11/23/2011
Apicius
222 Reviews
Apicius
1
Another Hippie
Thanks to your support parfumo has a remarkable database by now – with more scents than other similar websites. I look a little bit after the users new suggestions, and the number is increasing considerably. The most important and the most popular perfumes of all price ranges have been added long ago – so, I am happy if I can find a true gem among those suggestions.
Such a gem could be the brand Robbie VanGogh – many thnks to Hugoby for this discovery! Robbie VanGogh is the Alter Ego of Rob Denton: musician and parfumer, a hippie looking man with a ponytail who is disappointed with mainstream perfumery - so he does his own thing. According to his statement his perfumes are all inspired by cannabis, with an urban approach, and „all legal“!
A hippie-perfumer from USA – we already have this! So, we have to compare Rob Denton with Bostonian perfumer Neil Morris. Whereas Neil Morris ignites his patchouli grenades with a big bang Rob Denton seems to have a preference for discreet scents that stay close to the skin. At least, he tells us so on his website, and Hemp & Leather seems to confirm this.
Hemp & Leather is an astonishing, very well done perfume, with an individual approach but nevertheless wearable. At first, Hemp & Leather impresses with really spectacular head notes. From a cannabis-leather-background absinthe and wormwood stand out, togethether with a somewhat tingling and savoury note. It reminds me of the taste of some kind of german bitter herbal liquour, and it is definately more „Underberg“ than „Jägermeister“, more bitter than sweet. This is brilliant, I have never experienced something like this in a perfume before, and it all goes together very well.
After some time the main theme becomes more visible: hemp and leather. Both are notes that have something physical or concrete for me. The smell of wickerwork made of hemp, sisal or bast fibre is something I have always found peculiar. This special mustiness is part of my scent memory and for me connected to the feeling of comfort. But I am jumping ahead – first, there is the tobacco that comes up within the heart note.
Well, most perfumes that deal with tobacco do not impress me much. I find it particulary difficult to identify tobacco at all – neither as fresh leaf, nor as ash. But here, it is different. Finally I can detect a tobacco note as such: this one is juicy and has to do with hand-rolled cigarettes. I get the image of yellow nicotine stains on fingers, also cigarette butts that have been drowned in a plastic cup with leftover coffee from a machine. I know this sounds ugly, but these attributes are handled with such discreetion by the perfumer you will hardly find them disgusting.
Hemp & Leather has a fantastic top note, the cigarette heart is impressive, but the long-lasting base is quite discreet compared to its predecessors. We know this phenomenon from many mainstrea perfumes: a noisy start to entice the customers, but nothing behind. However, I would not call Hemp & Leather such a dazzler, just because the demure base not is anything but common. I'd rather propose a different view: after a grand opening Hemp & Leathere more and more develops a quality of wearability – a dark, bitter, but discreet perfume for many occasions.
I do not agree with one of Mr. Dentons recommondations: Hemp & Leather is definately not a good choice for urban nightlife. For this purpose, this scent was far too discreet. In a smoky bar or a damp club more pronounced and intense perfumes are possible. In such an environment, Hemp & Leather would perish. I would recommend Hemp & Leather for quiet evenings, more private than public occasions, and if at all, to be worn maybe in theater or opera. Hemp & Leather has found its way into my collection.
By the way – ordering was easy: after two weeks you get the delivery from USA, declared as cosmetic sample and thus, duty extempt!
Such a gem could be the brand Robbie VanGogh – many thnks to Hugoby for this discovery! Robbie VanGogh is the Alter Ego of Rob Denton: musician and parfumer, a hippie looking man with a ponytail who is disappointed with mainstream perfumery - so he does his own thing. According to his statement his perfumes are all inspired by cannabis, with an urban approach, and „all legal“!
A hippie-perfumer from USA – we already have this! So, we have to compare Rob Denton with Bostonian perfumer Neil Morris. Whereas Neil Morris ignites his patchouli grenades with a big bang Rob Denton seems to have a preference for discreet scents that stay close to the skin. At least, he tells us so on his website, and Hemp & Leather seems to confirm this.
Hemp & Leather is an astonishing, very well done perfume, with an individual approach but nevertheless wearable. At first, Hemp & Leather impresses with really spectacular head notes. From a cannabis-leather-background absinthe and wormwood stand out, togethether with a somewhat tingling and savoury note. It reminds me of the taste of some kind of german bitter herbal liquour, and it is definately more „Underberg“ than „Jägermeister“, more bitter than sweet. This is brilliant, I have never experienced something like this in a perfume before, and it all goes together very well.
After some time the main theme becomes more visible: hemp and leather. Both are notes that have something physical or concrete for me. The smell of wickerwork made of hemp, sisal or bast fibre is something I have always found peculiar. This special mustiness is part of my scent memory and for me connected to the feeling of comfort. But I am jumping ahead – first, there is the tobacco that comes up within the heart note.
Well, most perfumes that deal with tobacco do not impress me much. I find it particulary difficult to identify tobacco at all – neither as fresh leaf, nor as ash. But here, it is different. Finally I can detect a tobacco note as such: this one is juicy and has to do with hand-rolled cigarettes. I get the image of yellow nicotine stains on fingers, also cigarette butts that have been drowned in a plastic cup with leftover coffee from a machine. I know this sounds ugly, but these attributes are handled with such discreetion by the perfumer you will hardly find them disgusting.
Hemp & Leather has a fantastic top note, the cigarette heart is impressive, but the long-lasting base is quite discreet compared to its predecessors. We know this phenomenon from many mainstrea perfumes: a noisy start to entice the customers, but nothing behind. However, I would not call Hemp & Leather such a dazzler, just because the demure base not is anything but common. I'd rather propose a different view: after a grand opening Hemp & Leathere more and more develops a quality of wearability – a dark, bitter, but discreet perfume for many occasions.
I do not agree with one of Mr. Dentons recommondations: Hemp & Leather is definately not a good choice for urban nightlife. For this purpose, this scent was far too discreet. In a smoky bar or a damp club more pronounced and intense perfumes are possible. In such an environment, Hemp & Leather would perish. I would recommend Hemp & Leather for quiet evenings, more private than public occasions, and if at all, to be worn maybe in theater or opera. Hemp & Leather has found its way into my collection.
By the way – ordering was easy: after two weeks you get the delivery from USA, declared as cosmetic sample and thus, duty extempt!
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