Please welcome James Dennard.
This is his first story for The Fragrant Man.

Photo: Ineke

Guest Post by James Dennard
Fragrance has allowed me to meet some wonderful people. It is often said among the members of the fragrance writing community and within the web forums that the fragrance community contains some of the most intelligent, kind, and generous people you will ever find. I believe this to be true. Also, this niche is filled with outstanding writers. For this last reason I have limited myself to commenting on other fragrance websites, and have not written fragrance reviews myself. But through these conversations about our shared interest, combined with social media, I have made and cultivated some close friendships with people all over the world. One such friend is Brie, of The Fragrant Man.

After commenting on one of her posts I ended up winning a giveaway. This began an email exchange between the two of us over the course of several weeks, and in this way a friendship was forged. One of the many subjects we talked about is, of course, fragrance. Brie, the generous soul that she is, sent me samples of various fragrances she thought I might like. Then something really cool happened. Brie smelled a fragrance by Ineke called Derring-Do. It has classic elements of perfumery that she thought I would like (including fern, guaiac and cedar), so she mailed a bottle to me. I knew of this fragrance, and had even tested it a few times. But had not paid a lot of attention to it. With so many fragrances to try, sometimes one can overlook very good ones. I have worn it several times since receiving it from Brie, and I am happy to say that it has become a new favorite. While any fragrance can be worn by man or woman, this fragrance is the only one from this line that was specifically made for men.

Brie and I have discovered many similarities in our interests, experiences, and personalities – indeed, a solid foundation for a friendship. But our interest in and love of fragrance was what originally brought us together. I love that, even though we live many miles apart, we are connected by our love of fragrances, and by wearing Derring-Do.

Derring-Do – Ineke
Perfumer: Ineke Rühland
Classification: Fresh Fougere
Launched: May 2006

Notes
Top: fresh citrus blend, rain notes, cyclamen
Heart: magnolia, fougere accents
Dry Down: guaiacwood, cedarwood, musk

Further Reading
Ineke – website
Brie on Friendship
Brie on Cool Cook Style
Brie at Australian Perfume Junkies
Brie shares some hidden beauty at Olfactoria’s Travels