Coxcomb

[ivyandpeony]

Red currant, Moroccan musk, sage, and frankincense.

I'm completely surprised by how much I love this one! Sage is usually a note that sends a blend straight to the swap pile for me (and that's if I was foolish enough to think it would work in the first place ) My skin takes it and produces that weird, slightly burnt rubber smell that you get from a freshly opened, old-school Band-Aid.

No such thing happening here, and the frankincense that can sometimes get a little sharp on me is also cooperating perfectly. It must be the gorgeous musk that brings all the other notes into harmony with one another. Like so many other reviewers, I'm definitely getting lots and lots of musk and it's a really beautiful one, warm and sweet and a little bit spicy. The currants give it just enough sweetness but don't really make it fruity. It's a really gorgeous blend in every way.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh lord, my skin just gobbled this one right up. I smelled currants, a hint of sage and that's it.

 

Hmm. Pass.

[whisperingmachines]

Ahhhh this is pretty! I love frankincense, some musks, and currants, and this is quite lovely. It's pretty soft, and a little creamy I guess? Not as in "cream" but like... smooth. It all blends together well.

[Wwindy]

This just DOES NOT WORK on me, and I can't figure out why! The notes should all be good... but somehow all I get is a strange sharp smell, almost like nail polish remover. I'm blaming the sage.

 

Might be a fluke, I guess, but I've gotten the same response from two different tests. I'm posting this so in case others should happen to have a similar reaction, they'll know they aren't the only ones!

[veronicafranco]

on me, this is HI!! I'M FRANK!! with a little musk and sage. the currant is there only when very wet.

it actually smells nice, but masculine, on me.

like the other 2 le mats, i like it best layered with both its fellow triplets.

[kohaisama]

In the imp: Sharp, smoky and incensy

 

Wet: Musk and sage.

 

Dry: Huh. No currants at all. Just incense & sage.

[devilot]

In the vial: Patchouli?! I'm starting to wonder if mebbe the decanter mixed labels/ oils up? Definitely smells "dark" (indicative of the red currant) and maybe the Moroccan musk. But this doesn't smell like sage or frankincense to me.

 

Wet: Ooh, now I can smell the frankincense. Even w/ my allergy-ridden nose. And some sage, too. But somehow, the red currant (and probably musk) do a great job of balancing it out-- even when wet!

 

Drydown: Absolutely delicious. From start to finish.

 

Verdict: Again, this was the Le Mat blend I thought would be most promising and it didn't disappoint. I was thisclose to buying a partial bottle, but on my skin, I find that it resembles Sugar Moon quite a bit (just not nearly as sweet and I have bottles of) but also like Bat of Wealth (which I have a bottle of, too) and even a bit like Midnight Kiss, and so I'll have to ponder some more before deciding on a bottle or not. But I really like this Coxcomb.

[caitilarkin]

Sage hates me, and frankincense often goes too sweet on my skin, but I had hoped that the musk and currant would dominate here.

 

In the imp: Oooh, promising! The Moroccan musk is lovely and so is the currant. I can only detect a distant hint of sage. Yay!

 

Wet on skin: Well, my friend sage is behaving, but the frankincense has amped to a very high, overly sweet state, as it is wont to do.

 

Dry on skin: Crap, crap, crap. It's The Frankincense Show, with a little bit of musk and nary a hint of red currant.

 

All other resins like me; frankincense is the only holdout.

[hlinspjalda]

Coxcomb (Black Phoenix Trading Post, Le Mat): I ordered this decant. In the vial: Musk, sage, resin, and a bit of a tang.

 

Wet: Musk and frankincense, with a sagey touch. I like this.

 

Half an hour: Oh, delicious! It's herbal resin, warm and soothing rather than sharp or invigorating.

 

Hour and a half: Still delicious; understated, reassuring, warm.

 

Three hours: Still really nice. It's got a good version of frankincense in it, and the herb hasn't vanished. Even the currant is playing nicely. Definite keeper.

 

Six hours: Still very nice.

 

Since there doesn't appear to be a separate thread for the three-layer Le Mat scent, here's what I got when I did that:

 

I layered Coxcomb, Motley, and Marotte in that order on my left wrist and then rubbed both wrists together. I'm getting a lovely rich scent, lots of warm patchouli-sage but with the pear and a floral note plus something metallic.

 

One hour: This is splendid, warm, herbal, musky, with just a touch of floral and that delicious floral-like pear note. I am almost inclined not to trade away my Marotte as promised. But I was so enamoured of Coxcomb by itself that I went out and acquired a partial bottle of it. So I'll stick with my original plan. Besides, although beautiful, this tripartite Fool scent and the concept behind it do not call out to my heart and soul the way the Unity Roses do.

 

Two hours: This is interesting. The scent seems to have died way back on me. But when I breathe on it, moistening it a bit, it comes back almost to full strength until my skin dries again. And it has gone rather sharp on me, like currant scents sometimes do.

 

Coxcomb is the scent that made me realize how much my skin loves the sage note.

[parrot_suspect]

Oh sure. Figures I'd fall in love with another LE. I didn't order it originally, since the fruit notes scared me off, but I got a partial in a swap and that was all it took.

 

Coxcomb is amazing. On me, what I mainly get is smooth, sweet musk -- well rounded, neither powdery nor soapy, just a super-sexy skin scent. It has great throw and lasts a long time. A must-try for any musk lover.

[edenssixthday]

Coxcomb - This is a light scent, that's predominantly a soft, velvety musk with a background of husky frankincense. I don't smell the red currant at all. It's very strong and lasts a good, long while.

[rayvn1]

This smells like a warm, sexy man who just stepped out of the shower Very thick and rich, dark and intense. Sweet currant and mmmmmusk with an incense vibe from that great frankincense. Damn and double damn this is good - kinda wish I'd bought a bottle.

