Match #72 · Brotherhood Of Scent

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Match #72

Hello, darkness, my old friend...

The second semifinal in the winner's bracket is a heavyweight battle in every sense, pitting two cold-weather behemoths against each other: Tom Ford Ombré Leather versus Boss Bottled Absolu.

Bottled Absolu has been one of the biggest discoveries of this entire tournament for me. Incense, patchouli, myrrh, leather, and woods combine into something dark, smoky, rich, and incredibly powerful. It projects like crazy, lasts forever, and becomes even more interesting as it develops. When the weather finally cools down, this is going to get plenty of wear.

But Ombré Leather is formidable competition. Leather is obviously the star, but it's the way that leather blends with cardamom, amber, patchouli, jasmine, and moss that makes the fragrance so compelling. It's dark and powerful without becoming harsh, and the drydown is beautifully smooth. Performance is every bit as impressive as the Boss.

So we're basically choosing between two fragrances that do exactly what I want a great cold-weather fragrance to do.

I suspect I'll get some raised eyebrows for this decision, because Bottled Absolu has developed a pretty formidable reputation. But side-by-side, there's something about the smoothness of the Tom Ford—and especially that gorgeous leather note—that wins me over.

Tom Ford Ombré Leather wins Match #72 and advances to face Terre d'Hermès Eau Givrée in the winner's-bracket final. Boss Bottled Absolu drops into the second-chance bracket.

I've said it before during this tournament: Tom Ford really knows how to do leather. Ombré Leather is superb, and F*cking Fabulous is another wonderful example.

And now our winner's-bracket final is set: bright, sparkling citrus versus dark, luxurious leather.

That should be interesting.

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Match #72