Perfume Pen Pals: Miller Harris (various) and B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful Breath of God

Katie,

Last week's perfume bender is paying off. Just today, I received Tom Ford Italian Cypress, Bond No. 9 Fire Island, M. Micallef Gaïac, Ayala Moriel Film Noir and Vetiver Racinettes, and B Never Too Busy to Be Beautiful (now known as Gorilla Perfume) Breath of God (along with a pile of B Never samples). They all arrived about 30 minutes ago and right now I have a splitting headache.

But on the way to that headache, I got to sample everything (except for the B Never vials), all on scent strips (so it doesn't count). My first impression of Italian Cypress is it doesn't seem as heavy and thick as the other Tom Fords. But, you were right, it's not for me. It's for a dignified older gentleman who spends hundreds of dollars on shaving brushes.

The Bond is just so goddamn pleasant to smell. At least for a few seconds at a time. Gaïac is sweet and lovely and I predict good things for the two of us. The Moriels are very strong (they come in these darling little perfume jars) and Film Noir, all base-notes(!), smells like a winner: dark, dark chocolate and myrrh.

But it's Breath of God that's the monster here. Wow. It's crazy strong and crazy complicated and, frankly, it smells like it was created by a crazy person. It has a little damp, musty Thundra in it, but 300-lb Thundra. Crazy 300-lb-chimp Thundra, with eighteen other perfumes mixed in.

I wore Breath of God after my run this afternoon and it really is insane. I'm not going to say whether it's good insane or bad insane because I don't want to affect your opinion when you first smell it. And also because I'm not sure yet. It definitely doesn't fit into any clear categories of scents I own. In fact it smells like it would be better suited for the medicine cabinet.

I think you might like one of the B Never samples, B Scent, which is a rose, not exactly the kind of rose you're looking for, but a lemon-rose, which is an odd combination but it smells so good, at least out of the vial.

I still have my Soivohle's coming (and my Le Labo and CB I Hate Perfume samples), but when it does, I'll put together a crazy package of samples for you.

Dan

Dan,

Can't wait to smell what you're smelling. And funny you should mention B Scent being a lemony rose, because I was just trying Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon, and it is just that very thing. It's marvelous to have Miller Harris available at the mall, with their very elegant, modern take on complex classical perfumery. And their ingredients smell pure and real, not like the carbonated circus peanuts (the orange foam candy ones, not actual goober peas) that passes for juice in all these juicebox kiddy frags.

I got a mini-boner over Miller Harris Fleur Oriental, which really was a fresher, lighter version of Bal à Versailles meets Shalimar (i.e. no barnyard). So weird - never thought I'd be the person to wear "perfumey" perfumes, and I'm eating this shizz up.

Katie