May 21, 2013 world of men's style / fashion / grooming RSS
“Smell Test”
05/06/13
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The Smell Test: Michael Jordan’s Flight Sport

Smell Test

Basketball legend Michael Jordan has made some questionable decisions since the days we trusted him on the court. So when we saw he had released the “Sport” version of his original eau de toilette, Flight, earlier this year, we were skeptical.

According to Perfumania, Flight Sport boasts notes of mandarin oil, geranium, patchouli, white lavender, vanilla and skin musk. We’re not convinced. So we had a few of Kempt’s most sophisticated noses take a spritz and evaluate. Here’s what they had to say:»
 

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10/18/12
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Smell Test: Odin 09 Posala

Last time we met, we determined that Odin’s 07 fragrance smelled like Michael Fassbender in a closet made of cedar. Then along came 08, which we… well, we ignored it.

Today, Odin 09, which purports to smell like velvety peach and pear flower with hints of tobacco and bourbon. That’s almost right. We asked 10 sophisticated noses at Kempt HQ to give it a whiff and weigh in.

Their opinions, after the jump:»
 

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07/12/12
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Test-Driving Bond No. 9’s Hamptons Cologne

We haven’t had a smell test in a while, but when samples came in of the “Hamptons” scent by Bond No. 9, we knew we had to investigate. The floral notes are meant to invoke summers on the beach. But would it smell like Diddy’s White Party or Billy Joel after too much white wine?

We asked a panel of olfactory-gifted ladies to give us their opinions.

The results may (or may not) shock you.»
 

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04/06/12
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Test-Driving Viktor & Rolf’s Spicebomb

Our latest smell test comes from Viktor & Rolf, who shifted their popular women’s scent Flowerbomb into a men’s spinoff, dubbed Spicebomb.

The result is full of rich, sweet florals—but in the interest of describing it without perfume lingo, we thought we’d ask a few of our ruthlessly articulate lady friends what they thought of the scent. What follows is an unedited transcript. This could get ugly…

Hear what our panel had to say about Spicebomb»
 

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03/27/12
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Test-Driving Donald Trump’s Cologne

In just a scant few weeks, “Success by Donald Trump” will be loosed upon the world at large, and Macy’s in particular.

We know, it’s not our usual beat, but as intrepid journalists, we felt honor-bound to investigate. So we picked up a bottle proceeded to put it through our usual exhaustive battery of tests—basically, asking a few of our most pitiless female acquaintances to describe the scent. It wasn’t pretty, but it was real.

The hard truth about Donald Trump’s cologne »

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02/07/12
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Test-Driving “Spent Musket Oil” from Brooklyn Dry Goods

Our latest smell test comes from Brooklyn Dry Goods, inspired by the musk of an antique rifle found in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. As you might expect, it’s an offbeat scent, full of tobacco, pepper and unplaceable industrial notes.

But enough of the perfume lingo: it’s time to find out what the pitiless men and ladies (mostly ladies) of the office think. Here are their unvarnished appraisals.

We’d like to apologize in advance…

Nine ruthless appraisals of the latest scent»
 

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01/11/12
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Test-Driving Odin No. 7

This past month, New York’s Odin unveiled their seventh fragrance, a unisex scent cooked up by Parisian parfumier Corrine Cachen—and somehow, we managed to get our hands on a bottle of the stuff.

It’s in the woody, musky style of cologne, full of crisp top notes and warm undertones… or at least that’s what the press release says. To get to the real, messy truth, we rounded up some of the ruthlessly articulate ladies around the office for an unbiased appraisal of the scent.

The following opinions are not necessarily our own—although we see where they’re coming from.

Here’s what the people had to say»
 

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12/23/11
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Test Driving Klaus Kinski’s Cologne

Ladies and gentlemen, Klaus Kinski has a cologne.

Twenty years after his death, the intense German actor’s estate has unveiled Kinski the Fragrance, an olfactory tribute to the star of Aguirre, Fitzcarraldo and For a Few Dollars More.

There are a number of red flags here—including the fact that the url is on the box, is apparently still available for purchase—but in the name of journalism, we offered our female friends and colleagues a whiff of Kinski and polled them to see if the estate had produced a scent as erotically powerful as the man himself.

The results were troubling, to say the least…»

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12/09/11
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Test-Driving Shipley & Halmos’s First Cologne

This Wednesday, Shipley & Halmos launched their first cologne, a piney concoction brewed up by Brooklyn’s D.S. & Durga.

They only made 99 bottles of the stuff, but somehow we managed to get our hands on one of them. It’s big on lavender, with a few touches of suntan oil—but let’s face it, you don’t care about the parfumerie lingo. You want to know what it really smells like—so we enlisted a few of our most verbose female acquaintances to take a whiff of the stuff and tell us how it smells.

Here’s what the people had to say…»

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11/03/11
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Test-Driving Gant’s First Cologne

Gant launched their first cologne this week, with a little help from the mildly legendary Pierre Wulff. And since they don’t do these things in half measures, we thought it deserved nothing less than a full battery of tests, including a poll of a few of the sharper noses in the office.

If you want to smell it in person, Gant stores will be handing out half-ounce samples with every purchase—but first, we’ll give you a sense of what you’re in for.

Fair warning: you’re in for at least one Miami Vice reference…»
 

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Style: some people have it, and some neighborhoods really have it. To show you what we mean, we’ve partnered with Cadillac to present Style Shifters—a five-part, in-depth look at what the hippest gents in some of the country’s coolest neighborhoods are wearing now. Our intrepid photographers have roamed the streets in search of the most stylish guys around. Herewith, a few photos of what they found...

New York

Brooklyn

Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Brooklyn is home to some of the country’s best bars, coolest restaurants and, of course, some of the best menswear shops in the world. Naturally, you’ll find more than a few stylish individuals perched outside those locations (and no, not all of them are Billyburg hipsters). See what we mean below...

On The Streets: Brooklyn

  • Carl Mateo, 32 Brand Ambassador for Silly Hats Company Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn
    What We Like Sed tempor tincidunt augue, nec faucibus mi mattis vitae. Donec urna massa, molestie eget facilisis nec, pellentesque a enim.

    Vivamus ipsum est, feugiat vitae commodo et, dignissim at orci. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Aliquam iaculis faucibus urna, sit amet pellentesque.
  • Michael Benin, 28 Frontend Developer of UrbanDaddy Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn
    What We Like Vivamus ipsum est, feugiat vitae commodo et, dignissim at orci. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Aliquam iaculis faucibus urna, sit amet pellentesque.

    Sed tempor tincidunt augue, nec faucibus mi mattis vitae. Donec urna massa, molestie eget facilisis nec, pellentesque a enim.
  • Michael Benin, 28 Frontend Developer of UrbanDaddy Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn
    What We Like Vivamus ipsum est, feugiat vitae commodo et, dignissim at orci. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Aliquam iaculis faucibus urna, sit amet pellentesque.

    Sed tempor tincidunt augue, nec faucibus mi mattis vitae. Donec urna massa, molestie eget facilisis nec, pellentesque a enim.
  • Michael Benin, 28 Frontend Developer of UrbanDaddy Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn
    What We Like Vivamus ipsum est, feugiat vitae commodo et, dignissim at orci. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Aliquam iaculis faucibus urna, sit amet pellentesque.

    Sed tempor tincidunt augue, nec faucibus mi mattis vitae. Donec urna massa, molestie eget facilisis nec, pellentesque a enim.
California

San Francisco

Mission District
May 1

Oh, and up next: we take a peak at another handsome-as-hell neighborhood, the Mission District in San Francisco. Stay tuned...

Kempt
Style Shifters
Cadillac