[boxinghelena]

This is a strange one. I do believe I'm only getting the musk & the frankincense. Heavy on the frankincense.

 

I'm on the fence about this one. It's an interesting scent.

[dawndie]

In bottle: nothing much, just vague resins

 

On skin: sweet berries and a hint of that distinctive sage from Corazon

 

Half-hour later: musky and mellow with resiny frankincense

 

In conclusion: it was weird, when I first put it on all I could smell was red musk, and I was disappointed because it was a near-duplicate of Marianne, which I wear quite a bit. Later when I tried it was its own entity and very different, but it sure doesn't want to hang out. It stays very close like a "skin musk" blend. I haven't tried this in conjunction with the other Le Mat blends, so maybe it's stronger with the others.

[Iceblink]

Incredibly herbal musky sage--this one smells very traditional-man-cologney too. I don't get much currant here--it's not sweet at all. Sage more than anything. The musk is reminiscent of that in Hunter Moon. This would be smashing for a man but not for me.

[Gin]

Coxcomb

 

Aw. The red currant is nonexistant to my nose. This is musky and smells a great deal like men's cologne. Not bad, but not for me.

[Coldfire]

Decant: dark, incense-y. Heady.

Wet on me: Sharp from the red currant but tempered by the frankincense. WOW! Heady in a great way!

Drying Down: HOLY Cow this Morrocan musk is amazing. Now I get all the notes. They are swirling around my nose and intoxicating me.

Dry: Dang..Beth Scores AGAIN! This thing is amazing. I’m hypnotized. My nose to my wrist, I close my eyes, inhale and I am transported. Wearing this is like having an out of body experience. Great when I’m slumping at work.

Edited July 21, 2009 by Coldfire

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A dry, clean musk

 

Wet on me - It's hard to put my finger on it; there's a dirtiness from the frankincense and the musk becomes more animallistic, but on top of that there is something soapy

 

Dry on me - The sage comes out and makes it greener, but the blend retains that dirty animallistic nature

 

Overall - I'm not averse to masculine scents, but this is just a bit too rawr for me

[milo]

At first, I get vetiver (?) I don't see this in the description. Something odd happens, and I'm sniffing my wrist, and it "smells" like I have a cold. Thankfully this disappears, and I get a faint musky, incensey blend. It is very nice, but I can't help but think there is something in this blend that doesn't agree with me, as I've now just finished a sneezing fit. However, this is warm, heady blend that I like quite a bit. Off to try layering, will report back!

 

After layering the three, Coxcomb is still dominant, but there is a touch of fruit there. Nice, but I think I prefer the blends on their own.

Edited August 1, 2009 by milo

[Malista]

This just DOES NOT WORK on me, and I can't figure out why! The notes should all be good... but somehow all I get is a strange sharp smell, almost like nail polish remover. I'm blaming the sage.

 

Might be a fluke, I guess, but I've gotten the same response from two different tests. I'm posting this so in case others should happen to have a similar reaction, they'll know they aren't the only ones!

 

 

Count me as another one who gets nothing but something harsh and sharp (not quite nail polish remover, but close enough that I thought I'd quote Wwindy's review) from this blend. I'm thinking it may be the combination of sage and the particular musk used, as there is no precedent whatsoever for frankincense or currents to go this way on my skin. I have tried Coxcomb three times since receiving it about a month ago, and it isn't getting any smoother. Love the other two in the set, but cannot in any way wear this one - layered with the others it just ruins them for me.

[voodoocatwoman]

WHOA. On application, this is manly men's cologne. I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK...

When it dries down, it keeps the masculine edge but the fruit comes out in the aftersniff. I do like this, but I might attempt to spill some on some of my favorite guys and see how they like it.

[heathercaley]

Mmmm I'm totally digging on this!

 

Once applied, I get a warm Moroccan musk (which is a more of a golden-spice laced musk to my nose) and resins with the red currants providing a sweet background. This is thick and sweet smelling.

 

As it dries down, it morphs into a more uni sexual blend with a bit of green sage laced frankincense popping through the currants.

 

 

This is total win, and I'm glad I have a bottle to treasure!

[filigree_shadow]

I swiped this on before I looked at the notes, and I sniffed it for about 20 minutes. Basically my main impressions were that it smelled like a nondescript cologne. Soft, a bit musky, kind of incensey, and very much in the "skin scent" category. Not strong at all. I thought, "Eh, it's okay, but not a big winner."

 

Then I looked at the notes and thought, "Ooooh, Moroccan musk! Oh, and there's red currant in there too. Well maybe I like it more than I thought I did." I gave it another sniff and thought, "Yeah, it's pretty nice,"

 

Then I sat here and called myself a dumbass. Why would I change my opinion of a scent after finding out what the notes are? That doesn't make sense. It's not like someone who smells this on me would be like, "OOOH it has Moroccan musk, I am so jealous of your amazing perfume." They wouldn't know. Hell, I didn't even know until I looked at the notes.

 

So I'm going with my initial evaluation: Musky, incensey skin scent. Nice, but not a standout for me.

[OctoberGwen]

This smells gorgeous, like an exotic Middle Eastern boudoir. I get mostly a resinous musk smell with a bit of sage. I don't want my skin to smell like this, but in my oil burner it's to die for.

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: Sharp musk, a scratchy resin, hints of amber

 

Wet: Mostly resin, thick with a slightly fruity background. There's something a bit woodsy and herbal, like sandalwood or cedar. Even though it's heavy, it's soft, like a velvet curtain.

 

Dry: Very pleasant dusty resin, with a spicy gentle breath of musk. It's nice but a tad generic.