Message to Laurent: Round 1, Mods B and C
This concludes Katie’s Round 1 with sketches R1/B and R1/C.
The following is the message I passed on to Laurent with my perceptions of both mods he created:
Dear Laurent,
I want to start by saying that no offense or anything like that was meant by my slowness in getting back to you about the two mods. It was clear that you put a ton of effort and consideration into them, and I wanted to respond to your thoughtfulness by making sure I lived with them for a while, let them walk around inside my head, before I gathered up my thoughts. They are both so well done, well plotted, and deserved some old-fashioned contemplation.
When I was, like, five or six I had a part in the children’s Christmas play at my mom’s church. I was “Y for Yulelog.” I got so overwhelmed by my own rushed excitement that I biffed the line, and in embarassment pulled my skirt over my head. Apparently my little self thought that was less humiliating than showing my red face. “Y for Yulelog” was delivered by a little girl with her skirt worn skyward and her Wonder Woman underpants on display for the whole congregation to see. So in short, I’m pretty much hoping to avoid showing off my underpants to you and all the Made by Blog readers on this project.
Auxeos “B” ~
No one could accuse this fragrance of being a wallflower; it’s quite forward in personality. “B” plays its tune so fortissimo right from the get-go, with a sudden whoosh of sound. The herbally green twang to it is striking. There’s some kind of dueling banjos between the green and the leathery intonations. But it smells so sticky to me. Does “sticky” have a smell? Oh nevermind, don’t answer that. Maybe just humor me for the moment and pretend it does. The sticky seems to be less pronounced on men’s skin than on women’s, though I could swear on paper it smells sticky, too. This is not a criticism of any sort. The green is nifty, but not the direction I hope Auxeos moves towards. I wonder if it would not be too loud for most folks to cotton to.
I sooooooo love the drydown. Or rather, to bastardize that famous line in Annie Hall, love is too weak a word – I lurve it, I loave it, I luff it. Good lord, is it ever so warm and inviting. It’s the equivalent of yanking up the quilts over your shoulders on a chilly winter morning. It’s got a little sweetness, but not too sweet: my inner Goldilocks says to herself, “just right.” The way the incensey bit and some sort of spiced brown warmth starts to rise from the ashes of the fading green-tinged leather is most enjoyable.
“B” starts loud, and winds up being, well, not exactly quiet… but not so ferocious either. The dry down is pure lurve.
Auxeos “C” ~
Flowers on a salt lick! The brisk beach twilight! Brittle incense! These were the aspects of “C” I liked the best. Thematically, I found “C” more enjoyable than “B” in a way. The emphasis is stronger on woodsy but neatly arranged incense rather than leather here? I do like the general crustiness of the incensey bit in “C.” I also really enjoyed the way the scent wore on skin. Fireworks are on the brain right now, so forgive the weak comparison: it seems like here one aspect pops and lights, and as it dims another pops and lights. I dig the way it pings off chunks of time like that. The leather is there, but when I’m not trying to concentrate on it, I’d say it forms a function of the incense rather than a force unto itself. Which, is cool I guess, because that does seem to pony up well to those encrusted flowers and incense. It’s funny, I wouldn’t necessarily describe “C” as a salty scent per se, but that aspect is totally present and it’s awesome. The way it lifts and blows the incensey part along, almost as if you could snap it in half, would sound like the the crunch of wind-strewn autumn leaves.
There’s this teeny weeny moment at the top where I sense a note a bit like a gas-stained rag? It’s not exactly that, but it’s the verbal approximation to what I smell. Is it weird that I kind of like that? I mean, if it were strong I wouldn’t, but it’s such a fleeting little moment, and its brief appearance fits nicely into the overall scheme of things.
As the top fades, the sensastion of strolling past climbing roses and inhaling their aroma becomes apparent, and I have to admit I’m a bit “meh” over this note. It sure is pretty, though. Then, what I can only parlay into words as creaminess also shifts into veiw. It’s so subtle. Yet not so subtle as to go unappreciated. The incense seems to briefly peel back to show off the smell of hiking a trail in wild summer bloom. Yet I also sense a clean but brackish breeze sweeping in from the tide. Perhaps this breeze is the leather-type suede note? It’s dusky but not astringent or tannic. The softened shady tones of “C” allusively reminds me of a snapshot I took a while back…
“C” stands out as more leathery to me after the scent develops far past the first phases. Interesting. Can this lap further onto the fragrance to deepen it? The curving edge it creates is lovely. Or would deepening this note cause the balance to become wobbly?
