42 days ago by Somerville Metro Man

There are perfume houses which are happy to go for a specialized clientele and then there are lines that want more mass appeal but with a bit of luxe thrown in. That market has been called masstige and Jean-Paul Gaultier is a charter member of that class of product. The fragrance line bearing the JP ...

45 days ago by Somerville Metro Man

One of the fun things about reviewing perfume is that very often they become history lessons in a bottle. In the case of the new fragrance Isabey L’Ambre de Carthage it was two history lessons. I learned about the history behind Isabey and I learned a bit more about Carthage and together there is an ...

49 days ago by Somerville Metro Man

We join Joey and Snake’s Virtual Truckstop of Fragrance Fashion for their Christmas special, lost somewhere in the petabytes of YouTube…… ******************** Joey: Good evening people! Welcome to our little roadside café of fragrance…. Snake: Or as we like to say, pull your rig on in and give ‘er a ...

50 days ago by Somerville Metro Man

Geza Schoen is one of our most cerebral perfumers. When he is acting as the professor he introduces us to new ingredients in his Escentric Molecules fragrances. When he is inspired by a real-life person, to interpret them fragrantly, he doesn’t go for the hot star of the moment. He looks for somethi ...

51 days ago by Somerville Metro Man

Jessica September Buchanan ‘s newest fragrant offspring is a 100 % botanical one. Narcotic Flowers is her tender homage to the city of Grasse which is so thoroughly steeped in perfume history. Those who have followed her story will recall that she studied perfumery in France, but recently sold every ...

55 days ago by Somerville Metro Man

As we enter the last few days of 2011 I begin to look back over the year for trends and the things I learned while exploring the new fragrances. One of those things that fall in the latter category, for me, this year is how an eau de parfum or extrait formulation can allow me to find something entir ...

57 days ago by Somerville Metro Man

Ever since hearing about the existence of the Mon Numero collection Bertrand Duchaufour created for L’Artisan Parfumeur I was hoping to get the opportunity to try them at some point. Throughout 2011 L’Artisan has released seven of the eight. Back in the summer Mon Numeros 1,6, 8, 9, and 10 were rele ...

58 days ago by Somerville Metro Man

Tell me, dear all: when is beauty not enough ? “A rose by any other name..?” Caron ’s new release Secret Oud poses this question. There are plentiful- even copious- ouds available everywhere! Do we need one more? Perhaps we do – if we aren’t obsessed with linear literalism. Secret Oud provides a bea ...

61 days ago by B

It's been awhile since my last blog update, I know! For those of you who still follow OHWTO mainly via this blog, you can get more up-to-the-minute updates by following me on Facebook or via Twitter. I am not sure why but it just seems easier to update there than here... so, there you have it. Winte ...

64 days ago by Somerville Metro Man

No matter how diligent I am; no matter how careful I am, I just can’t try every single perfume I hear about . Like everything in life I feel that if it is our destiny to meet around a flacon one day it will happen. My latest meeting with delayed gratification is with perfumer Maria McElroy. Both EIC ...