Any old weed will do, originally uploaded by aussiegall.

Trust Ineke to find a place for bright florals even in a dusky leathery-tobacco. Field Notes from Paris is a study of the tobacco concept from head to toe, leaves and flowers included. This take gives it more of an American character, which is the origin of the plant, no matter how much of it is smoked in Parisian cafes… To me, it illustrates the life of the plant from growing in the sunshine, being harvested, hanging the leaves to cure and flavour, and finally enjoyed as a guilty pleasure once burnt and smoked to the last puff from a fragrant cigar.

Orange blossom is the star of the show at first, bright and with lavender and rosewood side-kicks it’s almost squeaky clean and with a strong masculine reference. Crushed coriander seeds notes are effervescent and floral but add a hint of dirty woodsy spiciness along with roasted coffee nuances. There is also a distinct fruitiness right from the beginning that smells like davana to me, even though it is not listed in the notes. It could very well be the tobacco flower note, which I can't recall ever smelling - but is described by the expert (Stephen Arctander) as having a scent "somewhat similar to carnation with a fresher note, almost fruity".

As Field Notes from Paris develops on the skin, it becomes more warm, woodsy, full bodied and little tannin with notes of dry cedarwood and patchouli, polished by pollen-like beeswax absolute and the pipe-tobacco flavouring note of tonka bean. The tannins become more apparent in the final dry down, as the cure tobacco leaf, leather and patchouli notes take over, sweetened and softened by vanilla bean and the powderiness of the tonka.

Previous post about Field Notes from Paris includes information about the perfume's inspiration and notes. I would only add that this is the most warm and complex fragrance from the line so far, even more than Evening Edged in Gold and it is my favourite next to After My Own Heart. But there are still a few more letters in the alphabet to cover before we get to know Ineke's full potential...

The scent is available directly via Ineke's website.

Un jour d'août au champs de tabac, originally uploaded by pfala.

Burning tobacco without the smoke is made possible via Bohem, Gabriel's Aunt scented soywax candle. While it isn't in the least smoky, it has the unique effect of tobacco absolute, smelling simultaneously fresh and deep, warm and woody. It's a rather simple candle yet smells sophisticated because of the unusual choice of notes: tabac blond absolute, patchouli, vetiver and davana, which adds a curiously fruity and herbaceous-freshness to the mix.

Bohem reminds me of a gypsy or a voodoo dance rather than a bohemian smoking den. The raw and unrefined qualities of the materials and the relative simplicity of their orchestration creates an unfamiliar experience that is curiously appealing.

But Bohem is not only a candle. It began as a perfume, and it is the first of Nikki Sherrit's candles to reflect her natural perfume collection. The perfume is more sophisticated, with the fruitiness of the davana even more pronounced. It plays on the contrast between that wine-like fruitiness and the dryness of tobacco, amplified with the other woody notes which later on evolve into a smooth, chocolatey tobacco dry down. Both the candle and the perfume represent the cured tobacco leaf rather than any tobacco product (i.e.: cigars, cigarettes or pipe tobacco); a choice that makes Bohem stand out in this genre. While there are leathery qualities, an inevitable aspect of the tobacco leaf, there is none of the smokiness or imposed sweetness that happens when you light a match to flavoured tobacco.

Notes: Vetiver, Virginia Cedarwood, Patchouli, Tobacco, Allspice, Cassie and Davana.

Crushed violets, originally uploaded by oksidor.

“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” (Mark Twain)

In the summertime, Bvlgari Black wears like a molten asphalt and roof tar, underlined by purring black cat’s fur. Intense and linear, it grows on the skin until it becomes unbearable. In the cooler fall weather, it wears like a woolen sweater contaminated by the smoke escaping from the fireside. And a cup of Lapsang Suchong comes to mind. But this is only temporary: soon violets take over. Violent violets of the candid kind that you can find in the two Lolita Lempicka and the Au Masculin (both are also by Annick Menardo). It also is quite similar to two other masculines that played florals in a cheeky way: Joop! (Michel Almairac) and Le Male (Francis Kurkdjian) - a trend that most likely began with Geoffrey Beene's Grey Flannel (André Fromentin).

Lapsang Suchong, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

Bvlgari Black is intriguing and quirky and reminds me of both the smoky tea of Dzing! And Tea for Two (both created by Olivia Giacobetti for l’Artisan Parfumeur). I’m still not decided which one of the three I like the best. The dry down of Bvlgari Black is a rich though not smouldering vanilla, reminiscent of Shalimar's counterpoint between sweets and smokes, confection and leather.