Ultimately, I like both mods for different reasons, and I’d like something even fuller that would be less brash than “B,” but more expansive than “C.” I lean towards “C” more than “B” generally, but that’s not quite an accurate explanation of my reaction. You know how there’s a certain circularity of composition to Bal a Versailles? But there’s something else in it I specifically relish. That fragrance keeps rising and growing like an improbable crescendo, a wave doomed to self-destruct… only it doesn’t. The Jane’s Addiction song “Ocean Size” goes, “Wish I was ocean size/ No one moves you, man/ No one tries […] I was made with a heart of stone/ To be broken/ With one hard blow/ I’ve seen the ocean/ Break on the shore/ Come together/ With no harm done.” Can a version of Auxeos “C” be rendered ocean size? Can it be even “more?” More what I can’t precisely say. Just “more.” Maybe drier, more brittle, and more woodsy, too… Or maybe my nose behaves too greedily for its own good, heh.
It took me a wee bit to get over the shock of smelling real physical manifestations of that which I’d only pondered in imagination. There’s this part in Dickens’ David Copperfield where the young title character initially sucks in the tidy luxury of his new home, wanting to take note of it all and commit his feeling to memory. “As I laid down my pen, a moment since, to think of it, the air from the sea came blowing in again, mixed with the perfume of the flowers; and I saw the old-fashioned furniture brightly rubbed and polished, my aunt’s inviolable chair and table by the round green fan in the bow-window, the drugget-covered carpet, the cat, the kettle-holder, the two canaries, the old china, the punch-bowl full of dried rose-leaves, the tall press guarding all sorts of bottles and pots, and, wonderfully out of keeping with the rest, my dusty self upon the sofa, taking note of everything.” That’s how I felt. My boring and Plain Jane self wanted to take note of it all, to hoard the sudden and momentary novelty. And I thank you very much for that.
Cheers, Katie
I am guessing that all of you may find the list of notes forwarded to me interesting? Here’s the notes for both mods:
AUXEOS, or the “B” Mod ~
BERGAMOTE, NEROLI PETALES, ELEMI GUM, SPEARMINT
YLANG YLANG,GERANIUM,JASMIN,CARDAMOM
VETIVER, AQUATIC LEATHER,AMBER,MYRRH AND SANDALWOOD
AUXETIC, or “C” Mod ~
MANDARIN,PIMENTO BERRIES,BRAZILIAN MATE
FREESIA, ROSE CENTIFOLIA,PATCHOULY
LEATHER”TYPE SUEDE”,AMBER,TEAKWOOD,OLIBANUM,MUSK
11 Comments
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Marchlion
Katie — wow! What a gorgeous review!
I liked both the mods very much and would purchase C in a heartbeat. B had the unfortunate armpit aspect on me which, as you listed the notes, is probably the vetiver. But that is, as they say, my problem, not yours… I especially related to your description of Bal a Versailles. I love its circularity, which I find to be relatively rare in fragrance (En Passant is the only other one I can think of off the top of my head.) If you can achieve that, you have struck gold.
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Marina
Like March, I would have purchased C right now, a big bottle, if it was available. I didn’t get an armpit in B (I would have loved it if I did :-)), but it just was a little “cold” for me, you know? Personally, I think Laurent should take the two, combine them (one is mainly leather and the other one is mainly incense on me) and Bob’s your uncle. Your scent is ready. 😀 If only it really was that simple, eh?
Seriously though, can I get some more of that C? 🙂 -
lilybp
What a fascinating and beautiful review! I really enjoyed reading it. And thank you for posting the notes. Like M and M–I really liked C (and I liked it more the more I wore it); I did get leather here. As I mentioned earlier, I (like March) got some “armpit” in B, and though (like Marina) I usually enjoy armpit, this is not the kind I like. This is clearly a chemistry issue, but I’m curious about what’s causing it. I generally really like vetiver, so I am not completely persuaded that’s it; perhaps some combination. . . . . Will be fascinated to see how this evolves.
Judith -
StickyKeys
How did I miss the trials for this? I’ve been keeping up, maybe I was too late. Alas. I do love this letter Katie, and I’m very excited about the fragrance. What is drydown?
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Andy
You know the scent surrounding a hair dresser? Better than the antiseptic scent of a dentist you might say. Right you are! The dentist scent aura transforms you back 20 years, when you were tortured by an innocent man in white, trying to safe what could be saved from some teeth that unfortunately are not regenerative tissue. These were my associations when entering into Auxeos R1B. Now: It wouldn’t be fair to leave this like that, as the scent changed a lot once applied on skin. What was a green aldehyde berry story with some beaver in front of woody sandalwood on paper, turned into a fresher, somewhat powdery storyline. I have to admit that I do not understand this scent yet. It remains somehow flat on my skin. I miss the twist, the second line, the fight between good and evil, between light and dark.
