Hey lovers of fragrance and all stinks,

I have had on the periphery of my vision a man who has taken his amateur love of scent and his reviews of same to the next level. He came from factory work in his home near Detroit, Michigan but was bored and, for a reason that remains unexplained as far as I have read (because in my mind there should be a catalyst for such change), decided to chuck the old life for a new and more creative one. He has become Musician, Artist, YouTube Fragrance Reviewer and now self taught Perfumer and purveyor of fine fragrance. There has been a lot of talk about Kerosene and the man behind the moniker John Pegg on the scentbloggosphere since he made the jump.

Photo Stolen CafeFleurBon

It’s a good story: humble, ultra sexy mechanic/processing plant worker wants more; throws his old crap life for new; becomes obsessed with something ephemeral and impossible to break into; believes in himself and works hard to overcome obstacles of lack of education and contacts in said profession; tears through all barriers like they were tissue paper; lives his dream; becomes a financial and critical success; in doing so helps the world around him understand that hard work and perseverance pays off. It should be a movie, or at least a novel.

Photo Stolen thisblogreallystinksperfume

If there is a movie there would be Jake Gyllenhall, Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling all fighting for the right to play John Pegg I bet. If this had happened 20 years ago it would have been William Hurt, Judd Nelson and Tom Cruise fighting. MMMMMMMMM sorry just had a momentary in head movie experience of the 6 actors fighting in a jelly wrestling pool while at their physical peaks and in Speedos.

Anyway, there are a bunch of things to like about the Kerosene brand. Currently, every bottle is hand spray painted by John Pegg, making not only the juice but the bottles works of art, every one different and gorgeous. So if you get in now and keep a spare bottle and this brand takes off like I think it will, you will have something extraordinary and valuable in the future. Also, John Pegg is reputed to be a complete sweetheart; heart throb, talented and nice guy! SCORE! The price point is incredibly reasonable at $140 for 100ml on MinNewYork. And, lastly, but most importantly, the juice is getting rave reviews everywhere.

Photo Stolen edle-essenzen

I wanted to see for myself so I ordered a 3 piece sample set from either Posh Peasant, Perfumed Court or Surrender To Chance but I can’t tell you which because I decanted the samples into spray vials so I could try them like they’d come from an atomiser and didn’t note their heritage. I will give my first impressions of each fragrance over a 30 minute period, then the notes on MinNewYork, and then my review of the story through my nose. Remember that my skin and nose will give different results to yours but this is a good starting point.

KEROSENE: CREATURE Tree Lopping and Wood Chipping, Cutting Floor Tiles, Electricity Sparks, Tin, Green, Fresh.
MinNewYork Notes: Sweet birch, Mint, Lemon, Jasmine, Green tea, Sage, Violet leaves, Cypress, Cedar, Patchouli, and Moss.

Photo Stolen MinNY

HAH! As you can see my nose was somewhere else for the opening of this. I am laughing though because those were the things I smelled. On my skin it is an interesting cacophony of bitter, industrial, and parklands during its lengthy opening sequence which definitely deserves the name Creature, what a blockbuster. It calms down to a softer, more rationalised with the notes, greenish wood scent that is pretty for both men and women while still retaining its sharp freshness. I am going to try this on my partner to see if it smells as good as I think it will on someone else.

KEROSENE: WHIPS AND ROSES Green, Nearly Stale Water, Darkness, Broken Branch, Humus, Rose Petals, Pot Pouri.
MinNewYork Notes: Bergamot, Blood Orange, Rose, Jasmine, Gardenia, Orris, Sandalwood, Musk and Leather.

Photo Stolen MinNY

This has been a bit of a failure on my skin. The story just didn’t blossom for me and turned totally skin scent very quickly, them pretty much gone. Notoriously a scent eater, this one was gobbled up too quickly. I am going to come back and try this another day, it could be me, the day, something I ate. Currently though all Whips and Roses gets is a Meh.
UPDATE: First spritz gets eaten quickly but as I lose it and spritz again the scent becomes a cling on, still pumping soft dusty roses and a spicy, suede-ish leather for hours.

KEROSENE: COPPER SKIES Coffee, Caramel, Biscuits, Tea, Flowers, Sweet & Savoury, Bar B Q.
MinNewYork Notes: Amber, Cedar, Sweet tobacco leaves, Honeycomb, Basil and Cloves

Photo Stolen MinNY

This time my experience is not so different from the notes. I am not a gourmand fan but this is suitably off the beaten track story wise that I am completely enamored. A constantly changing panoply of rich and delicious scents with a slight salty/savoury edge that keeps me coming back to check where it’s going now. One minute it’s sweet baking, the next sharp, smoky and woodsy, then savoury, then mixtures of the 3 in cycles. This is the one for me. I am going to use up my sample very quickly and buy a bottle. Perfect cool spring/autumn wear and definitely winter wear. You should at least sample this baby, WOW!

Hopefully this has given you a little peek into 3 of the 5 Kerosene fragrances. They are worth a look see at the very least. If you want more info there is a wonderful interview on EssensaNobile and another on PerfumeAngels; do have a look.

Happy and fragrant thoughts to you,

Portia xx

PS If you are wondering why the title has changed, John Pegg was in touch and the fragrance brand name is Kerosene. His YouTube name is Kerosene Trewthe and I was mistaken. He was even lovely about giving me the note. I am a fan.