Snuff
Elsa Schiaparelli (1977)

This is an oak moss delight with citrus overtones, very reminiscent of Lentheric's Tweed, Gres' Homme de Gres and R&G's Le Jade.

The oak moss is central here with citrus and florals entwining it. A very dry and secure masculine scent, almost simple in its austerity.

Good but not outstanding in any way.

Snuff opens with a combination of moderately aromatic lavender and green oakmoss with hints of citric bergamot and relatively dry pipe tobacco. As the composition makes its way to its early heart, the relatively dry pipe tobacco blooms into the starring role with smooth leather now playing co-star, as the oakmoss hangs around in support, joined by mild carnation and slightly lemony green geranium. During the late dry-down the composition turns slightly powdery as dry vanilla joins relatively dry amber as co-stars with hints of sanitized patchouli and the remnants of the oakmoss and leather remaining through the finish. Projection is good and longevity very good at over 10 hours on skin.

Snuff is one of those compositions that hooks you in right from the moment you spray it on. As the oakmoss lavender and pipe tobacco trio hit, a smile couldn't be repressed as I already knew Snuff was a winner. That said, it wouldn't be the first time a composition impressed early, only to wimp or cheap out during the dry-down... I can safely say that in this case, if anything, things only get better. By the time the composition has entered its mid-section, the tobacco comes out in full force. This tobacco is not of the sickeningly sweet synthetic smelling variety found in so many other compositions, but rather a quite realistic relatively dry tobacco leaf with the oakmoss used as key support. I kind of liken the effect to pairing the oakmoss heavy Davidoff original with a relatively similar dry tobacco leaf accord in the neighborhood of Havana by Aramis. Before anyone cries foul as to any allusion that Snuff is a Havana (or Davidoff) hybrid clone, it isn't (and besides, it came out before both of them). I only mention those two masterpiece compositions because layering them might give one a bit of an idea of what to expect from Snuff's sublime heart section. Finally, moving to the late dry-down, Snuff goes in an entirely different direction as the perfumer uses the powdery facets of vanilla, amber and even some of the oakmoss in brilliant fashion, never allowing the powder to get in the way of the stark leather, all working together harmoniously as the composition slowly fades. What can I say?... This stuff is absolutely brilliant. The bottom line is the sadly discontinued Snuff (1977 version) is an absolutely "outstanding" 4.5 star out of 5 rated composition that realistic tobacco lovers should go out of their way on the aftermarket to procure... It is safe to say this one immediately did.

Vintage Snuff : cold ashtray My friends tell me it smells like a cold ashtray but I absolutely love it! Vintage Snuff (1939) is an unkown masterpiece for men on the Tobacco theme. It is not surprising because it's the surrealist period, when Elsa Schiaparelli called Roure and Jean Carles to make her new perfumes, strong, potent, daring, unconventionnal. Only Shocking became famous, but there were also Sleeping, Zut and Snuff. Snuff was a green, bitter, harsh cigar with hints of leather, so strong that the cologne bottle smells all over the room (and it's only the cologne, not the perfume in its pipe bottle). Very difficult to find, vintage Snuff reminds me Sous le Vent (Guerlain), because of its green bitter and animalic aspect.

If this were released today it would be a niche unisex fragrance. It starts with an icy, martini-like blast of alcohol, then settles down immediately to a rich cedar woods with hints of sage that is reminiscent to my nose of Serge Luten's Cedre or a more rich Tam Dao or some of the Ormonde Jayne fragrances.I also get a hint of leather.This isn't overly sweet to me, nor does it smell like the tobacco it's supposed to evoke. But then I cannot vouch for the quality of the vintage manufacturer's sample I've got. It's scrawled in cursive "Snuff de Schiaparelli.I've never smelled the earlier women's version so I have no basis for comparison, but my sample has good longevity and has bloomed nicely in the heat.It's a pity that Schiaparelli couldn't have held on to producing this for awhile, because this would have found a new appreciate and market today.

I don't understand the history of this fragrance, since it originated almost 30 years before 1977. I assume it must have been reformulated then. I just received a mint bottle from e-bay. It reminds me of Rafale (Molinard) and Monsieur Lanvin: spicy and woody. Its linear, old school, and cloyingly sweet. I'm a big fan.