Quick Sniffs: Boadicea the Victorious Complex; Mark Buxton Black Angel; Parfumerie Generale Musc Maori

BOADICEA THE VICTORIOUS COMPLEX: No wonder there's a growing contingent of concerned citizens attempting to outlaw any and all fragrances in public spaces. If someone had the temerity to inflict this mess on my airspace, I'd hit them over the head with my sister's handbag. I might just consider just hitting them over the head with my sister, but she's more awkward to lift and wield.

Not that I'm dissing all the people who love and wear Complex. I'm not. I'm dissing Complex itself. There's a huge difference. Love the sinner, hate the sin, repent and ye shall be saved -- that kind of thing.

Alleged scent notes for Boadicea the Victorious Complex are: violet, labdanum, leather, musk, civet, basil and sage -- all of which my nose interprets as kerosene, broken down lawn mower, rusted oil can, trash bag full of moldering recyclables and singed electrical wiring. And lest you think I'm not giving Complex a chance, I put this stuff on three hours ago. It's as bad (or worse!) now than when it started out, which is saying something, since my nose threw up a little when I first put it on.

I didn't even know that noses were capable of throwing up. Now, thanks to Boadicea the Victorious, I'm a more self-aware human being. That's something, at least.

MARK BUXTON BLACK ANGEL: As much as I disliked Boawhatever's Complex, I liked Mark Buxton's Black Angel. Which is kind of funny, because just about any other perfume blog you'll read descended into grumpy snit-fits when the Mark Buxton line was first released late last year. For example:

Perfume Posse: "Despite the list of notes, they don't feel entire to me, although skimpy isn't quite right either. They feel like sketches . . . With most of these, I ended up feeling like I'd opened up some giant box of ideas and found a very small bar of soap inside. Nice soap, but soap nonetheless."

My favorite part of the above review? "I'm not opposed to ridiculous fragrance agendas like Humiecki & Graef - and wow, did Christophe Laudamiel hit the ball out of the park on those. I don't want to own any of them, but there's no denying their interest as fragrances." In other words -- "We're so disappointed with you, Mark Buxton. Why won't you wow us with daring scents we have zero interest in purchasing?!"

*snort*

So let me set the record straight: Mark Buxton's Black Angel is a solid, well-crafted effort that may not hack your delicate psyche into brilliant little bits and serve them skewered on the tips of titanium toothpicks to your novelty-famished party guests, but what it does do is provide the less jaded among us with an opportunity to experience the incense maestro at his warm, casual, comfortable best (Buxton is often recognized for his work with creative yet accessible smoky fragrances -- Comme des Garcons Ouarzazate; Comme des Garcons 2; Elternhaus Moslbuddjewchristhindao; Jil Sander Scent 79 Man and Le Labo Vetiver 46 are just a few).

Scent notes for Black Angel are: citrus, bergamot, mandarin, orange, rosemary, ginger, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg, jasmine, lily of the valley, orris, styrax, guaiac and patchouli. Sounds nice, doesn't it? It is. The opening citrus is subtle and controlled, wrapped snugly in a deft layer of spices (I'm a sucker for his use of nutmeg); the orris and jasmine do a point-counterpoint throughout the background (high and bright vs. throaty and soothing) while the styrax, guaiac and patchouli trinity bringing up the drydown is about as ridiculously wearable a woodsy smokescreen as you've ever encountered.

And never mind the 80's goth Sisters of Mercy moniker -- this is the kind of Black Angel you'd invite home to meet the parents. Your shaved, spiked and inked art-school friends might grouse, but they still have Laudamiel. Besides, your mother will be thrilled, and there's usually sugary goodies involved when the maternal unit is thrilled.

Speaking of sugary goodies . . .

PARFUMERIE GENERALE MUSC MAORI: It's chocolate. And musk. Which means it's darkly vanilla-cocoa sweet with a dash of salty skin and a whiff of hardwood floor, kind of like a Willy-Wonka mash-up with the kitchen erotica scene from 9 1/2 Weeks.

Listed scent notes: white musk, cocoa bean, vanilla, amber, tonka, cumaru wood and coffee tree blossom. Like Buxton's Black Angel, Musc Maori is uncomplicated and easy to wear. It's sweet and gourmand where Black Angel is all smoke and woods, but Musc Maori is just as comfortable and casual in its own white-clean-musk & scent-edible way.

As far as chocolate scents go, I'm a bigger fan of Il Profumo's dusty, nutmeg infused Chocolat Amere, but Musc Maori is a fine bottle of chocolate for lighter, warm weather wear (for those who need "lighter" in warm weather -- I'm still wearing Chocolat Amere in the middle of August).

***Note: before anyone gets his/her panties in a wad over the assumption that I was slamming Perfume Posse in my Buxton Black Angel review -- please, get real. I love Perfume Posse, read it almost daily, and consider it one of the best sources for fragrance information on the net. We're all adults in the room, and the writers at Perfume Posse have been lovingly quoted on this blog more times than I can count.