Family Resemblance

[wendyb1063]

A quiet moment between a father and his daughter. We might be related.

A splash of Tombstone, red velvet musk, and a red licorice whip.

This is a lovely fragrance, although not exactly what I expected. I've let it rest for a few days before I posted my thoughts here.

I don't really get a lot of Tombstone from this. I do get a certain woody sweetness underlying the scent, but it really doesn't smell at all like Tombstone to me when I sniff them side by side, nor does it have the throw of Tombstone. I was expecting the over-the-top vanilla sweetness in my 8-year old bottle of Tombstone. As it dries, more of the almost root beer sweetness of Tombstone does come out.

I do get a bit of the red licorice whips: a tiny touch of anise and a generic red fruit, probably more cherry than strawberry but not prominent. The red velvet musk is not something that red musk haters need to fear, IMHO. I almost get a hint of patchouli?

This one is going to age spectacularly, I believe.

[Ina Garten Davita]

Reading the notes, I would never have thought this would smell so fantastic, but having smelled Tombstone on Ted at DragonCon, I knew this would be a winner. A cowboy in a candy store!

 

Purchased a bottle, because yeah, it’s that good. It also makes me want to experiment with layering my bottle of Tombstone with other Fatherhood favorites.

 

[torikitty]

Husband describes this as pepper and musk. It doesn’t smell like his Tombstone, except for the pencil shavings. I get pencil shavings and candy. This seems like it’s got excellent aging potential.

[doomsday_disco]

Tombstone is one of my favorites, so I am really excited to try this Tombstone variant!

 

In the bottle: I do get the Tombstone from this, but the red licorice and musk are more prominent in the bottle. The licorice note reads as cherry to me and smelled somewhat medicinal with the musk, but I know not to trust the bottle sniff!

 

Wet: Ohhh, good. The Tombstone is the most prominent aspect of the scent on my skin, with its sassafras, vanilla, and cedar. After a minute, the red licorice note emerges, and yes, it’s definitely the cherry variety. It quickly gains strength, and sometimes I smell more licorice, and sometimes, more Tombstone. There are times when I wonder if the red velvet musk is red musk, because I do get that vibe from this at times, but other times, I think it’s just the cherry of the licorice blending with the musk. I guess I will know for sure once it dries, because I tend to amp red musk.

 

Dry: Yeah, it’s red musk. I was hoping red velvet musk would be red velvet CAKE musk, but alas. There's nothing cake-y about this. But the Tombstone seems to ground it and keep in check so it can’t stomp all over everything on me like it usually does. So it’s red musk and cherry licorice on a bed of Tombstone (which I’m mostly getting the cedar from now).

 

After several hours of wear, I mostly get Tombstone's cedar, a velvety musk, and the memory of cherry licorice.

 

Verdict: I love Tombstone, and I love it even more once it ages (everyone talks about aging Dorian and Snake Oil, but I think Tombstone is one that really benefits from lots of aging as well -- the vanilla in it really shines after years of aging). I am not sure how I feel about the licorice and musk, so I don’t love this like I love Tombstone, but I am going to give this more time to settle and age because it’s a Tombstone variant.

[milo]

I love Tombstone, and cherry notes, so I thought that this was a no brainer. Colour me disappointed. I do not get any Tombstone, just a waxy, fake cherry chapstick. I'll keep the decant to see if it improves, but for now, a big miss.

[zankoku_zen]

Red licorice, red velvet cakes and a whiff of Tombstone. It's mainly a red licorice/red velvet scent on me. Good throw and wear length.

[artisjok]

Family Reseblence starts out sugary cinnamon (weird, but no mistaking, that taste it leaves). As the cinnamon fades out during drying process, I'm definitely getting a velvet cakiness with musk and a touch of sugary red licorice. Not really getting much Tombstone :/ I'm wearing the HG to compare. There's a slight something that matches between them, but it's a barely-there whiff that I can't tease out. 

 

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Leather and red licorice dominant.  Sexy and smooth and liquory.  Wet: Rather more chalky on the skin, but the red licorice and leather still stand out.  Still very cowboy, but not nearly as sexy as the musk is de-emphasized. Dry: Sweetened leather. That red licorice note has surprising staying power.

[monocainsheresy]

Smoky, husky red licorice. The Tombstone is dominant in this for me, to the point where after it dries I can barely tell that it's not pure Tombstone. 

[clockworkcrypt]

I ordered a decant of this and got it sometime in october. I tried it than and it had a bit too much of a red candy vibe, but knowing tombstone I decided to hang onto it and test it in a few months. Today I put it on before work. And 10 hours later y'all are getting a rambling review

 

Fresh on me it's a whiff of cherry and cedar, with the root beer loveliness of tombstone hanging underneath. I'm going to be honest I don't know a lot about red musk, but I'm guessing that's the sweetness I'm getting from the top, like if tombstone was dropped in a candy store. But not just any candy smell, the specific kind you get from being about 5 feet away from a bowl of twizzlers. Nice, sweet, and vaguely fruity, but not enough cherry to overpower or bother those like me who are sensitive to it. On dry-down and long wear it's a cloud of fruity candy musk, not so much fruit, but the smell that comes from artificial fruit flavouring, on top of cedar and vanilla, with the root-beer mixing with the sweet elements and kind of dying out. 

 

Overall, it's a lovely scent, all the fun of tombstone, with a candy overlayering. I don't need more than a decant of this, as I like normal tombstone better, but this is really good!

[VetchVesper]

I get vanilla, cinnamon, root beer, and a waxy artificial cherry that's still nice.  Definitely red Twizzlers "licorice."  I'm not getting any anise.  I get a hint of the red musk, which makes the scent more "grown up," and I don't smell Tombstone per se, but I do get more depth that I would expect from all the sugary notes, so I'm sure the cedar and balsam and what not are in the mix.  I also like the fake cherry note better than the artificial strawberry note I often get, but they both have a very "pink" feel.  This is a sweet blend that's fun and whimsical, but still manages to be grown up.