The Possets Perfume Forum

My review from the Valentine thread:

In the bottle, it's dry and classy. I get some tea, not the thick dark tea of many of the scents here, but more of southern amber sun-brewed tea without all of the sugar. I get a bracing herbal edge, and something that reminds me of a slightly salty sea air. This is lovely.

Wet on my skin: still dry and utterly riddled with upper crust dabbling in the sunshine on a beautiful day and you can snap your fingertips and have the world at your feet. The oakmoss is gorgeous here. I get a hint of leather, and a touch of the linen. The tea has dropped down to be a beautiful supporting base for this and it, along with the oakmoss, give this class some smooth growl.

As it dries: The tabac blond essence comes across as a faint whisp of honeyed tobacco, and that note seems to be rising more as this sits on the skin. This is a beautiful departure from the resins and gourmand scents, but it seems to be playing with both worlds on a much lighter scale, and with a dry edge.

As it dries further: I feel like I need to dress up and go somewhere wonderful. This feels rich, but it also feels adventurous, and playful, and utterly elegant. I am loving how all of the pieces blend so beautifully in this one. When I sniff deeply, the most dominant note on my skin is the tabac blond essence, but it immediately weaves among the other notes. I get oakmoss. I get a smidge of a hint of leather. I get a faint whiff of amber tea. But they all run together to create something amazing. This has a decent amount of throw on me, and very strong in the area where I've been testing it.

This is another one where Fabienne's use of parts creates a sum that is impressively delightful. I am very disappointed this one didn't make the permanent cut. It would have had my vote.


I want to add that this is got more soft and lovely as the day went on. My mother tried this one as well, and on both of us--with varying chemistry--this became very delicate and ladylike as it went along. This one had both of us sniffing our wrists for a loooong time. Really lovely. I may have to snag a bottle for her before it goes away because she loved it so much.

This is classy, truly. I was scared to death of it initially because there is a tea note floating around some Possets that completely ruined them for me. The tea note in Black Tea and several others that came out around the same time. Lord it was horrid on my skin and now I fear all Possets teas will end up the same way. And now this is the end result, a glorious light tea perfume that I would have loved to vote to stay permanent but didn't try it in time due to fearing it. I really wish Fabienne could add a description of what type of tea is being used when she makes a new perfume for those of us who don't care for certain types of teas used? Man that would help!

I need not elaborate upon Maya's excellent description other than to say this is gorgeous and feels "blue-blooded". I'm sure this will be a favorite during retours. I'm very sorry it didn't make it into general catalog. I'm sure it would have been a credit to Possets for anyone not hanging around the forum and all of us who do. If only voting could be done later to save good perfumes that get tried too late in the game to get their just due during voting

This not going GC is a flippin' Greek tragedy.

@tarayvonne, you may have noticed from our reviews that you and I seem to have pretty different body chemistry. The fact that we are in agreement that this one is pretty dang fabulous must mean something! I'm still kicking myself for not voting in time. Oh well, I did manage to score a back up during the sale. (And that nearly did not happen but I was fortunate to get a little windfall just in time.)
Oh, tea notes can be tricky on me too. So maybe our bod chems scent-wise aren't all that different after all.
I wore this in my scent locket two days in a row. Usually if I wear something two days in a row I just start feeling uncomfortable, seriously. Not a problem with this one!

Today this was all leather and silk on me. Beautiful. I think we all have a (good) idea what leather smells like, but what about silk? Well, I'd say it smells like what I am getting here. I think that is part of Fabienne's genuis -- she can make you smell textures.
(If you think that's weird, check out some reviews. I can't rember if it was Smellbutrin or Fluox-whatsit but people described it as fizzy. And Feral, for example, struck someone as "furry".)
Leather and silk... with apologies to Stevie Nicks... that kicks ass over leather and lace.
ETA: If I were a signature scent kinda gal, this could be it.
Then again, I think I've said the same about at least one other Posset.

I too love that leather and lace song by Stevie Nicks, but I agree that leather and silk is better. I am really sad this one didn't make the cut. It would have been my signature too, or one of... I even have a friend at work , he told me to tell him when Fabienne does her Retour, he wants a bottle or two or three. Everyone I know, loves it. At least I can love it until it's gone, and get more (hopefully) on a retour.

I grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, and that's what this scent immediately made me think of. There are people who actually do smell like this there (seriously, even my dad used to wear something like this). There's a certain familiarity to this scent that's very comforting. It's sophisticated and warm and definitely unisex. It may remind me of something my dad had, but it's still wearable for me (and I tend toward the floral, fruity, foody, and aquatic mainly).

Like many of you, I've had some difficulty picking out the individual notes, it's that seamlessly blended. Let me try, though: I can pick out the well-worn fire-warmed leather, and I'm guessing the soft, delicate overlay is the silk. There's also a green element that evokes the outdoors. I'm not familiar with the oakmoss note, but I'm guessing that it's what gives this blend its warmth. It truly encapsulates old-fashioned New England/New York luxury, and I love that, and yet it's still modern and can be dressed up or down. A little goes a long way, and the throw is excellent.

This scent evokes a lot of memories for me, which is why this has quickly secured a special place in my divinely scented heart. I can see why this scent has such a following, and I too am sorry this didn't make the cut to permanents. I'm so glad I was able to snag a bottle during Retour, and I'm already looking forward to the next Retour to get another.

(P.S. RIP JFK, 50 years ago today.)