The Ta-Ta

[cfrancesca]

 

THE TA-TA

Boiled leather, carnation blossom, coffee absolute, and tobacco.

 

I love this picture so much. The Ta-Ta reminds me a lot of Arabian Dance but closer to the batch that had a little more coffee, I actually find them so much similar that I kept thinking I had the Arabian Dance on. They do share many of the same notes except for carnation here, but I find the scent a little similar to some of spice notes in Arabian Dance, and there's also no hazelnut here so this doesn't have much of that sweet nuttiness in the coffee. I was a curious (and I admit a wee bit worried) about the 'boiled leather' but it smells like a lovely soft leather.

 

I'm getting a foody, dark roasted, sweet and smokey coffee with that soft, slightly sweet leather note I love (similar to the leather Le Pere Fouettard, CC Female, Liz etc) and hints of carnation. The tobacco, which I amp with time, adds a smokey, sexy aspect and the soft, sweet spiciness of the carnation also comes through a little bit more after a while. It's a really lovely blend, after a while the tobacco does get a little bit more stronger than I wish it would but I still like this very much. I just have to now re-evaluate my stash of the Arabian Dance, since I'm not sure I need to keep so many bottles of it.

[MeiLin]

I smell like a sexy barista.

 

In the decant, I get kind of a peppery note--the carnation I assume--and the leather and coffee. On, I initially got the leather and coffee big time, no carnation at all. Dried down, it's leather, sweet tobacco and coffee in that order, with the carnation waaaay in the back.

 

This is gorgeous and as soon as I can afford a bottle or partial I'm getting it. Just wow.

[angelicruin]

This one is interesting...it starts out leather with a bitter coffee note, but very shortly thereafter morphs into something beautiful. The carnation and sweet tobacco notes emerge and blend so wonderfully with the coffee and leather.

[Antoinette]

Ooooo, this one is nice! It's predominantly coffee and leather to my nose. It goes on pretty loud but quickly settles down into a beautiful warm scent of coffee and soft leather. It does remind me of the Arabian Dance, but it's more subtle. I prefer The Ta Ta!

 

Not sure I'm picking up on the carnation or tobacco that much. If anything, there is a hint of spiciness from the carnation but it's blended so well that it's not at the forefront. This is really lovely and could end up being a bottle purchase.

 

ETA: Yep. This is going to be a bottle purchase. I pretty much love it.

Edited October 26, 2011 by Antoinette

[calivianya]

I'm definitely going to echo the similarities to the Arabian Dance. It is extremely similar. However, the carnation in this one adds a floral note that I'm not sure I'm crazy about. I think I prefer The Arabian Dance, which I already have a bottle of, so I won't be keeping my decant.

[Blood onmy hands]

There's a very dark, slightly musky, masculine leather to this that reminds me strongly of Brom Bones at first <3. I get that sexy leather paired with something like a hint of black pepper and a slight warmth & sweetness from the coffee & tobacco. The drydown is less leathery (booo) and more to the sweet tobacco side of things, but still very good. The drydown reminds me of Pinched with Four Aces.

I've really been enjoying this scent, especially on my husband (and he hates coffee scents, but doesn't mind this one, thanks to the leather and tobacco notes taking over the coffee smell).

 

I might need a backup bottle of The Ta-Ta.

[malibusunny]

Initially, this has a distinctly citrus jump out that isn't in the listed notes. I get coffee and tobacco notes that are similar to Misk U right away. As it mellows into my skin, I get the tiniest touch of floral if I stick my nose right in it, but what it projects is the spiciness of the carnation, which I wouldn't identify as carnation on my own. I also get musk, which must be the boiled leather -- my skin turns lots of things to musk. This is a subtle, less sweet sister to Misk U on my skin.

[coldandsleepy]

I picked up a decant of this as a total impulse purchase. Though I've tried many BPAL leathers, I haven't really found one I liked-- most of the time I don't like what they're paired with and the leather note itself often reminds me of soap in a bad way. So I didn't expect to particularly care for this.

 

On sniffing it in the vial, I get a fairly indistinct peppery powdery scent-- more or less what carnation usually smells like to me. (And I like it.)

 

On skin application, the scent expands out... the carnation's still there but there's also this lovely gentle leather. Not overpowering, not super soapy (though at first, a little soapy). Just really gentle and nice. The tobacco shows up too, as that sort of BPAL tobacco that always reminds me of unlit cigars. It all combines into this really nice soft, gentle, warm scent. A little sweet-- but not at all foody. Pretty unisex, neither mannish nor overly feminine.

