Fragrance alchemy of the best perfumers

[surfs_up]

This is sort of a follow on to another thread about pheromone like or pheromone helpers, fragrances or odor

communicating substances that have a behavioral effect alone or by synergy with true pheromones.

To make a

long story short, I have become a great fan of the high end niche fragrance houses L'Artisan, Villoresi, sometimes

Creed. L'Artisan especially doesn't have to come on strong to seem to affect other's behavior in a positive way.

Their work tends to go for subtlety instead of the aldehyde blast that most men's fragrance counter products have.



L'Artisan has a ambiguous, unisex lineup with names that can be confusing, there is a cultural translation

issue here, even when the actual stuff is excellent. Their approach is to extend the existing body aroma instead of

overwhelming it or conflicting with it.

I tried their Dzing, Timbuktu,Premier Figuier,Tea For Two, Navegar,

Mechant Loup, Bois Farine and samples of others,
Amber Extreme,Voleur de Roses,Passage D'Enfer.

Certain

of them were simply too feminine or strange, Voleur de Roses smells like an exotic fruit jam, Dzing can be more

offbeat than intriguing on a man but excellent for a women.

When and where they did work the results were

compelling. They can lay low, close to the skin until you warm up with activity then expand. This is much better

than a fragrance that is full on all the time. A light application can be discreet, not insistent, just noticable,

or you can raise the level for crowded situations.

I tried putting a whopping dose of Navegar on a tee shirt

to test it, with so much it smelled like insecticide. When I brought it down to three or four squirts it worked with

my body odor to give it a fuller, more agreeable presence without over assertion. The Tea For Two (unfortunately

named, from a tea derived scent) has an exceptional, warm amber leathery quality to it that people seem to become

relaxed and chatty around. It has that refined, social -nol feeling. Bois Farine is like that too, it throws you for

a loop at first with a nutty-bread dough waft that rapidly settles down into a warm, inviting zone.

The ones

that work exude a sophisticated, confident understatement that mesh perfectly with pheromones, like they are part of

a continuity with skin scent, fragrance, and chemical messengers.

[bjf]

What are your thoughts on the

different Creed scents?

[surfs_up]

they have a broad line with a classic Creed signature, tending to bright and punchy w/o smelling like

chemicals. The better ones hit the right balance between understated and aggressive. The not so good ones are too

assertive. Their new Taborome Milliseme is a class act all the way, the old Taborome is almost suffocatingly heavy,

they do an excellent Orange Spice, some other excellent citrus scents too... careful with their over the top

formulations like Himalaya, seemingly designed to make itself known in packed, sweaty bar scenes, too many molecules

comin' atcha all at once.
L'Artisan is a subtle french style, "money in the family for four generations",

Creed has a "yo!" factor done up with warmth and taste... their Cypres Musc is only available in the ludicrously

expensive 8.5 oz. green apothacary bottles, erotic and masculine in the best sense.
If I were headed in that

direction I would consider Lorenzo Villoresi, generally excellent, priced somewhat under the Creeds and equal or

better quality.... if spice is your thing try Spezie, there is something happening with the spice aroma and women's

sexual responses, even w/o pheromones I've had a few become visibly aroused....