While sniffing hundreds upon hundreds of perfumes each year (many of them just plain cheap, ineptly blended, blatantly aiming to appeal to every human on earth), I’m grateful when a solid, good-smelling fragrance appears amidst the junk. I love the weirdo scents, the “characters,” the one-of-a-kind perfumes, but they are becoming rare. (We need a whole new crop of fragrance notes, don’t we? Or a whole new crop of perfumers…?)

Le Labo Santal 33, the aroma, started out as a popular Le Labo candle than I've never smelled: Santal 26. Apparently that backstory is not exciting enough for a perfume launch, thus:

Do you remember the old Marlboro ads? A man and his horse in front of the fire on a great plain under tall, blue evening skies - A defining image of the spirit of the American West with all it implied about masculinity and personal freedom. This man, firelight in his face, leaning on the worn leather saddle, alone with the desert wind, an icon so powerful that every man wanted to be him and every woman wanted to have him...the great American myth still a source of fantasy for the rest of the world... A perfume that touches the sensual universality of this icon... that would intoxicate a man as much as a woman…*

I do remember the old Marlboro ads and the rugged “Marlboro men.” Today those ads don’t fuel fantasy so much as fright...

These past few years we've seen a number of "modernized" versions of classic fragrances. Some of them, like Yves Saint Laurent Belle d'Opium and Christian Dior Miss Dior Chérie, don't smell at all like their parent versions. Others, like Chanel No. 5 Eau Première, Estée Lauder Youth Dew Amber Nude, and (to go back a few years) Hermès Soie de Calèche are recognizable kin of their forebears. Oscar de la Renta Esprit d'Oscar stands apart from the pack in that it is both clearly related to the original Oscar de la Renta of 1977 and yet has its own personality. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up outselling its parent.

Perfumer Frank Voelkl created Esprit d'Oscar, which launched this month. Esprit d'Oscar's notes include lemon, bergamot, citron, jasmine, orange flower, tuberose, heliotrope, vetiver, tonka bean, and musk. Although I hadn't smelled Oscar, the original, in years, Esprit d'Oscar called to mind the original's tuberose and sandalwood signature right away. But there was something different — softer, lighter, and not as insistent, yet complex and much more than a watered-down version of the original...

Le Labo has launched Santal 33, a new unisex fragrance based on their popular Santal 26 candle. It is the first addition to the regular collection since 2009's Oud 27...

Oscar de la Renta will launch Esprit d'Oscar in April. The new floriental fragrance for women is an updated version of 1977's Oscar...

Le Labo will launch Baie Rose 26, the new city-exclusive fragrance for Chicago, this month.

For many people, Chicago still evokes the Prohibition-era, the decadence of the speakeasies...

With Bois d'orange fresh fragrant water, rediscover the magic of an olfactory journey to the heart of an Andalusian garden under the shade of the orange trees. Let yourself be swept away by the vibrant, sunny freshness...

That said, I adored their first city-exclusive, the wonderful Tubereuse 40 for New York, and I liked Vanille 44 for Paris as well. Aldehyde 44 for Dallas wasn't my style, luckily. This year, we've got three newcomers to the range: Poivre 23 for London, Musc 25 for Los Angeles and Gaiac 10 for Tokyo...

Men’s skincare company Zirh has just released Ikon, a fragrance developed by perfumer Frank Voelkl. After reading Ikon’s ingredients list (davana flower, lemon, ginger, cardamom, black cinnamon, clove, iris, frankincense, labdanum, cedar, amber, vetiver and patchouli), I felt I didn’t need my crystal ball to know which notes would dominate the composition: there would be some ‘lemon’ (generic citrus), cardamom, and lots of cedar and amber. I’ve given up on mainstream fragrances presenting a bold patchouli note, a vibrant, expensive-smelling frankincense aroma, or a gutsy dose of labdanum; davana blossom essence is pricey, so I didn’t expect to detect it (and didn’t) in a $50 Eau de Toilette.

But still, I’m happy to report Ikon is much better than I imagined it would be. Ikon starts with a light, fresh lemon-ginger note. There is a speedy transition from citrus freshness to notes of cardamom, cedar and decent-quality frankincense...

Coming this September from men's skincare brand Zirh will be Zirh Ikon, the line's third fragrance for men. The intended customer? "He's a pioneer, a risk-taker — men and women admire him."

Zirh Ikon is a spicy woods scent developed by perfumer Frank Voelkl...

At least once a day I stand in front of my perfume cupboard and ponder what to wear. Should it be one of the small, fancy bottles of extrait? Maybe an Eau de Toilette that I have pushed to the back and forgotten? How “dressed” do I want to be? When I can’t make a decision quickly, more often than not I reach for Iris 39 by Le Labo.

I love the smell of iris but have trouble with some iris-dominated scents. Hermes Hiris, for instance, turns to dirty hair smell on me before long. Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist, which I love wildly, also betrays me about half the time I wear it...