Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum Parfum du Soir and Divine L'etre Aime Homme

KEIKO MECHERI LOUKHOUM PARFUM DU SOIR: I stayed up way too late last night watching Dead Reckoning: a 1947 black & white film-noir with Humphrey Bogart and a platinum blond Lizabeth Scott. Cool movie -- lots of snappy dialogue and slick plot twists.

There's a scene near the end where Bogart has just been beaten around by some mobster and he goes to see the Lizabeth Scott character at her apartment -- a huge expanse of sumptuous living space done up all in white, and she answers the door in a wardrobe to match.

Suffice it to say, there are recriminations, accusations and tears, and Loukhoum Parfum du Soir reminds me of that scene -- big on the drama and rich on the scenery. This is not a slight wisp of a scent for daddy's little girl, but rather, it's heavy with roses and near toxically sweet, begging for trust and love while plotting how it might just do you in if you don't lay off the twenty questions routine.

If you're inclined to take it at face value, then Loukhoum Parfum du Soir would be a terrific choice, narcotizing any and all resistance with a wallop of rose oil, a clobber of oudh, a right hook of patchouli and a blast of sugared almonds and thick vanilla; but if you're the type who tends to think too much, wondering if A + B really does add up to 42, you might discover that the only thing standing between you and death by Itchy Trigger Finger du Soir is your foot on the accelerator and the car aimed straight for a tree.

It's wise to remember that the "fatale" in Femme Fatale isn't there just for show.

Below is the only video clip I could find from Dead Reckoning -- it's a musical number and not the scene in the white room, unfortunately, but it's Lizabeth Scott singing to Bogart, so perhaps all isn't lost:

DIVINE L'ETRE AIME HOMME: I know I swore eternal enmity against the Everlasting Flower (Immortelle) ever since tangling with Annick Goutal's Sables (and L'Artisan Aedes de Venustas didn't help matters any), but L'Etre Aime Homme might just convince me to call a truce, after all.

The key word in the preceding paragraph being "might" . . .

Divine's latest entry into the male fragrance market reinforces their street cred (L'homme Sage, anyone?) and provides the men in the crowd with one more excuse to ditch the foul, mainstream Gucci sh*t and get with the program (yes, that's right, I just said Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme is cheap and foul, so deal with it and let's move on).

Granted, I like the herbal opening and spicy-grassy mid-point much better than the Immortelle flavored drydown, but Divine managed to put just enough of a leash on the everlasting flower to keep it from chewing up the furniture and chasing down the mailman (bad Sables! bad bad bad!!!), so I can forgive the maple-syrup and bacon that's lurking in the background.

I wouldn't purchase L'Etre Aime Homme for myself, precisely because of the everlasting flower, but it's an interesting piece of work with depth and an admirable balance, and I wouldn't begrudge anyone for wearing it around me.

Listed scent notes for L'Etre Aime Homme: bergamot, lavender, ginger, basil, cardamom, everlasting flower, cistus, sandalwood, vetiver and patchouli. The vetiver and herbs/spices are prevalent in the first half of skin time, while the everlasting flower, cistus (labdanum) and woodsy patchouli take over for the homestretch.