Leather Jardin

Every once in a while (say once a year) a perfume comes along that doesn’t cost the earth and that everyone likes. Many people had suggested I smell LJ, and described it as the best of the Zara line. Naturally it was gone in the shop, and I ordered it from eBay, safe in the knowledge that nobody would be selling a dupe of a dupe. I am delighted to say that it is in fact as advertised by word-of-mouth. It starts out as a very competent dupe of Chanel’s Pour Monsieur, i.e. a classic Chypre with a suitably dandified vibe. Then the leather kicks in, less bitter that I expected from the many descriptions of it as a mini-Bandit. But the best bit, the true test of skill of the anonymous perfumer is the drydown. Faced with a skimpy budget, they resort to one of the trickiest things in perfumery: an accord poised exactly between territories so you don’t smell it the same way twice. In this case these are a cologne drydown, a waxy leathery accord and a ghostly version of the suave candied orange found at the bottom of David Apels’ legendary Pavarotti (1994). An extraordinary achievement at the £35 retail price.