Mr. Aromascope Gets Challenged
August 11th, 2006
Marina and I decided to bring in some testosterone to our blogs, once again, for some hormonal balance. We recruited our dear husbands to undertake yet another project. This time - blind testing of 5 well known scents. They pretty much knew nothing about them - names, houses, notes. I must also add it took mine quite a bit of effort (which I publicly praise him for), and I got quite a few looks of utter despair and frustration but he made it! *Vigorous applause* Here you go, folks! I hereby present to you the olfactory ramblings of Mr. Aromascope.
Scent No 1. After this dies down a bit it smells distinctly like some sweaty old guy on the train who hasn’t washed in weeks. The kind whose fragrance has a significant and undeniable radius which prevents anyone from sitting nearby. I’m also picking up a hint of weak bladder. It doesn’t seem to improve and the old sweat smell lingers, leading me to wonder who would want to wear this other than people dressing up as bums for Halloween.
My comments: funny how he goes right to the drydown. Smart man. Um, I wear it, darling (and not for Halloween)! The scent in question is none other than the infamous Muscs Koublai Khan by Serge Lutens.
Scent No 2. My first impression of this was that it smelled like a shower, which drew a puzzled look from Ina, and understandably, because what does a shower smell like? Giving it more thought, it reminded me of those deodorants with names like Shower Fresh, Fresh Aire, or Spring Fresh that bear little resemblance to anything in nature. People who like Ivory Soap would probably love this. A second spray hit me with “baby wipes” at first, but after that it was back to post-shower products.
My comments: ahem. How shall I say this in order to make it least offensive (for Mr. Aromascope, you just undermined the entire foundation of perfumery). Forgive the poor man, folks. This is Chanel No 5 he’s talking about. Oy.
Scent No 3. This struck me as unpleasantly medicinal at first, then indistinctly stinky for a short time, and finally a settling into a burnt wood smell that I kind of like. At one point I thought it reminded me a little of a musty cellar, but that passed. The longer this one sits, the more I like it.
My comments: now we’re talking! I knew he’d fall for this one. After all, it’s “the dark balm for Marina’s Mongolian soul”. Caron Yatagan.
Scent No 4. This is some kind of fresh melon on steroids. I almost licked it to see what it tastes like, but thought better of it. There’s more to it, I’m sure, but my olfactory brain cells are still rather undeveloped. Is there a smelling course available for husbands of perfume fanatics?
My comments: he’s making progress! Melon it is not but delicious it is - Donna Karan Be Delicious for women. As a side note, pumpkin, do not lick perfume. Ever.
Scent No 5. Okay, I think I’m allergic to this one. Either that or I’m just smelled out. It made me sneeze and every time I breath it in, my head feels funny. To avoid a perfume-induced stroke I won’t spend much time on this one, but it smells something like baby powder and something else I can’t identify.
Okay, do I get my Metrosexual merit badge yet?
My comments: huh? Baby powder? Sneezing? Oh, so when I’ve worn it many times before, you never got such allergic reaction? If anybody is about to have a stroke that’d be me for my all time favorite perfume just got majorly bashed by my own husband. Hrmph. For the record, that “something else you can’t identify” is musk (animalic musk, to be precise) for the perfume is Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle. As for the Metrosexual merit badge, let the readers be the judge, honey.
Image source: www.corbis.com
Entry Filed under: Guest Blogger, Perfume Reviews
22 Comments Add your own
1. Elle | August 11th, 2006 at 5:48 am
Standing ovation!!!!! Wild cheering and whistling from the crowds. But…well….it’s for effort, not for having achieved metrosexual status yet. I’m afraid you lost a few points there w/ the comments about #5 and my beloved MR. In all fairness, my husband also didn’t exactly make flattering comments about MR - said it was medicinal and a medicine he would avoid like the plague. Hmph! I didn’t even try to see what he’d say about #5. That was a great call w/ the Be Delicious, though. And I’m super impressed w/ the fact you like Yatagan. I hope Ina has you do this again - great fun to read!
2. March | August 11th, 2006 at 6:31 am
Wow!!!! What, did you tie him to a chair?!?!? No…. wait… I know what you did! You promised him Sexual Favors! Wow, Mr. A, you hit the ball out of the park there, buddy — yes, you definitely have your Metrosexual Certificate. I have taken notes:
1) I plan to use “die down” instead of drydown from now on. Spot-on description of MKK!
2) Hahahahaha — take THAT, Coco!
3) I found Yatagan to be …. sex in a bottle.
4) Never, ever lick the perfume — all fragrances should come with the Mr. Yuk sticker. Although I admit I try things on occasionally that tempt me.
5) Ina — did you make him smell these five all at once?! Also, clarification — MR oil or fragrance? I only smelled the oil until recently, I was surprised how different the EDP is. Just curious.
3. Judith | August 11th, 2006 at 7:09 am
Wonderful effort from Mr. A. He might try wearing the wonderful Yatagan himself. Interesting that both he and Mr. C got baby powder from MR (although Mr.C liked it much better). And worth noting that both Mr. C. and Mr. A. had difficulty with the (different)scent they smelled last. You girls need to give them more rest: don’t you know that men, unlike women, have limits on how often they can, um, smell.? Poor things.
4. Marina | August 11th, 2006 at 7:29 am
Bravo, Todd! I think you were spot on. Don’t let Ina make you feel guilty about not being respectful enough about Chanel No 5. I thought that both you and Mr C saw it for what it really is…a nice soap
I also applaud you for liking Yatagan. What a great taste you have (well, we knew that already, since you are, after all, Mr. Ina :-))
Thank you so much for participating in our little project!!! It was fun.
