Perfumer Christopher Brosius is not a fan of celebrity fragrances and had no interest in producing one of his own, that is, until he met the right person, actor Alan Cumming. Alan had the right qualities and charm to seduce our genius Brooklyn perfumer into producing not one, but two perfumes over time, both with the same name “Cumming”, the second of which sits nicely in my hand sporting the provocative moniker 2nd Cumming. Both gentlemen, Mr. Cumming and Mr. Brosius, have a knack for reinvention so the 'second coming 'of Cumming was reborn from a desire to remake the splendidly successful first edition in a smaller batch, with better ingredients, and to give every penny of the profits to charity. Christopher is helping to fund the Smoke Free Project which he himself attended and found instrumental in his battle to quit and which was in danger of being shut down due to lack of funds.
The notes in the original Cumming fragrance were all chosen by Alan himself and reflect his Scottish heritage and personal taste(E-I-C's Note: What's up with the Scotts and anti-celebuscents? We gave Like This featuring Tilda Swinton by Etat Libre D'Orange a Best of 2010 award). Notes used in 2nd Cumming are: Bergamot, Black Pepper, Scotch Pine, Malt Whiskey, Cigar, Heather, Douglas Fir, Rubber, Worn Leather, Highland Mud, Burnt Rubber, Peat Fire and White Truffle.
Apparently 2nd Cumming is exactly the same scent as the original Cumming the Fragrance but in Mr. Brosius’s unique format. Since I did not have the opportunity to try the first version of the scent I asked my colleague Mark Behnke, Managing Editor of CaFleureBon for his opinion.
He (Mark Behnke) said: "2nd Cumming is not so much a sequel as a reformulation. When I first applied 2nd Cumming I thought, “no difference”. With the passage of time I noticed the real difference, the longevity compared to the original. I wore both fragrances on a different arm at the same time and 2nd Cumming developed more slowly and I have to attribute that to the better quality materials used in 2nd Cumming. The other side effect of the more leisurely unfolding is 2nd Cumming comes off warmer than the original. If you, like me, enjoyed the original I think 2nd Cumming will be surprisingly better than you remember. Now Monica can tell you what she thought as someone who is trying 2nd Cumming for the first time.
She (Monica Miller) said: Personally I find this fragrance 2nd Cumming very sexy, provocative and for me, not at all reminiscent of the notes listed as part of the fragrance. I find the fragrance more literal, reminding one rather of…dare I say it… male secretions. A fresh healthy clean male I will quickly add. It has a nutty, almond like note that is quite quickly gone leading to the peaty smell listed among the notes but I really can’t say as I smell any pine, cigars or heather…it has a rich pungent fresh smell to it reminding me a bit of when I went horseback riding in Big Sur (bareback) through the mossy canyons. Back then I remember thinking, more than once, that the whole smell of nature, in all its glory, smelled rather like….what I think 2nd Cumming smells like.
Of my five Martha’s Vineyard friends I asked to sniff the fragrance 3 looked at me quizzically and said they liked it but left me wondering if they really did. Two people genuinely liked it.
OK, so now you simply HAVE to try it. Tell me if I’m right, or wrong. I would really like a few hundred more opinions and since all the profits from this perfume are going to charity why not?
http://www.cbihateperfume.com/
Worth the risk to buy unsniffed: Yes, CBIHP also sells trial/travel sizes
Natural or blended: blended
Sillge: gentle
Longevity: average
Photo credits wild Scottish heather http://www.bing.com/
http://www.riversidecampground.com/ThingstodoinBigSur.html Big Sur Pic.
–Monica “Skye” Miller, Natural Perfume and Senior Editor
Read Editor-in-Chief Michelyn Camen's original 2008 interview with Christopher Brosius and Cumming https://cafleurebon.com//flashbackinterview-with-christopher-brosius-of-cb-i-hate-perfume-does-he-or-doesnt-he/