What fragrance are you wearing today?

Encre noir (Lalique) dry vetiver

Smells remarkably like vetiver incense, smoky at first, then soapy, and finally very woody. There are no top notes. In a hot, humid climate it projects like a battery of Katyusha rocket launchers. Nice everyday vetiver, especially when the wind’s blowing.

Pitralon Polar

M7 Oud Absolu (Yves Saint Laurent) amber oud

Smoky, medicinal, and tart, the mandarin-oud accord that opens this fragrance is inventive and sublime. But after thirty minutes the citrus has checked out and the oud has retired deep into your skin. What’s left behind is a bit of rose, myrrh, and amber. Together they’re sweet and sociable but not nearly as exciting as the first notes. The original M7 put oud front and center and asked it to sing a solo for five hours. In this version oud still has a nice voice, but it’s just humming in the chorus.

Floïd Blue Eau de Toilette

Beaver WoodWright Captain’s Reserve

A few of my aftershaves could also be classified as fragrances for the day, and I feel this is among them.

Kyoto (Comme des Garçons) cedar, Japanese cypress (hinoki), incense

Clean, terpenic, and a little peppery, Kyoto is the smell of hinoki incense. The cypress eventually dries down to sweet cedar tinged with just a wisp of smoke. It’s not a complex fragrance, but its simplicity perfectly matched the mood of my visit to a Buddhist temple today.

Exceptional for Men Eau de Toilette

Cuir de Russie, edt (Les Exclusifs de Chanel) jasmine, ylang ylang, citrus, birch tar, cedar

The current eau de toilette of this remarkable fragrance opens as wonderful blend of jasmine, birch tar, and balsam. But after thirty minutes, it dries down to a soapy leather that’s as weak as water. On me, it dissipates to something less than a skin scent even. It’s a trace, a whiff, a soupçon that’s gone after two hours, just a fleeting brush with fame. To think I was expecting a chauffeured Bentley and an invitation to dinner at the chateau.

But after thirty minutes, it dries down to a soapy leather that’s as weak as water. On me, it dissipates to something less than a skin scent even. It’s a trace, a whiff, a soupçon that’s gone after two hours, just a fleeting brush with fame.

Sadly, this seems to be the case with many a scent, these days. Watered-down versions of their former glory.

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This one has done quite well on me tonight. I mixed a spray or two with an unscented balm that I put on my face, and after that dried, gave the front and back of my neck another spray.

Caron Yatagan

One of my favorites today, Annick Goutal Eau du Sud Eau de Toilette.