Where's The Beef?

Review by Tom This time I am going to review a few of the leather scents that Colombina has forced me to buy. Well, that's my story. Kolnisch Juchten Upon reading this review, I knew I was pretty well a goner. My father wore this back in the day, but I remember it as being a lot less, well, raw than this. Imagine my surprise when Colombina reviewed the original and reinforced my memories. I do however really love the newer formulation: on me it opens with leather as sharp as a whipcrack, and a wonderful smoky, meaty accord that smells a little bit like the best black and blue steak au poivre you could ever eat: crusty, smoky outside and blood rare inside. Strangely, this take on "gourmand" works so well it's scary. Eventually the Tartar eating tartare opening starts to settle down into a beautiful creamy patchouli, ambered and slightly sweet, with the leather becoming far more civilised. Knize Ten Colombina's review reminded me how much I liked this one, so much so that I ordered a bottle right after reading it. I can only add to her description, this is leather, but rather more gentlemanly than KJ. I get leather and citrus on the opening, which goes through leather and sandlewood and finally dries down a sweetened leather that has a note that has a bit of Miel de Bois in it. Yes, that Miel de Bois- the one that scares everyone so. Well, it's cut with floral but I can still smell it, and it's wonderful..... Lonestar Memories Well, I can't really blame Colombina for this one, since I was hooked a few days before her review by the nice people at Luckyscent. I was amazed when doing research on Andy Tauer to learn that he's not American. This was the first scent of his that I'd tried, and it's so evocative of a dream of the southwest I was convinced that he must be from here. It's a brilliant, eminently wearable leather that has just enough birch tar and clary sage to make me think of bonfires on the plains (like I'd know, a screening of "Brokeback Mountain" is about as close as I'd ever get, even if the pardner had the dimples of the dude in the ad) on a chilly winter evening, while the drydown is grounded by vetiver, tonka and sandlewood that adds a bit of city-slicker sophistication. Smells the way you'd imagine Jett Rink from Edna Ferber's "Giant" would, and you want to. And for those of you who want to know, yes I have layered all of them with CBnI Hate Perfume Musk. It makes KJ more Tartar, makes the English polo player in Knize Ten a little Lady Chatterly and spells out the "Brokeback" part of Lonestar. I actually rather like that, but your mileage may vary. The first image is from steverolston.com, the second from princeofwales.gov.uk, the third from theleewordside.com.