Scentzilla!

Jane’s Addiction was indisputably one of the great bands of the 80s and 90s, but so many people missed out on them because they were too busy pearl-clutching over the band’s image to notice the music itself. Of course, some folks simply didn’t enjoy them due to the acquired taste that is singer Perry Farrell’s voice. To quote the only technically English speaking Paula Abdul, he’s rather “nasally up in his nasal.” And yet still others only heard their more raucous tunes, punctuated by creative rhythms and swirly, crunchy guitars, not ever realizing the magical turns the band could take with their music. “Summertime Rolls,” from their first album Nothing’s Shocking, rises, soars, then recedes with such a twinkling tranquility that one must nearly remain still in order to appreciate it.

Click to hear* a clip from Summertime Rolls:

Amusingly, upon the various perfume boards there’s been a little bit of pearl-clutching going on about the concept of a marijuana perfume. Most folks do seem to have a good sense of humor about it all, or at least an open mind, fortunately, and at least they will not miss out on the most interesting thing I think Fresh has made lately.

I suppose with regards to their eau de parfum Cannabis Santal, one could mentally cull up a million and one pot songs or pieces of stoner art for quick reference. But for me, the essence of the scent plays out like the lazy peace of “Summertime Rolls.” Unlike the lyrics of that song however, Cannabis Santal has no “sea of grass” to fall into.

I don’t know how I’m going to get through this review without sounding like I am a MAJOR POTHEAD, so let’s run a little disclaimer at this point: I live in Oregon, which is one of the pot-growing capitals of the world. You are much more likely to buy fresh “product” here, meaning the weed is freshly preserved, retaining a bit of moisture and stickiness. Like many who live here, I have partaken of Oregon’s biggest cash crop a few times in my younger days, and each time it left me unimpressed. Something about the “experience” always left me wishing I had spent my time doing something instead of it. I have and have had friends who enjoy it regularly - friends who I do not judge, so I am not unfamiliar with the smell and look of it.

The opening notes indicate white flowers and chocolate pastilles, which only gently shift up key into the eponymous Cannabis layer. It takes a full twenty minutes or so before I can appreciate the note. Ahhhh, very pretty. And very light, I must add. A small puff of smoke rises, but minus the almost gag-worthy (well, sometimes not almost, *cough cough*) ancillary resinous smell we associate with pot smoking. The peculiar aromas of candied green and herbal green dance around each other, in a Fred and Ginger waltz between the smell of freshly dried whole buds and little loose curled leaves still in a baggie waiting to be smoked. If you feared cannabis would be all there is to this scent, you can rest those fears now, and if you were hoping for something explicit, you will be disappointed. The woody santal alluded to in the name is so delicate as to be slightly misleading in a way. It’s here for the relaxative effect that is usually employed in incense (but this IS NOT an incense perfume) for its ability to induce a sleepy forgetfulness at the end of a stressful day. In actuality, the base is dominated by a melliflous embrace of blond patchouli and the vanillic pillows of benzoin. Depsite their prescence through the entire devolpment of the scent, at the dry down I am caught by surprise by these notes. If you love and enjoy Givenchy’s Pi, then you already understand how the base of Cannabis Santal works. Indeed, I believe this fragrance will be labeled as more appealing to men than women for that very reason. I do have to wonder if perhaps the subtle chocolate of the fragrance is really just a function of the benzoin, which I am given to understand can have chocolately aspects to it? Because on the dry down, I do find chocolately intonations in there that are just like the ones I sense in the opening.

The copy for the notes of Cannabis Santal reads: “A blend of patchouli, rose, chocolate vetiver and vanilla musk.” Here’s my smart-assery at work, because the idea of chocolate vetiver makes me think of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with Willy Wonka’s garden of candy flora… ah yes, the chocolate grass growing up inbetween the lollipop blossoms and across the banks of the chocolate river. Watch your step, and mind the Oompa-Loompas now. I really have no idea what the hell “chocolate vetiver” is, and frankly, I don’t think Fresh does either. Oh to play in the land of make-believe that ad copywriters live in.

I well appreciate perfumer Caroline Sabas’ approach, and find it to be a complex yet feathery scent. However, I do wish that the cannabis aspect was stronger - I can only hope for Fresh to pull a L’Artisan and introduce an “Extreme” version at some point in the future.

Cannabis Santal is slated for wide release in April, and until then, it’s exclusive to Barneys.

*I must apologize for inflicting my musical tastes on everyone again. I will say it is far preferable to how I was going to write this post out: I was thinking it’d be kind of funny to write it out as a political essay expounding on the merits of MEDICINAL perfume use. Which… yeah. The idea amused me, but the execution of it probably would have left much to be desired.

The album Nothing’s Shocking is available through Djangos and Music Millenium.