When Rusty was younger, he used to like perfumes… or at least some of them. But as he got older, at some point he started avoiding close exposure to strong scents. He seems not to mind any of my perfumes when I apply them to my neck, especially after the initial application settles down. But he strongly objects to my testing on wrists, and whenever I put something on a wrist and try to hold him, he runs away indignantly shuddering.
But it looks like he still has some favorite scents. See what happened when our friend brought us a freshly cut piece of cedarwood.
I should probably try and see what he thinks about Dyptique‘s Tam Dao. Speaking of which… When did you try it last? Is it still any good? A bottle I have is of the EdT, and it’s about 11 years old. I used to like it, especially on my vSO, but I’m not sure if I tried any version of EdP. I’m sure it has been reformulated at least once since it has been launched because of IFRA regulations, but I don’t know how far the current iteration is from what I used to like.
Undina's Looking Glass 
Oh my goodness that video of Rusty with the cedarwood is too good! I
Thanks for including it.
I haven’t tried Tam Dao in about 10 years. I think that’s the one someone – probably Vanessa or Katie P – quite accurately described as like ‘being locked in a tea chest’. Not necessarily a bad thing but too much for me.
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It really is cedarwood-intense. But I always liked the scent. Not necessarily as a personal perfume. But I like to smell it from my vSO.
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Rusty looks like he’s perfuming his own head with the cedarwood! Love it.
I haven’t tried Tam Dao. I do love the scent of different kinds of cedarwood essential oils on their own though.
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Cedarwood is one of my favorite scents (not in perfume form though). But I didn’t think about different kinds of it being out there. Which makes sense: it’s the same as with others ingredients: all roses are roses but they smell quite different.
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Virginian cedarwood is probably the most frequently used, which smells of classic “pencil shavings.” Atlas and Himalayan cedarwoods (true cedars, Cedrus _____) are smoother, sweeter, more sensual… To make things more confusing, there are several other trees in the cypress family that are called cedars but are different species (Thuja _____), and they don’t smell as good.
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What a great video! I haven’t tried Tam Dao in forever – had a sample at one time.
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I almost never do videos (for anything), but it was so funny how Rusty was rubbing his head over that piece of wood that I had to capture that.
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Who knew that cedar is Rusty’s catnip. Very evolved!
I only have samples of Tam Dao and while I believe I have both the EDT and the EDP, I have not tried them.
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It was completely unexpected! Our mellow and well-behaved cat suddenly couldn’t control himself! I had to hide it in my linen closet (for which it was brought to serve as a closet freshener).
I need to check: I might have a sample of the EdP, though, it won’t be the latest version.
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Rusty 😻 Vega is quite indifferent to perfume, as long as it’s not too strong, or right after I sprayed.
Dont remember Tam Dao, sorry.
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She’s much younger. Rusty was like that for the first 7-8 years. And then he started having an opinion ;)
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Haha, she seems to have a lot of opinions on just about everything else, especially food related
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It’s been a while since I tried Tam Dao. It was too much sandalwood for me. My cats and dogs all hated perfume. They would shake their heads, sneeze and run from the room. The dogs would make a sound rather like “ugh” and give me a look like, “Really? Are you trying to choke us?? That stuff is disgusting!” But they didn’t mind good smelling dog shampoo. Nothing could be sprayed.
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I suspect it’s because dogs have a much more sensitive nose than not only us, “hoomans” but cats also.
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Seeing Rusty is always a treat :-)
I remember Tam Dao being rather heavy on sandalwood. At the beginning it smells like one of those old wood polish waxes, slightly pungent, but later it is rather dry and creamy. Unfortunately I don’t know if I’ve tried the EdT or EdP. It was some five years ago. I haven’t tried the older versions.
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Thank you. I enjoy sharing his pictures (and occasional videos) with friends.
Five years ago it could be either of the two. It’s interesting that there’s nobody who had a more recent encounter with this perfume.
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Rusty is hilarious 😆 That piece of cedar wood is like catnip to him.
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Interestingly enough, catnip doesn’t have that effect on him :)
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WHOA! Rusty is going cat crazy! Love it.
You’re lucky it’s cedarwod Undina, my dog Paris looks for rabbit droppings in the park and does exactly that! ew.
Tam Dao is still quite nice. I never bought a bottle but spritz it at the store if I see it early enough. Doesn’t last so well as it used to, which was forever.
Portia xx
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Yeah… Even people who claim not to like cedarwood note would definitely prefer it to rabbit droppings ;)
I tried Tam Dao today again, from the old bottle and from the newer sample (both EdT though): juice in the old bottle is much more tenacious.
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The being ‘locked in a tea chest’ was me, Tara! Gosh that is going back a long time, so you do have a good memory. I haven’t smelt Tam Dao in forever – I gave my sample to one of The Monochrome Set because it was in a dear little ‘monochrome’ slidey cardboard box thing.
Rusty is hilarious in that video! Like a bed of catnip. ;)
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See! A mighty word! :) You should be careful with those deadly expressions ;)
As I mentioned above in one of the comments, I rarely do videos. But this was amazing to watch him doing that – so, I felt that I had to share that.
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