WHAT I SMELL: London Funk opens with a fresh basil and bergamot with an interesting cardamom note that quickly slides right in. It’s fresh and inviting and really full of life. Soon, the perfume begins to warm and it feels like it’s beginning to sugar, like a concentrated sugar reduction as it’s not sweet, but rather vibrant and somewhat thick. And a short while after, a little bit of the “funk” begins to roll in. It’s just a slight undercurrent of something that I can’t distinguish that seems to be simmering under a woody note. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s almost as if you smell a little something off under the outside decking of a local pub. By this time the initial top notes have made their way out of the door a woody vetiver has entered becoming the main attraction. London Funk at this point really projects with hints of leather and herb (cannabis?) which seems to grow as I write. But the perfume never gets too funky and instead rides this high impact and slightly bitter woody mix that seems very familiar without being able to exactly put your finger on it. Overall, London Funk is a very tenacious perfume that keeps on giving for a very long time.
From the Vilhelm Parfumerie website:
The slap of a wood bat on a leather ball, followed by intense giggling and the sound of fabric rustling. It’s five o’clock at Biba in London and Jim Morrison is leading a young Debbie Harry astray with a Long Island Iced tea, and a game of cricket in the stock room. Can you smell all the possibilities that curled into a trippy London afternoon in the Seventies? They certainly could.
Top notes: Juniper, Basil, Cardamom, Bergamot.
Heart notes: Blackcurrant Bud, Driftwood.
Base notes: Vetiver, Yerba Maté, Cedarwood, Amber Gris, Sandalwood.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Like the back deck of the Atlanta Eagle bar. A mix of wood, leather, beer, smoke, plastic, sweat, cologne and lots of other bar related smells.
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE LONDON FUNK: bold, vibrant, familiar (but how, I’m not sure)
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT LONDON FUNK: No written reviews found.
BOTTOM LINE: London Funk is more funky than funk. In reading what I have written about “What I Smell” my descriptors are pretty obtuse. But that’s because I find that London Funk is a perfume that’s hard to describe or categorize. What it is however, is a perfume that is not for everyday use and I wouldn’t recommend it for the office. It’s not that it’s not a pleasurable perfume, but as it has a large personality and I’m not sure one’s coworkers would appreciate it. But as for a night on the town at your favorite club…absolutely!
- Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Woody Aromatic
- Classification: Unisex
- Expense: Starting at $90 for 20 ml eau de parfum
WHAT I SMELL: Mixed Emotions opens with a beautiful minty fresh cassis which moves ever so slightly to the evergreen in a rapid manner. Almost immediately, the perfume feels as if it resides on the edge of the forest where the green and the fruits seem to beckon all living things to commune with its ripened juice. After a short while, the fruit begins to quiet and soften, but the blackcurrant sweetens with the addition of a hint of violet while a soft tea note begins to enter. Here the perfume becomes more contemplative. Did I say contemplative? In a very short time, the perfume starts to move towards the semi-funky when wafts of light sweat come into play. For non-perfumistas that may sound like a horrible thing, but for those in the know, it can be enticing; and in this case, it’s exactly that. As the perfume continues to develop, a light violet begins to occupy the space where the blackcurrant resided along with the lightest of tea and incense. Here, the perfume is once again contemplative, soft and engaging and to me, very, very pretty. In the end you’re left with a quiet, lightly sweet musk of a perfume. Mixed Emotions is pretty and rather intimate in just the right kind of way.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Mixed emotions? Maybe. But to me, it’s sweet emotions. (And to clarify further, that means sweet related to love vs. sweet related to sugar!)
The Scented Hound 