5. The Scented Salamander | August 11th, 2006 at 8:42 am
Very refreshing:) My DH actually volunteered to sniff through my collection and make comments like, why aren’t you wearing this more often? He loves Silences, Shalimar, Knowing, and Divine. Silences especially is a hit with him.
6. chayaruchama | August 11th, 2006 at 8:53 am
Bravo, men!
You are brave and good sports…
And I’m guessing that you probably smell great ,too, considering your discerning “spice”-
You ought to do this more often-
And Mimi- see if your DH will join in…
Have a lovely w/e, all…
7. Victoria O | August 11th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Hummm you still plan to wear MKK around hubby? LOL I wish my hubby would participate, but I’d have to bribe him with stinky cigars.
8. violetnoir | August 11th, 2006 at 12:39 pm
This is good! He definitely did NOT win the metrosexual merit badge, but he won my heart and tickled me pink with his observations. The one about Chanel No. 5 is priceless, Ina. Ivory soap and baby wipes, what a kick!
Oh the words that can come out of the mouths of babes…and our husbands!
9. Victoria | August 11th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
Applause for Todd! Most impressive all around!
10. Tom Pease | August 11th, 2006 at 9:50 pm
Judith- that would be some men. Really, you ladies should be happy that your guys are not that interested in fragrance (except on you of course); if they started to really like them, they might decide to appropriate some if them….
11. Todd | August 11th, 2006 at 11:41 pm
Thanks to all for your supportive comments. I can’t see this ever becoming a hobby for me (a merit badge would be fine, but I don’t have any desire to become a 4-star general of Metrosexuality), but it is fun once in a while. Maybe in a few months my nose will have recovered enough to give it another go.
Elle: Yes, there’s no helping husbands and their noses. It’s part of that uncrossable gulf between women and (heterosexual) men. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. We’ll have to do it… (wait for it) …Yatagan. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
March: When I read your comment I asked Ina who Coco was, to which the response was a stunned and silent stare.
Judith: Ina gave me two scents the first night and three the next. Next time I think I’ll ask for one a night. It takes quite a while for my thoughts on a smell to go beyond “…”
Marina: Thanks (I think) for the perfume-smellin’ game. Mr. Columbina certainly has me beat with his write-up. I had to read his post over two sittings! Hilarious, though. Will comment there as well.
Other commenters: Pardon me if I don’t respond individually, but I need to go find something manly to do now.
12. Paul | August 12th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Todd,
Excellent stuff man! Maybe in a week we can let each other know what we really got rewarded with for our efforts.
Seriously, though … and may I say mano-a-mano …
nice guns dude …had no idea you were so buffed.
Mr. Colombina aka Paul
13. clearing | August 12th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Love it!! Fabulously funny and very sweet. I think your husband is a fine man.
My DH does love fragrances (and he has many) but today he grabbed the Aliage (mine) and sprayed his chest liberally before going to climb the mountain, which is a thing he likes to do. He likes to enjoy the scent transitions as he trudges and sweats.
I had to laugh. I’ve been using that as a room spray. Today he smells like our couch..
Thank you for the great blog entertainment.
14. Patricia Rojas | August 13th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
Wonderful! So funny!! I love it when the husbands take on the fragrances.
15. Ina | August 13th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
Clearing, how funny about your DH!
Too bad I don’t know what Aliage smells like. I’m glad to see you here. 
16. Ina | August 13th, 2006 at 8:41 pm
Patricia, it was a blast! We’ll try to do that more often. Husbands can be quite entertaining sometimes.
17. Luccia | August 14th, 2006 at 7:36 am
I love his down to earth straight shooting commentary. Just great to find out what gives with men, they are so unipressed with what they “ought” to be impressed with, it’s refreshing. But I have also found that in the right mood, some men can be totally fascinated by certain fragrances, unexpectedly. Usually I hear they prefer something they don’t really smell unless they get really close, like up beneath the hair around your neck. Then they seem to have more appreciation, maybe it’s the additional aspect of smelling on actual skin or the activation of more of the scent by being on a warm person, but it may not be fair to have him try the scent only on paper strips, if that was how it was done. Be interesting to see how Chanel goes over with him if you had him smell it after applying it to your own wrist after 10 minutes…
18. Vimal Solanki | August 17th, 2006 at 1:19 am
Thats a honest [and funny] point-of-view of a man on female fragrances. How about doing the reverse, Ina? Or have you done the exercise before? Tell me if I need to scroll down. Anyway, it you haven’t, it’ll will be fun. And useful. May I suggest the 5 fragrances, p-l-e-a-s-e?
19. Ina | August 17th, 2006 at 8:33 am
Luccia, I agree with you! If it doesn’t smell nice or smell in general from the start, he sort of gives up. I had to actually tell him to keep sniffing his wrists every five minutes or so. It’s only after that he was able to come up with these descriptions.
20. Ina | August 17th, 2006 at 8:33 am
Vimal, you mean sharing impressions on men’s scents?
21. Vimal Solanki | August 22nd, 2006 at 12:36 am
Yeah Ina, how about getting women/wives sniff at men’s fragrances in a similar exercise?
Can see an unwanted intruder on your blog. We need an alive and erect nose here!
22. Ina | August 22nd, 2006 at 8:37 am
Vimal, yes, we should definitely do that! Thanks for your idea!
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