Contrary the hair dresser scent. There you feel cosy and treated like someone special with wonderful hair that just needs this extra bit of care to make you a different person. Thus, I like the scent within the hair dresser saloon, even if my hair dresser fails regularly to make me a different person. Thus, I like Katie’s sample C, too (sorry… I couldn’t help… this is the association I had the first moment and I promised to be honest…). It is fresh, with quite a substantial amount of citrus freshness, somewhat limonene driven, with a nice ambergris line that is discrete, just perfect, and there is this “animalic-hairy” undertone that is also well done. So far so good. It is a scent that could easily be worn by a man, for sure. This is funny: Although I find it somewhat “normal”, without much deepness, I like it somehow. Why? Because it is well done in my opinion. Do I understand this one? No: I have no clue. In my nose it smells distinguished, somewhat expensive, lovely. Which brings me to the final question: The more I sniff on this little paper strip in front of me, the more it remains a question mark what Auxeos R1C has to do with Frankincense & Myrrh. I hope for the next version, as I am a Frankincense lover.
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Katie
Thanks March. It’s not the circularity I’m hoping for (notes appearing, dying, and then appearing again later) so much as wanting that sensation of new notes that slowly rise and appear constantly as it wears.
Marina, mmmm, I’d love to somehow tie that warm dry down of “B” down into the base of “C,” but who knows if that is even possible? The notes in “B” are particularly tenacious, and might overtake the more brittle aspects of “C” that I also like. But I’d dig some new amalgam of the two, since I do want it to have more leathery intonations 🙂
lilybp, thanks, and you’re so welcome for the note listing. I got leather from the “C” too, but it was not nearly as omnipresent as it was in the “B” version. Man, you got armpit, too? I got no armpit at ALL! Crazy. I think you’re right about it being a combination of elements, not just the vetiver alone that’s causing that armpitty bit.
StickyKeys, drydown is the slow unfolding of notes in a fragrance. A fragrance is composed typically of top, middle, and base notes. (Think of it like a pop song: the top would be the instrumental intro to the song, the middle would be the verse, and the base would be the chorus or “hook” that makes the song stick in your head.) The top notes tend to be more volitile and fleeting, and evaporate quickly. As the fragrance continues to wear on the skin, you can more easily perceive the other notes in the composition in the middle and base. So as the more volatile odorants evaporate off the skin, the fragrance is perceived to be drying down to the basenotes. What you smell on the drydown is the base. Please note this is not a “real” definition, it’s just the one I’m conjuring up on the fly 😉 Hopefully someone else here can word that all better!
Andy, ack! There’s so much there you’ve written, and I’ve no idea what to respond to first!
B: I do like very much the base on “B,” but what you mention kind of confirms my own little trials on my guinea pigs: the green simply isn’t as strong on men’s skin as on paper. “Green aldehyde berry,” you say? Interesting. Much more specific and descriptive than my weak “sticky.” I wonder if we’re smelling that aspect the same way and just using different words to explain it?
C: It is really well done, yes! That citrusy bit you mention seemed so light and so discreetly quiet that I decided it wasn’t worth the mention. I love that seemed more prominent to you. I do think it could be worn happily by most men, too, possibly because it lacks any silly sociological perfume clues that it’s “supposed” to be for one gender versus the other. And I do hope it becomes deeper, personally, as I like it very much as a nice direction, but I want more! Which, for me would include that shiny resinous quality of frankincense being pulled into it as well, since like you I am also a frankincense lover. However, I am trusting Laurent to choose a good angle of attack for the overall composition, since I’ve simply nil idea on how one would balance it all out without it turning into some awful crude stew.
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kuri
So, I forgot what B and C smelled like, which is why my comments are delayed. But anyway, with these lovely reviews, who needs my comments?
I would like to say that I get a first announcement of “I am perfume!” and then a nice whiff of armpit in B. Ooh, but it does turn into leather and faint tobacco at times. Now I can see why leather and tobacco would be appealing. Too bad it alternates with armpit. After 5 or 10 minutes it has settled into an incense and leather/faint armpit. Hrm. Quite nice. So that’s what a nice incense smells like. Yummy. Now it’s back to armpitty incense, with hints of tobacco. Not able to identify the greenness; perhaps it’s that part which screams perfume to me.
C starts out much more fruity/floral/sweet? And spice. Then turns into fruity incense, and now all the sweetness is gone and it’s kind of flat incense with an undertone of spice. Ah, but the citrus does come back. How interesting! Don’t really get any leather.
B is definitely more tenacious than C. C spiral nicely, but I find B more interesting. C smells very nice, but I have to sniff it to remember what it smells like. Perhaps I’m just too amused by the rankness of B?
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StickyKeys
C is lovely Katie, and commercially it would do the best. I love the initial impact of B, but the aftersmell is that of liquid smoke. Like, almost exactly, the first thing that popped into my head was cedar wood chips and barbeque.
It might be the best male aphrodisiac ever made.
I love the top smell of B (I’m sorry Katie, I’m so clueless when it comes to the lingo), but if you dwell on it too much the liquid smoke comes in way too strongly.
C is just wonderful, and I get smoky, but not meat tenderizer.
If you could combine the allure and feistiness of B, with the femininity of C, you would probably be able to take over the world.
I’m so excited! And I smell TERRIFIC!
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Marina
Speechless. I am speechless. This is a stunning review.