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 manifest itself in Cacharel, which emphasizes a bit more wood than Black Suede. Where the Avon suggests dense and spicy leather in the unconventional sense, Cacharel is more lucid with its rendition of spice and wood. If you do a side by side, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Black Suede opens with a fairly strong blast of nutmeg, clove and a subtle camphor overlaid on a slowly rising musky amber. The amber rendition is akin to another low-end classic by the name of "Fire and Ice" by Revlon. I recognize it, not only by aroma, but tenacity.

Where Black Suede and Cacharel Pour L'Homme veer away from each other is in the base and drydown. The spices dissipate more noticeably in Black Suede with the onset of a sweet, musky amber. The Cacharel manages to maintain its spicy wood theme, while neither have impressive transitional stages.

With that said, Black Suede is a viable masculine that I dare say can be worn by either gender. Like the old cliche states, everything ain't for everybody. Where this scent is concerned, sample and keep an open mind. I doubt it will be the worst you've smelled in the case that you don't like it. Sillage is good and longevity is approximately 8 hours plus on me for a Cologne !!! A positive-neutral rating from Aromi for Black Suede by Avon.

Newport by Caswell Massey

Bergamot, Mandarin, Lemon, Lavender, Geranium, Muguet, Rose, Ambergris, Cedar, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Musk. After wearing Newport by Caswell Massey a few times and then reading what others had to say about this recent formulation, I found some of the opinions harsh. I have no way to compare it to the heralded vintage formula, nor can I use memory as I've never tried the original. Enter the current version. I do agree with some reviews that this rendition does not bring about the sense of beach and salt, but there's a long line of fragrances that fail to represent their depictions. However, Newport isn't so far off the mark that it's a complete misrepresentation. I can imagine wearing Newport ( or something similar ) in a beach setting. It smells classic due to the way Citrus, Lavender and Geranium are implemented. It's assuredly retro, but it seems to have that intangible I like that keeps me sniffing. Newport, at least on my skin, is top heavy in the sens...

Lanvin L'Homme

Lord knows the world has enough fresh woody citrus fragrances. It's a hackneyed genre of masculine perfume, having been done to death by countless designer firms cranking these things out since the 1990s, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Lanvin L'Homme, released in 1997, is one of the early woody citrus releases, but it (along with Essenza di Zegna) stands out because it's one of the best. That may sound like it's not saying much, but Lanvin L'Homme really is excellent. I won't get into a long treatise about all of the notes contained in this and how they evolve. Lanvin L'Homme is sparkling, spicy, woody, transparent and dry. What I love about this scent is how brilliantly it uses vetiver - the vetiver gives Lanvin L'Homme a woody, dry and somewhat bitter smell, but it also manages to create an effect of sustaining the citrus top notes for several hours. This results in a fragrance that smells fresh and cheerful from beginning ...

AnonymousJanuary 4, 2013 at 1:15 AM
I obtained a bottle of BS with a bunch of others. The person had them for 20+ years, so it was a "vintage haul." This formulation of BS was a sort of light version of Kouros. The animalic element was there but held in check with spices and a vanillic/ambery quality that was quite rounded off. Applied too liberally would mean nausea, at least for me, but with just one mist to the chest it's fine. There is a mild suede thing going on but overall it's rather blended. I'd say it is good value, if you want this sort of "old school" scent, but I have no idea if it still smells this way.

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