Today In NYC: Sniffs And Snippets- September Edition

• There was an odd smell outside the Sony store on Madison Avenue. Something synthetic and green, and not entirely pleasant. Apparently, Sony now has a store fragrance, Green Bamboo, that ties in with their eco-friendly, environmentally conscious campaign. Whatever.
  


• The new Nasomatto perfume, Black Afgano, still hasn't arrived at Barneys NYC.
  


• The new Tom Ford tester bottles are at Bergdorf. Grey Vetiver smells like an instant classic. Woody, salty, clean without being dumbed-down. I love it, the husband who has several vetiver scents in his collections wasn't sure it's different enough to justify the shelf space. We'll see.
  


• The four Tom Ford Private Blend musks are nice, but I wasn't slayed by any particular one. I liked the Urban Musk best. It's the sweetest and sexiest, I think, with a honey-plum thing going on there. Pure Musk has a powdery orris note that reminded me of Uncle Serge's Clair de Musc. I also liked White Suede, which feels very smooth (and didn't remind me of Daim Blond). Jasmin Musk didn't entice me to allocate any skin for testing.
  Am I all musked out? I don't know. I'll need to do more testing.
  


• The funniest thing: Bergdorf is now carrying and promoting Balmain Ambre Gris. Seriously. Those of you who don't know why I had to scrape my jaw off the floor should check out my post from last year. Bergdorf is selling it for full retail price, so no matter what you do, don't buy it there.
  


• Two words: Chantecaille lipsticks. I bought two more. Reviews coming soon.
  


• By Killian Back To Black made me want to layer Miel de Bois with Fumerie Turque and maybe Louve or Luctor et Emergo. It's very sweet on my skin, in a pleasant way. A bit more foody than I expected and utterly pleasurable.
  


• The husband lusts after the other new By Killian, Pure Oud. It's magnificent.
  


• There are still a few bottles of Mona di Orio on sale at Bergdorf, mostly the 100 ml for $60. Lux is all gone.
  


• Why (oh why oh why) does the new Michael Kors, Very Hollywood, suck so much? And why is so much floor and counter space devoted to this dud that will be at the discounters in four months and would probably be discontinued with most of the generic fruity florals in a couple of years?

Crappy cellphone picture of a beautiful 1956 DeSoto Fireflight just outside of Bergdorf Goodman: all mine (many thanks to my scent twin, Tom, for identifying the car )