C&S #88 smells like Tabac?

[Munxcub]

I'm starting to wonder if my sniffer is borked... I got my C&S sample pack last night, figured I'd start with #88 today and the first thing that crossed my mind upon applying it was "Tabac".

This wouldn't be bad except for the fact that on me, Tabac smells like burnt hair.

Luckily tho, #88 mellowed down to a mildly spicy rosy floral scent, instead of just that Tabac'y burnt hair.

This led me to basenotes to see what these 2 frags had in common to try and pick out the offending scent. Geranium and Sandalwood.

They both have Sandalwood in the base, 88 has geranium on top and Tabac has it in the middle...

I don't think it's the geranium that offends me, as I would expect the top notes to be gone just over 4 hours later. Must be the sandalwood...

Anyone able to shed any light on my findings? Know any tests one can do to confirm which of the notes is the offender?

 

[The Knize]

No idea, except it sure is not geranium and I am very confident not sandalwood. Geranium smells more like rose when in a scent that actual rose used in a scent smells like rose. Sandalwood is a sweet, earthy smelling wood, to put one of the nicest and most potentially complex accords in scentmaking into an unfairly cramped box!

88 is very complex. I could not begin to guess at what all is in 88. The lists of notes for 88 I have seen have been wildly incomplete to my nose.

Also, in my experience, 88 is something of an inkblot of a frag. Folks smell lots of different things in it, and I find it smells differently to me from time to time! Hope that helps!

I'm starting to wonder if my sniffer is borked... I got my C&S sample pack last night, figured I'd start with #88 today and the first thing that crossed my mind upon applying it was "Tabac".

This wouldn't be bad except for the fact that on me, Tabac smells like burnt hair.

Luckily tho, #88 mellowed down to a mildly spicy rosy floral scent, instead of just that Tabac'y burnt hair.

This led me to basenotes to see what these 2 frags had in common to try and pick out the offending scent. Geranium and Sandalwood.

They both have Sandalwood in the base, 88 has geranium on top and Tabac has it in the middle...

I don't think it's the geranium that offends me, as I would expect the top notes to be gone just over 4 hours later. Must be the sandalwood...

Anyone able to shed any light on my findings? Know any tests one can do to confirm which of the notes is the offender?

 

[Munxcub]

Well whatever if was that was screaming "Tabac burnt hair" at me is all but gone 4.5 hours later...

There seems like a lot more going on than what is listed on basenotes for sure. I suppose trying to find just common elements is a lot like trying to pick out 1 offensive frequency in a recording, while neglecting its interaction with everything else in the recording...

Too complicated for this blunt smeller.

 

[tsmba]

Are you referring to Tabac cologne? I immediately detect the pettigrain (neroli?) when I take a whiff.....but it has never eminded me of C&S #88.

 

[Munxcub]

Yes, Tabac Original EdC. I've only worn it twice and the nastyness never went away. I was perhaps given brief moments of clarity where it smelled great, and I'd think "wow, this must be what people are talking about" which then gets promptly swallowed up by burnt hair.

#88 has turned into something nice now tho, the similar effect only lasted for a couple hours and was never as complete as Tabac. I will honour my wife's request to continue wearing one scent for a week straight. She said this morning that if I were to die suddenly she doesn't even know what she'd spray on my pillow at night to make the sad go away. heh

 

[jakespoppy]

#88 has something dark and animalic in it that may be bothering you, but as has been said, it could be any number of things that you personally don't care for.

Regarding your comment about incomplete note listings, I've read that nearly all colognes have many more notes than is listed anywhere, and in many cases the notes that are listed are those that the fragrance maker's marketing folks think will get the most attention. Personally, I find the note pyramids to be generally more helpful than not, but they can not very helpful, especially when you're trying to pin down a specific note.

 

[The Knize]

Good comments re notes listed by a scents maker. I am not even sure where the basenotes pyramid comes from. Also, is a note intended to indicate that a particular ingrediant is being used, or more that this is something you are intended to smell in the frag, regardless of how the maker got it to smell that way! Because so much is synthetic these days, I think it is more the latter than the former even on pretty specific notes. I guess on some level I really expect a scent that lists pettigrain to contain pettigrain. But I doubt that most scents that list tobacco or say coffee have any of either in them!

