Quick Sniffs: Le Labo Aldehyde 44; Olivier Durbano Rock Crystal; Heeley Cuir Pleine Fleur; Indult Tihota

If you're wondering why the sniffers come in fours, it's because four scents is about the most I can concentrate on properly at one time while having enough body space to prevent scent bleed. I guess I could start spraying my knees and ankles, too, but I think that just might qualify as going overboard -- and besides, it would be awkward to compare different drydowns while twisting like a pretzel.

I mean, I guess I could do it, but then I'd have to start taking yoga lessons and I simply don't have the sacrifice gene in my DNA. Cheesy historical novels. Yogo Lessons. Cheesy historical novels. Yogo Lessons. Do you see my conumdrum?

LE LABO ALDEHYDE 44: Le Labo is a perfume house that's near and dear to my heart for not much more reason than their iconoclastic image -- well, that and their Labdanum 18 and Patchouli 24. They have a limited line of high-end perfumes designed by quietly famous perfumers (famous to perfume industry fanatics, that is) and available online, in their Paris and New York showrooms, and in Barneys boutiques across the country; but much to the consternation of their fan club, they also produce fragrances that can be purchased only in specific cities, such as Vanilla 44 (Paris), Tuberose 40 (New York) and more recently, Aldehyde 44 for Dallas.

Aldehydes are a synthetic ingredient most famously used in Chanel's classic No. 5, and they help to create a bright, sparkling abstract of a floral scent, which is also what we get with Aldehyde 44, but (dare I say it?) I find that Aldehyde 44 is a much more pleasing composition on the whole than Chanel No. 5. I mean, No. 5 has been around since the 1920's, so it shouldn't be that surprising when, 80 years later, someone comes up with a way to 1.) reference it, and 2.) top it, and I believe that Le Labo accomplishes both quite nicely.

Where No. 5 smells dated and a bit screechy to my post-millennial nose, Aldehyde 44 is sparkling and warm -- the difference between a cubic zirconia and a polished quartz crystal. Le Labo made the sensible decision to dirty things up a bit with a fleshy jasmine note and some very light incense smoke, which creates a masterfully balanced tension between sparkling highs and subdued lows.

21st century Little Black Dress, meet Aldehyde 44. It's a match made in heaven.

Again, Le Labo Aldehyde 44 can only be purchased at the Le Labo counter in the Dallas, Texas Barneys (though I'm sure you can call and order over the phone). Every stylish girl should have a bottle, and no, I don't particularly recommend it as a fragrance for men.

INDULT TIHOTA: despite my not being a big vanilla fan, Tihota has its moments where it's a mouth-watering, soul-quenching burnt-vanilla-sugar perfume. It's as if a kitchen full of pastry chefs torched their full menu of crème brûlée and then bottled the smoke.

For the true Vanilla freak. Wear this and you'll smell good enough to eat. Literally. Don't say I didn't warn you. Indult also brought this smoky, incense attitude to bear on the plum note in their dusky, patchouli laden Isvaraya.

BTW: There's a point several hours in where it smells just like a freshly snuffed out candle, wax and all, before retiring in a hallelujah chorus of pure, though less interesting, vanilla. If I could, I would isolate that specific snuffed out candle section and make it its own individual fragrance.

HEELEY CUIR PLEINE FLEUR: A floral leather scent. Not really my bag (baby). But if you're the type who finds most leather fragrances too masculine and dark, then you'll probably be a fan of Cuir Pleine Fleur. The florals (violet, mimosa) are not pronounced, but they do lighten up the mix and bring a soft, feminine touch to what might otherwise have been a straight-ahead grassy leather fragrance.

I guess you could say this makes Cuir Pleine Fleur balanced and subtle, and you would be absolutely correct. I smell the mimosa and vetiver more than the birch and leather, and I keep wishing it were the other way around.

My heart aches for what could have been.

The PR copy on Lucky Scent states: "We picture this on the soft-spoken young schoolmaster who seems bashful at first, then goes on to steal the hearts of all the village lasses with his fiercely romantic poetry." And since there's nothing more useless to the continued spin of the globe than a fiercely romantic poet, it's no wonder I'm not impressed.

A fiercely romantic perfumer, however . . .

OLIVIER DURBANO ROCK CRYSTAL: a salty, musky incense fragrance that wraps itself around your skin like a wreath of cold smoke.

Cumin, cardamom and coriander mix with frankincense, benzoin and myrrhe to create the impression of a worshipful chamber full of human bodies, yet there's something aloof and slightly removed about Rock Crystal -- the incense is lit, the believers are prostrate, but the dark void isn't listening.

Ava Luxe Opoponax Intense is an incense fragrance that will draw you closer to your god, but the moss, musk and smoke of Durbano's Rock Crystal serves as a reminder of the vast gulf that exists between humanity and divinity, much like the cool and impersonal (not to mention exceptional) Armani Privé Bois d'Encens.

Other listed notes (beyond the ones I've already mentioned): orange, pepper, cistus, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, everlasting flower and galbanum.