FvSpee

As my loyal old readers know, leather fragrances are not my specialty. But now that Ford's OL has fallen under my nose, here are my 2 cents on the subject.

OL comes across as an only slightly innovative, very mainstream fructo-synthetic leather scent of the last 15 years, even though neither raspberries nor other berries are listed in the fragrance pyramid.

At first sniff, the fragrance appeals to me surprisingly well. It is definitely wearable for the general public and a variety of occasions.

On closer inspection, I notice the light but distinctive cardamom freshness, which mysteriously has hardly been mentioned in previous reviews. I love cardamom as a kitchen spice and sometimes also in fragrances. It gives OL a certain cheeky edge, which, had this idea been developed further, would have been a great way to ironically meet the pseudo-elitist, solid-gold-chain and leasing-ferry basic habitus of the fragrance. However, this opportunity (from my perspective) was missed, as the aesthetic ordinariness increasingly spoils the overall picture.

I have to admit that I am perhaps not qualified to appreciate this Ford objectively. It starts with the fact that TF is certainly far removed from my brand image, even though I have already awarded a 9 (not a Porsche 9) for a Ford here. In addition, I can't do anything with the images that this fragrance apparently evokes in series. Of the 7000 or so reviews here, 6500 are about cars (of which 5500 are about Porsches and Ferraris) and of the remaining 500, 400 are about motorcycles and motorcycle jackets. Far behind are the leather sofas. Why not horse or bicycle saddles, hand or foot shoes, whips, bondage or old footballs?

Finally, for me, the name is always part of the fragrance. But I find Ombré, i.e. shaded, a lie, firstly because OL is very linear and lacks subtlety, and secondly because it is linguistically unattractive, as a French adjective is soldered onto an English noun in an unmotivated way, like a pluvieux weather.

It should be obvious that this fragrance is not named after Vicsount Halifax, Viceroy of India, advocate of the appeasement policy towards Hitler and Churchill's ambassador in Washington. But I'd bet all my Canada souvenirs, including the moose T-shirts, that Lehmann wasn't thinking of the big city in Nova Scotia either, especially as there are no oranges blooming up there in the rugged north.

The last Lehmann, rest his soul, was a passionate Floridian, according to rumors in Berlin, and so he liked to name his citrus fragrances after Floridian cities and regions. This is obvious in the case of Miami and Key West, but Naples is certainly not named after Naples, but after the small town of Naples, FL, with a population of 20,000. Even with the somewhat older Lehmann Springfield, which I adore, I don't think a Bay County location is far-fetched. And in the case of Halifax, an arch-citrician, I'm even sure that Halifax Area / Daytona Beach was the inspiration for the name of the fragrance.

Halifax is one of Lehmann's last creations; unfortunately, I didn't get to try it during his lifetime and have now ordered a small bottle from the Neo-Lehmanns. I was certainly not disappointed. Halifax is a Lehmann as it is written in the book: straight, wearable, special, linear and with a duracellal longevity.

I feel the fragrance is related to Springfield, and that's high praise coming from me. Because Springfield is one of my favorites and one of my favorite fragrances ever. On the surface, it has a crisp, radiant citric quality; behind it, however, there are earthy and spicy, almost animalic depths, with the consequences described in my review of that fragrance.

In the first text, Halifax impressed me as a fragrance brother of Springfield, that's how similar I found the overall character. As I sniffed further and further, and after having let the two fragrances compete against each other in a double non-blind test, I don't take that back, but I also see considerable physiognomic differences between the brothers.

Halifax's citricism is thoroughly Nerolian. I would almost go so far as to say that Halifax is the most beautiful neroli fragrance I can think of, more beautiful even than Lehmann's Monoflor (or Monofruct) of that name. I perceive orange blossom almost as prominently, and this also comes across wonderfully radiant (and unfluffy), although perhaps not as brilliantly as in my "tenner" Azemour les Orangers. The rounding green notes are definitely brighter than in Springfield, and the trace element of abysmal animalism that gives Springfield a barely perceptible erotic note is replaced by light, hard, precise, precious woody notes in Halifax.

All in all, a midsummery, very masculine, very long-lasting and projecting, extremely self-confident, brightly radiant neroli fragrance with light green and wonderfully fused light woody notes. The 9 I give it is close, but thoroughly justified. Springfield, which I once upgraded from 8.5 to 9, I would now perhaps rate at 9.5.

So the miracle has happened: Lehmann'sche Parfüm-Manufaktur in Berlin's Kantstraße, a highly original Prussian contribution to the world's fragrance heritage, is back. Mr. Lehmann, the somewhat elderly but by no means seemingly obsolete last family heir to the business, passed away unexpectedly about a year ago, shortly before the company's 100th anniversary, and in any case before the question of succession was settled. The quirky, quirky store was closed and I don't know anyone who expected it to reopen.

