Lavender & mothballs. Violet leaf & oakmoss. Astringent. It's a theme that's been done to death in men's colognes and aftershaves. Some consider this classic combo of scents to be comforting, a reminder of paternal figures in their lives, and it does say "quintessential classic masculine", but it's also acrid, sharp, and constantly on the edge of setting off my nasal allergies. As classic a combo as it may be, oakmoss mixed with lavender does a disservice to the oakmoss, and is practically a waste of a substance that's already endangered in perfumery. Lavender is notably tricky to work with, being so camphoraceous and strong, so making it the center of a composition, instead of a supporting character in miniscule quantities, automatically means the star of the show will be LAVENDER! (--and some other players hanging around-- don't mind us...) If you're feeling creative and trying to find a nominally novel way of presenting lavender, go right ahead, knock yerself out! I bet you won't succeed. Lavender-centric scents have been a staple of perfumery since, well, lavender was discovered, and mixed with absolutely everything available at one time or another. And you know what they got? LAVENDER! (...and some other stuff, nothing to see here... move along, move along...) Better to stick to the well known presentations which have a track record of success. Sharp and boring as it is, you could do worse than the showcase for lavender that is Grey Flannel, much worse... you could try to formulate your own.
2 comments:
Interesting that you're talking about lavender in Grey Flannel - there is no lavender in Grey Flannel. There is violet, however, although it is probably synthetic. Violet, oakmoss (now synthetic because real oakmoss is illegal to use in perfumery in parts of Europe), and dessicated citrus there on top to give it a real "edge".
If you want to compare the violet of Grey Flannel to a true lavender, try Caron for Men (Pour un Homme de Caron). The Caron is loaded with lavender, and will smell very different from the floral in Grey Flannel in a side-by-side test.
I do smell lavender in Grey Flannel, whether it's in there for real or not (an olfactory illusion?). I have a bottle of lavender flowers tinctured in pure alcohol, I use it as a lavender reference.
I will have to get a sample of Caron for Men and compare. Thanks for the insightful comment!
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