Wholly Kaw - Project Leather (tallow)
Kent V8
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
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I've commented on Wholly Kaw's tallow/ass milk/hops extract base previously, so I'll abridge my comments with respect to performance. There is simply not a mark against it. This base is practically flawless with post-shave being its preeminent aspect, and as such firmly holds a place among my favorite artisanal soaps.
I've recently picked up "Merchant of Tobacco" and "Project Leather". I chose to start with Project Leather because I was in the mood for a leather explosion. Instead, I got berries. You read correctly. Dark, wild berries. Upon initial lather, I detected a sweet fennel and berry note that I couldn't shake. It was quite pleasant, but not at all what I was expecting with a name like "Project Leather". I stopped mid-shave and took a whiff of the matching EdT to confirm that perhaps I didn't receive a mislabeled tub. The EdT gave the same impression, so on with the shave. During the face lather, I searched for a leather note, and it was difficult to establish. Finally, about half-way through the first pass, the berry/fennel note spiced up a bit and declared itself as cardamom with vanilla and bourbon backup. Leather invaded close behind, but it was more of a nubuck leather fragrance. Despite the inclusion of oud, the fragrance remained on the brighter end of the spectrum. Amid the final pass, the leather became more prominent, but cardamom had equal footing. I used the paired splash and experienced a similar, yet naturally protracted experience.
The following morning, I applied the paired EdT, and again, I initially detected berries and sweet fennel (neither of which are documented or intended notes). In some ways it was reminiscent of Dr. Jon's "Krampus" sans the anise. It's possible my nose became entrained, because within a few minutes, the berry notes transformed more quickly to spicy cardamom. Still the leather took some time to make a presence, but once it did (about an hour), it remained well-established throughout. The most enjoyable part of this ride was the gradual unfolding and building over a period of about 3 to 4 hours with remarkable complexity. Bourbon and vanilla contributed a warmth and meager sweetness exhibiting a masterfully blended masculine fragrance. Note this is an EdT, and I can still enjoy this fragrance about 5 hours out, now. At the time of this writing, Project Leather is not available as an EdP.
If you've stuck it out this far, you may yet wonder what I think about Project Leather. Given its namesake, it both fails to meet, yet exceeds my expectations. I feel like the name is misleading, but this beautiful fragrance keeps good company with the likes of Wholly Kaw's Fougère Bouquet. However, if you have your nose set for a leather-forward offering from Wholly Kaw, I highly recommend you look to "Cuero Oscuro", a simply beautiful dark leather fragrance. Perhaps some day, Cuero Oscuro will get the ass milk/hops treatment and even more importantly its own EdP.
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