Thursday, April 2, 2009

Sonoma Scent Studio Tabac Aurea: A Review and a Free Sample Drawing!


Tabac Aurea makes me feel like Bette Davis, devastatingly confident, bold and sultry, lounging on a velvet sofa, head tossed playfully back in enthusiastic laughter.

The soundtrack in my head are the lyrics to Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes -
Her hair is Harlow gold
Her lips sweet surprise
Her hands are never cold
She's got Bette Davis eyes

She'll turn the music on you
You won't have to think twice
She's pure as New York snow
She's got Bette Davis eyes

Tabac Aurea is a drop dead gorgeous tobacco fragrance. I think I’m transported to a Bette Davis’ frame of mind because Tabac Aurea is so well done it feels as if it’s vintage, from a time and place when there weren’t unnecessary restrictions on perfume ingredients, when fragrances were created slowly with utmost attention to detail, each one a work of art, each one crafted as if to stand the test of time, each bottle a small luxury to be treasured on a woman’s dresser.

And she'll tease you
She'll unease you
All the better just to please you
She's precocious
and she knows just
what it takes to make a pro blush
She's got Greta Garbo stand-off sighs
She's got Bette Davis eyes

She'll let you take her home (it whets her appetite)
She'll lay you on the throne
She's got Bette Davis eyes

“Aurea” is a latin word translating to mean “golden” in English. Tabac Aurea is a smooth blonde pipe tobacco scent blended with woods, refreshing earthy textures, amber, labdanum, leather, tonka and a smidge of vanilla knitting it all together. Some say they smell leather prominently but I don’t, this is all woody tobacco perfection for me. I find the quality of Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances easily on par with Serge Lutens. Yes, I’m serious. Particularly her woody notes, definitely remind me of the Lutens Bois series. Tabac Aurea is not smoky; this is fresh, unsmoked pipe tobacco, it is smooth, clean and refined. Laurie Erickson, the perfumer, treats the tobacco note as if it was a flower; a gorgeous golden tobacco flower unfurling atop a stem and leaves which are actually a cherry wood pipe.

She'll take a tumble on you
Roll you like you were dice
until you come up blue
She's got Bette Davis eyes

She'll expose you
when she snows you
off your feet with the crumbs she throws you
She's ferocious and she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy
She's got Bette Davis eyes

Tabac Aurea is not solely a masculine – it’s effortlessly unisex. I’ve tried Tabac Aurea first as a sample – dabbed it on from a glass vial, then later, sprayed from the bottle. I was impressed with the fragrance from the vial but once sprayed it became apparent that the scent is over the top gorgeous. When sprayed, Tabac Aurea exhibits more of its cherry pipe tobacco quality and the ambery, spicy notes emerge more predominantly. The slight fruity notes are subtle but linger throughout. Ms. Erickson describes the perfume as having some sweetness and an overall golden aura and I definitely see that. Especially the golden nature, the aroma of Tabac Aurea wraps around me and recalls sitting outside on a warm, dry afternoon watching the sunset across a freshly hayed field.

And she'll tease you
She'll unease you
All the better just to please you
She's precocious and she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy
She's got Bette Davis eyes

Important note! There will be a drawing for free samples of Sonoma Scent Studio Tabac Aurea. Please leave a comment with your email address to be entered into the drawing by Monday night (April 5th). I will randomly choose 2 lucky winners. I have carded samples directly from Sonoma Scent Studio but because I enjoyed spraying the scent so much I will also include a spray samples.

Please visit Sonoma Scent Studio online by clicking here

Notes: amber, woods, spices, tobacco, leather, tonka, labdanum, patchouli, and vanilla.

23 comments:

Veggrrl said...

Tabac Aurea sounds divine! I've yet to try a Sonoma Scent Studio fragrance, but I want to, and I've heard that they're very good. Please enter me in the drawing. Thanks!
Molly
mcmcm@att.net

jmcleod76 said...

Ooh ooh. Enter me: jmcleod76@msn.com
Great review.
Thanks!
Jaime
smellslikeboi.blogspot.com

Alexander said...

How wonderful- Leather and Tobacco go so well together- I am today wearing Bell'Antonio- a coffee tobacco scent that is wonderful- the first time I have got a proper whiff of coffee without there being coffee around and then glorious tobacco... ahhh....
Alexander

Nomad said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nomad said...

Please count me in... I have not loved tobacco style scents up until now, but I am confident the "right one" exists for me out there somewhere! I am also such a fan of Old Hollywood - Bette Davis and Lauren Bacall are my heroines. dimiandmira/at/hotmail/dot/com
PS: Apologies for the double post - have deleted one of them.

Tara said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
neens said...

I would love to have a sample and ps i love your blog. it's one of the first i turn to in the morning.
dc9nini@comcast.net

jo said...

i LOVE laurie's stuff!!! i have been so excited waiting for her tabac aurea to be done!!

please please include me in the drawing!!!

jo

Joe said...

You've done a nice review and made this sound very tempting, although I haven't tried many -- or maybe any -- tobacco-based scents. I've also only just recently tried a sample of SSS Champagne de Bois. I'd love a chance at a sample: kusala68 dothotmail dotcom

Ines said...

I still haven't tried anything from Sonoma studios and this sounds wonderful (for a non-smoker, I seem to like tobacco smells quite a lot). :)
Please enter me for the draw.

inesstef@gmail.com

Solander said...

Sounds gorgeous - I adore Bette Davis and I'd like to try the scent too!

kathleen said...

Everyone is talking about this one, I would love to be included in the draw, please, Abigail

ahsumaker said...

This one has generated quite a bit of buzz. I would love to try it. Please count me in the drawing.
Amy
ahsu78 at gmail dot com

Tara said...

I would love to be devestatingly confident right about now! I've heard a lot about the Sonoma Scent Studio line but have not tried any of their fragrances.

Please enter me in the drawing.

Thanks

Taramansfield@aol.com

Unknown said...

Mmmm This sounds absolutely lovely. I can't wait to give it a sniff

Kim
kaparker89@gmail.com

pavlova said...

Oh I would love to try this - thank you so much for offering samples in a drawing! Your review entices me to try some Sonoma Scent Studio frgrances.
Many Thanks

Karin said...

I'd love to sample it!

OKJazz said...

After this review, who can resist trying Tabac Aurea. Please enter me for the draw.

Anonymous said...

Oh this sounds lovely! I'd love to try. fountaingirl (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks!

Abigail said...

Thanks for your interest in the free drawing, everybody!

The winners are:

fountaingirl
and
neens

I'll be in touch with the winners via email for their mailing addresses.

Abigail

Julie H. Rose said...

I've got hundreds of samples, but none of Sonoma Scent Studio. So, I'm looking forward to trying some. Please enter me in the drawing, too. jrose@fairpoint.net

Mals86 said...

Late to the party (really late!), but just tested TA today and thought I'd comment that in my opinion, it leans very masculine, but in a delicious sort of way. There are any number of "unisex" scents that I just can't wear because they remind me of shaving cream - which, although it smells great, screams GUY!!! Tabac Aurea smells almost exactly the way my high school boyfriend smelled. My God, it's swoony. (He didn't even wear cologne. Nor did he smoke, although he did wear a leather bomber jacket...) Wow, I'd happily wear this fragrance. I usually love to smell old-style film noir, but I don't get that sort of vibe from Tabac Aurea. It's so interesting that different people interpret scent so differently, isn't it?

Laura Tattoo said...

count me in. i love tobacco. i was one of the first to port "chypre rouge". my husband loves it. i am in oregon, not france, unfortunately...