epices, Lipstick Rose, etc) are projection and sillage giants.

I hate using the word Panty Dropper...because honestly, it is one's charisma and wit that truly captivates the object of seduction...a fragrance only amplifies this suave aura. Gun to my head and crotch...if I had to use this vile term to describe one scent..it would be Musc F'n Ravageur..no doubt.

It is  potent, but only initially. However, should some lucky soul happen to stumble into your arms during the dry-down phase of this scent...then consider your body the pole and he or she Flick's tongue in that memorable scene from A Christmas Story.