The Scent of a Man.

I spent most of the evening with Marlon and snagged
a sniff of Annick Goutal’s Duel. The first thing that came to mind was “clary
sage!” It is bracing, fresh and yet comforting, a man in a crisp white cotton
shirt with a mischievous smile.

Coincidentally, Desiree (whom we had
dinner with earlier on) had a spare Lampe Berger, which I happily took off her
hands. Lampe Berger is home fragrance, designed to draw in air and release it
scented and purified. Maurice Berger invented it in 1898, and it was first used
in French hospitals. Nowadays Lampe Berger lamps are tiny objets d’art, with
seasonal collections. This Lampe, a basic one, came with a bottle of Chypre
parfum de maison. Chypre, of course, is a classic note in perfumery. It always
reminds me of men’s pomade, Old Spice, the seventies, and for some reason, the
color khaki.

I’ve been known to wear
men’s fragrances – woody, grassy, spicy, vetiver-y. The last one was
L’Occitane’s Hyssop, which has since gone to a better home. Most men’s
fragrances seem similar to me; and I do not know too many straight men who
indulge themselves in this fashion.

Thank you, universe, that I wasn’t
born a straight man.