Scentzilla!

“Now are come the days of brown leaves. They fall from the trees. They flutter on the ground. When the brown leaves flutter, they are saying little things. They talk with the wind. I hear them tell of their borning days when they did come into the world as leaves. And they whisper of the hoods they wore then.”
~ Opal Whiteley, The Diary of Opal Whiteley

Summer is leaving the Pacific Northwest now; Trees have slowly begun casting off their leaves as if in dance of the hundred-thousand veils. But my roses still persist. It feels almost perverse to walk amongst the deshabille trees, watching them undress in the wind, and then return home to see the rose blossoms gleefully snubbing their noses at the calendar’s reign.

Generally when rose fragrances are discussed, those geared for men are rarely mentioned, if at all. But they exist! One such male rose fragrance that I enjoy is mat; male. I catch myself wondering upon occaision why this particular offering by Masaki Matsushima has not caught on more popularly amongst my fellow perfume-nuts.

While it doen’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to a rose note, mat; male can be described as a lovely example of a spicy floral for men that strays nicely from the well beaten path of citrus this, and marine that.

Mat; male does open with a small burst of grapefruit, but it burns off quickly. Cool roses, and a note smelling of tender and wet bamboo shoots, form the heart of the fragrance. Spicy cardamom and the herbally green pluck of parsley provide a strangely refreshing and sexy lift. This is actually my favorite part of the scent. The way the spice and greenness intertwine happily surprises me everytime I’ve reached for mat; male. As it dries, dark woods cast shadows upon the florals. Yet at all times mat; male retains a floral character, never overly simplified, nor too annoyingly stereotypical.

There are, of course, many spicy rose choices out there. But this particular one makes a great arguement as to why men should not overlook their segregated side of the perfume counters in seek of florals. It’s not necessarily something only men might carry off well either, which should be mentioned.

Sephora recently had a fantastic deal on the mat; male facial lotion several weeks back during a sale. Since both my husband and I already knew and enjoyed the fragrance, I decided why not? It’s not quite to my husband’s taste, since he has dry-ish skin that requires a slightly richer formula. However, it works great for combo to oily skin. The texture is runny, but it speads easily onto the face with a slight mattifying effect. The lotion smells more prominently of roses than the fragrance minus its spicy elements, which makes it a nice consideration for women, too. Well, as long as fragrance doesn’t break out your skin, that is.

More about Opal Whiteley can be uncovered at The Opal Whitely Memorial from Cottage Grove, OR. The full text of The Diary of Opal Whiteley is now available online, thanks to the efforts of the University of Oregon, as well as some additional biographical background. Nepotism alert! If you live in the Oregon area, the PBS affliate station also frequently rebroadcasts an Emmy nominated (Northwest Chapter) film about her life and work entitled “Fairyland: The Story of Opal Whiteley,” which my brother helped produce. The short film is part of the Oregon Documentary Project, but alas, is not currently available online. So watch OPB!

Source image of Opal Whitely from The Opal Whiteley Memorial.