Perfume Pen Pals: Comme des Garcons Ouarzazate and White, and Tann Rokka Signature



Katie,

I quietly picked up a couple Mark Buxtons on sale: Comme des Garçons Ouarzazate and White. Ouarzazate is my second favorite of the Incense Series, much lighter and more relaxed than Avignon, although the Road Runner anvil is lighter than Avignon.


And White is lovely, though I always thought it was merely a flanker of the original Comme des Garçons, the one that smells like poison potpourri. And maybe it is, it's been so long since I've smelled the first one, but White is excellent nonetheless, a crisp spicy cedar, a comfort cedar, if such a thing is possible. It makes me feel snuggly and no other CdGs make me feel snuggly.


This is all so minor as good news goes, it's barely worth writing. But I didn't want to buy anything without telling you. Which makes you the opposite of almost everyone else I know. Today I brought a few perfume samples to my friend Sara and they were sitting on the sink when her husband came home.


"What are these?" he asked. And I sheepishly told him I collect perfume, as sheepishly as someone would admit to collecting pornography. Perfume is my pornography, not in a deviant way, of course, but as a source of embarrassment. Which is so minor as embarrassment goes, I don't know why I'm sheepish. Or why I'm writing about it. Not every email can be about the continuing crisis in Afghanistan. Wait, quickly, should I buy Tann Rokka Signature (formerly Kisu) for half-price? Would you bite? (The auction ends in 40 minutes and there are no bids.)


Dan



Dan,

Apparently Jude Law has been known to wear Tann Rokka Signature, and he's with your imaginary girlfriend Sienna Miller, so maybe that's a recommendation.

Fun fact: Jude Law is a cannibal.

In my “perfume hotline” capacity, I've just applied my samp of TRS in order to advise you. It smells a bit like Bulgari Jasmin Noir, but featuring violets instead of jasmine. It's a little odd. Odd but likable. The violet smell also has a licoricey edge to it, which I know will interest you.

This Tann Rokka Signature could be a Histoires de Parfum: old-fashioned and newfangled at the same time. It's nice, but I don't see it being of high rotation interest for you, Dan. Not like Ouarzazate, which is very nice! I wish Ouarzazate was longer lasting, though.

Katie



Katie,

I've been wearing Ouarzazate for over two hours, and while I've been doing nothing but sitting and reading, it hasn't vanished on me. Though it keeps threatening to. There's an arrogance about these excessively subdued perfumes, like a quiet-talker who requires lots of leaning in and concentrating to be heard.

And as for TRS, I now own it. You can't go too wrong buying a $185 perfume for $90 (it's a full bottle) because you can always sell it off without losing anything. Of course, buying a perfume with the idea of selling it off isn't very optimistic. Or romantic. It's like making your perfume sign a pre-nup.

Dan



Dan,

Ouarzazate is now striking you as arrogant? Just because it's obediently staying where you put it? That doesn't seem fair!

Katie



Katie,

Ouarzazate is bewildering because while I like it so much, it won't give me the time of day. (Like Sienna Miller.) I find myself constantly smelling for it and while it hangs around for a little while, it always has one foot out the door. From the moment I spray it on, I can tell it's looking at its watch. It's like me at a party. It's my love-child with Sienna Miller and it possesses our very worst qualities: it's anxious and aloof and while people are initially attracted to it, it never quite commits and inevitably just disappears.


Dan

19 comments:

  1. Urgh. Ouarzazate. The perfume that's just not that into you. Call, email, play hard to get, be overly-solicitous. It will bless you with its graces for an hour or two then stop returning your texts. So, what's wrong with White? Snuggly, comforting. Too nice?

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  2. Out of the incense series I only really liked Kyoto. Is Ouarzazate the piney one? If so, wasn't really my favourite. I like the idea of Avignon, but on me it just smells mouldy and musty. I keep it around in case it suddenly decides to smell like I want it to.
    And Dan, I don't reveal my scent obsession to anyone - for some reason I find it embarrassing as well. What up with that?

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  3. I love Tann Rokka signature and not just because the name makes me think of Almond Rocca! But like Dan, I'd not pay the inflated price. I really love it but its not earth shattering. Just damn good.

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  4. melisand61, White is nice, White loves me, which means I spend more time focusing on Ouarzazate. Which doesn't speak well for my psychological disposition as it relates to perfume, but then what does?

    And rossm, applying my usual confused logic, a little embarrassment contributes a sense of mystery to the obsession. What good is an obsession if you can run around gabbing about it all day long? Perfume Pen Pals aside, of course. Everyone needs an outlet.

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  5. Dan, sigh, I completely understand. I'm wearing Amouage Opus III today, which is really lovely, except that it has an odd candied, powdery, violet-y, spicy, something or other going, on which is driving me just a little bit crazy. It's saying "come here, go away". And that, of course, means I have to have more of it.

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  6. rossm, Zagorsk is the piney one from the Incense series. Ouarzazate is a warmer, sweeter incense with a bit a nutmeg. And re revealing perfume obsession, I know I get tired of the blank, uncomprehending looks when I try to explain it, and I imagine the looks must be even blanker when a guy tries to explain it.

    melisand61, Amouage Opus I is my fave out of the "Opus Three" - dig that warm, leathery ylang-ylang. I just applied some of my Opus III samp to "smell along with Melissa": it's hitting me like ELO Putain de Palaces crossed with the astringent aldehydes of JHG Citizen Queen.

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  7. Kate - "not earth shattering" - not like Almond Rocca, which is!

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  8. Dan and Katie: Thanks for a great pen pals entry. I love White, to me it's spicy warmth is perfect for a cool Autumn or winter day. Haven't tried the poison potpourri yet.

    I live in San Francisco, where there is a vocal anti-fragrance contingent, especially in the Castro, where any fragrance, no matter how good, is considered bear repellent. I am out and proud about my passion for perfume, and it's a good conversation starter. Unfortunately, it's also a fantastic conversation ender. *sigh* Am still hoping, some day, to find a kindred spirit with whom I can swap samples over coffee... are there any West Coast Sniffapalooza-like outings?

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  9. Scott, I, too, live in San Francisco and know the types. (Berkeley is even worse.) I once had a friend, upon seeing my perfume cabinet, proclaim, "I'm in favor of outlawing all scents!" And she meant it. Not sure how that'll impact nature.

    As for outings, I think some Basenotes members are planning one in San Francisco soon. Check the boards there.

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  10. "Poison potpourri"?!?!

    I am horrified. That's a classic, honey. And it would be my signature scent if I had to pick one out of God knows how many.

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  11. Haha, whipsmart! I love your "get a clue" tone here. I suppose perfume predilections is one area where the expression "pick your poison" is particularly apt.

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  12. You betcha.

    I'm not perfect. You want poison? You want projectile vomiting? Take Gaultier 2 for a test drive. Why I bought it, I'll never know.

    Hugs from the heartland,

    WhipSmart

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  13. You really sell Gaultier 2, whipsmart. Now on the lookout for this projectile barf juice.

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  14. Try saying "Eau d'Ipecac" in your best French accent.

    That's how they lure you in.

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  15. Katie, Just watched the Road Runner cartoon snippet above. Surprised that it was in Spanish. Tricky Chica!

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  16. ScentsofSmell, that's Italian, non Spanish. We love Road Runner :-)

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  17. Sappetta - thanks for the clarification! Important distinction,and good to know Road Runner fans are everywhere!

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  18. Ah, Sappetta, pardon! My little smattering of each often get confused. I have visited Spain and lived in Rome. Thanks for letting me know.

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