halfwhiteboy

So far, so good. With my blind buys, I mean. After Guerlain Habit Rouge and Armaf Club de Nuit Intense Man , here comes Aramis Havana . I'm on a roll! Released in 1994, Aramis Havana is undeniably masculine. It's in-your-face masculine. I understand that there are purveyors of the thought that fragrances shouldn't be defined by gender. However, by all these marketing standards that have shaped our perceptions over the decades, Havana is definitely a men's fragrance.

Perfumes on display at ScentSmith. It's always a joy to discover new scents and brands, and it's even greater joy when it's a homegrown brand that you stumble upon. Well, hello there, ScentSmith Perfumery ! Located at Greenbelt 5, ScentSmith has been on soft opening since August. The store--their first--sports a sort of industrial look with bare concrete walls and floor, exposed dark-painted beams, and metal shelves. The look is reinforced with dark brown bottles, which both serve as decor and product packaging. Lighting is warm and ambient.

I'm such a peacock, yes. So let's take this forgotten peacock feather printed shirt for a spin, which I haven't worn in a really long while. About time, right?

Vial Trials  are my reviews of sample fragrances given out by sales people from various store purchases. Compared to my posts about full bottles--which are mostly positive because I already like them in the first place, that's why I bought them--Vial Trials are hopefully less one-sided since they were just given to me; I didn't pick them. As with my post about another Penhaligon's fragrance-- Sartorial --this blog post is a little different because the fragrance I'm reviewing here isn't a sample but part of a scent library trial pack I bought containing five men's and five women's scents. So Blenheim Bouquet was apparently launched over a hundred years ago in 1902, an enduring classic, with a whole range of men's grooming products to boot.

I think it's safe to say that I have a pretty wide range of tastes when it comes to shoes. I do formal lace-ups, I do loafers, sneakers, espadrilles , and even metallic silver shoes . And then I realized I haven't tried gold yet, so let me try some metallic gold shoes  then.

My love for fragrances--or might I say, increasing obsession for fragrances--has led me to discover brands I've never even heard of before. And boy, do I enjoy these discoveries! Armaf is one of these brands, which I stumbled upon while going through an online perfume store. This Dubai-based house intrigued me, especially with its fairly cheap price range. Convinced with reviews I've read, I took a gamble on Club de Nuit Intense Man , touted by many as a "clone" of Creed's bestselling Aventus. I haven't tried Aventus, so I'm reviewing this juice based on its own merits.

I'm wearing this printed Cuban shirt again. The last time I wore it I followed a brown color scheme where I paired it with khaki pants, brown belt, and brown shoes. It's probably the most obvious route with this shirt's print.

Casual and summery. Too casual even. It starts with the oversize Cuban shirt --clean but not crisp. Instead, it's relaxed and flowy. Then the cornflower blue ankle pants , with a rather roomy fit but not as boxy as the top.

A study in contrasts. I think I can say that I am able to comfortably mix colors, match a tie with a shirt, dress an outfit up or down, but one of the things I'm never comfortable with is mixing prints . Like, how are you supposed to put two different patterns together and create harmony? How do you find the right prints that would complement each other and not end up in an ugly clash? Sure, there are tips and all but it's a whole different thing when you're actually trying to do it. The confidence just escapes me while I'm stuck in perpetual awe at just how well brands like Etro come up with the best print on print ensembles out there.

It's been years since I tried a Guerlain fragrance, and that was L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme . I liked it enough but I never really went crazy over it. It was a fairly good introduction to the brand nonetheless and I told myself that I wanted to try their other fragrances. However, I haven't come across any local store that carried them--until I set my sights on eBay and found a few listings from a local seller. After much thought and banking on nothing but reviews, I made a blind buy with Guerlain Heritage . I got the EDP version and did not regret my purchase at all.

Nothing much here, just wearing "normal" office clothes. But I thought the blue shirt and grayish brown pants make for a good combination, further complemented by brown leather. No tie, though, because no one here seems to wear them anymore.

Vina Trang's bun thit nuong . Apart from Hanoi's charming Old Quarter and that glorious Ha Long Bay cruise experience, one of the things I love about Vietnam is the food. That perennial clean taste and consistent use of vegetables in nearly every dish is something I can't seem to get enough of. Oh, that walking food tour we had last year was just absolutely great! We do have a few Vietnamese restaurants here in Metro Manila but I haven't come across anything that really floored me. And then we stumbled upon Vina Trang in Century City Mall in Makati.

Vial Trials  are my reviews of sample fragrances given out by sales people from various store purchases. Compared to my posts about full bottles--which are mostly positive because I already like them in the first place, that's why I bought them--Vial Trials are hopefully less one-sided since they were just given to me; I didn't pick them. This entry is a little different, however, because the fragrance I'm reviewing here-- Sartorial by Penhaligon's --isn't a sample but part of a scent library trial pack I bought containing five men's and five women's scents. Sartorial is love at first sniff for me. Right off the bat there's this delectably sweet and warm accord, tempered by a pleasantly light, sort of mentholated, spicy-floral blend. I realized the mentholated effect emanates from the metallic note, which is something I normally despise but surprisingly in this case I love.

Wearing a Barong Tagalog--with rolled-up sleeves. Regarded as the country's national formal wear for men, the Barong Tagalog sure is a thing of beauty. Whether they're cheapies from Divisoria that cost only a few hundred pesos or expensive designer pieces, you can't discount the Barong's innate elegance. I got to wear one again last Friday when our department celebrated the culmination of Buwan ng Wika (Language Month). While it's a celebration often confined to schools, we've been at it for three years now. It's something I actually look forward to each year.