It’s strange how things just turn around when you least expect them. I’ve been too busy to think about “when is the end of the week?” to even notice. And now here it is, and for the first weekend in a while I think I might be able to relax a bit. So for your friday morning pleasure I’ll post a new fragrance that I’ve run across that I’m sure you’ll all be out buying as soon as it hits the shelfs.

What once was a term of polite precaution has become the season’s latest olfactory craze, thanks to a collaboration between perfume extraordinaire Christopher Brosius and innovative movie maverick Alan Cumming.

Brosius, whose signature scents can be found at his newly opened Williamsburg studio, pulled from his library of thousands of aromas to create the perfect perfume for Cumming. Alan’s always been an extremely good client, says Brosius, And making this fragrance was the perfect scenario. The team bills the fragrance as beyond gender, and it is sure to appeal to any fashionable folks who are over the frilly floral thing. It is a rich mix of peat fire, Scotch pine, Scotch whisky and burned rubber, says Cumming.

Thus making for an over-the-top, cocksure combination. What could be better, asks Cumming, than smelling nice, feeling sexy and having a laugh? Brosius is known for his rather unorthodox approach to the art of perfume-making, dating back to when he created scents like Dirt and Funeral Parlor for the offbeat scent company Demeter.

Currently, Brosius offers a custom fragrance service at his Williamsburg gallery, where he often focuses on patrons memories to create scents. Medicinal bottles of fragrance essences line the walls (including Bazooka, Greasy Oven, Vermouth and the more demure Jasmine). Brosius sought to capture the essence of Cumming, particularly his wit, mischievous nature and versatility. Alan loved the smell of burning wood and rubber, like the latex from a children’s party balloon, Brosius recalls. For his fragrance, we wanted to create a deep, rich, spicy burst. Base notes of leather, peat fire, highland mud, burnt rubber and white truffle ground the scent with rugged sensuality, while the core notes of cigar, heather, Douglas fir and rubber contribute to its sharpness. The fragrance is completed with spicy top notes of bergamot, black pepper, Scotch pine and whiskey.

Taking a cue from the anonymity of the infamous plain brown paper-wrapped parcel, the stark, clear glass bottle of Cumming is topped with a silver cap and packaged in a simple, unadorned box. Inside, however, the silver-toppered perfume is paired with a collection of striking portraits of Alan Cumming, taken by fashion photographer Steve Vaccariello.

Looks like J. Lo and Donald Trump’s competition just got a bit stiffer.

Aparently there will be a whole line of his product, including a lotion called “cumming all over you.”

Posted in General |

This entry was posted on Friday, February 18th, 2005 at 7:30 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.