A couple of months ago Brent Leonesio, The Chairman and perfumer of Smell Bent, confided to me that he was working on a new project that involved not only a new smellie, but a comic book as well. I was excited to see what he was up to, and thrilled when a package arrived containing the comic and a sample of the new perfume, called Sweet Tyranny. I immediately sat down to read and smell.
Smell Bent, the comic, is written by Mr. Leonesio and illustrated by Andrew Herman. Set in a near-future world of Perfume Police and Scent Criminals, a young woman is thrust into the perfume underground after her parents are arrested for scent crimes. The characters are named after some of Brent’s other perfumes, like Short Fuse and Werewolf Lumberjack. I had fun with the comic, and can’t wait for the next installment. The plan is to have two more within the year.
On to the perfume. Mr. Leonesio enclosed a letter with my package letting me know that Sweet Tyranny is the first “double-deluxe, ultra-premium” scent from Smell Bent. It is made with orris root and natural Indian sandalwood. Brent has utilized these ingredients in stunning and expert fashion. The orange that opens the perfume is bright and rich, brimming with the aroma of freshly peeled fruit. This has to be one of the warmest iris-based scents I have smelled. There is none of the funereal, earthy coldness that orris can produce in fragrance; the earth is present in a different way. It is sweet, sunny earth, like the kind you can smell when you lie on the ground in the summer and start absent-mindedly picking at stuff. There is no greenery, no flowers, just a sweet creaminess that is gorgeous to wear.
Brent Leonesio at the Second Annual Artisan salon in San Francisco
Although this fragrance is an eau de parfum, it wears like an extrait, with a softness that stays close to the skin once the citrus has died down. The scent is hard to describe, and I am loath to try to pick it apart, but it is expertly blended and composed to be a seriously beautiful thing, I love a lot of Brent’s work, and own several, but he has transcended himself. It is worth every cent of the higher (but still very reasonable) price, and I hope to own it. I have been held captive by its beauty all day long.
Notes: Orris root, fresh orange, incense, aged patchouli, Indian sandalwood, Bourbon vanilla, authoritarian musk.
Sweet Tyranny debuts today, March 26th, on the Smell Bent website. Mr. Leonesio sent me my sample and we have a 5 ml roll-on plus comic book for one lucky US reader. Leave a comment to enter, and let us know you are in the USA, please, or your comment will not count toward the draw. Thank you Draw closes on March 29, 2013.
We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.
–Tama Blough, Senior Editor