It’s easy to get spoiled as a perfume enthusiast. After smelling your way through niche lines, you may not even bother with department store offerings unless they’re by Hermès or Chanel or have been getting special attention by tastemakers. Before long, you might find you’ve become like the gourmet who complains about the overly dry truffles in his scrambled eggs, forgetting how many people can’t even scrape together the money for a bowl of oatmeal. Please keep this in mind as I tell you that neither Parfums MDCI Cuir Garamante nor Nuit Andalouse tempted me.

Nose Richard Ibanez composed Cuir Garamante. Its notes feature pink pepper, nutmeg, saffron, rose, oud accord, papyrus, leather, vanilla, labdanum, incense and sandalwood. Once the tingly top of Cuir Garamante wears down, a thick, funky leather with a touch of sweetness emerges — for about ten minutes. Then it’s as if the perfumer stood, hands on hips, in his lab and said, “What manly notes can I toss in?” Into the pot went every assertive note he could find…

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