Nasomatto Hindu Grass and Dorissima Goldmund

NASOMATTO HINDU GRASS: Remember how I said that Jalaine was a fragrance brand that was easy to love? Well, Nasomatto is the opposite of that -- adamantly independent and cultishly niche, each fragrance is a triumph of head perfumer Allesandro Gualtieri's personal vision over the demands of the mainstream market, which isn't necessarily a bad thing when you stop to think about it.

The Nasomatto website states that perfumer Gualtieri likes his fragrances loud and heavy, and it shows . . . most of the time. Narcotic Venus is a foghorn of a tuberose, while Duro is a kerosene soaked chypre; yet China White ("a bit of flaming match & scorched coffee-table ... overlaying a warm salty-sweet resinous core") and Silver Musk ("cool chinchilla") turn the volume down considerably, though the resistance to consumer trends is still there.

Hindu Grass initially falls more in the camp of the loud former than the subtle latter. A blast of potent patchouli opens the show, and at first it can be a bit overwhelming. The BF walked through the room as I was typing this and remarked, "Hey, patchouli boy!" as he passed, which is a good indication that I'm not wearing a fragrance with any aspirations towards wallflowerhood, but after about thirty minutes, the medicinal potency of the patchouli settles down, allowing softer, smoother layers to shine through.

Tobacco and coffee are allegedly part of the mix, adding to the earthy character of a scent that plays closer to the skin the longer it lingers, and I could swear I smell vetiver, birch, a bit of vanilla (tonka? benzoin?) and perhaps some incense, as well.

Ignore the spiritual mumbo-jumbo PR copy that Nasomatto pulled out of its a** to accompany Hindu Grass -- all you really need to know is that Hindu Grass is a patchouli-based scent with a leafy, grassy heart, a camphorous underbelly and a charred-amberish drydown hazy with smoke.

But make no mistake, patchouli is the first and foremost priority.

I like Hindu Grass more as a concept than a reality, and it would take a bigger patch fan than I to hold it dear to his/her heart. Besides, I prefer what I wear to evoke a more substantive reaction than, "Hey, patchouli boy!"

DORISSIMA GOLDMUND: About fifteen minutes into the wearing of Goldmund, the words, "Wow, what is this?!" literally spilled from my lips. While the independent streak of a brand like Nasomatto is certainly admirable, there's also nothing to be ashamed of for giving the public what it wants, and Dorissima has its public-pleasing bases fully covered with Goldmund.

Listed fragrance notes are: tonka bean, vanilla, iris root, rose, carnation, benzoin, sandalwood, soft musk, balsam notes, Peru balsam and allspice, so you can only imagine how plush and smooth this particular ride is going to be. Every edge is rounded, every curve upholstered, every powdered, velvety floral drowned in vanilla-sweetened balsamic goodness.

There's nothing groundbreaking about Goldmund -- it doesn't take any chances (at all!) the way a Nasomatto fragrance does -- but sometimes it can be a great relief to just kick off the combat boots, ditch the megaphone and settle back into creamy, unapologetic loveliness.

Both Dorissima Goldmund and Nasomatto Hindu Grass exhibit excellent longevity on the skin, with Hindu Grass running about twenty extra laps around the track just because it can.

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC (yet still related):

Here's a link to a Bucharest blog post that talks about the release of the new Nasomatto scent, Black Afgano: BLACK AFGANO, NASOMATTO.

The blog post includes photos, several of perfumer Allesandro Gualtieri and one of them including a tray of the Nasomatto bottles with their super-size caps.

The blogger makes it sound like the soon to be released Black Afgano is crafted utilizing marijuana/hashish essense: "It was supposed to be finalized 6 months ago, but the smuggling of the raw material (which should remain unnamed, but easy to guess for those in the know) delayed things quite a bit. The fragrance is finally here and for Duro and Nasomatto lovers in general, will sure be a hit: smoky, syrupy, raw, masculine, at times medicinal, with a tremendous lasting power and a color to match its strength."

I'm no fan of Duro, and if Black Afgano is anything like Duro, I'll likely be sitting out its release, but I still have their China White and Silver Musk to keep me company, so it's not like I'll be crying myself to sleep over missed Nasomatto opportunities.