The Top Shelf: English Breakfast by Mark Buxton

By Tom A few weeks ago I was at ScentBar and tried Anat Fritz, on the bottom shelf of of the mens section. Since what I was going to write about this week sort of flamed out I'm going with plan B; one from their top shelf which holds the lightest and most approachable ones. English Breakfast is light and approachable in spades. It's clean with a capital "K". It's not that it's bad, mind you. It's s nice bright bergamot with s hint of dry woods. But I find that when you have to start making up stories of English businessmen on the bullet train to Kyoto eating a bento box and contemplating his day then you have a scent that isn't saying it for you. Since the scent has been marked down from $140 to $110 for 100ML perhaps I'm not the only one who feels that way. At LuckyScent, where I asked for the sample, and where I'm going back to the lower shelves.

Comme des Garcons 2: Perfume Review

If I were to come up with perfumes to represent times of the day, Comme des Garcons 2 would be Morning. The pleasantly sharp floral-inky-rooty top accord is a wake up call after which the fragrance settles into a softer, cuddlier feel of a leisurely Sunday AM. Having given a nod to the de rigeur Comme des Garcons quirkiness (ink + aldehydes + incense do create an at once familiar and alien accord, one that is as odd as it is oddly attractive), the scent relaxes into what I personally consider to be quiet comfort. A tea note gives the scent a cozy, "domestic" feel, the balsamic sweetness of labdanum, magnolia, woods and patchoui makes it pleasantly fluffy...this is a scent to wear when snuggling under a blanket with someone you like a whole lot... wearing his t-shirt...sharing New York Times and bagels with cream cheese... To cuminophobs and fellow cuminophiliacs I have to report that the note is present but delicate...like a hint of sensuality in that idyllic NYC morning together. CdG 2 can be found at luckyscent, $100.00 for 50ml.

Comme des Garcons 2 Man: Perfume Review

Comme des Garcons 2 Man does not make a perfect gift for a male who always has to be No. 1. Especially the kind that is prone to paranoia reading too much into things. Because he will ask you as if jokingly, so I am Second, am I? And then you will have to explain at length how it is a masculine follow-up to Comme des Garcons 2, and thus 2 MAN, how its incense, spice and leather blend is a perfect match to his tastes and brooding personality, and how he is, of course, your absolute, total, utter No. 1 in each and every way. Just trust me on this and do not give 2 Man to a Type A Personality individual. Give him I Am King instead. In fact, disregard the fact that 2 Man, with its trademark Mark Buxton resinous darkness, with its spicy sensuality, with its very-bad-boy vibe, smells amazing on that débile of yours, more amazing maybe than even Gucci Pour Homme (and that is saying a lot!)...so amazing that it makes your knees week...disregard that and take away the bottle and use it yourself. Because as gorgeously masculine and forceful 2 Man is, it is absolutely wearable for a woman. The sweet piquancy of saffron and nutmeg is delectable here; the spices are a ray of golden light in the pitch-black abyss of leather and incense. That smoky leather, powerful as it seems at first, actually melts into the skin, becomes the skin...it might quite easily be the sexiest accord in all masculine perfumery. Forget what I said about taking the bottle away. SHARE 2 Man with the No. 1 Man in your life. Sharing perfume is a sensual experience and brings you closer together. On that Dr. Phil-worthy note...look for 2 Man at Luckyscent, $95.00-$125.00. Image source, lundlund.com.