Hello all:
I just received my order from Madame Scodioli, which comprised three solid scents in metal tins. Many of you may be familiar with Madame Scodioli, as over in the shaving soap forum, there was an extensive thread about her shaving soaps recently.
Anyways, my wife came in with the mail, saying, "Wow, this envelope smells good!" The solid scents are small metal tins like the tins which some types of lip balm come in. Unscrew the tin, and similar to lip balms, these "solid scents" as they're called, are an a amalgam of beeswax, jojoba, vitamin E and fragrance oils. You apply a small amount to the pulse points, which is a great idea. Since the method of application is so controlled, there's little chance of over-egging the pudding, such as you may get with sprays and splashes. Each tin is cleverly adorned with the livery of Madame Scodioli's company, which is a bearded lady with an arched eyebrow, regarding the camera, all done up in the style of the late 1800's "Dr McGuillicuddy's Hot Oil Treatment and Recuperative Elixir" sort of way. Neat.
So, the scents.
1. Gray Skies (nag champa). This one immediately put me in the mind of being in a hippie head shop in the 1970's (yeah, I'm dating myself...). Nag champa is commonly used in incense, some musicians burn it at concerts (anyways, Bob Dylan did) and in the Gray Skies, I get the patchouli-ish top note with something very sweet (is it rose?) right beside it, ending up with a spicy but sweet result. Complex. My wife found this sweet enough to be feminine, and while I agree it is sweet, I don't find it girly, just unusual and nice enough that it should merit a second "what's that!" sniff on your next hug from the wife or girlfriend.
2. Dust Shaker (mahogany and sandalwood): This one is, to me, very sweet and redolent of early summer field honey that is sweet but spiced up with all of the early summer season's flowers mixed in. The first thing to hit me with this one for whatever reason is "honey", with a spice or wood undertone, not unlike a white cedar. I would have to put this one as my favorite of the three.
3. Laudanum (tobacco and black tea): This is the most masculine of the three tins of scent, and I while I don't particularly get the tobacco on first go, there is a wonderful honey-like undertone that carries a more serious and heavy fragrance, which would be the tea. As this one mellows on my skin, I get occasional and pleasant puffs of a very unique sweet-and-spice array that I find so far to be quite pleasing.
Overall:
As a first impression, I find these are really nice products; the scents are very unique and to my nose, cleverly blended. Madame S seems to have a marked proclivity for that sweet-spicy feel, as its a common theme to me on all three scents. The scents come in screw-top tins, so they'll be great for traveling. Rubbing said product into the skin is easy to do and controls the scent very well, and being beeswax, jojoba and vitamin E, doing so will also condition where you apply. I like the idea of putting Gray Skies on in the locker room after my workout, in defiance of the plethora of "Mountain Extreme Breeze!!" and "Ocean Extreme Spray!!". When did men's scents in North America become an ultimate/extreme event?
I think I'll stick to my very unique, unusual and compelling solid scents from Madame Scodiolil.
Best,
Chris
I just received my order from Madame Scodioli, which comprised three solid scents in metal tins. Many of you may be familiar with Madame Scodioli, as over in the shaving soap forum, there was an extensive thread about her shaving soaps recently.
Anyways, my wife came in with the mail, saying, "Wow, this envelope smells good!" The solid scents are small metal tins like the tins which some types of lip balm come in. Unscrew the tin, and similar to lip balms, these "solid scents" as they're called, are an a amalgam of beeswax, jojoba, vitamin E and fragrance oils. You apply a small amount to the pulse points, which is a great idea. Since the method of application is so controlled, there's little chance of over-egging the pudding, such as you may get with sprays and splashes. Each tin is cleverly adorned with the livery of Madame Scodioli's company, which is a bearded lady with an arched eyebrow, regarding the camera, all done up in the style of the late 1800's "Dr McGuillicuddy's Hot Oil Treatment and Recuperative Elixir" sort of way. Neat.
So, the scents.
1. Gray Skies (nag champa). This one immediately put me in the mind of being in a hippie head shop in the 1970's (yeah, I'm dating myself...). Nag champa is commonly used in incense, some musicians burn it at concerts (anyways, Bob Dylan did) and in the Gray Skies, I get the patchouli-ish top note with something very sweet (is it rose?) right beside it, ending up with a spicy but sweet result. Complex. My wife found this sweet enough to be feminine, and while I agree it is sweet, I don't find it girly, just unusual and nice enough that it should merit a second "what's that!" sniff on your next hug from the wife or girlfriend.
2. Dust Shaker (mahogany and sandalwood): This one is, to me, very sweet and redolent of early summer field honey that is sweet but spiced up with all of the early summer season's flowers mixed in. The first thing to hit me with this one for whatever reason is "honey", with a spice or wood undertone, not unlike a white cedar. I would have to put this one as my favorite of the three.
3. Laudanum (tobacco and black tea): This is the most masculine of the three tins of scent, and I while I don't particularly get the tobacco on first go, there is a wonderful honey-like undertone that carries a more serious and heavy fragrance, which would be the tea. As this one mellows on my skin, I get occasional and pleasant puffs of a very unique sweet-and-spice array that I find so far to be quite pleasing.
Overall:
As a first impression, I find these are really nice products; the scents are very unique and to my nose, cleverly blended. Madame S seems to have a marked proclivity for that sweet-spicy feel, as its a common theme to me on all three scents. The scents come in screw-top tins, so they'll be great for traveling. Rubbing said product into the skin is easy to do and controls the scent very well, and being beeswax, jojoba and vitamin E, doing so will also condition where you apply. I like the idea of putting Gray Skies on in the locker room after my workout, in defiance of the plethora of "Mountain Extreme Breeze!!" and "Ocean Extreme Spray!!". When did men's scents in North America become an ultimate/extreme event?
I think I'll stick to my very unique, unusual and compelling solid scents from Madame Scodiolil.
Best,
Chris
