Pleasures of the Imagination V

[ClockworkMoM]

Black leather, red sandalwood, orris root, tobacco absolute, oakmoss, and sweet patchouli.

This is beautiful- smooth, wooden and leather that are well-blended together. It was borderline too masculine for me, but i did really like it. I amped the leather, sandalwood and patchouli- very little tobacco and Orris root on me.

[galahad]

In the Bottle:

So good in the bottle. Dark leather, dry tobacco and patchouli with a little dirtiness.

On the Skin:

Initially a little brown sugar sweet and dark but quickly becomes incredibly dry but with a musky powderyness. The red sandalwood is divine.

On the Drydown:

This is just a sexy, super dry tobacco/leather scent. Dark and sultry. Fresh it goes through a celery seed phase deep into the drydown which I am hoping will fade with age.

[Blood onmy hands]

V is mainly red sandalwood on me. It's warm, powdery woods and sandalwood incense, made a bit sweeter and more powdery from the orris. I get a little bit of black tobacco and earthy, dry patchouli in the background, but the woods and sweet powder definitely dominate.
This reminds me of Mythological Scene, which was also red sandalwood, orris, leather and patchouli. This is a bit more earthy and doesn't have the citrus edge of Mythological Scene, though.

[heatherlyn]

Definitely earthy and masculine, light on the leather, heavy on the patchouli and tobacco for me. I bet would smell amazing on a man.

[Casablanca]

On the wand, this is kind of an odd black leather-powdery orris mix.

 

On my skin, it instead becomes powdery orris and red sandalwood on a patchouli background, initially, and patchouli quickly amps into a dominant, dry dirtiness. Not sure where the leather is in this earthy party.

 

Not my thing.

[zankoku_zen]

Rugged black leather, a ton of chewy tobacco, and a smidge of red sandalwood (red sandalwood is my fave!). This is almost a manly leather blend I like (why hello there tobacco and red sandalwood, you two sexy beasts you!). Still, much more manly than I can pull off. Sadly leather is not mr. zee_zee's bestfriend. Great throw and wear length.

[torikitty]

I'm smelling nearly what Little Bird got. Red sandalwood with a bit powder. It does have a slight masculine edge in the bottle, but earthiness, wood, and tobacco warm up with my skin. The leather might be hanging out in the background, but it's not a dominant note.

[nok]

V may not be the most attention-grabbing scent, but it is utterly perfected in the smooth, seamless and effortless style in which it wears on skin. The notes list (Black leather, red sandalwood, orris root, tobacco absolute, oakmoss, and sweet patchouli) is of no consequence when analyzing a fragrance like this because V is anything but the mere sum of its parts. If you insist I address the notes, I would say the only one I find completely absent is the black leather note. However, as that note typically comes across as harsh, chemical and synthetic, its absence here is most welcomed.

 

Unlike the heavy (some here refer to as 'chewy') notes that can bog a scent down or relegate its suitability to only very specific occasions, V is allowed to breathe without ever feeling fleeting, yet maintaining a weightiness that never veers toward excessive.

 

V is an incredibly smooth and balanced dark fragrance, to me it leans toward the masculine side of things as there is, hanging deep in the background, a classic gentlemen's cologne vibe going on - and though it is understated, that same understated approach lends an elegance and ease that makes wearing this one such a pleasure. V feels like a suit and tie fragrance with character, begging for an autumn afternoon with a nice scarf, fitted with a slight sweetness to prevent the fragrance from ever feeling too dusty or dry. It comes across as smart, clever even. V feels like the comforting way a Ferrari engine starts up and that smooth, satisfying bass-y hum that sounds like what I'd imagine a fluffy 100ft mountain of black velvet purring through an ASMR microphone would sound like. Totally satisfying right down to the marrow.

 

While a scent like this could easily cross over into a hamfisted caricature of a moody/melancholic Victorian cologne, V benefits from coloring within the lines and staying in its lane. The result is, to my nose, a kind of dark yet dapperly woody/mossy cologne with a perfect balance of smolder and sweet. Nothing edgy or shocking, and perhaps even possibly a bit safe, but truly superb nonetheless.