 

[Silk]

No. 88 has vetiver in it, but it's very well camouflaged. Although it's listed as a basenote, to my nose, it's in there right from the start - it gives a dry and slightly raspy edge to the whole composition. This could be what you're looking for?

 

[Niles]

Also, is a note intended to indicate that a particular ingredient is being used, or more that this is something you are intended to smell in the frag, regardless of how the maker got it to smell that way! Because so much is synthetic these days, I think it is more the latter than the former even on pretty specific notes. I guess on some level I really expect a scent that lists pettigrain to contain pettigrain. But I doubt that most scents that list tobacco or say coffee have any of either in them!

I read Luca Turin's book on perfumes and from what I learned I feel pretty sure these days it's the latter. A combination of synthetic chemicals can come close enough to the intended note for most people, and it's less expensive to make the fragrance.

 

[Munxcub]

No I've tried other Vetivers and loved them.

Today the #88 is giving me more clean/soapyness than Tabac funkyness. We'll see how this plays out for the duration of my sample.

 

[Klopstick]

It's funny, but I must be one of the few for who #88 doesn't work. The description from a review of "rose petals crushed in baby oil" said it all in my case (and not in a good way). It must be a case of body chemistry, because even SWMBO didn't take to #88 on me. Cuba's fine tho! Go figure.

You may want to try the Tabac aftershave instead of the EdC sometime. I have both and they are distinctly different. The AS works a bit better on me simply because it's less floral. While is smells very little like Shulton Old Spice, Tabac AS hits me in much the same way. It's the profile of the scent, where the weight seems to be. Not sure how to express it other than in terms of balance. SWMBO approved and I've received compliments on it from other quarters, as in, "Oh, it's *you*. . . Gosh, that's nice and really different. Could you tell me what it is so I can get some for my husband?"

 

[The Nid Hog]

Do you really get rose petals and baby oil for 88? That would sum up my take on Hammam Bouquet (although infinitely more foul than those two notes would suggest), but I think 88 is much more rich and complex. And I don't get the oily note at all. It's all pretty subjective, isn't it?

 

[Klopstick]

Do you really get rose petals and baby oil for 88? That would sum up my take on Hammam Bouquet

Well, yes, Hammam Bouquet has that too, and even moreso, but it's missing whatever it is that make #88 not work for me. I can almost wear Hammam. With #88 is just has to be my own body chemistry, because it smells OK to me in the bottle. When I put it on it gets all pointy and obnoxious, almost sneeze inducing, like the scent in a cheap laundry detergent.

It is very subjective, to be sure.

 

[Munxcub]

Well after several days of wearing only my #88 sample my wife and I decided it was not for me. Starting the day with a minor tabacy burnt hair wet dog BO funkyness... Which did taper off into a pleasing sweet powdery rose type of thing, which by the time I get home and on into the evening takes on a pee smell (as my wife put it)...

Time to try the next C&S sample. My wife chose Mimosa. Very soapy and floral thus far. Initially I was worried I was getting the same funk off the bat, but I don't think I was. This one is clean.

 

[The Knize]

I read Luca Turin's book on perfumes and from what I learned I feel pretty sure these days it's the latter. A combination of synthetic chemicals can come close enough to the intended note for most people, and it's less expensive to make the fragrance.

Also, some natural ingrediants have been banned for various perceived health risks or tend to cause allergic reactions in some folks, or are unreliable as a consistent product for makng a scent.

It's funny, but I must be one of the few for who #88 doesn't work. The description from a review of "rose petals crushed in baby oil" said it all in my case (and not in a good way). It must be a case of body chemistry, because even SWMBO didn't take to #88 on me. Cuba's fine tho! Go figure.