Now, however, a motivated team of business people and fragrance specialists, who respect Lehmann's legacy and still operate somewhat mysteriously in the background, has apparently come together to continue the brand and its content. What can be seen so far gives rise to unreserved optimism: The name "Harry Lehmann" will be retained, the historically grown range of fragrances will be taken over, and the tradition of bottling in simple bottles of different sizes will be continued. Changes have been and will be made where I would have recommended them to the old Mr. Lehmann, who was obviously not a gifted businessman: termination of unfavourable licensing agreements, development of a fully-fledged Internet store, moderate price increase and careful decluttering of the store (with the abandonment of the iconic but ultimately unsuitable artificial flower department).

The range of fragrances offered by the "new Harry Lehmann" is therefore almost the same as that last offered when the old Mr. Lehmann died. However, there are two newcomers that also stand out in terms of their names: "HL 22" and "HL 33". In any case, "HL 22" is clearly a new creation and not a traditional Lehmann fragrance. Not only was there no fragrance of this name as of 2022/2023, but the new Lehmann website also advertises the fragrance as "born from the first perfumes created by Harry Lehmann". This probably means that this fragrance was somehow experimentally blended from the recipes of the earliest Lehmann originals (whether from still marketed or already discontinued ones, or even from which ones, is not said).

The number 22 seems to refer less to the year 1922 (although the company's advertising cautiously alludes to the Roaring Twenties), but rather to the ominous Lehmann numbering system (which was continued just as ominously by the new owners). The fragrance is listed as No. 22 - I suspect that the numbering sequence is essentially chronological, but that numbers that have become vacant due to the discontinuation of fragrances have been and are being reassigned - and I would guess that this was also the case here.

I find the fragrance itself difficult to capture and describe, especially as I can't link it to any previous reviews. After spraying it on, it initially impresses with a demanding and hard bordering on dissonance, it comes across as understated and enigmatic, its color for me is a deep purple. If I had to isolate individual notes, which is generally not my strong point, I would associate fruity sounds (dark fig) and sinister spices.

After half an hour at the latest, things calm down noticeably, the fragrance becomes rounder and more pleasing, but remains dense and full-bodied (without being overwhelming). I would tend to say no to floral and aldehydic notes (so much for the 20s); in terms of flowers, I would not completely rule out dark, heavy dabs of rose or hyacinth.

While the fragrance temperature oscillates around the zero line between cautious coolness and earthy, unobtrusive warmth and the fragrance remains consistently compact, almost opaque in texture, look and feel, earthy-brown notes push their way into the picture, which could plausibly be explained by the notes of angelica root and woods figuring here at Parfumo (by whomever), although I decidedly do not perceive HL 22 as a superficially woody fragrance.

Later on, a cheeky pepperminty note (with stevia sweetness) tickles my nose, which reminds me of another Lehmann number fragrance, Jubiläum 90, and a gourmand note oscillating between dark chocolate gingerbread and spiced speculoos is added.

All in all, an exciting experiment that has not failed at all and a beautiful fragrance that both Mrs. Spee and the reviewer agree is worth testing for both men and women, even if it doesn't have what it takes to become my favorite Lehmann right away.

It is often complained that there are hardly any real gentlemen left today. This is definitely not the case with Givenchy. There they are becoming more and more. It started in 1974 with 'Givenchy Gentleman', then came the flanker 'Gentlemen Only' in 2013. Since then, the old-school gentlemen multiply like rabbits.

In addition to the singular Gentleman of 1974, a 'Gentleman Givenchy', that is, with reversed word components, has since occurred, as EdT (2017), EdP (2018) and here, voilà, as EdC (2019). Since the common concentrations were through after that, a somewhat wooden gentleman (Gentleman Boisée, 2020) and an intense gentleman (Gentleman EdT intense, 2021) followed, which seems a bit dubious to me, since I always thought that gentlemen were distinguished by distinguished restraint.

The plural Gentlemen were not lazy either. Here too there was an Intense (2014), then a Casual Chic (2015) and then, in the same year 2016, a Fraiche and an Absolute. For the past 5 years, there has been an almost frightening silence in the multi-branch. It is to be hoped that these gentlemen are not afflicted by a lasting malaise.

I do not know all of these fragrances, nor do I want to know them all. I own the Ur-Gentlemen-Only from 2013 and have tested two or three others. On this narrow empirical basis, I dare to say that the gentlemen are all really related to each other, or, as one might say scientistically: share the same DNA. So if you know one or two other representatives of this clan, you should not expect anything completely different from this cologne.