 

The one thing I don't get in here is the coffee, but you know what? I could care less. It's perfect the way it is. I really adore the simplicity and warmth of this scent.

[Dark Alice]

Light sexy slightly coloney leather. Sometimes tobacco can go cologney on me. I like this but I don't think I need more and that I will definitely enjoy my decant.

[porcelina]

very, very similar to my favorite from last year's yules, the arabian dance. i think the main difference is that the coffee here is darker and more bitter (arabian dance always seems to have a touch of sweetness). there may be a hint of spicy carnation but i wouldn't have picked up on it if i hadn't just re-read the scent description.

[Monday]

Unexpected love! I don't particularly like leather and tobacco scents (or coffee scents for that matter ) but this is really nice and, best of all, very wearable. It starts out as sharp dark coffee with a hint of carnation underneath. Then the leather shows up. This is a surprisingly gentle spicy scent. I might need a bottle of this.

[Jammies]

This is just gorgeous--I get mostly carnation, with varying pops of coffee, leather and tobacco leaves. Definitely unusual as well as beautiful. I might get a backup of this one!

[Pynki]

I got my decant yesterday and I wore it last night before I went to bed.

 

I was originally worried that it would be too masculine kind of like VILF was on it, but it isn't. I don't know that I'd call it feminine though either.

 

I get a lot of carnation when I wear it, and on the dry down. A bit of tobacco, but not as much leather as I was anticipating. I REALLY like it though, and I'll probably buy a whole bottle of it

[ljaylh]

I'm not sure that I have much to add here that hasn't already been said in previous reviews.. but I'll try

 

The Arabian Dance was one of my favourites from last year's Yules, and The Ta-Ta is so much like TAD that it's kind of uncanny. The key difference, to my nose, is that The Ta-Ta is overall more soft and gentle, and the coffee is more present than the leather - on me, TAD was the other way round - leather first then coffee.

 

The Ta-Ta actually reminds me of some of my favourite BPALs - as well as TAD, it has a similarity to Pinched With Four Aces (similar rich coffee) - also A Bachelor's Dog and Brom Bones and dare I say it... *whispers* Quincy Morris - it has the same soft, warm leather. So if you have found any of those things impossible to get hold of, then definitely give The Ta-Ta a try

 

The only note I'm not really loving here is the carnation blossom - although it's not really sweet as such, it's still a bit too sweet for my liking, and it's kind of interfering with the leather + coffee deliciousness. Once again, I find myself wishing for a Note Removal Machine^TM.

 

So my problem now is.. having hoarded a few bottles of The Arabian Dance, do I need a bottle of The Ta-Ta? Time for a death match!!

[bicyclette]

Wow, this is really nice. I'm mainly getting spicy carnation with a warm, soft, sweet background from the tobacco and leather. I don't get coffee at all, really, but that's okay. So glad I took a chance on a bottle of this!

[V294]

This is a very interesting scent. It starts off with a strong coffee note, but that fades unfortunately! It's very unique, but it turns into a sexy tobacco leather scent. It's really nice and I think I might love this on a guy!

[edenssixthday]

The Ta-Ta - I've had to wear this one a few times to figure out what I think of it. I love coffee and leather together -- reminds me of The Arabian Dance, but the leather is stronger and muskier in this scent, and it's overall not as sweet as The Arabian Dance. The tobacco really grounds those scents and pulls them together. However, I'm not typically a fan of carnation, and so this scent smells just a bit "off" to me. I think with my skin chemistry, the carnation would work, except that it's not blending well with the weird musky vibe the leather's giving the whole scent. I think I'll be passing on this one and continuing to enjoy The Arabian Dance when I need a leather-and-coffee fix.

[orata]

It took a little while for this scent to grow on me, but I kept coming back to it and thinking "what is that great scent?" when skin-testing different perfumes on different parts of my arms. It starts off very fruity; as the fruity top note fades, it starts to reveal itself as leather with a hint of coffee and a spicy backdrop of carnation. I'm not sure I can pick out the tobacco--if it's there, it's certainly more of a mellow, leafy presence than the sharp, harsh intruder that kept me from wholeheartedly enjoying Pussy or Antikythera Mechanism. It doesn't morph much over time on me--it stays a mellow, gentle, fruity leather and coffee scent that I really enjoy. I ended up upgrading from a sniffie to a decant, and then from a decant to a bottle, as I found myself coming back to it.

 

Edited to add: I tested this against a decant of The Arabian Dance that Mountaingrrl kindly gifted to me at the last Meet 'n' Sniff, and they are indeed very, very similar! They start off almost identical when wet, but as they dry, I find The Arabian Dance a little softer and creamier, with the hazelnut note emerging, and The Ta-Ta just slightly more sharp and spicy from the carnation. The Arabian Dance dries down to more of a hazelnut coffee scent and The Ta-Ta to more of a leather scent. They are both amazingly yummy and beautiful.

