Items by Scotto

"And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all." Edgar Allen Poe had it right, you think. Here you are, creaky joints and all, up in the attic poring over old mementos like the doddering old man you are. What's this? An old photo album, grimed with the years. Blowing the dust off it, you sneeze from the sweet, cloying, resinous scent. Or is it the book? Leafing through it further, past the tattered photos of times gone by, you come across a flower...

This is the third review I have posted today on the coffees from Ristretto Roasters. Get the idea - I like the stuff.... :rolleyes: I have to say, sometimes the descriptions of things, especially wine, confuse the heck out of me. I don't know where the tasters come up with some of the things they say. With regard to the Ethiopia Harrar, the comment has to do with a distinct blueberry note. Well, maybe my palate is not as refined, but I have no idea where this comes from. I detect no...

Back in the day I drank a lot of coffee. Then for a period measured in years I drank nothing but tea. After all the great reviews of our very own Dinder1's coffee from Ristretto Roasters, I have now become a coffee convert again. I received a number of coffees, and to be honest, the Mexican Chiapas was the one I had the least expectations of. I was always a fan of Ethiopian coffees, and I never thought much about Mexico. Well, I stand corrected. This is one great coffee. It has a perfect...

I have gotten a number of coffees from our friends at Ristretto Roasters, and they are all universally excellent. The sumatra is perhaps my least favorite of the bunch, though it is still head and shoulders above most other offerings out there. Sumatra is a deep, dark, brooding coffee. It reminds me of rich earth with a bit of spice and chocolate. Its acidity is on the low side, so it lacks some of the brightness of other varietals. It is mouth-filling and rich with a long, long finish. I...

You've decided to do something different with your woman, something to keep the spark alive. Another dull dinner date? No. A movie? No. A getaway to a ranch, just the two of you? Just the thing.... You arrive late, rushing to the country from a busy urban day of work. On a whim, you decide to grab your horses, some food, and your sleeping bags. A night sleeping under the stars will be fun.... You race across the countryside, feeling the continuous shock in your loins as the...

I love to find scents that are unusual to be found on men nowadays. Who wants to smell like another version of CK One? :wink: Philosykos is deliciously different, and quite straightforward. It is a fig scent - rich, sweet, green figs bursting with scent and flavor. There is not much to distract you from that scent, and it is quite linear. This is labeled as a unisex scent, and I could see a woman wearing it easily, but I think on a man it comes across very nicely. I picture this one best on...

I have used this a few more times, so I wil turn my original thread into an official review. If you wish to comment without reviewing, direct your comments here. I was one of the first people to bash Trumper for coming out with this cream. I find the GFT cologne scent completely underwhelming - it is yet another citrusy concoction with no soul compared to their other offerings. In general I am not a big Trumper fan, but I do recognize the quality of their products and the history behind...

This time of year I really like to go through my sandalwood stock. The creams, aftershaves, and of course colognes come out. As you all know "sandalwood" is a scent that is interpreted very differently depending on who does it, but what I like are dry, woody scents that are as close to the (very expensive) essential oil as possible. Diptyque's Tam Dao shares a lot of similarities with Floris Sandalwood, my previously favorite sandalwood cologne. The dry down of both is dry, spicy, and...

You are in your sleeping bag, huddled against the cold. You have slept the sleep of a dead man, exhausted after your long hike though the mountains yesterday. Mid-way in a state between awakening and sleep, you begin to pick up scents. First, the subtle remains of your cookfire last night, smoldering gently. Then something else. Rich, spicy, sweet. Shrugging off your sleepiness, you peek out of the tent to see your father sitting on a rock, watching the sun rise. He is smoking a pipe, at...

I must say that this is one of the most interesting brushes I have purchased in my wet shaving career. It is really its own thing, so to speak, and is quite unique in a number of ways. Here it is: First of all, Simpsons variablity in badger hair is fairly well known. In the "super" grade, in which the Tulip is only available, the bundle is either of the "two band" kind as shown here, or the "three band", as in my PJ3 super, shown with the Tulip below. By bands, I am referring to the...

