Washington Tremlett Clove Absolute: Perfume Review

By Tom For those in the know, Washington Tremlett is the bespoke shirtmaker of choice on Savile Row (wrote the man who still orders his shirts from L. L. Bean). They are also the outfit that invented the modern necktie. Clove Absolute is their newest scent and is as crisply tailored and luxuriously soft as a hand-finished Egyptian cotton shirt. Listed notes are (via Luckyscent) Lemon, Heliotrope, Rose, Incense, Clove Absolute, Patchouli, Vanilla Absolute, Cistus Absolute, and Musk. What isn't listed is immortelle, but if it's not in there then the clove, patch and vanilla serve to do a damned fine imitation. For the phobic this doesn't translate to Sables, who some find life-threateningly cloying- the imitation immortelle along with the thoroughgoing clove just makes one want to lean in and sniff. The clove's aspects go through several stages from sparklingly bright onto doughy followed by sweet to barbershop through to a drydown that's everything you ever wanted a man to smell like. Not that a woman couldn't get away with it or wouldn't want to. I just think it's better given to him as a gift, then filched. $175 for 100ML, at LuckyScent

Sometimes They Come Back: L'Heure Bleue, Saffron... and a Prize Draw

Almost exactly a year ago I wrote a tearful post about the end of my love for a whole bunch of scents, saying that when love dies, it can't be brought back to life ever, ever, ever. Well, that still holds true for all but one of the perfumes which I lamented in that post. On one not so fine February day, L'Heure Bleue came back into my life. It hasn't changed, nor have I. It still smells dark, husky-sweet and Very Guerlain. And I still feel uncomfortable with Guerlain's trademark ambery powderiness which L'Heure Bleue has in abundance. And yet, somehow, miraculously, it all works. Again. I wake up in the morning "with a winged heart", because I am facing another day of wearing L'Heure Bleue. Who knows how long we will be happy this time. Judging by our past tumultuous history, not too long. But it is better to have loved and lost again and again than never to have loved at all. I am a firm believer in that, both in matters of heart and in matters of perfume. I also fell back in love with saffron. Without a doubt, during my obsession with it a year or so ago, I overdid on saffron, big time. We were on a break for a good long while, and now I am enjoying the note again. My latest saffron discovery is Black Tie by Washington Tremlett. Yesterday I wrote about the delectable Royal Heroes, and I highly recommend that you pay close attention to the "masculine" offerings from this company (whereas the feminine My Fair Lady is pretty but nothing much to write a blog about). In Black Tie, the soft golden deliciousness of saffron is contrasted with the pungent spiciness of geranium (which also gives the composition a beautiful, ripe rose-like undertone), the forceful greenness of galbanum and the earthy darkness of patchouli. If Safran Troublant and Black Aoud had a fling, the fling would have resulted in an offsping that smelled just like Black Tie, black and gold, sharp and softer than soft. To celebrate the resurrection of my loves, let us have a small prize draw. Tell me in your comment if you have recently fell back in love with any perfume and if you would like to participate in the draw. The winner will receive samples of Black Tie, Royal Heroes, Skarb, Goutal Ambre Fetiche and Tauer's latest, Incense Rose. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Heroic Thursday: Guerlain L'Ame d'Un Heros and Washington Tremlett Royal Heroes

Guerlain's and Washington Tremlett's takes on what a hero would smell like could not be more different...or further from my idea of a "heroic" fragrance. L'Âme d'Un Héros, Guerlain's re-introduction of Coriolan in a more exclusive (read, expensive) form, in the Les Parisiennes line, is what I think of as a very classic (read, conventional) masculine scent, fresh, a little soapy and cold, on a darker, woody-herbal-mossy base. The most attractive note here is vetiver, which has the pleasantly sour, sorrel-like undertone that I enjoy, and which reminds me in a very, very distant manner of the vetiver note in Djedi, where it is also paired with patchouli. The slightly powdery, almost leathery base of L'Ame makes me think of Derby. I feel bad evoking the names of Derby and Djedi in relation to L'Ame d'Un Heroes, because, although some parallels can be drawn, the two glorious perfumes would serve as an endorsement of sorts for L'Ame, and L'Ame does not deserve it. It is an elegant scent, no doubt about that, very wearable, very versatile. But it lacks character and originality. Suited for a hero? Nope. Perhaps for a member of nomenklatura. Washington Tremlett's creation is heroic only in a sense that it dares to smell rather ...unexpected for a scent that is supposed to be a) masculine, b) inspired by "the heroical [sic] value of Horatio Nelson and his Royals" and c)"characterized by historical glamour". The notes provided by the company are mandarin, bergamot, clove, anise, cedarwood, patchouli and tonka, but I also smell very strong ginger, and, combined with the sweetness of citrus fruits, the latter gives the blend a candied, almost edible undertone. Royal Heroes has the same dark gourmandness and mouthwatering booziness that I love in such perfumes as Le Dandy, Une Crime Exotique and Mechant Loup. Admiral Nelson and his Royals would never deign to wear something so ....what is the word I am looking for?...not obviously masculine? metrosexual? sexually ambiguous? fluffy? Having said that, although Royal Heroes does not smell as my idea of heroic (for that, I would refer you to the great leathery chypres of the past, for example, Yatagan), it smells incredibly attractive. It is a warm, sweet-n-spicy, comforting fragrance that is perfect for the horrible weather we are having now. Much to Nelson's consternation (or so I would guess), it is also entirely suitable for a woman. L'Âme d'Un Héros is available at Bergdorf Goodman, Royal Heroes at Luckyscent.com.