Edited November 13, 2011 by orata

[zankoku_zen]

Ta-ta, you have such a promising start. At the beginning, you are hints of carnation, coffee and a teensy bit of leather. And then the leather comes out and smashes everything to bits.

 

Arabian Dance + LEATHER.

[milo]

This really smells kind of like Spanked to me, only with less spice and more leather. I got a bit of coffee at first, but it faded quite quickly on me. I may do a side by side comparison with Spanked and see if I like this better.

[angelamaria]

In tester: ooh. Coffee and a hint of carnation. Smoky, creamy, and soft and rich. Very nice, and quite promising. I'll have to watch that carnation though.

 

Wet on skin: uhhhh. Cologney, chemically, and alcoholly? This is quite disconcerting. I think it might be the leather. Other notes I can get are coffee, tobacco, and is it possible the carnation is even softer? Not clove-y so far.

 

Dry: soft, soft leather--and the aforementioned alcoholly note continued to fade away into virtually nothing. Aging would probably work for this one, to even out that leather and remove that high-pitched chemical note. Coffee, and tobacco and a vaguely carnation note is still hanging around, in that order. Masculine, quite sexy.

 

Verdict: it is VERY tempting to get a bottle of this. This is sexy, masculine, and I love it, but I really wouldn't use it since masculine isn't for me. But...oh, so TEMPTING. *twitch*

[Sangria2]

In the imp: Sweet, in your face coffee.

 

Wet: The coffee is quickly replaced by the carnation, and to my nose it smells exactly like the real flower if I had one sitting in front of me.

 

Dry: As it dries the coffee and carnation blend together to create a sweet, spicy coffee scent. I never got any leather, sadly, and the only time I get any tobacco is 3 hours in if I sniff my wrists really hard. It had moderate throw in the first hour, which has been diminishing with each hour since until here at hour four it's almost gone.

 

I like the Ta-ta, in that it's a warm, sweet, interesting scent, but I don't love it and I can't exactly say why. I was hoping for more of a leather/carnation blend rather than so much coffee. I think I'll be happy with the decant.

[fiddlehead]

I like this a lot. It's a warm and cozy smell that reminds me of cafes where students hang out to study. Coffee, leather jackets, tobacco. Maybe the carnation is from the bouquet up by the cash register This is not Barnes and Noble. I'm really hoping the carnation doesn't end up out front as I wear it more. So far, it's balancing nicely with the other notes. Glad I took a chance on this and got a bottle.

[Drarra]

This scent is more coffee and foody than I was hoping it would be. With the leather and tobacco notes, I hoped it would be instant love for me.

 

In the imp, I smelled almost exclusively coffee.

 

Wet on my skin, it still smelled like coffee.

 

As it dried, I could get a touch of the other notes in it. I could smell a bit of the leather in there (but it was a softer leather), and some spiciness that could have been the carnation and tobacco peeking through... but ultimately, it dried down to a coffee scent with a touch of spiciness.

 

On a side note, this scent has opened my eyes to carnation. It is possible I have found a floral note that I can wear and even like!

 

While I like it (and I'll continue to use my decant), it's not going to be a bottle purchase for me.

[Juushika]

In the vial: I'm not suresomething clean, or like cleaning fluid, and almost citrus but not quite? And as I continue to sniff, tobacco. I don't even know.

 

On me: Tobacco as it hits the skinand this is what I least want from the scent, but it's a gentler tobacco than I'm used to, more akin to vetiver than stale cigarettes. There may be leather in the background. And then the carnation comes out, and this is fantastic. The tobacco is welcome now, and while I don't get coffee or leather distinctly they help too; those dark notes provide background and shading to compliment the carnation, and make for the darkest, strongest, spiciest carnation that I've ever encountered. A spicy dark red scent, brick-toned but with a powdery-the-way-spices-are-powdery texture, a touch smoky, not masculine but leaning towards gender neutral without losing any sensuality. Throw is fairly low, but the scent begs fairly heavy application so it can wrap itself around the skin. Wear length is moderate to long.

 

Verdict: Without overselling The Ta-Ta, this is the carnation that I've always wanted, spicy and dark as dried red petals, shadowed and deep, well complimented by other notes without being forced to share the spotlight, and beautiful. It's my holy grail for one of my favorite notes, so I'm glad I tried it despite being dubious about both tobacco and leather, and I see a bottle in my futureyes indeed I do.