OK, much has been said about the Nationwide Campus (NWC) injector. Time to get to the facts. Here are the contestants: Thew NWC razor is on the right, and my old friend the Schick injector is on the left. I am not much of a razor guru, so I am not sure which Schick type this is, but I am sure someone will chime in on the discussion thread. A few words of background. I am not a huge Injector fan. I keep one around for travel, and the occasional change of pace, but I find that the...

Green Pond seems to have some sort of arrangement with D.R. Harris to re-brand their products. Their aftershave is Harris Milk (old formulation, currently); even the bottle is the same with the exception of the label. Same story with the cream. This stuff comes in the usual PVC container a la' Taylor, etc. Upon opening the container, you are greeted with a very smoky, camphoraceous sandalwood aroma. Quite unique among creams, and very nice. This is particularly good when the aroma...

Salter seems to be the red-haired stepchild of the British cream realm. No respect. I think taken as a whole, their line of shave creams are uniquely scented, "reasonably" priced, and shave great. They shouldn't take a back seat to anyone. Anyway, on to the Sandalwood. Price Less than $20 for a big honkin' tub (6.7 oz). Not cheap, but certainly not exorbitant. Quality Second to none. I can say of all the many tubs of creams I go through, the Salter is the most consistent in...

Although initially skeptical, this has turned into one of my favorite after shave toners. It smells intensely of cucumbers, and is one of the most soothing products I have found when a bit of irritation sets in. I keep reaching for it whenever I have a sub-par shave. The ingredients are: Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Rosa Damascena Hydrosol, Cucumber Distillate, Witch Hazel, Glycerin and Black Willow Bark Extract. It is not moisturizing enough on its own in general, so you will need something...

Emily and the folks at Em's place make some great aftershave products. I am particularly enamoured of her aftershave splashes, but that is another story. The aftershave soother and light moisture balm is a great product. The balm is a fairly loose consistency, and provides just the right amount of moisturizing properties. There are a variety of EO scents avaiolable depending on your mood. In this case, I am reviewing the "skindicinal" blend, which has goodies like tea tree oil, witch...

The lights go down in the theater, and the credits begin. Your heart races with anticipation - this is the first time you have been on a real date with a girl. She sits next to you, eating candy and looking at the screen. The smell of her is intoxicating, almost overwhelming. Soft, sweet, spicy, beguiling. Shyly, you extend your arm around her shoulders. Will she pull away? No. Your heart is about to explode out of your chest. She turns her head to you, staring into your eyes. You...

The sun slants in through the windows, awakening you from your slumber. Blearily, you walk down the spiral staircase to the dining room. A maid brings you juice and coffee; off to the side, your butler is ironing the morning paper. The scent of the crisp paper, packed full of financial figures, wafts through the air. After breakfast, you retire to the library for some reading. The scent of the thousands of old tomes permeates the space; dusty, dry, knowledge accumulated over the...

This is a bit of an underappreciated gem nowadays. Too many "leathery" scents are cloyingly sweet. Woods of Windsor is very different indeed. The scent reminds me of taking a well-worn saddle and rubbing some leaves and grass on it. It starts out with some green notes with a bit of citrus and dries down to a dry, leathery scent which is quite unique. In the middle there is something elusive which I believe may the clove oil, but that fades away after a while. According to Basenotes, we...

Well, with perhaps one exception I am not a fan of Trumper's creams. A lot has been said about their soaps, however, so I thought I would give one a try. This scent is completely different from their sandalwood cream or cologne. I am not sure if it is just the matrix it is in or the scent is deliberately different, but it is a very welcome change. The cologne is extremely sweet and (dare I say) overpowering. The soap has a very dry, woody, masculine scent that is actually quite...

....Dark stormclouds race across the sky in a chaotic array, dizzying your senses. Up ahead you see an abandoned church, seeming to beckon to you. What's this? The cross on the facade is upside down.... Entering, you see a casket, black rose petals strewn across it.... A sense of dread pervades you, and the heady scent of roses assaults your nostrils.... Dread turns to horror as the casket lid begins to creak open.....a clawed hand emerges.... a scream tears from your ragged throat...