Took me long enough.

I’ve written about LADDM before:

Tauer L’Air Desert Du Marocain

• Wet: oak, amber, vetiver, cedar, balsamic vinegar
• Dry: vetiver, cedar, coriander, amber, jasmine, balsamic vinegar

Mr. Chokkattu’s first love, and the one he wears the most often, LADDM is a dark, woody, smoky, slightly sweet thing with a low voice and dark hair. It starts with a sharp balsamic over a dark base, and then evens out, and as per the name the resulting fragrance is dry, hot, and slightly sweet. I really like this one, and Mr. Chokkattu only let me borrow this one because he has another sample of it.

New impressions:

L’Air du Desert Marocain is still Mr. Chokkattu’s favorite (though A La Nuit is edging in), and fortunately I am not at his freezing place trying this on, but I still think this could benefit from a bit of heat, at least to give it context.

Sweet sun-dried grass and hay, powdery amber, hot, warm cardamom, basil, singed cedar and oak bark and ashes and incense, all on a bed of jasmine.

Very drying and slightly sweet, LADDM settles on the top of the palate. The incense is almost fruity, like incense burned next to an offering of oranges, a common sight in my grandmother’s house. This incense isn’t Chinese though, it’s more nag champa-esque, but even that’s not really correct either, and I can only assume this is what the African stuff smells like. Heavier and creamier, assisted by the resins, this is much less bitter and sharp, but like actual incense, smelling it too fast singes the nostrils a bit.

The effect is a breeze from a restaurant front with a flower box in the middle of a heat wave, and the wave isn’t particularly refreshing, it’s just a carrier of the atmosphere.

When word spread that Tauer had created a new masterpiece and was offering pre-order and samples for a you-name-it price, I just had to snag some.

Lonesome Rider is iris, leather, gasoline, vetiver, iris iris iris, incense, permanent marker, iris.

I hate that I dislike iris because I completely understand what I’m supposed to like about it: the unsweet, complex, buttery lows and the bright, not-quite-floral highs, and I was pretty upset that I’d have to write this one off for that reason alone. Imagine my relief when the big iris notes that start the wearer off are swallowed up by the dark, material notes that blend it up into something that doesn’t as much resemble iris.

After the first few minutes, it starts to smell like motorcycle exhaust and black-stained leather jackets, with the iris playing an almost eucalyptus-like role in the background. Unlike LADDM, it floats to the sinuses and only slightly brushes the palate.

This is a tough guy who throws around that jacket of his and rides some beat-up vintage motorcycle, only speaking to mutter something rather uncouth before throwing down.

Conclusion: I like LADDM more. No iris, sweeter, and more classically oriental with the highlight of spices and incense, and the wind effect is absolutely delightful. However, Lonesome Rider has the better full picture. It’s sexy, dry, and very much how I imagine someone dangerous, and I can see people clamoring for a bottle of it once it comes out.