And indeed, these gentlemen are all not the type of eccentric noblemen who urinate from the roof of the Scottish country estate in a wide arc around the bet, praise Pol Pot at the whiskey in the gentlemen's club or wear women's underwear under the tailcoat. They tend to be younger, upper-middle-class gentlemen with middle-class occupations, smooth and friendly, unassuming, sometimes to the point of being soft-spoken.

This fragrance is also more Givenchy Gentleman than cologne, but still: the citrus top note is there and the (here rather bitter than fresh green) rosemary, which is present from 4711 to Alvarez Gomez in almost every washed cologne, is not missing. However, you almost have to know about this cologne beforehand to recognize it. Because the modern tendency, at least since Mugler's cologne, to soften a classic cologne with musk (which I detest in itself), is so over the top here that it becomes - dialectical turnaround from quantity to quality! - it becomes good again. Next to a generous shot of musk still steps a directly docking tart creamy iris, served with a coarse ladle, and, as if it were not enough, a pleasantly fibrous vetiver.

Thus, this fragrance actually moves almost beyond the boundaries of what I treat in my series as cologne. But what is again colognetypisch, is the low durability of about two to three hours. This I do not feel as a shortcoming, on the contrary, it contributes to the fact that I appreciate this fragrance and leave it in my collection instead of the Ur-Plural. This tart creamy elegant freshness is very nice for a short time and can be congenially appropriate, for example, when you get into a light gray suit freshly showered, as a companion for the whole day it would be a little too little captivating for me.

It should be noted that I came to the overall good idea to try it times with this gentleman by the esteemed Runa, who has enriched this forum for a good while by their youthful-fresh writing. Too bad she has fallen silent here (for the time being, I hope not). But the number of gentlemen and gentlewomen I miss in this forum is growing as fast as the givenchistic flankers anyway.

Fifth visit to the colognist cafe. Blog has been updated.

That the classic Eau de Cologne with its short shelf life and mostly citrusy freshness has long ceased to be ridiculed as old-fashioned and outdated, testify not only expensive niche lines that are more or less exclusively dedicated to the care and further development of this direction (such as La Manufacture or in some ways Atelier Cologne). Even more significant, in my opinion, is the fact that even hipster brands, which in themselves specialize in completely different directions, apparently want to prove to themselves and the world that they "can also Cologne".

So I found it equally surprising that the shrill label Etat Libre d'Orange 2014 with a simply 'Cologne' titled fragrance came on the market (which also smells quite unshrillingly simple-classic) and already long before, namely 1996, the incense specialists of Comme des Garcons with this 'Eau de Cologne' here (on which then after 2000 still a four-part special Cologne series was put on it). Since it can then actually not long until we may also welcome from A Lab on Fire and from Juliette has a Gun a 4711 competition.

But back to the fragrance reviewed here! Unlike, for example, the minimalist-modest (and thus, as far as the price is concerned, already outrageous again) ELDO, this Comme des Colognes undertakes to interpret the fragrance genre of cologne in a very new way, but without completely abandoning or betraying the genre. One should not be misled by the overwhelming list of ingredients here. CdC, despite the ingredient staccato of spices (clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, pepper) and resins-and-wool (styrax, frankincense, galbanum, labdanum, sandalwood, cedar), remains clearly recognizable as a light, refreshing, citrusy fragrance at heart: At least in the beginning.

Since one has the impression that the aforementioned firecracker ingredients would have been carried past the recipe at best. In addition to the strong (fine, not sour) citrus of lime and bergamot, I perceive here most credibly honey, magnolia, coriander, rose and hay notes, which, in just this order, provide a tart-sweet, creamy, rich, bitter herbaceous and - just rosy and hay flanking. Mrs. von Spee and I feel that is very fine, unusual and successful.

Quite soon, however, it then becomes not only quite skinny, but also clearly muskatiger, peppriger and thus also warmer (almost hot). Thus, this fragrance accomplishes the feat of creating from within an hour the transition (held together by a delicate, unobtrusive creaminess and sweetness) from a modern art 4711 (in the sense of art fairy tale) to a posh Old Spice (and then discreetly and charmingly make the finish).

German Mark Buxton is extraordinarily prolific as a perfumer. He is listed on Parfumo with 161 fragrances, including a great many Comme des Garcons and many fragrances from very small and very quirky labels, with names like "Taxi", "The Lobster" and (I particularly like) "Stay Dirty". More recently, he treats himself to his own label (Mark Buxton Perfumes). And also this brand, so the circle closes, means not to be complete without a (me so far not yet known), 2020 appeared, fragrance called 'Why not a Cologne'.

Fourth visit to the colognist cafe. Blog was completed.