WHAT I SMELL: Bascule opens with a buzzing bergamot that is quickly met with a weighted ripened peach and a soft, but soured leather. The perfume is not sweet, nor juicy, but is more dried and grassy as it begins to project. It’s as if it resides in a wind swept field that holds sun dried orchard fruit. You immediately take notice that Bascule is a perfume that is not rooted in the city. And as such, even if you’re an urban dweller that never travels outside the city limits, you’ll be immediately transported to the countryside. As the perfume continues to develop, a green note comes forward, but the perfume remains in the dry realm, but the green makes the perfume feel a bit lighter and more approachable and carefree. Here the perfume remains, nicely green with a dried soft leather on top of a hay accord with tufts of tobacco. It’s just the right amount of earthy countryside for even the most confirmed city slicker.
From the Sarah Baker Perfumes website:
Horses, hay and leather. The sun-ripened notes of succulent fruit, woods and prominent green notes amidst a notable bass of earthy tones and noblesse oblige. Equestrian.
Notes: grass, peach, bergamot, lily of the valley, hay, leather accord, vetiver, amber, musk, fir, tobacco, metal tack.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A windswept grassy hill.
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE BASCULE: green, earthy, unique
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BASCULE: Notetaking, Colognoisseur
BOTTOM LINE: Bascule is wonderfully unique and I was surprised at just how green it becomes in the drydown. The green dried grass with just the hint of leather transports the wearer to the country in the most wonderful of ways. Nice job Sarah Baker!
- Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Leather
- Nose: Ashley Eden Kessler
- Classification: Unisex
- Expense: $95 for 50 ml eau de parfum
WHAT I SMELL: Le Lion goes on the skin with an ambered bergamot and lemon that is tinged with patchouli in an opening that is is warm, yet light and inviting. There is no mistake that the DNA of Le Lion is aligned with Guerlain’s classic Shalimar. But to me, the biggest difference is the lemon and citrus which remains front and center which lifts the perfume up to something that is lighter, a tad brighter and much more approachable and easy to wear. Le Lion doesn’t morph all that much, but as it does wear, a puttied sandalwood makes it way under the other notes and the entire composition begins to lighten.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A chill lion. Modern; made for today.
WHAT I SMELL: 24K opens with a warm, soft and tender rose that moves towards a lightly spiced tuberose and jasmine. The perfume buzzes with muted ambered florals that seems to become warmer on the skin with each inviting inhale. As the perfume continues to develop, it becomes more rounded and the florals seamlessly meld into one beautiful fragrant bouquet. At this point the perfume slows it’s progression and it radiates floral energy with a warmth and pulsing force that’s completely mesmerizing. There’s something nostalgic about 24K that takes me back to a bygone era of the 1980s and 1990s. But don’t get me wrong, the perfume doesn’t feel vintage or old fashioned in the least. In fact, it makes me yearn for some of those forgotten floral beauties of the past that you couldn’t help but notice.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: “Dynasty-lite”. The perfume carries all the quintessential aspects of the 1980s; big, bold, large and in command. But instead of being over-the-top and in your face, 24K remains perfectly muted.
The Scented Hound 