Scentzilla!

The first of the crocuses have begun to dot my front yard, hinting at the spring to come. But despite the urging of the crocuses, winter has still not abandoned its post. I woke to discover this morning that the grey world smelled damp, offering up the aromas of an earthy admixture of soil and a good rain. Alan Cumming’s eponymous fragrance, Cumming, is to me the bottled equivalent of that scent.

Now I know, there are tons of you who feel either too disgusted by the name, or who find it intellectually offensive and on the level of bathroom humor. Or both. I can’t change your minds, nor shall I try. But I must point out, you are missing out on some terrific juice. One confession: I find Alan Cumming completely adorable. He’s got senses for goofiness and insouciance in equal measure, a charming combination. I would totally pick him to be my gay boyfriend.

Christopher Brosius, the nose behind scents in the the infamous Demeter line, as well as the creator of his own CB I Hate Perfume line, concocted this fragrance for the actor. Its notes include:

Bergamot, Black Pepper, Scotch Pine, Whiskey, Cigar, Heather, Douglas Fir, Rubber, Leather, Highland Mud, Burnt Rubber, Peat Fire, White Truffle.

It reads like a weird fragrance, and it is, which I mean in the most complimentary of terms.

The cool grey skies and wet earth we have so frequently here in Oregon form the essential character of the fragrance. On the dry down I also sense a note that smells the way a sip of scotch feels as it slowly trickles down the throat. I don’t really sense any tobacco, and the mix of wood, heather, “rubber” and “burnt rubber” somehow come across as vetiver to me. The leather plays very lightly here, serving to add accent to the wet earthiness without drawing attention to itself. Brosius struck the most delicate of balances here, and his creation for Cumming has a uniqueness and intricacy that none of the other celebrity releases from last year even came close to achieving. Within it is a lovely melancholy spirit, the smell of hiding out from the winter rain in a cozy pub, and staring out the windows at watery streets and puddles drowned by their own excess into murky pavement lakes.

I love this scent madly. The longer I own it and wear it, the more I seem to appreciate it. Cumming was one of my top ten fragrances for summer last year, and it will be again this year.

I see that Beautyhabit is currently listing Cumming at a discount, but it’s also availabe at other online and retail stores on this list.