Sometimes You Get Lucky: Miller et Bertaux Spiritus/Land

By Tom Miller et Bertaux is a Paris-based house that I'd never tried before since I don't know who carries it in my area. Cruising around Santa Monica recently, I went into Palmetto, one of my favorite shops. (LA Sniffa attendees will remember going to the sadly closed West Hollywood store). Palmetto has been at the corner of Montana and 11th for as long as I can remember, and have everything that you could want or need as far as bath, face and body products. They also carry a selection of scents, which is of course what I was interested in. On the sale rack was Spiritus/Land, a tester I think that was 5/8 full and marked at $20. If it had even been decent smelling I might have bought it. But it wasn't decent. It was fantastic. It's an incense scent, but an odd one. It opens with a burst of pepper, pink and black and ginger. Then there's the juxtaposition of a very clean accord with incense that also still carries the pepper that's fascinating: the yin and yang of clean, green sunny soapiness and dark, dusty shadow incense is something that made me go "squee!" The fact that the drydown goes more towards the darkside cements the idea that I scored, big-time. Miller et Bertaux has the most atrocious, useless website I've ever seen. Fragrantica sells this at $150 for 100ML. Apparently "certain" Barneys carry the line, but not the one in my 'hood. I'm glad that I got my bottle cheap, and glad that Miller et Bertaux is apparently so flush that they don't actually need to have any business. Palmetto, while a place you need to visit when you're in LA apparently doesn't carry it anymore. Which means this post is torture. Sorry. If you know places that carry them, please chime in in the comments.