Hascish Homme by Veejaga

Top : Bergamot, Green Note, Artemesia
Heart : Patchouli, Carnation, Geranium, Vetiver, Cedar, Rose and Jasmine
Base : Leather, Moss, Musk, Incense and Castoreum

Such a cool name is attached to this 1984 release from Veejaga. Images of certain party favorites spring to mind, but I can assure you that whoever ( in the marketing department ) named this fragrance was probably on the pipe. This is not hash nor is it bong water. Besides, would you really want to smell like the smoke residue of hash or hash oil? Even more unsavory would be the aroma of bong water blanketing your skin. The idea may be cute, but the reality would be a scrubber.

Enter into the strange existence that is Hascish Homme by Veejaga. Part weird and part convention, Hascish opens with a slightly aromatic accord of citrus and young, green wood. Within a minute or even less, a mysterious varnish note appears and no sooner you scratch your head over that eccentricity, a celery note ala Phileas and Yatagan follow it up.

Celery? Nail varnish? Tender woods? What the hell is this you say? Fear not my friend. You have entered the world of Veejaga. This is an eclectic, herbaceous phenomenon that isn't done transforming just yet.

As you try and digest the top accord, Hascish Homme quietly begins to exhibit a bit more wood and florals. The vegetal quality is evident and will remain for the life of the scent. Of the four floral components listed, only the carnation and geranium come to fruition on my skin. This commences when the heart comes alive. There is also a cumulative earthiness transpiring from vetiver and patchouli. This goes to work underneath the herbaceous opening.

Even at this stage, I can still detect the varnished celery. Once the base comes to life, Hascish takes on a warmer quality from the castoreum. There's no animalics to speak of and that's a good thing. This is already heady enough without adding any feral notes. Only in the base and extended drydown does this display leather, but when it does, it's recognizable as such. There's tenuous smoke and a muskiness along with it which makes for an interesting finish. I can only assume that in the world of Veejaga, weirdness is commensurate with goodness.

In closing, Hascish Homme is a herbaceous, nail varnished tender woody with earthy and smoky leather attributes. Did I get that right? Uh.....I believe it's a close enough autopsy to publish, so that's what I'll do. Sillage is good and longevity is about 5 hours on my skin. Thumbs up from Aromi for the psychotropic juice going by the name of Hascish Homme.

Oriental Lounge by The Different Company

Bergamot, Curry Leaf, Pepper, Red Rose, Tonka Bean, Labdanum, Satinwood. I suppose the first thing I noticed about Oriental Lounge is that as a man, this is a bit of a stretch to pull off. Since the core of Oriental Lounge is a powdery tonka and amber duo, it really does lean a bit too far feminine for me to wear. However, it would smell just as lovely on a woman and more appropriate as well. I bring this up simply because it's marketed as shared. I was wondering about the curry leaf. Actually, this "note" brought nothing to the table with the exception of possibly enhancing the pepper note just a bit. Even so, the pepper note itself was low key ( at least on me ) and both blended nicely with the citrus opening. From the onset of Oriental Lounge, it's unmistakable that this fragrance is.......well.....an oriental. From other opinions, I read some gripes about longevity, but it lasts on me quite awhile. This fragrance is uncomplicated and without much movemen...

Black Suede by Avon

Nutmeg, Clove, Amber, Musk, Moss, Wood Notes. Yes.........I am reviewing one of the Rodney Dangerfield's of fragrance. Black Suede has been gracing medicine cabinets, for better or worse, since 1980 my friends. If you're expecting me to inform you ( like others may have already ) that Black Suede is a nasty scrubber, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're expecting a glowing review claiming it's a diamond in the rough, you won't hear that from me either. I will say though that Black Suede doesn't deserve the hate it's received and most of that is due to snobbery aimed at Avon products in general. I kid you not when I state that a close relative to this fragrance is Cacharel Pour L'Homme. The array of spice in both ensure comparison, but the "smoother" of the two is Black Suede due to its implementation of Amber. While wearing Black Suede, one can detect a hint of "drugstore". That quality doesn't manife...

Paco Rabanne Pour Homme

I am reviewing the original Paco Rabanne Pour Homme ( circa 1973 ) thanks to a generous basenoter who sent it to me recently in a swap. He also sent me the current formulation in order for me to do a side by side comparison. The side by side resulted in what I had already imagined would be the case. Not that the newer formula is terrible by any means. The original version simply is better by being deeper and a bit more masculine. No......you shouldn't go to ebay searching for the vintage formula and paying stupid prices. It's simply a notch or two better than the current and noticeable by comparing the two in real time. Rabanne Pour Homme opens with a slight shimmer in conjunction with lavender, spices and a subtle woodiness. It's an old school introduction, however a good one. The lavender takes about 5 minutes to raise its volume and evolve into a soapy rendition. I dislike when a boatload of soapy lavender takes over a composition, but here it doesn't go over t...

Carrie MeredithDecember 25, 2010 at 11:20 PM
There's a Jonathan Adler Hashish candle that I've been interested in trying. It's notes listed are: black currant, green apple, wormwood, patchouli and moss. The only two in common with Hascish, the fragrance, is of course patchouli and moss. What concerns me with the candle is that it's probably going to be too fruity, not floral or aromatic enough. The perfume apparently wouldn't have enough leather in it to interest me, but it's got a pretty bad*ss name.

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