You may want to try the Tabac aftershave instead of the EdC sometime. I have both and they are distinctly different. The AS works a bit better on me simply because it's less floral. While is smells very little like Shulton Old Spice, Tabac AS hits me in much the same way. It's the profile of the scent, where the weight seems to be. Not sure how to express it other than in terms of balance. SWMBO approved and I've received compliments on it from other quarters, as in, "Oh, it's *you*. . . Gosh, that's nice and really different. Could you tell me what it is so I can get some for my husband?"

I agree that every Tabas product smells different from every other Tabac product, and that the AS is the best smelling of all the Tabac products. (The edt the worst!)

Do you really get rose petals and baby oil for 88? That would sum up my take on Hammam Bouquet (although infinitely more foul than those two notes would suggest), but I think 88 is much more rich and complex. And I don't get the oily note at all. It's all pretty subjective, isn't it?

Exactly my take including the "subjective" part. As with respect to K10, I am amazed that as many folks like 88 as claim to like it. Actually even for me, I wear K10 frequently, and I am truly smitten with it. I do not wear 88 that often and it may be more that I admire it as a scent.

I do not wear HB at all, but certainly get the rosey baby oil and the foul part. I like the foul part. It is the baby oil part I do not like so much. But it is a fabled and very old scent, and I like that about it, a lot. It smells like something from way back to me. If it did not smell so much like baby oil to me, I would probably wear it. So it is the relatively new smell it gives off not the old that throws me off.

Well after several days of wearing only my #88 sample my wife and I decided it was not for me. Starting the day with a minor tabacy burnt hair wet dog BO funkyness... Which did taper off into a pleasing sweet powdery rose type of thing, which by the time I get home and on into the evening takes on a pee smell (as my wife put it)...

Time to try the next C&S sample. My wife chose Mimosa. Very soapy and floral thus far. Initially I was worried I was getting the same funk off the bat, but I don't think I was. This one is clean.

I like the burnt, funk, and pee smells of 88. It may be the sweetness that makes me not wear it often! To me it is a very complex scent that evolves amazingly when worn. I suppose at base, to me it is a rose scent, albeit with a lot more going on, and that in my mind, I really like other rose scents such as Montale Black Aoud or Labo 31, better, although arguably the Labo 31 is more a floral than a rose. I would say that even K10 has rose. Dunhill 1934. I am not big on Floris 89 or DC 1913 either. I suppose I find C&S Dark Rose more accessible for some reason than 88.

But this may all be in my mind. I also have a sense that if I wore 88 a couple of times again, I might really be into it. Funny how certain impressionn get lodged in one's mind and tend to stick, even when demonstably not true!

<Initially I was worried I was getting the same funk off the bat, but I don't think I was. This one is clean.>

I am very confused about Mimosa. At first I hated it as just an overbearingly sweet floral, but with a certain brightness to it. It seems clean to me, too. Then I decided it was something I would really on a woman. (I would still never wear it or suggest it for a man.) However, my wife gets a huge, ongoing hit of funk from it, and really cannot stand it. I do not get that funk, or at least very much funk at all. Interestingly, she loves MdM, at least on me, and to me MdM is all about the funk!

Pretty subjective, I suppose, for sure!

I still think C&S is an incredible house!

 

[AverageJoe]

It's funny, but I must be one of the few for who #88 doesn't work. The description from a review of "rose petals crushed in baby oil" said it all in my case (and not in a good way). It must be a case of body chemistry, because even SWMBO didn't take to #88 on me. Cuba's fine tho! Go figure.

You may want to try the Tabac aftershave instead of the EdC sometime. I have both and they are distinctly different. The AS works a bit better on me simply because it's less floral. While is smells very little like Shulton Old Spice, Tabac AS hits me in much the same way. It's the profile of the scent, where the weight seems to be. Not sure how to express it other than in terms of balance. SWMBO approved and I've received compliments on it from other quarters, as in, "Oh, it's *you*. . . Gosh, that's nice and really different. Could you tell me what it is so I can get some for my husband?"

I have both the Tabac AS and EdT and agree with Klopstick completely! In fact, I'm tempted to toss the EdT and just use the AS as cologne! The 2 smell completely different.