leather

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Riding Crop

Black riding crop with braided handle, white satin rope, and Demeter mini splash with black tall-top cap.

Demeter Fragrance Library’s Riding Crop is not the stuff of Bluegrass tack shops, with clean virgin hide goods and polished silver bits, nor of stables full of equine sweat and clover hay.

This unisex cologne is a quick trip to the sex shop.
Tops with leather and latex, changes position with high end water-base lube and a hint of drying spice–cardamom, perhaps–and bottoms with pleasant musk and a post-coital smoke.

Fun.
Doesn’t last long, and stains the clothes a bit.

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Lots of folks have covered this Velvet Underground song, but The Kills’ acoustic cover turns it intimate and consensual.

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Cashmere Mist

Curved, clear, cut crystal mini bottle that could possibly look like a flowing scarf?

Mid-nineties musk.
Opens with sneeze-worthy powdered nail polish remover and leather flip phone cases, then softens to vanilla SoBe soda on the skin.

Wear with a slip dress over a tight t-shirt, and ankle boots.

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Aaliyah’s debut album also came out in 1994–this was my favorite song.

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White Sandalwood

Pile of Nest square minis, White Sandalwood–with a botanical drawing label–in front.

Almond nutshells and work boots.

Nest is hit or miss with me–though I love their pretty little bottles. White Sandalwood leans masculine with fresh cut wood and an earthy leathery note, and dry almonds–almost toasted, but not gourmand at all–and I like it.
A little lasts a long time–too much explodes with Hypnotic Poison strength Sharpie marker. Pair with jeans and a flannel shirt.

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Turn it up and let off some steam.

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Rhinoceros

Test paper cut out of bottle, a decant vial, carved wood rhino and a shot glass with an ounce and a half of hemlock cones.

Drunk pine cones and combat boots, but comforting.
This is that big guy at the bonfire who wrapped me up inside his motorcycle jacket to keep me warm, and whispered dreadful jokes in my ear all night long, and I’ll always be a little in love with him.

Fills the room then eases into personal space for the entire night, and lingers on the skin the next.

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Rhinoceros was a supergroup experiment by Electra Records in 1969. There’s a good stampede in the middle of this one–

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Myths

Purple ombre Myths mini bottle on a magenta carnation pom-pom.

Carnation smoke and green kid gloves, with retro tailoring.

Fills the room with sharp with incense-y labdanum and chrysanthemum florals out of the bottle, then settles to a bright spicy clove. 1970’s Estee Lauder moss soon creeps in over 80’s Drakkar Noir leather, but manages to stay delicate, the whole day long.
There’s a nice witchy “cool aunt” vintage vibe to it.

Sweeter on clothes than on the skin.

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This B-side came out in 1980, and layers strung out funk with a bit of new age synth.

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Dirty Trick

dirty trick
Sample spray of purple eau on a botanical illustration of an iris, and a paper test cutout of a perfume flask.

Goth girl weird, and nice.

An exploding Bic pen in the best way: big inky dark indigo iris that fades to purple suede and some woods at the bottom. Lingers close to the skin for an hour or two.

The only one of V&R’s Magic Tricks to read “witchy” to me–this one is spell components thrown in a cauldron, and it works.

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Love this witchy tune.

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New Sibet

new sibetI am not man enough to wear New Sibet.

This dude lives in a cedar log cabin with a wood burning stove and scary dead animals, fresh enough that they still smell like fur and musk, on the wall. He’s unforgettable, and orris-root-sweet when you get to know him, but way too alpha-male for me.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are wild like that.

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Rien

ELd’O Sample spray and box, and a medical mask.

This one is pure handsome-doctor-in-a-television-drama.

Soap and water, good leather shoes, a touch of medicinal anointing oil, get-well-soon roses and brooding hero amber.

I’d totally huff it on the ER resident with a stethoscope and good bedside manner.

There’s a lot of speculation about the true identity of Dr. Robert, but he obviously prescribed some fun drugs.

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Oud Saphir

oud saphir
Sample vial on printed photo of bottle with maroon cap and marine blue label.

Moody woods and spicy leather. I like it.

The bergamot and pepper opens bright, then the suede turns up the volume. A hit of wintergreen fades into forest within an hour.

This might be marketed as unisex, but I find it very masculine, with smoke and dry musk between the trees.

I still like the original of this one.