Indie Friday: Nic Cage Fragrance Oil + a story (sort of) | Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog

18 April, 2014

Indie Friday: Nic Cage Fragrance Oil + a story (sort of)

Bought It

Today's Indie Friday post is going to be short and sweet, or more accurately, short and manly. Unlike Nicolas Cage, who stands at a reasonably statuesque six feet.


I bought the Nic Cage Raking Leaves On A Brisk October Afternoon fragrance oil (by OHWTO) that you see above ages ago, forgot I had it for a while, then recently rediscovered it in my pile of smelly treasures. Whether or not you like Nic Cage (or memes involving Nic Cage) this is actually a nice fragrance, so I thought I'd write a little bit about it.


First of all, here's the scent description from the OHWTO shop:

Leaves. Crisp fall air. Deciduous woods. A black leather jacket, well-loved. Maybe the one he wore in Ghost Rider, because there's also some Egyptian Amber in there reminiscent of some of his more, erm, peculiar character acting habits. A light musk, and just a hint of patchouli and men's aftershave. I might have added a smudge of vanilla bean, but you'd never know it >_> Definitely unisex-leaning-masculine, ie, if you only wear florals or only wear candy scents you'll likely not care for this one, but if you're into things like, say, the old unisex GAP smells, or CK1, or things that smell like the most awesome actor of our time, well, you will most likely really enjoy this.

1/3 oz unisex fragrance oil in rollerball bottle with iconic Nicolas Cage vinyl sticker.
[$15.00]


Now I'm going to tell you a weird story. Back when I was a kid, my dad used to take me into leathercraft shops. Desolate, pungent-smelling seas of fluorescent-lit brown hides conveniently located off Exit 3. I have no idea how or why this started, but he was obsessed with the art of leather carving - even his checkbook had an elaborate seahorse etched onto the cover. As for me? I tried to carve a pattern into a leather keychain once, stabbed myself in the hand, and promptly took up a new hobby.

Anyway, I'm sharing this little memory vignette to sort of shed some light on my feelings about leathery scents: On one hand I think leather is kind of gross, but on the other, it's a nostalgic smell for me. At the same time the scent can be overpowering and even a bit cloying (much like my stupid story). But guess what? The leather note in Nic Cage Raking Leaves On A Brisk October Afternoon is actually pretty subtle. I can't pick out all of the individual notes listed in the description, but imagine a leathery scent as if it were sort of sweet and soft and cozy... sort of like a well-worn jacket or a favorite chair. It kind of reminds me of this guy I dated when I was 20 or so - he would wander around in the rain wearing an ill-fitting black leather jacket, then come home and throw it on a pile of clean socks in the corner of his room whilst ranting about the poor manners of our local sandwich shop's proprietor. This scent is that jacket. Does that mean that I was dating Nic Cage and didn't even realize it? Maybe so, maybe so.

As for the sillage on this, it's pretty low. You could wear it in most environments without offending people. That's always good. The scent is low-key but it does stick around for a while - I find myself still sniffing Nic Cage's sexy musk hours after I've applied it.

The little blurb in the shop describes this as unisex-leaning-masculine, and I would say that's probably accurate. This is not for diehard lovers of sweet scents, but if you're a lady who likes smelling a bit "unusual" then it certainly works. I got Stan to try it on a while back and he kept sniffing his wrists and saying "Mmm, fresh!" That's what he says about everything he likes, so I'll take it as a good review.

I suppose I should note that I have never actually smelled Nic Cage so I can't guarantee this scent's accuracy - the man could smell like lutefisk and Diet IRN-BRU, for all I know. But I like it, and Stan thinks it's MMMFRESH, so if my weird (and not-so-short after all) description appeals to you, then it might be worth a try.


Where to buy: You can get Nic Cage Raking Leaves On A Brisk October Afternoon from the OHWTO (One Hand Washes The Other) shop on Etsy.


What do you think of the Nic Cage fragrance? If you could get a perfume based off any celebrity, who would you choose?

10 comments:

  1. The name of that perfume is brilliant, I can kind of imagine how it would smell. Thanks for sharing the link to their site I've been looking for somewhere that sells solid perfume :)

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  2. I haven't tried any of their solids yet - hopefully you'll review them if you end up picking some up! There are lots of interesting scent choices though. Too many, actually. :P

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  3. Hmmm. Nic Cage raking leaves reminds me of the movie he starred in called 8mm. Good movie and suspenseful and leather due to the "snuff" film subject. Sounds like an interesting scent but I think I wouldn't mind a Ralph Fiennes or even a Daniel Craig one!

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  4. I'd probably like this. I always loved going to the shoe repair shop with my mom because of the leather and shoe polish smell. I also like the smell of sharpie markers, rubber cement and white out but they wouldn't translate well as fragrances :P

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  5. I probably would like this scent since I love the scent of leather....I know I am a little weird that way....LOL! My husband used up a cologne sample last night and I asked him how he like it and he says, I liked it....I say can you elaborate a little and he says...it smelt good...Now does he not help with reviewing mine and his empties or not???....LOL!

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  6. I would happily sniff either of those!

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  7. I think Demeter makes a few scents like that... they definitely have a "glue" one, for example. I've never sniffed it though so I'm not sure how wonderfully toxic it really smells.

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  8. A lot of people do! And my BF is always the same, way, lol. Things either smell "fresh" or "good" or "nice or *occasionally* "like flowers". Not helpful!

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  9. Nic Cage Raking Leaves on a Brisk October Afternoon - old leather and patchouli aside, I think this fragrance has merit solely based upon it's name.

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  10. Oh most certainly. And the smiley Nic Cage face buried in a pile of crisp leaves doesn't hurt either.

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