It is a familiar gripe when I receive a massive new debut collection. I wonder why more time wasn’t spent in designing this many perfumes along with the necessity for so many. The latest brand to irritate me in this way is Derek Lam 10 Crosby.
Designer Derek Lam designed this collection with the Millennials in mind and maybe that group wants unfinished poorly thought out fragrances. The cynic in me says nobody has quite figured out this market sector and they are throwing everything they have at finding out what will sell. The Derek Lam 10 Crosby collection is ten perfumes done by four perfumers. It is a broad exercise in box checking as nearly every fragrance style is represented except aquatic. Maybe they have some bit of research which informs them Millennials don’t like them. Nine of the ten releases feel like perfumes caught in the act of being created. They are ideas which never go anywhere. Notes which should have more to them than just a single accord. I was well along the path to dismissing the whole line when I picked up my sample of 2AM Kiss.
All of the fragrances are supposedly inspired by things Mr. Lam observed while looking out of his 10 Crosby office in SoHo. On the website there are little films to go with each fragrance but they seem to have little to do with the way any of these smell. If you like visuals with your scents you can check out the 2AM Kiss film above. I am divorcing myself from any of the imagery because it has nothing to do with what is in the bottle. That is a luscious salted caramel gourmand by perfumer Laurent LeGuernec.
Laurent LeGuernec
M. LeGuernec creates a sticky caramel which he then adds salt to. It is gourmand-like but it also has some lift to it which keeps it from just being a viscous gooey blob. That lift comes from some woody aromachemicals which provide a foundation for the candy to spread out upon. One of them is a spicy woody synthetic I don’t recognize. The piquancy comes through almost like adding a bit of heat to the sweet. The end is a cozy amber accord.
Derek Lam 10 Crosby 2AM Kiss has 6-8 hours longevity and moderate sillage.
I am hopeful that Millennials have the same desire for quality that I do. If they are going to give the Derek Lam 10 Crosby line a try I hope 2AM Kiss is the one which sells best. It might encourage the next releases to be a bit more fleshed out and complete. If you like caramel gourmand fragrances 2AM Kiss is definitely worth trying out next time you’re at the mall.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by Sephora.
–Mark Behnke
